file was produced from images generously made available by case western reserve university preservation department digital library.) professor royce's libel. * * * * * a public appeal for redress to the corporation and overseers of harvard university. by francis ellingwood abbot, ph.d. cambridge, mass. * * * * * boston, mass. geo. h. ellis, franklin street, . public appeal. to the president and fellows and board of overseers of harvard university: _gentlemen_,--believing it to be a necessary part of good citizenship to defend one's reputation against unjustifiable attacks, and believing you to have been unwarrantably, but not remotely, implicated in an unjustifiable attack upon my own reputation by assistant professor josiah royce, since his attack is made publicly, explicitly, and emphatically on the authority of his "professional" position as one of your agents and appointees, i respectfully apply to you for redress of the wrong, leaving it wholly to your own wisdom and sense of justice to decide what form such redress should take. if dr. royce had not, by clear and undeniable implication, appealed to your high sanction to sustain him in his attack,--if he had not undeniably sought to create a widespread but false public impression that, in making this attack, he spoke, and had a right to speak, with all the prestige and authority of harvard university itself,--i should not have deemed it either necessary or becoming to appeal to you in self-defence, or, indeed, to take any public notice whatever of an attack otherwise unworthy of it. but under the circumstances i am confident that you will at once recognize the inevitableness and unquestionable propriety of my appeal from the employee to the employer, from the agent to the principal; and it would be disrespectful to you to doubt for a moment that, disapproving of an attack made impliedly and yet unwarrantably in your name, you will express your disapprobation in some just and appropriate manner. my action in thus laying the matter publicly before you can inflict no possible injury upon our honored and revered alma mater: injury to her is not even conceivable, except on the wildly improbable supposition of your being indifferent to a scandalous abuse of his position by one of your assistant professors, who, with no imaginable motive other than mere professional jealousy or rivalry of authorship, has gone to the unheard-of length of "professionally warning the public" against a peaceable and inoffensive private scholar, whose published arguments he has twice tried, but twice signally failed, to meet in an intellectual way. if the public at large should have reason to believe that conduct so scandalous as this in a harvard professor will not be condemned by you, as incompatible with the dignity and the decencies of his office and with the rights of private citizens in general, harvard university would indeed suffer, and ought to suffer; but it is wholly within your power to prevent the growth of so injurious a belief. i beg leave, therefore, to submit to you the following statement, and to solicit for it the patient and impartial consideration which the gravity of the case requires. i. the first number of a new quarterly periodical, the "international journal of ethics," published at philadelphia in october, , contained an ostensible review by dr. royce of my last book, "the way out of agnosticism." i advisedly use the word "ostensible," because the main purport and intention of the article were not at all to criticise a philosophy, but to sully the reputation of the philosopher, deprive him of public confidence, ridicule and misrepresent his labors, hold him up by name to public obloquy and contempt, destroy or lessen the circulation of his books, and, in general, to blacken and break down his literary reputation by any and every means, even to the extent of aspersing his personal reputation, although there had never been the slightest personal collision. its bitter and invidious spirit was not in the least disguised by a few exaggerated compliments adroitly inserted here and there: these merely furnish the foil needed to give greater potency and efficiency to the personal insinuations, and, like mark antony's compliments to cæsar's assassins, subserved quite too many politic purposes to be accepted as sincere. only a native of boeotia could be imposed upon by them, when the actual character of the book in question was carefully misrepresented, and when the self-evident trend, tenor, and aim of the ostensible review were to excite public prejudice against the author on grounds wholly irrespective of the truth or untruth of his expressed opinions. of course, the very largest liberty must be and should be conceded to legitimate criticism. from this, as is well known, i never shrank in the least; on the contrary, i court it, and desire nothing better for my books, provided only that the criticism be pertinent, intelligent, and fair. but misrepresentation for the purpose of detraction is not criticism at all; and (notwithstanding numerous quotations perverted by unfair and misleading glosses, including two misquotations quite too useful to be accidental) this ostensible review is, from beginning to end, nothing but misrepresentation for the purpose of detraction. passing over numerous minor instances, permit me to invite your attention to three gross instances of such misrepresentation. ii. the book under review had taken the utmost pains (pages - , especially page ) to distinguish "realism" from "idealism," and to argue for the former in opposition to the latter, on the ground of the absolute incompatibility of the latter with the scientific method of investigation. it had taken the utmost pains to make the contrast broad and deep, and to point out its far-reaching consequences by explicitly opposing ( ) scientific realism to philosophical idealism in general, and in particular ( ) constructive realism to constructive idealism, ( ) critical realism to critical idealism, ( ) ethical realism to ethical idealism, and ( ) religious realism to religious idealism. any fair or honorable critic would recognize this contrast and opposition between realism and idealism as the very foundation of the work he was criticising, and would at least state it candidly, as the foundation of his own favorable or unfavorable comments. how did dr. royce treat it? he not only absolutely ignored it, not only said nothing whatever about it, but actually took pains to put the reader on a false scent at the start, by assuring him (without the least discussion of this all-important point) that my philosophical conclusions are "essentially idealistic"! so gross a misrepresentation as this might be charitably attributed to critical incapacity of some sort, if it did not so very conveniently pave the way for the second gross misrepresentation which was to follow: namely, that the theory actually propounded in my book had been, in fact, "_appropriated" and "borrowed" from an idealist_! the immense utility of misrepresenting my system at the start as "essentially idealistic" lay in the fact that, by adopting this stratagem, dr. royce could escape altogether the formidable necessity of _first arguing the main question of idealism versus realism_. secretly conscious of his own inability to handle that question, to refute my "soliloquy of the self-consistent idealist," or to overthrow my demonstration that consistent idealism leads logically to hopeless absurdity at last, dr. royce found it infinitely easier to deceive his uninformed readers by a bold assertion that i myself am an idealist at bottom. this assertion, swallowed without suspicion of its absolute untruth, would render it plausible and quite credible to assert, next, that i had actually "appropriated" my philosophy from a greater idealist than myself. for the only substantial criticism of the book made by dr. royce is that i "borrowed" my whole theory of universals from hegel--"unconsciously," he has the caution to say; but that qualification does not in the least mitigate the mischievous intention and effect of his accusation as a glaring falsification of fact and artful misdescription of my work. it would be inopportune and discourteous to weary you with philosophical discussions. i exposed the amazing absurdity of dr. royce's accusation of plagiarism in the reply to his article which, as appears below, dr. royce himself anxiously suppressed, and which i should now submit to you, if he had not at last taken fright and served upon me a legal protest against its circulation. but, to any well-educated man, such an accusation as this refutes itself. it would be just as reasonable, just as plausible, to accuse darwin of having borrowed his theory of natural selection from agassiz, or daniel webster of having borrowed his theory of the inseparable union from john c. calhoun, or ex-president cleveland of having borrowed his message on tariff reform from the home market club, as to accuse me of having borrowed my theory of universals from hegel. hegel's theory of universals is divided from mine by the whole vast chasm between realism and idealism. the two theories contradict each other absolutely, uncompromisingly, irreconcilably: hegel's is a theory of "absolute idealism" or "pure thought" (_reines denken_), that is, of _thought absolutely independent of experience_, while mine is a theory of "scientific realism," that is, of _thought absolutely dependent upon experience._ it is quite immaterial here which theory is the true one; the only point involved at present is that the two theories flatly contradict each other, and that it is self-evidently impossible that either _could_ be "borrowed," consciously or unconsciously, from the other. if dr. royce had ever done any hard thinking on the theory of universals, or if he had the slightest comprehension of the problems it involves, he would never have been so rash as to charge me with "borrowing" my theory from hegel, and thus to commit himself irrevocably to a defence of the absurd; but eagerness to accuse another has betrayed him into a position whence it is impossible for him to escape with honor. solely by misdescribing my philosophy as "essentially idealistic" when it openly and constantly and emphatically avows itself to be essentially realistic, could dr. royce give the faintest color of plausibility to his monstrous and supremely ridiculous accusation of plagiarism; solely by presuming upon the public ignorance both of hegel and of my own work could he dare to publish such an accusation to the world. these gross misrepresentations, however, he did not hesitate to make, since they were necessary in order to pave the way to a third and still grosser misrepresentation on which he apparently had set his heart: namely, that, after borrowing the whole substance of my philosophy from hegel, i have been guilty of making "vast and extravagant pretensions" as to my own "novelty," "originality," and "profundity," not only with regard to my published books, but also with regard to my "still unpublished system of philosophy." his words are these:-- "of novelty, good or bad, the book contains, indeed, despite its vast pretensions, hardly a sign." "it is due also to the extravagant pretensions which he frequently makes of late as to the originality and profundity of his still unpublished system of philosophy, to give the reader some hint of what so far appears to be the nature of our author's contributions to philosophical reflection." precisely what have been these alleged "pretensions"? dr. royce cites only three instances. i. he first garbles a sentence in the prefatory note to "the way out of agnosticism," by quoting only one phrase from it. the sentence in full is this: "by a wholly new line of reasoning, drawn exclusively from those sources [science and philosophy], this book aims to show that, in order to refute agnosticism and establish enlightened theism, nothing is now necessary but to philosophize that very scientific method which agnosticism barbarously misunderstands and misuses." there is no "pretension" whatever in these words, except that the general "line of reasoning" set forth in the book is, _as a whole_, different from that of other books. if not, why publish it? or, without the same cause, why publish any book? i see no reason to recall or to modify this perfectly true statement; dr. royce, at least, has shown none. the "novelty" of the book lies in its very attempt to evolve philosophy as a whole out of the scientific method itself, as "observation, hypothesis, and experimental verification," by developing the theory of universals which is implicit in that purely experiential method; and dr. royce does not even try to prove that hegel, or anybody else, has ever made just such an attempt as that. unless there can be shown somewhere a _parallel attempt_, the statement is as undeniably true as it is certainly unpretentious. ii. next, dr. royce extracts these sentences from the body of the book (i supply in brackets words which he omitted): "the first great task of philosophy is to lay deep and solid foundations for the expansion [and ideal perfection] of human knowledge in a bold, new, and true theory of universals. for so-called modern philosophy rests complacently in a theory of universals which is thoroughly mediæval or antiquated." what personal pretension, even of the mildest sort, can be conceived to lurk in these innocent words? i did not say that i have succeeded in performing that "task"; i repeat now what i have often said and what i meant then; namely, that modern science has unawares performed it already, that i have faithfully tried to formulate and further apply what science has done, and that i respectfully submit the result (so far as already published), not to such critics as dr. royce, but to able, learned, and magnanimous students of philosophy everywhere. iii. lastly, though employing quotation marks so as to evade a charge of formal misquotation, he perverts and effectually misquotes a sentence of the book in a way which makes it appear exactly what it is not,--"pretentious." i had said at the end of my own book (page ): "_its aim has been to show_ the way out of agnosticism into the sunlight of the predestined philosophy of science." this expression is perfectly in harmony with the prefatory note, which says that "_this book aims to show_ that, in order to refute agnosticism and establish enlightened theism, nothing is now necessary but to philosophize that very scientific method which agnosticism barbarously misunderstands and misuses," and which immediately adds: "_of the success of the perhaps unwise attempt to show this in so small a compass, the educated public must be the judge._" most certainly, there is no "pretension" in this modest and carefully guarded avowal of the simple aim of my book. but dr. royce twists this modest avowal into a barefaced boast, and injuriously misquotes me to his own readers thus: "at the conclusion of the book, we learn that _we have been shown_ 'the way out of agnosticism into the sunlight of the predestined philosophy of science.'" gentlemen, i request you to compare thoughtfully the expressions which i have here italicized, and then decide for yourselves whether this injurious misquotation is purely accidental, or, in view of dr. royce's purpose of proving me guilty of "vast pretensions," quite too useful to be purely accidental. iv. but dr. royce does not content himself with quoting or misquoting what i have published, for the self-evident reason that what i have published is not sufficiently "pretentious" for his purpose. disinterested anxiety for the public welfare, and tender sorrow over the "harm to careful inquiry" which my book is doing by "getting influence over immature or imperfectly trained minds," constrain him to accuse me of "frequently making of late extravagant pretensions as to the originality and profundity" of my "still unpublished system of philosophy." precisely what have been these "extravagant pretensions"? simply these:-- in the preface to "scientific theism," i said of that book: "it is a mere _résumé_ of a small portion of a comprehensive philosophical system, so far as i have been able to work it out under most distracting, discouraging, and unpropitious circumstances of many years; and for this reason i must beg some indulgence for the unavoidable incompleteness of my work." enumerating some reasons why i hesitated to begin the series of papers afterwards published as "the way out of agnosticism," i said, in the first of these papers: "first and foremost, perhaps, is the fact that, although the ground-plan of this theory is already thoroughly matured, the literary execution of it is as yet scarcely even begun, and from want of opportunity may never be completed; and it seems almost absurd to present the abridgment of a work which does not yet exist to be abridged." finally, in an address printed in the "unitarian review" for december, , i said: "without advancing any personal claim whatever, permit me to take advantage of your indulgent kindness, and to make here the first public confession of certain painfully matured results of thirty years' thinking, which, in the momentous and arduous enterprise of developing a scientific theology out of the scientific method itself, appear to be principles of cosmical import.... perhaps i can make them intelligible, as a contribution to that 'unitary science' which the great agassiz foresaw and foretold." in a postscript to this address i added: "for fuller support of the position taken above, i am constrained to refer ... to a large treatise, now in process of preparation, which aims to rethink philosophy as a whole in the light of modern science and under the form of a natural development of the scientific method itself." what remotest allusion to my own "originality" is contained in these passages, or what remotest allusion to my own "profundity"? what "pretension" of any sort is here made, whether "extravagant" or moderate? yet this is the only actual evidence, _and the whole of it_, on which dr. royce dares to accuse me of "frequently making of late extravagant pretensions as to the originality and profundity of my still unpublished system of philosophy"! the pure absurdity of such an accusation reveals itself in the very statement of it. dr. royce is referring here, be it understood, not to my published books, but to my "unpublished system of philosophy." _how does he know anything about it?_ i certainly have never shown him my unpublished manuscript, and beyond those published allusions to it he possesses absolutely no means whatever of knowing anything about its contents. nothing, surely, except full and exact knowledge, derived from careful and patient personal examination of that manuscript, could possibly be a ground of just judgment of its character. how, then, in absolute ignorance of its character and contents, could any fair man hazard any public verdict upon it? yet dr. royce not only accuses me of making "pretensions" about it which i never made, but dares to characterize them as "extravagant," when, _for all he knows_, they might (if made) fall far short of the truth. whether in this case the evidence supports the accusation, and whether the conscience which permits the making of such an accusation on such evidence is itself such a conscience as you expect to find in your appointees,--these, gentlemen, are questions for you yourselves to decide. iii. these three connected and logically affiliated _misstatements of fact_--namely, ( ) that my philosophy is "essentially idealistic," ( ) that it has been "appropriated" and "unconsciously borrowed" from the idealist hegel, and ( ) that i have frequently made "extravagant pretensions as to the originality and profundity" of this merely "borrowed" and "appropriated" philosophy--constitute in their totality a regular system of gross and studied misrepresentation, as methodical and coherent as it is unscrupulous. it is not "fair criticism"; it is not "criticism" at all; and i do not hesitate to characterize it deliberately as a disgrace both to harvard university and to american scholarship. yet, gross and studied and systematic as this misrepresentation is, i should have passed it over in silence, precisely as i did pass over a similar attack by dr. royce on my earlier book in "science" for april , , were it not that, perhaps emboldened by former impunity, he now makes his misrepresentations culminate in the perpetration of a literary outrage, to which, i am persuaded, no parallel can be found in the history of polite literature. it is clear that forbearance must have somewhere its limit. the commands of self-respect and of civic conscience, the duty which every citizen owes to his fellow-citizens not to permit the fundamental rights of all to be unlimitedly violated in his own person, must at last set a bound to forbearance itself, and compel to self-defence. these are the reasons which, after patient exhaustion of every milder means of redress, have moved me to this public appeal. dr. royce's misstatements of fact, so elaborately fashioned and so ingeniously mortised together, were merely his foundation for a deliberate and formal "professional warning to the liberal-minded public" against my alleged "philosophical pretensions." the device of attributing to me extravagant but groundless "pretensions" to "originality" and "profundity"--since he is unable to cite a single passage in which i ever used such expressions of myself--was probably suggested to him by the "press notices of 'scientific theism,'" printed as a publishers' advertisement of my former book at the end of the book which lay before him. these "press notices," as usual, contain numerous extracts from eulogistic reviews, in which, curiously enough, these very words, "original" and "profound," or their equivalents, occur with sufficient frequency to explain dr. royce's choleric unhappiness. for instance, dr. james freeman clarke wrote in the "unitarian review": "if every position taken by dr. abbot cannot be maintained, his book remains an original contribution to philosophy of a high order and of great value"; m. renouvier, in "la critique philosophique," classed the book among "de remarquables efforts de construction métaphysique et morale dus à des penseurs indépendants et profonds"; and m. carrau, in explaining why he added to his critical history of "religious philosophy in england" a chapter of twenty pages on my own system, actually introduced both of the words which, when thus applied, jar so painfully on dr. royce's nerves: "la pensée de m. abbot m'a paru assez profonde et assez originale pour mériter d'être reproduite littéralement." (la philosophie religieuse en angleterre. par ludovic carrau, directeur des conférences de philosophie à la faculté des lettres de paris. paris, .) these extracts, be it remembered, were all printed at the end of the book which dr. royce was reviewing. now he had an undoubted right to think and to say that such encomiums as these on my work were silly, extravagant, preposterous, and totally undeserved; but _to take them out of the mouth of others and put them into mine was wilful and deliberate calumny_. systematic and calumnious misrepresentation is the sole foundation of the "professional warning" in which dr. royce's ostensible review culminates, and which is too extraordinary not to be quoted here in full:-- "and so, finally, after this somewhat detailed study of dr. abbot's little book, i feel constrained to repeat my judgment as above. results in philosophy are one thing; a careful way of thinking is another. babes and sucklings often get very magnificent results. it is not the office of philosophy to outdo the babes and sucklings at their own business of receiving revelations. it is the office of philosophy to undertake a serious scrutiny of the presuppositions of human belief. hence the importance of the careful way of thinking in philosophy. but dr. abbot's way is not careful, is not novel, and, when thus set forth to the people as new and bold and american, it is likely to do precisely as much harm to careful inquiry as it gets influence over immature or imperfectly trained minds. i venture, therefore, to speak plainly, by way of a professional warning to the liberal-minded public concerning dr. abbot's philosophical pretensions. and my warning takes the form of saying that, if people are to think in this confused way, unconsciously borrowing from a great speculator like hegel, and then depriving the borrowed conception of the peculiar subtlety of statement that made it useful in its place,--and if we readers are for our part to accept such scholasticism as is found in dr. abbot's concluding sections as at all resembling philosophy,--then it were far better for the world that no reflective thinking whatever should be done. if we can't improve on what god has already put into the mouth of the babes and sucklings, let us at all events make some other use of our wisdom and prudence than in setting forth the american theory of what has been in large part hidden from us." gentlemen, i deny sweepingly the whole groundwork of cunning and amazing misrepresentation on which this unparalleled tirade is founded. i. i deny that my philosophy is "essentially idealistic," or that any "careful" or conscientious scholar could possibly affirm it to be such. ii. i deny that i "borrowed" my realistic theory of universals from the idealist, hegel, whether consciously or unconsciously. the charge is unspeakably silly. realism and idealism contradict each other more absolutely than protectionism and free-trade. iii. i deny that i ever made the "philosophical pretensions" which dr. royce calumniously imputes to me. but, if i had made pretensions as high as the himalayas, i deny his authority to post me publicly--to act as policeman in the republic of letters and to collar me on that account. a college professor who thus mistakes his academic gown for the policeman's uniform, and dares to use his private walking-stick for the policeman's bludgeon, is likely to find himself suddenly prostrated by a return blow, arrested for assault and battery, and unceremoniously hustled off into a cell, by the officer whose function he has injudiciously aped without waiting for the tiresome but quite indispensable little preliminary of first securing a regular commission. iv. most of all, i deny dr. royce's self-assumed right to club every philosopher whose reasoning he can neither refute nor understand. i deny, in general, that any harvard professor has the right to fulminate a "professional warning" _against anybody_; and, in particular, that you, gentlemen, ever voted or intended to invest dr. royce with that right. he himself now publicly puts forth a worse than "extravagant pretension" when he arrogates to himself this right of literary outrage. he was not appointed professor by you for any such unseemly purpose. to arrogate to himself a senseless "professional" superiority over all non-"professional" authors, to the insufferable extent of publicly posting and placarding them for a mere difference of opinion, is, from a moral point of view, scandalously to abuse his academical position, to compromise the dignity of harvard university, to draw down universal contempt upon the "profession" which he prostitutes to the uses of mere professional jealousy or literary rivalry, and to degrade the honorable office of professor in the eyes of all who understand that a weak argument is not strengthened, and a false accusation is not justified, by throwing "professional warnings" as a make-weight into the scales of reason. i affirm emphatically that no professor has a moral right to treat anybody with this undisguised "insolence of office," or to use any weapon but reason in order to put down what he conceives to be errors in philosophy. in the present case, i deny that dr. royce has any better or stronger claim than myself to speak "professionally" on philosophical questions. the very book against which he presumes to warn the public "professionally" is founded upon lectures which i myself "professionally" delivered, not only from dr. royce's own desk and to dr. royce's own college class, but as a substitute for dr. royce himself, at the request and by the appointment of his own superiors, the corporation and overseers of his own university; and the singular impropriety (to use no stronger word) of his "professional warning" will be apparent to every one in the light of that fact. iv. so far i have treated dr. royce's attack solely from the literary and ethical points of view. the legal point of view must now be considered. plagiarism, conscious or unconscious, is a very grave and serious charge to bring against an author, and one which may entail upon him, not only great damage to his literary reputation, but also social disgrace and pecuniary loss. if proved, or even if widely believed without proof, it cannot but ruin his literary career and destroy the marketable value of his books; and it matters little, so far as these practical results are concerned, whether the plagiarism attributed to him is conscious or unconscious. in an able editorial article on "law and theft," published in the new york "nation" of feb. , , it is forcibly said: "authors or writers who do this [borrowing other men's ideas] a good deal, undoubtedly incur discredit by it with their fellows and the general public. it greatly damages a writer's fame to be rightfully accused of want of originality, or of imitation, or of getting materials at second hand. but no one has ever proposed to punish or restrain this sort of misappropriation by law. no one has ever contended for the infliction on the purloiners of other men's ideas of any penalty but ridicule or disgrace." whoever _wrongfully_ accuses an author of plagiarism, then, holds him up _undeservedly_ to "discredit, ridicule, or disgrace," and "slanders his title" to the product of his own brain. this is contrary to the law. yet this is precisely what dr. royce has done in accusing me _falsely_, and as a _"certain" matter of fact_, of borrowing my theory of universals from hegel. his accusation is made with as many sneers and as much insult as could well be compressed into the space:-- "dr. abbot is hopelessly unhistorical in his consciousness. his 'american theory of universals' is so far from being either his own or a product of america that in this book he continually has to use, in expounding it, one of the most characteristic and familiar of hegel's technical terms, namely, 'concrete,' in that sense in which it is applied to the objective and universal 'genus.' dr. abbot's appropriation of hegel's peculiar terminology comes ill indeed from one who talks," _etc._ "this i say not to defend hegel, for whose elaborate theory of universals i hold in no wise a brief, but simply in the cause of literary property-rights. when we plough with another man's heifer, however unconscious we are of our appropriation, however sincerely we seem to remember that we alone raised her from her earliest calfhood, it is yet in vain, after all, that we put our brand on her, or call her 'american.'... now hegel's whole theory may be false; but what is certain is that dr. abbot, who has all his life been working in an atmosphere where hegelian ideas were more or less infectious, has derived his whole theory of universals, so far as he has yet revealed it with any coherency, from hegelian sources, and even now cannot suggest any better terminology than hegel's for an important portion of the doctrine. yet in the volume before us we find all this pretentious speech of an 'american' theory, and discover our author wholly unaware that he is sinning against the most obvious demands of literary property-rights." passing over the self-evident point that whoever is "_unaware_ that he is sinning" cannot be "sinning" at all, since "sinning" consists in _being aware_ of the wrong we do,--and, consequently, that dr. royce comes here as near as he dares to a direct insinuation that my plagiarism is conscious, and not "unconscious,"--let me call your attention to the more important point, that dr. royce affirms my conscious or unconscious theft from hegel as a matter of _"certain" fact_, not merely as a matter of _probable inference_. yet the only evidence he has to offer in support of this "certainty" is ( ) that i use the word "concrete" in the same sense as hegel, and ( ) that i have worked all my life in a hegelian "atmosphere." these two points cover all the grounds of his accusation. permit me very briefly to examine them. ( ) the word "concrete" is not in the least a technical term copyrighted by hegel, nor is it his trademark. it is one of the commonest of words, and free to all. but what sort of a reasoner is he who infers the identity of two whole complex theories from their coincidence in the use of only a single word? even this poor and solitary little premise slips out of dr. royce's clutch, for hegel's use of the word is _contradictory to mine_! hegel has to put upon the word "concrete" a very unusual, strained, and artificial sense, in order to cover up the weakest point of his idealistic system. he explains it, however, frankly, clearly, and unambiguously: "the concept or notion (_begriff_) may be always called 'abstract,' if the term 'concrete' must be limited to the mere concrete of sensation and immediate perception; the notion as such cannot be grasped by the hands, and, when we deal with it, eyes and ears are out of the question. yet, as was said before, the notion is the only true concrete." (_encyklopädie, werke_, vi. .) again: "just as little is the sensuous-concrete of intuition a rational-concrete of the idea." (_ibid., werke_, vi. .) a score of similar passages can easily be cited. that is to say, hegel avowedly excludes from his _idealistic_ theory of universals the "concrete" of sensation, perception, intuition, or _real experience_, and admits into it only the "concrete" of _pure or non-empirical thought_; while i avowedly exclude from my _realistic_ theory of universals the "concrete" of _pure thought_, and admit into it only the "concrete" of _real experience_. hegel's "concrete" cannot be seen, heard, or touched; while to me nothing which cannot be seen, heard, or touched is "concrete" at all. a mere common school education is quite sufficient for comprehension of the contradictoriness of these two uses of the word. yet, in order to found a malicious charge of plagiarism, dr. royce has the hardihood to assure the uninformed general public that hegel and i use the word "concrete" in one and the same sense! ( ) the assertion that i have lived all my life in a hegelian "atmosphere" i can only meet with a short, sharp, and indignant denial. i know of no such "atmosphere" in all america; if it anywhere exists, i certainly never lived, moved, or worked in it. the statement is a gratuitous, impertinent, and _totally false allegation of fact_, wholly outside of my book and its contents, and is used in this connection solely to feather an arrow shot at my reputation; it is a pure invention, a manufactured assertion which is absolutely without foundation, and, when thus artfully thrown out with apparent artlessness (_ars celare artem_) as itself foundation for a false and malicious charge of plagiarism, it becomes fabrication of evidence for the purpose of defamation. the less said about such an offence as that, the better for dr. royce, and i spare him the comment it deserves. now, while it might be "fair criticism" _to infer_ my plagiarism from hegel, if there were only some reasonable or even merely plausible evidence to support the inference (which i have just proved not to be the case), it is incontestable that _to affirm_ this plagiarism, as a "certain" matter of fact, without any reasonable evidence at all, is not that "fair criticism" which the law justly allows, but, on the contrary, a totally unjustifiable libel. in accusing me personally of plagiarism on no reasonable grounds whatever, as i have just unanswerably proved him to have done, and in making the "certainty" of the plagiarism depend upon an allegation of fact wholly independent of the book which he professed to be criticising (namely, the false allegation that i have worked all my life in a hegelian "atmosphere"), dr. royce has beyond all controversy transgressed the legally defined limits of "fair criticism," and become a libeller. but this is by no means all. if the bat-like accusation of an "unconscious", yet "sinning" (or sinful) plagiarism hovers ambiguously between attacking my literary reputation and attacking my moral character, there is no such ambiguity hanging about the accusation of "extravagant pretensions as to the originality and profundity of my still unpublished system of philosophy." a decent modesty, a self-respectful reserve, a manly humility in presence of the unattainable ideal of either moral or intellectual perfection, a speechless reverence in the presence of either infinite goodness or infinite truth,--these are virtues which belong to the very warp and woof of all noble, elevated, and justly estimable character; and wherever their absence is conspicuously shown, there is just ground for moral condemnation and the contempt of mankind. dr. royce has not scrupled to accuse me of making, not only "pretensions," but even "extravagant pretensions," which are absolutely incompatible with the possession of these beautiful and essential virtues, and thereby to hold me up to universal contempt and derision. he has done this, by the very terms of his accusation, absolutely and confessedly _without cause_; for the system of philosophy which is "unpublished" to others is no less "unpublished" to him, and an accusation thus made confessedly without any knowledge of its truth is, on the very face of it, an accusation which is as malicious as it is groundless. to make such a self-proved and self-condemned accusation as this is, i submit, to be guilty of libel with no ordinary degree of culpability. but the libel of which i have greatest cause to complain is not confined to exceptional or isolated expressions. these might charitably be explained as mere momentary ebullitions of pettishness or spleen, and pardonable as merely faults of temper in a criticism which was in the main conscientious and fair. but the libel of which i complain most of all is one that constitutes the entire ground and framework of the article _as a whole_. every part of it is methodically spun and interwoven with every other part, in such a way as to make it one seamless tissue of libel from beginning to end. this i say in full consciousness of the interspersed occasional compliments, since these have only the effect of disguising the libellous intent of the whole from a simple-minded or careless reader, and since they subserve the purpose of furnishing to the writer a plausible and ready-made defence of his libel against a foreseen protest. compliments to eke out a libel are merely insults in masquerade. the libellous plan of the article as a whole is shown in the _regular system_ of gross and studied misrepresentation, of logically connected and nicely dovetailed misstatements of facts, which i exposed at the outset. every intelligent reader of my two books is perfectly aware that they are both devoted to an exposition of the fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between philosophical idealism and scientific realism, and to a defence of the latter against the former, as the only possible method by which a spiritual theism can be intellectually, and therefore successfully, defended in this age of science. only one who has read and digested the two books can fully appreciate the enormity and the unscrupulousness of the initial misrepresentation, slipped in, as it were, quite casually, and without any argument, in the apparently incidental and matter-of-course statement that my "conclusion" is "essentially idealistic." it is _not_ "idealistic" at all, but as radically realistic as the premises themselves; and no professor of philosophy could ever have called it "idealistic" by a mere slip of the tongue or pen. the intelligent origin of this misrepresentation is clearly enough suggested in the use to which it is at once put: namely, to render plausible the otherwise ridiculous charge that my theory of universals was "borrowed" from an idealist. next, the same origin is more than suggested by the use to which these two misrepresentations together are put: namely, to show that any claim of "novelty" for a merely "borrowed" philosophy is a "vast" and "extravagant pretension." lastly, the same origin is inductively and conclusively proved, when these three inter-linked misrepresentations, as a whole, are made the general foundation for a brutal "professional warning" to the public at large against my "philosophical pretensions" in general. not one of these fundamental positions of dr. royce's article is a fact,--least of all, an "admitted fact"; on the contrary, each of them is energetically and indignantly denied. but the libel of which i complain above all is the _regular system_ of gross and studied misrepresentation by which the most essential facts are first misstated and falsified, and then used to the injury of my literary and personal reputation. it may, i trust, be permitted to me here to show clearly what the law is, as applicable to the case in hand, by a few pertinent citations. "the critic must confine himself to criticism, and not make it the veil for personal censure, nor allow himself to run into reckless and unfair attacks, merely from the love of exercising his power of denunciation. criticism and comment on well-known and admitted facts are very different things from the assertion of unsubstantiated facts. a fair and _bona fide_ comment on a matter of public interest is an excuse of what would otherwise be a defamatory publication. the statement of this rule assumes the matters of fact commented on to be somehow ascertained. it does not mean that a man may invent facts, and comment on the facts so invented in what would be a fair and _bona fide_ manner, on the supposition that the facts were true. if the facts as a comment upon which the publication is sought to be excused do not exist, the foundation fails.... the distinction cannot be too clearly borne in mind between comment or criticism and allegations of fact.... to state matters which are libellous is not comment or criticism." (_newell on defamation, slander, and libel_, p. .) applying this to the case in hand: the "admitted facts" are these: ( ) my philosophy is realistic from beginning to end; ( ) i have not worked all my life, nor any part of my life, in a hegelian "atmosphere"; ( ) i did not borrow my theory of universals from hegel; ( ) i have made no vast or extravagant pretensions whatever as to my own philosophy. but dr. royce invents and states the exact opposite of all these facts, and then bases on these purely invented facts most undeserved "personal censure" and most "reckless and unfair attacks." therefore, his article is a libel in its whole groundwork and essential spirit. "if a person, under pretence of criticising a literary work, defames the private character of the author, and, instead of writing in the spirit and for the purpose of fair and candid discussion, travels into collateral matter, and introduces facts not stated in the work, accompanied with injurious comment upon them, such person is a libeller, and liable to an action." (_broom's legal maxims_, p. .) applying this to the case in hand: dr. royce "defames" my "private character," when he accuses me of "frequently" indulging in "extravagant pretensions"; he "travels into collateral matter," when he alludes at all to my unpublished manuscript; he "introduces facts not stated in the work, accompanied with injurious comment upon them," when he alludes to this unpublished manuscript for the sole purpose of saying (untruthfully) that i "frequently make, of late, extravagant pretensions as to its originality and profundity," and again when he says that i have worked all my life in a hegelian "atmosphere," for the sole purpose of founding upon this false statement a false charge of plagiarism. in the "griffith gaunt" case, judge clerke said in his charge to the jury: "the interests of literature and science require that the productions of authors shall be subject to fair criticism,--that even some animadversion may be permitted, unless it appears that the critic, under the pretext of reviewing his book, takes an opportunity of attacking the character of the author, and of holding him up as an object of ridicule, hatred, or contempt. in other words, the critic may say what he pleases of the literary merits or demerits of the published production of an author; but, with respect to his personal rights relating to his reputation, the critic has no more privilege than any other person not assuming the business of criticism." (_abbott's practice reports_, new series, vi. .) applying this to the case in hand: dr. royce, "under the pretext of reviewing" my "book, takes an opportunity of attacking the author, and of holding him up as an object of ridicule and contempt," if ridicule and contempt are the deservedly universal punishment of the plagiarist and the braggart. to so unprecedented a length has he carried this attack, as deliberately and formally, in the name of his "profession," and therefore, by necessary implication, in the name of harvard university itself, to "warn the liberal-minded public" against me, _precisely as one warns the general public against an impostor soliciting alms under false pretences_! this is a flagrant violation of my "personal rights relating to my reputation"; and, therefore, according to the above judicial ruling of an american court, dr. royce is guilty of wanton and unprovoked libel against one who never injured him in the slightest degree. in the case of strauss _versus_ francis, chief justice cockburn said: "the question is as to the article as a whole.... the verdict must be upon the article as a whole, and whether, as a whole, it is to be deemed malicious and libellous." (_foster and finlason's reports_, iv. .) applying this to the case in hand: dr. royce's ostensible review presents its darkest, most odious, and most libellous aspect to him who most thoroughly, penetratingly, and comprehensively studies out the inner structure of its argument _as a whole_, and who most intelligently compares it with the book which it falsely professes to criticise fairly. allow me to quote here a passage from page of "the way out of agnosticism" in order simply to show you how uncompromisingly this passage, which sums up the entire results of the first half of the book and luminously forecasts the entire conclusion of the whole, plants my system on the side of realism:-- "the scientific, modern, or american theory of universals, which results necessarily from analysis of the scientific method, is scientific realism, as opposed to philosophical idealism; and it determines the subdivision of scientific philosophy into its three great departments, the theories of being, of knowing, and of doing. the scientific theory of being results from analysis of the genus-in-itself, and constitutes ontology or constructive realism, as opposed to all forms of constructive idealism. the scientific theory of knowledge results from analysis of the concept, and constitutes psychology or critical realism, as opposed to all forms of transcendental or critical idealism. the scientific theory of conduct results from analysis of the word, and constitutes anthroponomy (including ethics, politics, and art in its widest sense), sociology, or ethical realism, as opposed to all forms of ethical idealism. the scientific theory of the universe, as the absolute union of being, knowing, and doing in the one and all, results from comprehension of these three theories in complete organic unity, and constitutes organic philosophy, scientific theology, or religious realism, as opposed to all forms of religious idealism." i submit this long extract to you, gentlemen, not to bore you with metaphysical speculations, but simply to enable you, as educated men who understand the meaning of plain and straightforward english on any subject, to follow the twistings and turnings of an extraordinarily sinuous and disingenuous intellect, and intelligently to decide a question which needs here to be settled clearly in your own minds: could any competent professor of philosophy, undertaking to give, as a fair critic, a truthful account to the public of the contents of my book, read that passage, and then, omitting all reference to the contrast there and everywhere made between realism and idealism, honestly tell that public, without any further information at all on the subject, that the "conclusion" of my philosophy is "essentially idealistic"? yet that is the conscienceless misrepresentation with which dr. royce prepares the way for all that is to follow, deceives the reader at the very outset, predisposes him to believe the preposterous charge that i "appropriated" my main theory from the great idealist hegel, arouses his indignation or mirth, as the case may be, at my alleged strutting about in borrowed plumes, and so leads him at last to applaud the righteous castigation of the "professional warning," by which the peacock-feathers are made to fly in all directions and i myself am scourged back among my brother-jackdaws, the impostors, charlatans, and quacks of myriad kinds. this is the purport and the spirit of dr. royce's ostensible review, "_as a whole_." is it the "fair criticism" which the law allows? or is it the "libel" which the law condemns? is it the fair and critical judgment which your silence shall sanction, as harvard's official verdict on my work? or is it the libellous and vulgar abuse which your speech shall rebuke, as shaming harvard more than me by bringing the ethics and manners of the literary bedouin into the professor's chair? v. but, gentlemen, the gravest aspect of dr. royce's ostensible review remains still to be considered. is libel--vulgar, violent, and brutal libel--the means by which harvard university, represented by one of her professors of philosophy who openly claims to address the general public in the name of his office and of her, proposes to realize the lofty ideal of her president, and make herself the "philosophical pioneer" for each new generation in the pursuit of truth? is this the welcome which she accords to serious, dignified, and not unscholarly works, giving the results, however partially and imperfectly wrought out, of patient and independent reflection for more than thirty years on the highest problems of human life and thought? is this the best sympathy and encouragement she has to offer to her own sons when they take up in earnest the task of helping her to realize her own ideal? is this the attitude in which she confronts the great questions of the age, and the spirit which she aims to foster in her young men? i do not believe it; but you alone, gentlemen, can give the authoritative answer to such queries. when civil service reformers plead the urgent necessity of political reform, they are irrelevantly charged by the adherents of the spoils system with being "hypocrites and pharisees." precisely so, when i plead the urgent necessity of philosophical reform, i am irrelevantly charged by dr. royce, in effect, with being a false pretender, a plagiarist, and an impostor. the charge is just as true in one case as in the other. but, be the charge true or untrue, the attention of keen and candid minds is not to be diverted by this perfectly transparent device from the main point of reform. what is this needed philosophical reform? briefly, _to substitute the scientific method for the idealistic method in philosophy_, as the only possible means, in this critical and sceptical age, of making ethics and religion so reasonable as to command the continued allegiance of reasonable minds. unphilosophized science conceives the universe as nothing but a machine-world; and in this conception there is no room for any ethical ideal. unscientific philosophy conceives the universe as nothing but a thought-world; and in this conception there is no room for any mechanical real. on the possibility of developing a scientific philosophy out of the scientific method itself must depend at last the only possibility, for reasonable men, of believing equally in the real principles of mechanical science and in the ideal principles of ethical science. to-day the greatest obstacle to such a reasonable belief is the "philosophical idealism" which directly contradicts it; and the greatest reform needed in modern thought, above all in the theory of ethics, is the substitution of the scientific method for the idealistic method in philosophy itself. the cause of philosophical reform, indeed, cannot be long delayed by any philistinism in those who, by their professional position, ought to be its most ardent friends. the method of science is destined to revolutionize philosophy--to modernize it by founding it anew upon a thoroughly realistic and scientific theory of universals. the net result of all the physical sciences thus far, the one fixed result to which all their other results steadily point with increasingly evident convergence, is that _the already known constitution of the real universe is that of the machine_. this universal fixed result, and not mere individual self-consciousness, is the necessary and only beginning-point of a constructive philosophy of nature; for, where the special sciences end, there universal philosophy must begin. it is the task of philosophy to-day to show that the unquestionably mechanical constitution of the universe, instead of being the ultimate boundary of scientific investigation, is merely the starting-point in a new series of investigations, no less scientific than those of physical science, but far more profound; and to show that the mechanical constitution itself, when deeply studied and comprehended, necessarily involves the organic and the personal constitutions. in this way, and i believe in no other way, can it be proved to the satisfaction of the modern intelligence that the mechanical real itself, at bottom, includes the ethical ideal--that the moral law, the divine ideal itself, is the innermost fact of nature. i have made, and make now, not the slightest personal "pretension"; but, finding in all my reading no outline of any such argument as this, and believing it to be fruitful of the very noblest results, i have done my best to point out its possibilities to other earnest searchers after truth. not until this new field has been faithfully examined and explored and proved to be sterile, shall i cease to recommend it to the attention of all who would fain _see reason_ to believe that the ethical ideal is no unreality, but rather the innermost reality of the real universe itself. i speak only to those who have souls to hear and to respond; let the rest listen to dr. royce, and be dupes of his "professional warning." but the cause of philosophical reform will not be stayed by him or by them: the world's heart is hungry for higher truth than idealism can discover, and will be grateful in the end to any philosophy which shall show what mighty moral conviction, what unspeakable spiritual invigoration, must needs grow out of comprehension of the despised real. these thoughts are not remote abstractions, up in the air, out of reach, of no practical value or application; they touch the very life and soul of harvard university. for want of such thoughts, many of the brightest and most intellectual of her students, graduates from the philosophical courses, go out year after year disbelieving totally in the possibility of arriving at any fundamental "truth" whatever, even in ethics. several years ago, the then president of the harvard "philosophical club" said in my hearing that he "saw no ground of moral obligation anywhere in the universe"; and this declaration was apparently assented to by every one of the fifteen or twenty members present. this very last summer, a recent graduate told me that he left college bewildered, depressed, and "disheartened," because he saw nowhere any ground of rational "conviction" about anything; and that it was "just the same with all the other fellows"--that is, all his companions in the study of philosophy. it is time, high time, that this state of things should be searchingly investigated in the interest of harvard university itself, the facts determined, their causes ascertained. while such a state of things prevails, harvard conspicuously fails to be a "philosophical pioneer" except in a distinctly retrograde direction--conspicuously fails to discharge the highest service which she owes to the world: namely, to send out her young graduates well armed beforehand for the battle of life with clear, strong, and lofty _moral convictions_. whatever other causes may exist for the failure, one cause at least is certain--the self-proved and amazing inability of one of her professors of philosophy to give an honest or intelligent reception to a thoughtful, closely reasoned, and earnest plea for philosophical reform in this very direction, or to criticise it with anything better than irrelevant and unparliamentary personalities, studied and systematic misrepresentation both of the plea and of the pleader, and a demoralizing example of libel, so bitter and so extreme as to furnish abundant ground for prosecution. vi. here, gentlemen, you may very properly inquire: "why do you not, then, prosecute dr. royce in the courts, instead of bringing the case before us?" briefly, because i have not yet exhausted those milder means of obtaining redress which it befits a peaceable and non-litigious citizen to employ before resorting to legal measures. you would have had just cause to complain of me, if i had precipitately prosecuted one of your professors for a "professional" attack without giving you previously an opportunity to discipline him in your own way, and in dignified recognition of your own ultimate responsibility. a prosecution may not, i trust will not, prove necessary; for i have neither malice nor vindictiveness to gratify, but only a resolute purpose to defend my reputation effectually against a malicious libel, and not to permit the libeller to set up a plausible claim that, by silence and passive submission, i "tacitly confess the justice of an official condemnation by harvard university of my 'philosophical pretensions.'" except for that one phrase, "professional warning," in dr. royce's attack, this appeal would never have been written, or the least notice taken of his intrinsically puerile "criticisms." when mr. herbert spencer, whom i have more than once publicly criticised, can yet magnanimously write to me of this very book, "i do not see any probability that it will change my beliefs, yet i rejoice that the subject should be so well discussed,"--and mr. william ewart gladstone, "i am very conscious of the force with which you handle the subject,"--and ex-president noah porter, "i thank you very sincerely for sending me a copy of your last book; i had already read it nearly twice, and found much in it very admirable and timely,"--i could very well afford to pass over dr. royce's ineffectual "criticisms" with indifference. but when he insinuates to the uninformed public that these same "criticisms" have the weighty sanction of harvard university, it is quite another matter. that calls upon me to defend myself against so atrocious a calumny. but even self-defence has its proprieties, and to these i scrupulously submit. the first step was to send a reply to the periodical which published the attack. this was sent. at first, dr. royce effusively agreed to its publication, and wrote a rejoinder to be published simultaneously with it. later, in alarm, he procured its rejection, and, through legal counsel, served a formal notice upon me not to publish or to circulate it at all. the second step was to demand from dr. royce a specific retraction and apology; this he contemptuously refused. the third step was to appeal from the recalcitrant employee to the responsible employer, and to lay the case respectfully before the supreme representatives of harvard university itself. this i now do, and it is entirely unnecessary to look any farther. but, in order to lay the case before you fully, it is incumbent upon me to state the details of these proceedings with some minuteness, and i now proceed to unfold the extraordinary tale. vii. dr. royce wound up his ostensible review with these words of bravado and of challenge: "_we must show no mercy,--as we ask none._" this fierce flourish of trumpets i understood to be, at least, a fearless public pledge of a fair hearing in the "journal of ethics" of which he was one of the editors. moreover, i conceived that a magazine expressly devoted to ethics would be ashamed not to practise the ethics which it preached--ashamed not to grant to the accused a freedom scrupulously made equal to that which it had already granted to the accuser. lastly, i was averse to litigation, and desired to use no coarser weapon, even against a calumniator and libeller, than the sharp edge of reason itself. accordingly, i sought redress in the first instance from the "international journal of ethics." on january , i mailed to mr. s. burns weston, the office editor, an article in reply to dr. royce's ostensible review, together with a letter in which i wrote: "i do not at all complain of your publishing dr. royce's original article, although it was a most malicious and slanderous one, and undertook (not to put too fine a point upon it) to post me publicly as a quack. if you do not deny my indefeasible right to be heard in self-defence in the same columns, i shall feel that i have no cause whatever to regard you or your committee as a party to the outrage, and shall entertain no feelings towards you or towards them other than such as are perfectly friendly. let even slander and malice be heard, if truth shall be as free to reply." pressing engagements had prevented me from writing the article in season for the january number of the "journal of ethics," but it was in ample season for the april number. i sent it at last because i had full confidence in the soundness of what thomas jefferson said so well: "truth and reason can maintain themselves without the aid of coercion, if left free to defend themselves. but then they must defend themselves. eternal lies and sophisms on one side, and silence on the other, are too unequal." the "international journal of ethics" is under the control of an "editorial committee" of eight, dr. felix adler at the head and dr. royce at the end; the other six members live in europe and have no share in the home management. mr. weston is not a member of the committee, has little editorial authority, and, in case of disagreement between the two american members, would, as he himself expressly and frankly informed me in answer to a direct question, obey implicitly the directions of dr. adler. to dr. adler, therefore, belongs the general and ultimate editorial responsibility, whether legal or moral, since, according to mr. western's just quoted declaration, dr. adler alone has actual power either to procure or to prevent publication; while to dr. royce is assigned merely the special department of "theoretical ethics." hence dr. adler and dr. royce were jointly responsible for the original libel, the latter for writing it, the former for publishing it; but dr. adler alone was editorially responsible for publishing or refusing to publish my reply to it. it was to dr. adler alone, as responsible editor-in-chief of the "journal of ethics," that i looked for publication of my defence, as the best possible reparation for the wrong done in publishing the libellous attack; and i looked to him with confidence for this partial and inadequate reparation, believing that, as head of the "ethical culture movement," he would be anxious to conduct the "journal of ethics" in accordance with the highest principles of justice, honor, and fair play. to my astonishment and indignation, however, my manuscript, instead of being considered and finally passed upon by dr. adler, was forwarded by him or by his direction to dr. royce! the latter, getting wind of it, had "insisted" that it belonged to his department of "theoretical ethics," and "claimed the right" to _edit it with a rejoinder in the same issue_. nothing could be conceived more unfair or more absurd. a libel had been published by dr. adler, and dr. adler sent the defence against this libel to be edited by the libeller himself! protest was in vain. dr adler denied his own moral responsibility, washed his hands of the whole affair, and even refused to enlighten himself as to his own duty (notwithstanding my urgent request that he should do so) by taking counsel of some wise and able lawyer of his own acquaintance. instead of doing this, he affected to consider my self-defence against a libel as merely a reply to an ordinary "book-criticism," made a few inquiries as to the "usual practice of journals" with reference to book-criticisms alone, turned my article over to dr. royce as one on "theoretical ethics," and permitted him to attach to it a rejoinder which reiterated the original libel with additions and improvements, but in which he took pains to say of my reply: "i may add that even now it does not occur to me to feel personally wounded, nor yet uneasy at dr. abbot's present warmth." these words have a peculiar interest with reference to his later legal notice against all publication or circulation of this very reply: his assumed or genuine pachydermatousness soon gave way to fearful apprehension of its effect upon the public mind. in no sense whatever was my reply an article on "theoretical ethics." to what part of the "theory of ethics" belongs dr. royce's false personal accusation of "extravagant pretensions"? to what part of the "theory of ethics" belongs dr. royce's false personal accusation of "sinning against the most obvious demands of literary property-rights"? to what part of the "theory of ethics" belongs dr. royce's "professional warning" against pretensions which were never made? his false accusations and their false grounds were the main theme of my article, and they had nothing to do with "theoretical ethics," dr adler and dr. royce to the contrary notwithstanding. dr. royce had no shadow of right to set up so preposterous a claim, and dr. adler had no shadow of right to yield to it, as he weakly did, thereby violating his own undeniable obligation, as editor-in-chief, to do his utmost to repair the wrong which he himself had done in publishing a libel. my article was avowedly nothing but a defence against this libel, and, as such, was necessarily addressed to the responsible editor of the "journal of ethics," not to the sub-editor of one of its special departments--most assuredly not to the libeller himself. the only fair and just course was to publish this defence alone by itself, precisely as the libel had been published alone by itself, and afterwards to allow dr. royce to follow it, if he pleased, with a rejoinder in the succeeding number. i made not the slightest objection to one rejoinder or a dozen rejoinders from him, provided the responsible editor held the balance true, accorded as fair a hearing to the accused as he had accorded to the accuser, and granted to each in turn an opportunity to plead his cause without interruption by the other. i asked no more than what dr. royce had already received--an opportunity to enjoy the undivided and undistracted attention of the audience for a limited time. he had had the ear of the public for six months. could i not have it for three? but i regret to say that considerations of equal justice seemed to have no weight whatever with dr. adler. dr. royce, despite his public pledge, was "asking for mercy," after all, and got from dr. adler all he asked for; i asked dr. adler for equity alone, and could not get even that. the sole concession made was that i might follow dr. royce's rejoinder with a second reply in the same number, thus closing the case with a last word for the defence. to this last proposal, in order not to refuse a meagre measure of justice, i consented under protest. but the proof-sheets of dr. royce's rejoinder, to which i was to reply, did not reach me till march , and were accompanied with a notice from the "journal of ethics" that my reply must be mailed "within ten hours after receiving royce's proof." this notice i answered as follows:-- "the proof of royce's rejoinder, with your notes of the th and th, arrived this morning at a.m. as i have had to be at my teaching till p.m., it was obviously impossible to mail a reply by p.m. hence i telegraphed to you at once: '_i protest against the gross injustice of postponing my article, or of publishing this new attack without the last word you promised me. it is impossible to write this now_ [_i. e._, within the ten hours stipulated]. _if you have any love of justice, publish my article now, and postpone the rejoinders to next issue._' nothing stands in the way of this, the only fair course, except royce's insistence on his right to deprive me of the equality of treatment which i supposed he himself guaranteed in his--'as we ask none.' to hold back my reply to his libel for three months longer, merely because he is afraid to let it go forth without an attempt to break its force in the same number, would be disgracefully unjust in him and in the 'journal.' his rejoinder is simply a fresh libel; there is nothing in it to which i cannot easily and effectually reply. but what _right_ is there in refusing to me the opportunity of answering one libel at a time? or in compelling me to be silent nine months [from october to july], in order to save him from being silent three months [from april to july]? it will be a bitter comment on the sincerity of the 'ethical culture movement' to make so unethical a judgment in so grave a case as this." but the april number of the "journal of ethics," nevertheless, was published without my article. the latter was all in type, and the proof-sheets had been corrected; nothing prevented its publication in april except ( ) dr. royce's insistence that my reply to his first libel should _not be published at all without his second libel_, and ( ) dr. adler's weak submission to this unjust and pusillanimous demand of his associate. the whole matter was thus most inequitably postponed to the july number, primarily at dr. royce's instigation. but i now found that i was to be refused the freedom necessary to self-defence against the second libel--the same freedom already yielded in replying to the first. now to answer a libel effectively requires the freedom, not of the parliament, but of the courts. a mere literary discussion admits of parliamentary freedom alone, and properly excludes all reflections upon personal character. but dr. royce had most unparliamentarily turned his ostensible review into a libel, and, contrary to all canons of literary discussion, had indulged himself in reflections upon my personal character as malicious as they were false. now the only possible disproof of a libel is the proof that it _is_ a libel,--that it is either untruthful, or malicious, or both; and, since a libel is both a civil injury and a criminal offence, the proof of its libellous character cannot be established without reflecting upon the personal character of the libeller. hence dr. royce himself, by writing a libel, had self-evidently raised the question of his own personal character, and bound himself beforehand, by his own act, to submit with what grace he could to the necessary consequences of that act; and to seek to shield himself from these consequences, which he should have foreseen clearly and nerved himself to bear bravely, was only to incur the ridicule invited by a timorous man who first strikes another and then runs away. dr. adler, moreover, as the responsible editor of the "journal of ethics," had laid himself, by publishing dr. royce's libel, under the clear moral obligation of according to the accused the same freedom of the courts which he had already accorded to the accuser; and to seek to escape this moral obligation was to incur the censure invited by any one who assumes the editorial function without properly informing himself of the duties which it imposes with reference to third parties. both the one and the other had estopped themselves from denying to the accused in self-defence the same freedom of the courts which they had granted to themselves as accusers in attack. notwithstanding these plain facts, dr. royce and dr. adler united in denying to me the necessary freedom of self-defence against the attack which they had united in making. at first, dr. royce undertook to dictate to me beforehand the nature of my reply to his rejoinder, and sought to restrict it to the parliamentary freedom of a purely literary discussion. ignoring the fact that he had himself rendered a purely literary discussion impossible by his own reflections upon personal character, he endeavored now to restrict my defence to a purely literary discussion of what, with amusing deficiency in the sense of humor, he considered to be his "criticisms"; whereas these pointless and ignorant criticisms had no importance whatever except as leading up to his "professional warning." the only object of a reply to his rejoinder was to expose its true character as a second libel, and thereby make plain to the dullest mind the outrage of his "professional warning." evidently fearing this, and being anxious to prevent the exposure, he sent to me through mr. weston, who called upon me for the purpose on april , the following unspeakable document, apparently without a suspicion that it pricked the bubble of his previous iridescent pledge to "ask no mercy":-- memorandum of apr. , . . dr. abbot's article must be in mr. weston's hands in ms. by june , for issue in the july no., if possible. . this article must not exceed, in actual number of words, prof. royce's last rejoinder. . prof. royce is not to reply to the above article of dr. abbot before or simultaneously with its publication in the "journal of ethics"; and the controversy is thus to be closed in the "journal" by dr. abbot. . dr. abbot's article is to be strictly a rejoinder, is not to raise essentially new issues, is not to assault any further his opponent's personal character, is to be parliamentary in form, and free from personally abusive language. otherwise it is perfectly free as to plainness of speech. . prof. royce is to see this article at once, and before it goes to the printer. . should prof. royce, after seeing the paper, object to the article as "_not in conformity with the conditions of no. _ (_above_)," then, but only then, the article is to be submitted, before publication, to the judgment of some impartial friend or friends of both the disputants, such friend or friends to be chosen as promptly as possible, and by agreement, and to arbitrate the question, "_whether dr. abbot's final rejoinder is in conformity with the conditions of this present memorandum?_" the arbitrator or arbitrators may be any person or persons agreable [_sic_] to the wishes of both the disputants, as determined in case the mentioned objection of prof. royce should be made, but not otherwise. . should prof. royce _not_ object to the article, or should he not formally object _on the grounds mentioned_, then the article of dr. abbot is to close the controversy in the "journal of ethics." . should dr. abbot _not_ accept the conditions of the present memorandum, he is at liberty to withdraw his paper, or else to let both the papers now in type appear as they are, at his pleasure. [signed] j. r. it is difficult to conceive the state of mind in which so extraordinary a document as this could have originated. my answer to dr. royce's officious interference was a short and dry rejection _in toto_. dr. royce was not the responsible editor of the "journal of ethics," and had no power to dictate any conditions of publication whatever. that a libeller should actually presume to dictate to the libelled the terms of his defence, to demand that this defence should be submitted to himself in advance of publication for approval or disapproval, and, in case of disapproval, to invoke a board of referees for the sole purpose of enforcing his own arbitrary and preposterous "conditions,"--this was too exquisitely absurd. but there was method in the madness. the central aim of the "memorandum" is clear on its face: namely, _to refuse the forensic freedom necessary to self-defence against a libel, and to concede only the parliamentary freedom proper to a purely literary discussion_. since, however, the only object of my writing at all was to expose his rejoinder as a second libel, and since the central aim of the "memorandum" was to defeat this very object, nothing could be plainer than this: that dr. royce, having been guilty of two unprovoked and malicious libels, now sought to prevent the exposure of his guilt by suppressing the necessary freedom of self-defence. for, i repeat, the only possible defence against a libel is to prove that it _is_ a libel, and this cannot be done without reflecting upon the "personal character" of the libeller. it was no fault of mine that he had himself rendered a "parliamentary" discussion impossible; it was no fault of mine that he had made his own "personal character" the real point at issue; it was no fault of mine that he now betrayed his secret alarm, uttered a cry for "mercy," and convicted himself out of his own mouth, in his extraordinary and indescribable "memorandum." that "memorandum" tells the whole story. on the failure of dr. royce's very injudicious attempt at dictation, dr. adler found himself compelled to assume the editorial power and responsibility, which he ought to have assumed and exercised in the first instance by refusing publication to dr. royce's original libel. but, yielding to dr. royce's influence, he took the same position, and still tried to shield the libeller from the just and lawful consequences of his libel. no principle is more firmly established in the public conscience, as interpreted by the common law, than that the fact of an attack by a involves the right of self-defence by b. whoever, therefore, has permitted an attack which he might have prevented is bound to permit the self-defence, also; and dr. adler, having granted to dr. royce the freedom of libelling me, was bound to grant to me the equal freedom of defending myself against the libel. but this equal freedom dr. adler denied. after some fruitless correspondence, i wrote to him on may as follows: "i require the freedom, not of 'parliament,' but of the courts--freedom to present my 'facts,' and no less to draw my 'inferences'--freedom to array my evidence, and no less to make my pleading. by publishing his new libel, you estop yourself from denying me this freedom. if you do deny it, i withdraw altogether and seek justice and redress elsewhere. i ask only what is self-evidently fair: ( ) equal space with dr. royce, ( ) equal freedom with dr. royce, ( ) no further rejoinders by dr. royce, and ( ) no editorial mention of the matter at all from the 'journal' itself." to this letter dr. adler merely telegraphed his final reply on may in these brief terms: "regret your insistence on freedom of courts--parliamentary freedom open to you." this ended the matter, so far as the "journal of ethics" was concerned, in dr. adler's explicit denial of a full and fair hearing in its columns to a party calumniated and libelled by one of his own contributors and a member of his own "editorial committee." negotiations, it is true, for the publication of my reply in the july number were a little later re-opened by dr. adler, on receiving advice from a legal friend of his own that to publish it would be his wisest course; but he himself broke them off on a trivial pretext, after receiving contrary advice from dr. royce's counsel, together with a copy of the legal protest sent to me personally. thus dr. royce himself, recalling his original consent, procured the final rejection by the "journal of ethics" of my reply to his own attack. on june , i was notified that the july number had been made up without it. but already, on june , i had received from mr. j. b. warner, acting as dr. royce's counsel, this formal protest against any other use whatever of my reply: "on dr. royce's behalf, i must warn you that he protests against the publication or any circulation of it, in its present shape, and must point out to you that it may, if circulated, entail a serious legal responsibility." to this strangely impolitic and utterly futile attempt to intimidate me in the defence of my own reputation, i chose to offer not the slightest resistance. the protest only facilitated that defence. how could a libeller more conspicuously put himself in the wrong, or more effectually ruin his own evil cause in all eyes, than by _trying to gag the man he had injured_? first, to prevent publication in the "journal of ethics" of the very reply he had publicly and defiantly challenged, and then to suppress all circulation of a few privately printed copies of it by means of legal threats: if dr. royce could afford to commit such blunders, why should i shield him from himself? "whom the gods destroy, they first make mad." before proceeding to any more energetic measures, however, in order to vindicate my reputation, i was anxious to offer to dr. royce an opportunity of doing me justice in a manner which should be consistent with full vindication, yet should involve the least possible publicity and the least possible mortification to himself. accordingly, on june , i wrote to mr. warner thus: "i beg leave to enclose a card, which, if returned to me within a week from to-day, unchanged, dated, and signed by dr. royce, and if actually published in the october number of the 'journal,' will render unnecessary further measures of self-vindication as now contemplated. i send this because you assured me that dr. royce disclaims all malice in the publication of the original article i complain of, and because i am willing to test the sincerity of his disclaimer before resorting to other measures for my self-protection. i expect you, who came to me in the character of a pacificator, and who expressed a creditable desire, in which i fully join, for the settlement of this trouble in some way which shall occasion no scandal to harvard college, to exert your utmost influence with dr. royce to persuade him to perform this act of manifest justice to me. a frank retraction and apology, when unjust charges have been made as now, is not dishonorable and ought not to be humiliating; and i shall consider dr. royce's action in this matter as showing the sincerity or insincerity of his disclaimer of all malice in his original article." the enclosed paper above mentioned was this:-- a card. cambridge, june --, . i. i admit that i have no knowledge whatever of any "extravagant pretensions" made by dr. abbot "as to the originality and profundity of his still unpublished system of philosophy." ii. i admit that dr. abbot did not, consciously or unconsciously, "borrow his theory of universals from hegel," or "sin against the most obvious demands of literary property-rights." iii. i unconditionally retract my "professional warning to the liberal-minded public against dr. abbot's philosophical pretensions," acknowledge that it was groundless and unjustifiable, and apologize to dr. abbot for having published it in the "international journal of ethics." iv. i authorize the publication of this retraction and apology in the next number of the "international journal of ethics" without note or comment. in his answer of june , mr. warner informed me that dr. royce had gone to denver, and wrote: "as for the card which you propose, i will leave dr. royce to make his own answer after he has seen it. i will say, however, for my own part, that, while he has always been ready to disclaim any desire to injure you personally, i think that his opinions concerning your philosophical system and its origin are unchanged, and he is not likely to retract them. i must say, too, that you have put your card in a form in which you could not have expected dr. royce to sign it, and i do not regard it as any step, on your part, toward a pacific settlement, nor think your demand a reasonable one to make of a self-respecting man." the next day, june , i wrote to mr. warner: "i ought distinctly to deny that my rejected article is 'a libellous paper.' its statements are true; its motive is not malice, but a self-evident purpose to defend myself against dr. royce's libel; and, even if it should be concluded to come under any legal definition of 'libel,' i maintain that it is self-evidently a 'justifiable libel.' if i pay any heed to your notice, it is merely because your notice strengthens my case.--you do not mention when dr. royce will return from denver; but, because my purpose in enclosing to you that card is in good faith a pacific one, i will wait a reasonable time for his return beyond the date i mentioned. you will not judge the character of that card accurately, and you cannot give sound or salutary advice to your client, if you ignore the libellous character of his original article. i do not see how 'a self-respecting man' could ever have written such a paper; but, if he did it inadvertently and not maliciously, he would certainly do one of two things: ( ) either submit courageously, unflinchingly, and without legal protest, to the reply it challenged and evoked, or ( ) manfully retract charges demonstrated, as these have been, to be false. have you really a different idea of 'self-respect'? certainly not, for you are an honorable gentleman. be this as it may, i warn you not to persist in considering that card as other than a pacific step on my part, if you desire to counsel your client to his own good, or to prove yourself a real friend to harvard college. i say this in good faith." to this, on july , mr. warner replied: "dr. royce has returned, and i have submitted to him the card which you have prepared. as i anticipated, dr. royce says that he cannot sign it, nor can i advise him to do so. it goes far beyond any disavowal of malice or personal hostility, and it amounts to a retraction of the opinions which he actually holds about your philosophical system, and that retraction you surely cannot expect him to make. dr. royce has again expressed to me his regret that the form of his article should have wounded you, and he is entirely ready to disavow any intention of wounding you." on july , i wrote in answer: "most certainly i do not expect, or wish, that dr. royce should disavow any philosophical 'opinions' he may hold. what i complain of is a _misstatement of fact_, demonstrated to be such, which i believe to have had its origin in a spirit of malicious detraction, and to be now persevered in from no other cause. in my reply to his article, which he himself challenged and then pusillanimously suppressed, he has had abundant means of information. if he now refuses to correct a misstatement which grossly injures me, after he has been informed of the truth, the refusal admits of but one interpretation, and throws a satirical light on the merely private 'regret' he professes. inasmuch, however, as you have objected (quite unnecessarily, as i think) to the 'form' of the card i sent you, and inasmuch as i intend to leave no room for doubt as to dr. royce's real animus in this affair, i propose now that he send me such a retraction and apology as you yourself shall deem adequate, fitting, and due. in your letter of june , you admitted that dr. royce had 'transgressed the limits of courteous discussion' and that you 'do not defend in all respects the tone of the review.' it is plain enough that you, dr. royce's own counsel, perceive at least something improper, something that ought to be retracted and apologized for. you are, then, i submit, bound to do what you can to right the wrong, which is not at all done by dr. royce's profuse, _but private_, disclaimers. he professes to bear no malice. very well, then: let him make reparation for the wrong he has committed. he owes it to himself, if he considers himself a gentleman, certainly to his position in harvard college, to send me some paper, specifying what he himself regrets in his own article, with authority to publish this paper in the 'journal of ethics.' the card i sent sufficiently indicates what i think is due to me; if dr. royce, in other language, covers the same ground, it will be accepted as satisfactory. that is the very least that a gentleman would do under the circumstances. you cannot object to this proposal on account of its 'form'; if either you or he objects to it at all, it must be on account of its substance. certainly you cannot affect to consider it as other than 'pacific.' i shall await your answer to it as to the only 'pacific step on my part' which remains possible to me." in reply to this letter, on july , mr. warner wrote: "i forwarded your letter of july to dr. royce, and he has written a reply to me which i think it best to enclose as he wrote it." in this enclosed letter, dated july , dr. royce first re-affirmed, in substance, the truth of his false and ridiculous accusation of plagiarism from hegel, and then wrote as follows: "now as to my feeling concerning what was regrettable in my article. i repeat once more--regrettable, in my eyes, was the manner of the article in so far as it actually gave unnecessary pain to dr. abbot. and i regard any pain as unnecessary that may have been due, _not_ to my objectively justified opinion of dr. abbot's work (an opinion which i cannot alter in the least), but to any severity of expression that may not have been absolutely needful to give form to this opinion itself. dr. abbot's reply has shown him to be not merely alive to the strong difference of opinion that separates us, but personally offended by an attack that was intended to be indeed severe, but directed wholly to matters of professional, but not of personal concern. this attitude of dr. abbot's i regret, and, in so far as i am to blame for it, i am willing to express my regret publicly." this letter of dr. royce is, in effect, a deliberate and unqualified re-affirmation of every fact as alleged, and every inference as drawn, in his original libel--a deliberate and contemptuous re-affirmation of the whole system of elaborate misrepresentation which constitutes it one tissue of libel from beginning to end. nothing whatever in the substance of his article is retracted or regretted; nothing is "regrettable" even in its form, except vaguely, hypothetically, and conditionally; the only thing dr. royce "regrets," as a fact, is that his "objectively justified" and "intentionally severe attack" should have given needless "personal offence" and "unnecessary pain" to its object! this deliberate and contemptuous refusal to recall, to modify, or to apologize for any of the false accusations he has made against me is, i submit, demonstration of the malice which originally prompted them, and now moves him to maintain them; nothing further is needed to make their malicious character perfectly plain, and to prove the insincerity of his disclaimers of malice. but dr. royce seriously mistakes the nature of the effect produced by his "attack," when he affects to consider it as the quite needless excitation of excessive sensitiveness. if a gentleman in a crowd discovers his nearest neighbor engaged in filching his pocket-book, and at once hands the culprit over to the police, it would hardly be graphic to describe his frame of mind as needless "personal offence" or "unnecessary pain"; and the expressions are no more graphic as to my own frame of mind, when i discover dr. royce endeavoring to filch from me my reputation in the name of harvard university. it is not always safe to reckon on the absence, in parties confessedly "attacked," of all capacity for _moral indignation_, or all capacity for moral self-defence. in reply to mr. warner, august , i wrote as follows: "permit me further to say, with regard to dr. royce's letter, that i can only interpret it as a distinct refusal to retract his accusation that i have made 'extravagant pretensions as to the originality and profundity of my still unpublished system of philosophy'--a distinct refusal to retract his accusation that i have 'borrowed my theory of universals from hegel'--a distinct refusal to retract his 'professional warning' based upon these accusations. these were the chief points of my card, and i note the refusal implied by dr. royce's evasive letter. but i decline to accept his plea of 'conscientiousness' in maintaining the accusation as to hegel. i might as well plead 'conscientiousness' in maintaining an accusation that dr. royce assassinated abraham lincoln, in face of the evidence that john wilkes booth was the assassin." here the correspondence closed. my apology for inflicting it upon you, gentlemen, must be the necessity of showing to you that, as i was plainly bound to do, i first exhausted every means of private redress before laying the matter before you publicly. not till i had failed to obtain a fair hearing in the same periodical which published dr. royce's libel, and not till i had failed to obtain from dr. royce himself a retraction of this libel, did i find myself reduced to the alternatives of either acquiescing in your own unwarrantably insinuated condemnation, or else of clearing my assailed reputation through direct and open appeal to you. i am no lover of strife, and least of all do i now seek revenge. i seek only such a vindication of my good name from unmerited calumny as you, in your own good judgment and in your own chosen way, are now, i most respectfully submit, bound in justice to give. viii. to you, therefore, gentlemen of the corporation and board of overseers of harvard university, i make with all due deference this public appeal for redress of a wrong done to me by one of your appointees--a wrong done, not in his private capacity as an individual (for which, of course, you would not be justly held responsible), but publicly and explicitly and emphatically in the name of his "profession," that is, of his position as a professor in harvard college. this position is an official one, due to your appointment; and his scandalous abuse of it renders him amenable to discipline by you to whom he owes it. therefore, i now formally appeal to you for redress of these specific wrongs, committed by assistant professor josiah royce in flagrant violation of my rights as a citizen and as a man:-- i. he has published against me, in the "international journal of ethics," a libel which is as wanton and unprovoked as it is malicious and false, and for which no motive is even conceivable except mere professional jealousy or rivalry in authorship. ii. he has sought to give credibility and respectability to this false and libellous publication by invoking the authority, not of reason or truth, but of his mere "professional" position as professor in harvard university, thereby artfully suggesting and insinuating to the uninformed public that harvard university sustains him in his attack; whereas, in conferring upon me the degree of doctor of philosophy and in committing to me formerly the conduct of an advanced course of philosophical instruction, harvard university has given emphatic testimony to the contrary. iii. repudiating his bold promise to "ask no mercy," he has sought, with incredible cowardice and meanness, to deprive me of all opportunity of being heard in self-defence, _first_, by excluding from the "international journal of ethics" my perfectly reasonable reply to what he himself confesses to have been an "intentionally severe attack," and, _secondly_, by threatening me through his counsel with legal prosecution, if i publish it anywhere else or circulate it at all. iv. lastly, when, after all this, in order to spare him the mortification and disgrace of a public exposure, and in order to prevent harvard university from incurring any possible discredit on account of his personal misconduct, i proposed to him a pacific settlement of the whole affair through a simple retraction of his calumnious accusations, and that, too, in words of his own choosing, he made no answer but a stubborn and contumelious re-affirmation of the original libel. i submit that these acts of wrong constitute conduct unbecoming a gentleman, a man of honor, or a professor in harvard university, and justly entitle me to redress at your hands. this appeal has not been made hastily or without a patient and long-protracted effort to secure justice in other ways. dr. royce has succeeded hitherto, during many months, in defeating that effort; but now the appeal lies to those whom he cannot control, and now he must abide your judgment. asking neither less nor more than justice, and believing that you will recognize justice as harvard's highest law, i have the honor to remain, gentlemen, in devoted loyalty to our alma mater, your obedient servant, francis e. abbot. cambridge, oct. , . * * * * * transcriber's note: on page , in the word boeotia, the oe ligature has been expanded to the two characters, oe. the sentence begins: only a native of boeotia could be imposed upon by them, when the actual character.... silver links a collection of salutatory, valedictory and other addresses delivered at the first five commencements of the female stenographic and typewriting class of the general society of mechanics and tradesmen of the city of new york compiled by w. l. mason new york albert b. king, william street to mr. isaac pitman the "father of phonography" this little volume is most respectfully inscribed by the compiler introductory note it is always beautiful to see the young confront the uncertainties of the future, and look forward with faith to happiness and success. i am proud of young women who are willing to devote their evenings, when they must toil for a livelihood through the day, to a course of study which will secure to them the knowledge of a mechanical art. this knowledge becomes a treasure which no disaster of fire or flood can ever destroy, and a source of comfortable income through life. it makes dependent young women independent, and i congratulate every one who graduates from this excellent school of instruction with her well-earned diploma, which is more valuable to her than any legacy of gold or precious stones. martha j lamb new york city, april , . address of rev. c. s. harrower, d. d. _to the class of ' ._ "ladies of the graduating class,--ladies and gentlemen: it seems as if words were hardly in place to-night, because of the interesting programme which is before you. i suppose we have no conception of the exercises prepared for us this evening. i never knew of this institution until mr. moore told me of it, and i am particularly glad to be here. "i have often remarked that our new york life is like the life of one of our great rivers,--the hudson. did you ever live upon its banks and look away upon its stretch of water to the south or to the north; count its sails, and its tugs, and its fleets of canal boats and all its life,--for half an hour fascinated by the beautiful scene; and then go away to your work, or to your pleasure, for a few hours, and return and look upon that great stretch of river and see that other sails had taken the place of those first sails, and other vessels were coming into view, indicating the marvelous life of that mighty stream? i did that, year after year, and it seems to me that the general society of mechanics and tradesmen is like the mighty river hudson, doing its work day after day and year after year,--a work that seems to me to be so useful and inspiring. "the gentlemen interested in this society are to be congratulated. it seems to me that such an institution as this is among the most beautiful, among the most stimulating of all institutions that mark our civilization." dr. harrower then spoke of the serious consequences which often follow the carelessness of a lawyer, the blunder of a switchman, the neglect of a servant, or the indolence of a physician, and, in contrast, dwelt upon the beneficent results attained by close attention to duty, explaining also how great good arises from even very trifling acts. he also remarked how strange it is that some people have every chance of getting on in this world, while others are "mortgaged to begin with," and hampered and chained through life. "but," said he, in conclusion, "it seems to me that this society is engaged in a work that is characteristic of the civilization to which we belong, and is following after our saviour, the lord jesus christ, who lived not to serve himself, but the world. i congratulate you, young ladies, that when you were put upon your trial it was found that you had been laboring in the race of life; and to-night you are to receive the signal token of the skill you have attained, and of the favor in which you stand in this school." salutatory address by miss s. j. sirine. _class of ' ._ in meeting you this evening, gentlemen of the committee and friends, we, the members of the classes in shorthand and typewriting, experience a double pleasure. first, is the satisfaction that we have accomplished the task which we undertook last october, and the consciousness that we are about to go forth carrying our diplomas as proof that the winter has been well spent, and that we are master of a very fascinating and important art; and, secondly, we feel the delightful sensation of being highly complimented at the kindly interest taken in the class displayed by those present this evening. we sincerely hope that the exercises of the evening, and the gratitude of the teachers and class, feebly expressed through this channel, will be ample proof to you of our appreciation of the compliment conveyed by your presence, and trust that we shall continue to receive your good wishes for our success; that we shall go forth into the business world making good use of our profession, and worthy of the interest in our progress displayed by the committee and friends of this society, and of the care and attention bestowed on us by our teachers. to my classmates, cordial congratulations that we can meet to-night, and, comparing notes, find that the report for the winter is goodly evidence of time well spent; that, in spite of what at first appeared to be the insurmountable obstacle of the alphabet, we plodded bravely on to the primer, and from the slowly and carefully drawn outlines of familiar words, we entered at last into the spirit of our art, and with pencils tipped, as it were, with electricity, learned to catch the swiftly flowing words from the lips of the speaker, and to present them in a tangible form, ready for future reference. so also with typewriting. though the unruly instrument at first persisted in spelling "cat" t-a-c, and always put an interrogation point where a period ought to be; still, with patient perseverance, cheered by the inspiring words of our teacher: "i used to do the same thing," and filled with envy at his display of skill, we took fresh hope, tried again, and, as we were told we should,--succeeded. the pleasure of the art of shorthand, more than any other, is not confined alone to the artist. you all know the important offices in business life which shorthand fills; of its importance to the press and all departments of the literary world, it is not necessary to speak. from the eloquent words of gifted speakers to the eagerly watched for words of the president's message; from the business letter in the merchant's office to the words of the witness on the witness stand; our art fulfills its important mission of giving to others the pleasure and satisfaction which are experienced on hearing them. this evening forty more are added to the list of american writers of the isaac pitman phonography. it is to be hoped that none of us shall ever, in any way, be the means of bringing reproach on our art; but rather that we shall work to make many improvements, that we shall help to prove its value in the different departments of business into which it enters, and ere another fifty years shall cause the trumpet of jubilee to sound throughout the land, this class of isaac pitman phonographers shall have been the means of bringing to ripe perfection the system of phonography. valedictory address by miss n. c. stephens. _class of ' ._ "the spirit of the time shall teach me speed," says shakespeare. how truly that applies to the present day, when one might say we are living, as it were, in an age of rapidity, and cannot fail to catch the infection, for the very air seems filled with it. competition is met with on all sides, and, in many branches of toil, "the race _is_ to the swift." contrast the world of a hundred years back with the world of to-day. these people were satisfied to plod along in the good old way which their fathers had trod before them; content because they knew no better, and the times demanded no better. but, think you, would the simple appliances used then, meet the demands of to-day? no! decidedly, no! i hear you say. why, may i ask? simply because the necessity makes the demand, and the _necessity_ is the ever-advancing spirit of to-day, which urges all to attain something that will not only benefit themselves, and be an incentive to others, but will enlighten and ennoble the coming generation as well. but the world has made rapid progress and if we would keep pace with it, we must call to our aid every known means of saving time and labor. and not the least among the many methods and inventions for this purpose is phonography or shorthand, which is finding a place in almost every branch of business. man's thoughts fly faster than his fingers, and it is only by the "wingéd words" of phonography that the hand is enabled to keep pace with the mind. almost inseparably connected with shorthand, is the typewriter. these two go hand in hand. what a boon they have proved to the busy merchant, the lawyer and the literary man! to this end, the general society of mechanics and tradesmen, recognizing the growing demands for the use of phonography and typewriting, added to their already large benevolence a class for the study of these branches. and it is to this society we owe a debt of gratitude which words are inadequate to express. our hearts are full, and "out of the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaketh." especially to the school committee would we convey our grateful thanks for the interest you have manifested in the class; and for the kindness and consideration with which you have met all our wants, doing all in your power to facilitate our studies. we trust that our success in the future may be such as will reflect credit on this society. to our teachers, mr. mason and mr. spaulding, you who have so well performed your part, we hardly know how to thank you for your patient and persistent efforts to fit us for the calling we have chosen. taking up this work after the fatigue of the day, with body and brain already wearied, _your_ task, as well as _ours_, has been a difficult one. but you have ever been ready with words of encouragement to help us over the hard places. faithful, conscientious, you have gained our respect and esteem, and we feel that in parting to-night we bid good-by not only to teachers, but to earnest, helpful friends. and yet, not a final good-by. for, are we not looking forward to many pleasant meetings of the "phonographic alumnæ association," when you have promised to meet with us, and by your presence aid and encourage us to continue our practice and by united efforts help one another? for we believe the old maxim is true in this connection as in many others,--"in union is strength." fellow classmates: for seven months we have met and studied together; and now that the term is over it is with mingled feelings of joy and regret that we meet to-night for the last time in this place. joy that our task is done; that the time to which we have looked forward has come; for to many it has been a severe strain to continue to the end. _we_ alone know the difficulties we have had to contend with; the pleasures given up and the sacrifices made to be present at the class. but who shall say it has not fully repaid us? is not this knowledge we have gained all the more precious because so dearly obtained? some have already begun to reap the reward, others are eagerly looking forward to the time when they shall be able to put this knowledge into actual practice. with what bright anticipations we took up the study of phonography last october! but what a mountain loomed up before us in the shape of the alphabet. then the strokes and curves, and circles, how we puzzled our brains over which was which, and how proud we were when we began to form words and to air our knowledge of these mystic signs; only to be met with such questions as these, "how many words can you write a minute?" or, "do you think you could take down a sermon?" "let me dictate this piece from the newspaper to you," all of which made us feel how limited was our knowledge and how much we had still to learn. then the examinations; how they hung over our heads like dark clouds threatening us at every turn! but that is all past and gone, and time, with its never ebbing tide, has brought us to this parting hour. what our future will be depends upon our own individual efforts. let us remember: "what is worth doing is worth doing well." in climbing the ladder of fame, let us gain a firm footing on the bottom round, then, if we fail to reach the top, we will, nevertheless, command the respect of our fellow beings. thoughts on graduation by miss s. j. sirine. _class of ' ._ at last all the lessons are ended, our pencils and books laid away; and gathered to-night in the class-room there are many young hearts blithe and gay. there are loving congratulations from classmate, and teacher, and friend; a smile! then a sigh at the parting, and the feeling that this is the end. it is pleasant to know we are through, though, yet saddening to know we must part; and 'mid the light jest and the laughter, comes a sharp touch of pain in each heart. there's a hush in the happy assemblage, while a prayer is upraised to the throne, and "we thank thee, our father," is uttered,-- and the minister speaks not alone. for the tokens of love and remembrance, and kind wishes expressed for our weal, we would thank our dear friends and our teachers, and voice the affection we feel. and we thank thee for these many blessings; yet most for the blessing that we can, by striving, attain to perfection and thy mercy and tenderness see. address of rev. n. b. thompson _to the class of ' ._ i assure you that it is with a great deal of personal pride, satisfaction and comfort, that i come before you to-night. these are my girls,--that is, i am the father of this class. several months ago when this class was organized, a gentleman, not myself, was invited to come here and offer prayer, and give the young ladies a few common sense ideas, such as would benefit them in after life. my friend failing to come, i was called upon to fill his place, which i did to the best of my ability, and when i look over this programme and find that there are more than forty in this class who are to graduate to-night, i take it upon myself to say that they received some very sound advice, for they are about to graduate; that is, i have made forty-four converts, at least, in seven months. i am very glad to have opened this class, although i have had nothing to do with the instruction of it, for in that event the graduating class would not be so large, but i do feel very great pride in being here. were i so disposed, and you very anxious to be tired with a long address, i could say a great many things touching the real purpose and idea of these young ladies and their instructors. there was a time in the history of the world when it was a very grave and serious question as to just what the position of woman was in society; what god meant by her creation, what was her place. there are some men who think the highest ambition of woman is the wash-tub; that when she finds her vocation there she has fulfilled her mission, and when god has prepared a place for her in the kingdom of heaven, he takes her home, and gives her a diploma. there are others who have an idea that the place for woman is a little higher up; that she is to bask in the sunshine of life--that she is a kind of butterfly. that is an erroneous idea. i think personally, and i am sure there are not men enough here to out-number the ladies, that the position of woman in this life, socially, politically, religiously, or in a mercantile sense, is right alongside of the best man the world can produce. i remember, while pastor of a church in an eastern city, the smartest man and preacher of that city was a woman. she was a man in every sense of the word, she had the power of a man and the charms of a beautiful woman; i was a little jealous of her, because her church was a little too close to mine and she drew a great many more. she was a beautiful, godly woman, and took out of me some of the false ideas and thoughts that i had, relative to the work of woman in the world. so i have lost all sense of jealousy, and i am perfectly willing to be deposed by the women, and there is no true man but will give the women just as good as he wants in his life. i was thinking, when i took up this programme, there is a certain society of a secret order that has a motto like this: "by these signs we conquer." that is a very wide and universal order, but, if i mistake not, there are forty-four members of a society not as universally known, its extent is not as large as that order and society, who are to go out into the world and, "by these signs, conquer." the latter is just as potent as the former. i told you, young ladies, some months ago, about a system of shorthand and the first experience i had in that line. some of you will remember it. you will remember i told you about a system of shorthand that i had to read before it got cold or i could not read it at all. i want to congratulate you for this delightful evening; i want to congratulate you in view of the pleasant exercises you are to behold. i want to congratulate these instructors for the very good and efficient work they have done during these months. i congratulate you upon the marvelous work that has been done. you may not all be called upon to report my sermons; some can report words, some more, some less. you are going out into the world, some of you immediately, to begin your life work. do not feel, because you are a woman, that some aristocratic specimen of creation--man--looks down upon you. just hold your neck as straight and your head as high as he, and i do not know but you would be par excellence above the man himself; you have an opportunity. there is one thing i regret, however, in regard to your special calling, and it is this: i read advertisements in the papers where employers advertise for young lady typewriters and stenographers and it has pained me to see the low rate of wages, oftentimes. let me put a bee in your ear. you are in possession of one of the greatest sciences i know; there is nothing above it in the realm of learning. do not for one minute submit yourself, any one of you, to a service below your worth, for god has implanted in his word this truth, "every laborer is worthy of his hire." i thank the gentleman who has invited me here. when i become older than i am now and fail in preaching, i assure you i shall come to this home of hospitality and kindness, and shall try to take up the art myself, thereby becoming as efficient as some of you are. god be with you and in his own time take you home to his abode where you will not be troubled with taking down the ideas of men. salutatory address by miss l. e. taylor. _class of ' ._ gentlemen of the committee, and friends, teachers and classmates: with what unbounded pleasure we greet you this evening; our task is accomplished, the goal is won. after the labors of the past seven months, assisted by the kindly interest of the committee, and encouraged by the earnest and untiring efforts of our teachers, we have at last mastered that wonderful art, stenography, which will enable us to go forth from here, possessing an accomplishment the benefits of which are many. this art, the outgrowth of one great mind, that of mr. isaac pitman, is of the utmost importance to the members of the press, of the legal profession, and the business man, as well as in all branches of literary work. ordinarily, we hear words, but this science enables us to use them; thus they actually assume another form, as it were, and are deeply impressed on our minds and thus ineradicably memorized. my classmates, we meet to-night to prove that patient effort on the part of teacher and pupil has not been in vain; that our busy winter has left us rich in knowledge of this noble art, and that, though oftentimes discouraged in our progress through the alphabet forward through the intricacies of dots and dashes, hooks and circles, and outlines dark and light, over these apparently insurmountable barriers we have reached the height on which our hopes and our ambitions had been centered during our daily pilgrimage toward it. so has it been with typewriting. at first we made many mistakes, such as making an interrogation mark where the period was necessary, thus questioning mr. jones' or mr. smith's right to his name instead of asserting the fact; or striking a letter instead of the space-board, and vice versa. the result left the astonished beholder in doubt whether the word produced were a representative of the chinese or the choctaw language. but now we have overcome these difficulties. sustained by the kind encouragement of our teacher we have struggled bravely until we are enabled to write on the machine readily, and with rapidity, from dictation, and our vernacular can now be recognized as english, without any difficulty. we sincerely hope that the exercises of the evening may interest you and may show our appreciation of the instruction and innumerable benefits which have been conferred upon us by this society. we are now prepared to take our place in the rank and file of the world's army of workers. the elevating and benevolent influence of stenography and typewriting in the life of women is becoming more and more recognized. what the sewing machine is to the needle, shorthand is to the pen, and, in the great future, the world shall see and acknowledge the vast importance of this economizer of time and labor. yes, another forty of us are ready to use these servants of hand and pen which the generosity of this society has placed at our disposal, and we hope to do so worthily. may we, by our subsequent efforts and future progress, show that none of us will bring reproach on the noble art which we have adopted, or on the institution to which we shall owe our future success and our chosen profession. rather let us help to prove its value in the different branches to which we may be called. class poem by miss a. l. cox. _class of ' ._ i did not come prepared to make an address here to-night, but when i see you all, dear friends, 'tis such a pleasant sight, i can't refrain, but feel that i _must_ say a word or two, and give a hearty welcome, yes, to every one of you. a little band, we gathered here upon this very spot; just eight short months ago it is, since then we cast our lot together for our winter's work: resolved that we would try our best to win; with hopes and purposes and aims set high, we went to work. the opening lecture seemed so clear and plain, that we could almost grasp the prize we were so sure to gain. first came the alphabet. but we in sad dismay found out that was an obstacle indeed that we could scarce surmount. at last we thought we had it; yes, were sure we knew it all. "you may each one recite it." hark! it was our teacher's call. just imagine how we did it? you will guess it nearly right. and then to say it backward! were you e'er in such a plight? then we studied till (i mean it) e'en the paper on the wall, each door, and sash, and picture frame, and objects one and all, in strokes and angles fairly danced before our very eyes, and in our dreams they haunted us in every form and size. next in their turn the vowel sounds,--the symbols, dash and dot, with rules and regulations charging us "forget-me-not." wish you could have heard us sound them. it was amusing, too; seemed like talking chinese language,--ah, [=a], ee; aw, o, oo. then came the hooks with many crooks to puzzle and perplex; they were so very obstinate, and would be sure to vex; for while we thought we had them right, they were just turned about, and when we came to read them, we could scarcely make them out. the circles didn't seem so hard; for we could then detect there were still new things coming that we did the least expect; so prepared our minds to meet them and take them as they came; at last we'd conquered everyone and knew them all by name. but i suppose it is not right to tell tales out of school, our teacher will be saying that it is against the rule; i have told you just a few of our trials by the way, but it was not all so dreadful, i am very glad to say. for we really loved our study; were fascinated, too, and of the pleasant memories there linger not a few. well, examination over, then came the "tug of war" to apply the various principles that we had learned before. and oh! the work we made of it; we tried to run a race to see who could write the fastest, and then to keep our place. but study and toil are over; at last the race is run, and we have gathered here to-night to say, "our work is done." members of this society, our friends so kind and true, god bless you! 'tis a grand and noble work you aim to do; accept our heartfelt thanks, for it is all that we can give; the knowledge we have gathered here will ever, while we live go with us, as with brighter skies our way in life to cope than in our dreams and fancies we had ever dared to hope. and you, our teachers faithful, tried, we will not soon forget the many pleasant hours that together we have spent; how often by a kindly word you've helped to lead us on, when we were nigh discouraged, and totally cast down; and by your earnest zeal and aid we have, from day to day, gone onward, and we thank you; it is all that we can say. and we classmates, while we truly, yes, earnestly, regret to leave the little room up yonder "where the angels met," can now rejoice together, for it has not been in vain, that we've worked hard; yet we have won the prize we sought to gain. valedictory address by miss a. a. lewis. _class of ' ._ dear friends and classmates: it is a somewhat sad yet pleasant duty which devolves upon me this evening, that of saying farewell. for, to a class whose members have studied together for so long as we have and which is found to be so homogeneous as this class has been, a farewell is always sad. when, in october last, we entered upon our course of study, we could not look forward to this hour with any degree of composure, but, day by day, as time passed on we found ourselves longing for the end, yet dreading the parting. but, to-night, we derive considerable pleasure from the fact that we have prepared ourselves for something which will have a strong influence upon our future lives. this night may be called a real commencement for many of us who have just left school where we have learned the ordinary english branches, and are now learning to apply our former knowledge to earn our living in a way that will prove both pleasant and profitable. in retrospect: how hard the first few lessons appeared! we hardly credited the declaration that a time would come when we should be able to recite the alphabet backward and forward and in every conceivable way, but we soon discovered that the subsequent lessons were so much more difficult than the first, that these seem now to us as very simple. as our knowledge increased, we discovered also that each lesson followed so logically upon the previous one, that it made it much easier to understand. there were hooks to the right of us, and hooks to the left of us, and with these and circles, medial and final, approximation and "con" dot, our dreams resembled a kaleidoscope rather than those of school girls. when traveling on the cars we would often see a person with a note book and pencil, and experience a fellow feeling, knowing that they had trod the same path as we were treading. occasionally, in going home after a lesson, two of us comparing notes would find that we, in turn, were objects of interest to people in the train, and that they gazed with wonder and amusement upon the strange-looking characters with which our note books were filled. then, when it came to our home study, although those whom we asked to dictate to us did so with great alacrity at first, they soon found reading the same thing over twenty or thirty times, to say the least, monotonous. yet we must say that our friends often put aside their own preferences, knowing the daily practice was for our good. we will not dwell upon the loss of pleasures that we have forfeited in order to be present at the class and to spend the requisite number of hours at study. but now that we have reached the desired haven, we feel fully repaid for everything that we have given up, and only regret that we did not sacrifice more for our beloved study. we would not however have you think it has been all hard work, and that we have had _no_ enjoyment. for, have we not had genial companions, sympathetic teachers and a most watchful committee, who have tried to do everything in their power to make our school life both pleasant and comfortable? we cannot specify all the ways in which they have shown their interest and kindness to us, yet we would not fail to mention the fact that we were provided with a new class-room, which combined the advantages of seclusion, quiet, and all the necessary appliances for study, with excellent ventilation, and to this was added the feeling that it was our "very own." this recital can but feebly show you why the feeling of pleasure is predominant in our hearts to-night. we cannot feel sad at parting with our classmates, for, though we shall not meet in this class-room again, as a class, we do expect to meet together as the alumnæ of this institution at our regular weekly gatherings for practice. it is rather with a feeling of exhilaration that we realize that we have at length conquered giants that loomed up before us when we began our study, and that these giants, like those called forth by the magician of old, have been made to do our bidding. but now we come to the most painful part of our task, that of bidding this kind committee farewell. and, in behalf of the class of ' , we thank you again for your watchful care over us during the past winter. the only way in which we can attempt to repay you for what you have done for us is by trying to rise in our profession and do something which, when we say we are graduates of the general society of mechanics and tradesmen, will cause you to feel proud of us, and in this way we can slightly show our gratitude to our benefactors. and to our teachers, who have been the means of our learning this wonderful art, we say farewell, hoping that they will remember us kindly as having tried our best to let the studies which they have lodged in our minds bring forth good fruit. although you have, no doubt, at times felt discouraged with the apparent failure of your work, yet we trust that the results have proved satisfactory, and shown you that we have tried to do what you have desired us to do, and, in a measure, have succeeded. we trust also that these results will reflect credit upon you as our instructors even more than upon us as the recipients of your teaching. we do realize that many members of our class will never meet with us again, and to you we say farewell, with the wish that in your diverse paths through life you may attain great success in your chosen profession and always remember that you are still members of the class of ' . address of president wm. c. smith _in awarding the diplomas to the class of ' ._ i came here this evening in a particularly happy frame of mind, for me, because i had been asked to award the diplomas to this class, and i am always happy when i think i am able to do something to make some one else happy; but my equanimity was quite disturbed, on arriving, to be shown a programme in which i was set down as having to make the closing address, and a little later i broke out into a perspiration on seeing written in shorthand on the blackboard, that "you should never speak unless you have something to say." those words have been burning before my eyes ever since, and though i have not taken any lessons in shorthand, i am almost sure i could set that sentence down. the general society of mechanics and tradesmen is made up of men who owe what they possess, not to chance, not to gifts of their forefathers, but to the fruit of honest toil. the society which they have fostered for a hundred years owes its standing to the steady accumulations of these years, not to any sudden speculation or easily acquired prosperity, and it is with pleasure, therefore, that the society devotes its time and means in helping others to help themselves. we believe in the aristocracy of labor, and we are glad that we are able to do anything whereby we can help any one to help himself. i shall not make a lengthy address because it is late; it is warm; there are diplomas to be given out, and i believe that the young ladies are anxious to get down stairs where the attraction is greater than anything i can offer them. yet there is one thought i would like to give out, if you will excuse me. yesterday i met a gentleman whom i have known for many years, and whom i never really knew until yesterday. he said to me, "billy" (he knew me when i was a boy), "have you half an hour to spare?" first i said, "no;" but i thought better of it and said, "yes." "i would like you to come round and look at my house." as he opened the door of that house it was to me a revelation; if there is anything else like it in this country or city, i do not know where it is. it seemed to me i was in fairyland. here was a large house and yet so filled that it seemed small, from the top of the very attic down to the first story, with articles of vertu and bric-a-brac, with tapestry that had come from all parts of the globe, with ivories, carved in japan as nowhere else, with mosaics from all sections of the world, with beautiful chairs, with embroidery that had graced the homes of monarchs in the old country, and on his back porch, and in his yard, were beautiful flowers hardly seen outside of the tropics. i need not say to you how surprised i was; i had only known him as a mechanic, a member of this society. i spent an hour and a half there i shall never forget; i asked the privilege of bringing my better half. but the thought that i wanted to impress was this; in a beautiful case, surrounded with plate glass, was a full dinner set of the finest sevres china. he explained to me that the set was ordered and made expressly for the second napoleon when he was in the height of his glory. i said to him, "where did you get this? i did not know a full set of that kind ever got away from royalty." he said it did once in a while and this was the only one in this country. he had been explaining to me things i never knew about, and he came back to his own self and said, "billy, you know when the great napoleon and his court were sipping their soup out of these dishes, i was wielding a paint brush at $ . a day and glad to get it." as i lay trying to go to sleep last night that single sentence came to me and it seemed there was a volume in it. it is an american idea that there is no success which is not attainable by almost any person if we only take those opportunities afforded us. i want to say one word to the ladies, and i believe i said something of the same kind to the boys. i often see it in the papers, i hear it in speeches at trade societies and all that sort of thing, that there is a great change in america; there is no longer any chance to rise; and that we are divided into classes, and that the rich are going to get richer and the poor going to stay where they are. i hope every american will disabuse his mind of anything like that; there never was a time when opportunities were greater than now. we have got to believe in ourselves and watch the opportunities when they come to us; success cannot be obtained in a day. we may not have to build a railroad but we will build something else, perhaps greater. young ladies, it is my privilege on behalf of the general society of mechanics and tradesmen, as its president, to present you with these diplomas. i do so with pleasure; first, because i feel that it is our right to give them to you; secondly, because i feel that it is your right to receive them, for you have earned them. they represent to me six months of careful, earnest, intelligent study; six months of devoting yourself to the habit of close application; six months of forming the habit of industry; habits which, i take it, make the road to success to any one who expects to succeed in the future. i congratulate you upon receiving them; they are certificates that carry with them pleasant memories, and i hope will prove in after years profitable ones. in behalf of the general society, it is my pleasure to thank your teacher; i have witnessed personally his enthusiasm in his calling, and i am proud to say that i have been here night after night and have watched the enthusiasm of the class. i have seen them here sometimes long after the regular school hours, in fact, i had a mind to say, "you are over-taxing these young ladies." then i thought it was a life and death struggle for only six months, and the victory was worth the struggle. i have nothing more to say. i will remember the motto given early in the evening and wish you every success in life which you have obtained in this school. salutatory by miss jessie ferris. _to the class of ' ._ on behalf of my classmates, gentlemen of the committee, and friends, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you here this evening, and we sincerely hope that in the following short account of our progress during the eight past months, both in shorthand and typewriting classes, _you_ may share, to some extent, our satisfaction. i shall not attempt to portray our initial struggles with the dots and lines, but rather dwell on the time when, at the rate of a word in five minutes, we could, with the confidence of beginners, write the short but expressive sentences: the cow eats grass! see the dog run! from this time under the able guidance of our teachers, we steadily progressed, until our efforts have culminated in the success gratifying to ourselves, our teachers, and our many friends. in typewriting our progress has been as encouraging as in phonography. from slowly picking out the words: "william jex quickly caught five dozen republicans," a sentence which not only exhausted all the letters of the alphabet, but in our attempts to decipher which, after writing, exhausted our ingenuity as well, we passed to the time when legal documents and business letters could be run off with an ease which at the beginning seemed almost impossible. let us pause a moment to consider the advantages of these two arts: first and chiefly, they afford us the means of gaining a livelihood in a way more agreeable than many others; secondly, in the taking of notes of lectures upon various arts and sciences we become acquainted with these subjects to an extent which would otherwise require much special study. how then can we be otherwise than grateful to those who have placed these advantages within our reach? to you, gentlemen of the school committee and of the special committee, are our thanks especially due. through your kindness in fulfilling our many calls upon your generosity, you have contributed, in no mean degree, to that end toward which we have so earnestly striven. you, my classmates, undoubtedly share in the pleasure felt by our teachers and the committee in having passed so successfully through the work of the past eight months. let us reflect for how short a time we have pursued our studies. in what branch of study, pursued for the same length of time, could the results attained compare so favorably as in the study of shorthand? after to-night, over thirty of us, in the different pursuits of a business life, will make practical use of the knowledge gained during the past winter. let us always strive to uphold the reputation already gained by the followers of isaac pitman. it has often been said by superficial observers: "o, yes, any one can write shorthand, but how many stenographers can read what they have written?" perhaps there have been grounds for such allegations; but have these ever taken into consideration the multitudes of stenographers all over the world who do successfully read their notes? look at the voluminous reports of congressional, political and other speeches, appearing in the daily papers from time to time; to say nothing of the hundreds of folios of evidence daily reported in our courts and accurately transcribed. do not these sufficiently refute the assertion? we feel sure the charge will never be brought against any of our class, to each of whom the writing out of her notes has been made as essential a point as taking down. in closing, let me again, in the name of the class of ' , extend a cordial welcome to you all, and let us trust, when we have passed from the immediate influence of these surroundings, and have entered upon the career for which the studies of the past winter have been but preparatory, we shall continue to merit your kind approbation. class poem by miss isabelle kiernan. _class of ' ._ good people all, both old and young, assembled at this time, to aid in bringing to a close, the class of eighty-nine; we beg you will be lenient with our efforts here to-night, ignore all faults, and note the good,-- this would be but polite. this class of ours united here, ere long shall cease to be; a thought which strikes a tender chord that vibrates mournfully. though truly glad to know our work has met success at last, yet many a very pleasant hour in study has been passed. and on these hours in concert spent, shall memory fondly dwell, when we in divers paths have turned, but where, oh, who can tell? again we'll see that school-room scene, our teacher at the head, again we'll ply our pencils hard, as fast the words are read. our teacher's patience oft we've tried, and oft have vexed him sore, while he strove us expert to make in stenographic lore. oh, thanks to you, our faithful friend, for kindness you have shown, and patience too, with which the seeds of knowledge you have sown. and in the work we undertake, we'll to the _mason_ bring the credit,--who within our minds has built this wondrous thing. kind benefactors, we extend our gratitude sincere; for all the opportunities, enjoyed throughout the year. may your good work, crowned with success, its blessings still bestow, on many who, through your kind deeds, shall useful women grow. a harvest rich of grateful hearts, most surely you shall find; such as is due to those who strive to elevate mankind. and now farewell to one and all, teacher and classmates, too; hoping that future days may bring, much happiness to you. a class history by miss eugenia e. lloyd. _class of ' ._ last fall sixty girls, accompanied by a trusty guide, started on an exploring tour through the wilderness of stenography. we had been told by those who had visited this region, that the way was dark, the road thorny, and the pleasures but few; but nothing daunted, we set out, anxious to prove these assertions false. like all travelers about to enter upon strange and novel scenes, we started upon this journey with eager eyes, and minds full of expectancy. following closely in the footsteps of our leader, we approached the enchanted forest. the entrance was guarded by great trees, which seemed to extend, as far as the eye could see, in one long avenue, and we were surprised to find, upon coming nearer, that the forest which at first appeared to be but a heterogeneous mass of stems, was set out and arranged in the most orderly and symmetrical manner, and we saw that we should be enabled to find our way about much more easily than we had at first feared. in accordance with our guide's directions, we began jotting down in our memory tablets the names of the different trees, and the peculiarities of each. certain kinds occurred so often that we soon became familiar with them, and long before we turned into new pathways, we had mastered the names of them all. as we left the main avenue of first principles, we encountered more trees, but so arranged in brilliant foliage and curious blossoms that we almost failed to recognize them. we listened in wonder while our guide unfolded to us the beauty of each bud and leaf; how patiently he traced every vein of the leaf, and every petal of the flower, until our eyes, too, were opened to their beauty so that we could appreciate and discern the difference between them, notwithstanding that they possessed great similarity. this comparative sameness caused us no little trouble, however, at first, for ever and anon, owing to early lack of training in concentration of mind, we were prone to get them confused, and often mistake one for the other. here again the memory tablets were brought into requisition, and it seemed as though they fairly expanded under the influence of our pencils, so eager were we to absorb all the knowledge possible. as the lover of nature, by constant association with the flowers, the trees, and the shrubs, learns in time the name of each, so we learned, by loving the study of our strange plants, to recognize them at sight. but we were not left to wander at our own sweet wills. having thoroughly familiarized ourselves with the details and orderly arrangement of this wonderful forest, and having stopped for awhile to review our progress, we were led into new paths where, though there were many obstructions and apparently insurmountable obstacles, we could at least see the beginning of the end of our journey. here, too, sign posts greeted us on many sides, but none were so alluring as that which bore the legend, "slow and sure." this accorded perfectly with our ideas, and we would fain have rested awhile, and gazed on the comforting words, had not our guide pointed out to us the necessity for advance, and described the pleasures which were still to come, which, if we chose that as a perpetual motto, we should never enjoy. as if to give emphasis to his words, a little dwarf, whose name was "try," met us at this juncture; and by his bright example urged us on to greater tasks. but alas! there were so many weary hearts waiting for his cheery countenance that he was forced ere long to leave us. scarce had he gone when his enemy, a misshapen gnome, called "i forgot," sprang up in our path, and by many devices, sought to undo the good work of "try." finding this impossible, he, too, soon departed, but his injured lordship, not caring to retire utterly defeated, left his first cousin, "i didn't mean to," to pester and annoy us throughout our journey. ere long the sound of running water attracted our attention, and eagerly we hastened to bathe our faces in a refreshing stream "which ran down the side of a hill," only to draw back in terror as we saw a poor, meek lamb devoured by a ravenous wolf who had come to the brook-side to drink. thereafter it seemed as if the wolves had special designs on the lambs at this season, for whenever our travels led us near the creek we were forced to be unwilling spectators to these tragic scenes. here and there along the bank we had noticed little pebbles which our instructor told us were called, in the language of this country, "grammalogues," and some of which, attracted by their uniqueness, we had gathered. we were obliged to label and memorize each one, until it seemed as though the tablet would not hold another word, and the memory pouch would break under the weight of, what seemed to us, heavy, worthless stones. but after being polished with the emery of practice, the pebbles grew lighter, and seemed to lose their dull color, and assume a sparkling brilliancy. how often since have they appeared as bright jewels in our pathway, when, with pencil flying over the page, we have fully realized the fact, that however lenient old father time may seem to be to others, he has no mercy for stenographers. after becoming somewhat acquainted with our surroundings that we might be able fully to realize every snare and pitfall, we were taught to begin to walk alone. what weak, tottering, childish steps they were. how often our eyes would wander to the face of our guide, as if to implore his help. but he, knowing it was for our good, would simply encourage us instead of rendering the longed for assistance, and we were thus compelled to walk or fall. but when the nervous feeling had somewhat worn off, and each step became more firm, with what expressions of delight we proclaimed the tidings that we could at least _stand_ alone, and how pleased he seemed at our successes. and then with watchful care was pointed out to us the necessity of removing every obstacle from our path so that our progress should not be retarded. we carefully heeded the instruction, and as a fallen bough or a moss-covered trunk of some old "snag" barred our onward march, we brought all our strength to bear and remove it to a place of safety, so that our weary feet should not be caused to trip over it again. and truly we _were_ weary, while the promised land seemed still afar off. how hard the road appeared can only be realized by those who have trodden it. a great mountain, like bunyan's hill difficulty, soon rose before us, and we were told that we must reach its summit, before the view toward which our eyes had been ever turning would burst upon our sight. here we were joined by a crowd of people, some clamoring for land, which they claimed had been willed to them by those who had long since joined the great majority; others quibbling over deeds and warranty deeds, some of which particularly attracted our attention, on account of their great length and useless verbiage; and others with complaints and actions at law, until our eyes were opened, and we realized, as never before, that strife is more prevalent in the world than peace. but hard work and that perseverance which we believe is the surest road to success have at length conquered all obstacles. and now, having left behind the clamor and the strife, we stand on the summit of the mountain that has so recently seemed as though it could not be climbed. and here we rest awhile and look backward. the roads with their winding turns are no longer new, and eyes moisten as we think of the old but true saying: "the path that has once been trod, is never so hard to the feet; and the lessons we once have learned, are never so hard to repeat." we will not be called upon to walk in those paths again, but when we meet the familiar faces of our companions we will live over in memory the now seemingly short weeks of our journey. but let us look also before us. we have penetrated the forest, we have gathered bright gems, we have climbed the mountain height, and now we stand ready to cast our boats adrift upon the ocean of life. in what waters they shall glide we know not, but can only trust that in that great day of gatherings, all our craft may be moored in the harbor of peace! these thoughts bring to our minds the well known words of our beloved poet longfellow: like unto ships far off at sea, outward or homeward bound are we; before, behind, and all around, floats and swings the horizon's bound, seems at its distant rim to rise and climb the crystal wall of the skies, and then again to turn and sink, as if we could slide from its outer brink. ah, it is not the sea; it is not the sea that sinks and shelves, but ourselves that rock and rise with endless and unweary motion, now touching the very skies, now sinking into the depths of ocean; ah! if our souls but poise and swing, like the compass in its brazen ring, ever level and ever true to the toil and the task that we have to do, we shall sail securely, and safely reach the fortunate isles, on whose shining beach the sights we see, the sounds we hear, will be those of joy and not of fear. valedictory by miss lina e. kettleman. _class of ' ._ bacon has said, "reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." many prominent men of the present age assert on authority that shorthand makes a valuable man. the world's advancement has never been so marked and rapid as within the past century; inventors have, it would seem, almost exhausted themselves in producing means for improvement; where think you, would the busy man find himself were it not for the opportunities open at every hand enabling him to keep in the whirl? inventors, and the value of their respective inventions, are fully appreciated by those who make use of them, but there has been no greater gift presented than the one by mr. isaac pitman in , in the shape of phonography; he, after a few months of hard labor, reduced the phonetic characters to a simple form such as any intelligent and ordinarily educated person might, after a proper amount of application, use to great advantage. the public were not long in realizing the benefits to be derived, and each year has seen a steady growth in the number of shorthand readers and writers, and to-day finds thousands who are successfully using the little strokes, some following the original system, and others using the modifications; _all_, however, agreeing as to the true worth of shorthand as a time saver. we who started last autumn, with the determination to master phonography and typewriting, knew in part the advantages to be gained after the top was reached, but we did not know by actual experience what breakers were ahead in the accomplishment of the work before us; for the timid ones this very ignorance proved a great blessing,--conquering one difficulty at a time, with the greater ones in the shadow, was not as disheartening as having the future in plain sight. the multitude of crooks, circles and dry rules were taken in turn and left behind, and after reaching half way the journey, and pausing for a rest and renewal of courage, we began the pleasanter work of writing and reading connectedly. at the start were simple stories which seemed at the time almost silly, then came letters and law matter, and, as the words in the first lessons kept recurring, we began to appreciate "the wolf and the lamb" and various companions of a similar nature. slowly but surely the work has been progressing. time has fairly flown away and has brought us together to-night for the parting as a class. there has been much bitter with the sweet and many clouds with the sunshine; social pleasures were necessarily given up and numerous sacrifices made, to say nothing of the keen disappointment brought home to each as she recognized, despite her greatest efforts, that the actual work was far behind what her aspirations had been at the outset. but through all we have been cheered and encouraged by our teachers, nor must i omit the occasional well timed lectures, depressing at the time of delivery, but sending each home with a fixed idea of doing better, and continuing to the end; added to these has been the entire novelty of the whole course, always something new. like all proverbial americans, born, it is said, with the interrogation point at tongue's end, the constant variety made the journey one immense _why?_ we are joyous over the prospect of a cessation of hard study, but regret that the end of our intercourse has come, necessitating the severing of ties as teachers and those taught, and the farewell as class friends; but each will carry with her a remembrance of the winter spent together with much profit and pleasure to all. to our kind instructor through all the intricacies of phonography, we are deeply indebted. within ourselves is the consciousness that had it not been for his patience and untiring efforts we would have given up in despair long ago; as also to our instructress and friend who has helped us over the road to the success of typewriting are we equally indebted; to the never flagging energy of both we owe as much as to the individual effort. not the least, if mentioned last, is our gratitude to the school committee. to you, gentlemen, we wish to convey our thanks this evening, both for your generosity, as representatives of the g. s. m. and t., in supplying funds for the maintenance of this glorious work, and for the kindly interest displayed during the past winter. while regretting our inability to raise the standard higher, we will endeavor, in future, to reflect such credit upon this school as will prove our appreciation of past favors. to you, my dear classmates, those in particular who have not as yet felt the pecuniary advantages to be derived from this new acquirement, take courage in the fact that six of our number are reaping the benefits even thus early. wait patiently; do not let the work end with to-night, and become discouraged because of the same old humdrum duties. remember that in filling the old post honorably, you are doing the work assigned by the master who in his own season will send what is for your best good. add to your store of knowledge from day to day, and be able to say with the poet: each morning sees some task begun, each evening sees its close; something attempted, something done, has earned a night's repose. salutatory address _to the class of ' ._ by miss harriet middlemas. what shall we do with our girls? one of our well known daily papers came to the conclusion some time ago that our girls must be disposed of in some way, and feeling that it lacked the ability to solve the problem alone and unaided, sent a request abroad for help in settling this momentous question. if we were in china, they would say "drown them." horace greeley might have suggested sending them west to keep house for his "young men." many, in answer to the before-mentioned paper's appeal, advocated making business women of them; while others said: "teach them to be good housekeepers." now, as all our girls cannot be housekeepers, neither can they be business women, is it not the best plan where there are two girls in a family, to teach one how to minister to the wants of the household, and let the other help to provide the means, wherewith to supply the necessities of life? we are not all vanderbilts or astors. but whether it be "yea" or "nay," woman is making her way in the world. she has been heard of as making rapid progress in law; and it was only a short while ago we read of a young lady being admitted to practice in pennsylvania. we have doctors without number; one of our western towns boasts of a woman for mayor, and they have aspired to the presidency. much has been said of woman's sphere, but she knows her own place in life, and if given a little help in the various directions necessary to reach the place, she will win, and has won for herself respect and admiration for her courage and independence. but this is not a woman's rights meeting, nor a sewing circle, in which the minister has been invited to tea, and where we are making the poor luckless man suffer for his sex in general, but the graduation exercises of a band of girls who have worked hard for success, and gained it. a society of men organized many years ago, instead of sitting with folded hands lamenting _their_ inability to dispose of "our girls," went to work and established a class; placed at its head one of the best of teachers, and called it the stenographic and typewriting class of the general society of mechanics and tradesmen. "now," they said, "we have opened a way, let us see what the girls can do for and with themselves." in the fall of the first class was formed, and since then more than girls owe their present advantages to this noble institution. the class of ' graduating from here to-night met for the first lesson on october st of last year. of our troubles and disappointments, it is not for me to tell, but we have bravely toiled on, and have at last reached the end we have so eagerly and anxiously looked forward to, and the feeling that we have learned something which will help us in more ways than we at present fully realize, repays us for our perseverance. to-night we graduate from this school into one compared to which the trials and disappointments of this course will seem trifles. we go forth to battle with the world, and if we do not keep up with it, it will mercilessly leave us far behind. but the class of ' is not going to be laggard. indeed we hope that when we graduate from that higher and more exacting school, it will be with the same satisfactory results with which we leave here, and, like longfellow's "great men," we may leave "footprints on the sands of time." there are several benevolent institutions in this city where stenography and typewriting are taught during the day, without expense to the student. but the girls that need this instruction most are the working girls, who have only the evenings to themselves, and cannot afford to take the time to study that which they know would be beneficial to them. but the general society of mechanics and tradesmen have recognized their wants, and every girl in this class has acknowledged that when in the future she has reached that zenith to which every one aspires, "prosperity in her chosen calling," she cannot forget that it was through this society she was enabled to reach that height. and now, dear friends and patrons of this school, i, in the name of my classmates, bid a cordial "welcome" to you all, confident that you who have sympathized with us during the past eight months will rejoice with us in our success. class poem by miss katie massman. _class of ' ._ my friends, we all have gathered here, to celebrate this night,-- th' occasion of a victory gained o'er a long and glorious fight. unlike the battlefields of men, where blood flows o'er the plain, and eyes must meet the fearful sight of conquered victims slain, our battlefield the school-room was, where we have fought and won; a conflict noble in its aim, nine months ago begun. oh! how we hoped and how we feared, as day by day slipped past, and we kept pressing towards the mark we hoped to reach at last. whilst oft discouragement, the imp, would whisper in our breast, "'tis folly to continue on; go, leave it for the rest." but "onward, onward," was our cry, though all around looked dim,-- no cowards we who fear the storm, 'twas either "sink or swim." and our commander at the head, with truly master skill, did spur us on, and teach us how each duty to fulfill. through the maze of outlines, straight and curved, step by step, he led the way, till hooks and circles, large and small, at length seemed plain as day. to his true service much we owe, and each of us, to-night, in a vote of earnest, sincere thanks, do heartily unite. we meet to part, on this last night, yet shall we fondly ever turn to the happy hours spent in mechanics' hall together. and always shall our hearts respond, ever grateful shall we be, for the kindness of the gentlemen of the g. s. m. and t. through them our lives shall brighter grow, through them we shall aspire to better, nobler aims in life, leading higher, ever higher. and may we from their kindness learn a royal truth and grand,-- if we can others happier make, to lend a helping hand. and in the journey through this life, with heart, head and hand combined may we ever strive to do our best to elevate mankind. a history of the class of ' by miss sabine c. schindhelm. one evening, early in the fall of ' , voices were heard in the school-room as though many persons were talking at once. suddenly the bell rang and the talking ceased. "what does this mean?" you would have asked, and then, your curiosity getting the better of you, you would have peeped in. such a sight! at the front of the room were four or five rows of young girls, books and pencils in hand, and on the platform stood a gentleman who was evidently their teacher. what were they going to do? why, take their first lesson in stenography, and you can see from the number of bright and happy faces here to-night, what that first and each succeeding lesson has done for them. like little children just beginning to spell they began with the alphabet, and step by step, gaining strength and courage, learning everything thoroughly, till at the end of three months, they had laid a foundation upon which whatever followed could securely rest; and, when the mid-winter examination came on (which had all along seemed like a great wall that was insurmountable), they were able to scale it without much difficulty. but you must not think this goal was reached without many mistakes which were sometimes very disheartening, and sometimes very funny; as you will think when i tell you for the letter h a tick is sometimes used; and one girl slanting this tick the wrong way wrote, "pale, thou poly king"; and another, who misplaced a vowel, wrote, "i like my live eel boy." however, these errors only tended to make them more careful, and when they started the speeding course, it served them a good purpose. at the beginning of this course, they were addressed as "my dear reader," and told to observe what they were told; then followed some maxims to be laid to heart, and a little dwarf was introduced whose name was "try." this little fellow had a way of making every one try to do her best, and those who were unable to do very much at first he encouraged by giving them a helping hand. after a while he left us and in his place stood a very impudent fellow known by those with whom he had had dealings as "i forgot," or "i didn't think;" but as soon as we learned his mission, which you probably have guessed, or perhaps know from experience, we discharged him and to secure ourselves from his return, sent the "careful dog" after him. tom's uncle then gave his opinion on phonography, but although it had over four hundred words in it, it did not amount to much as some of the girls got it down in less than three minutes. soon afterward john smith received a letter from his brother timothy jenkins (this name was given the latter by mistake by one of the girls), about some place in new york state where they could spend a very nice vacation. this place had advantages in the way of fishing and boating, lawn tennis and all the rest; but one of our number, who evidently thought more of good solid comfort, wrote that there were "good furniture and bedding." while thinking still of this delightful resort with all its acquisitions, the strong arm of the law suddenly came down upon us and holding out a document to our wondering gaze demanded the name of same. then was heard a confusion of voices, every one guessing the wrong thing, until one, who thought of course she knew, cried out "oh, it's a divorce case!" it was no such thing, however; it was a simple complaint, in which the husband and wife were plaintiffs. we went through the entire pleadings of this case and when finished, took up another and another until now we are not lawyers, but some are able to be stenographers for lawyers, and others amanuenses. valedictory by miss a. natalie kirsch. _class of ' ._ in the life of every person there are two important events, birth and death; the former marking their advent into a state of action, and the latter their exit from it. the one is universally a time of joy, the other a time of sorrow. this is true to such an extent that the time of birth is popularly designated and commemorated as a day of feasting, the other as a day of mourning. solomon, however, does not agree with us in this; he reverses this order and says, "better is the day of one's death than the day of one's birth;" and "it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for the living will lay it to his heart." whichever view we take of the matter this day will be one long remembered by all, for it is both the day of birth and the day of death. so with the birth of everything we attempt; its beginning is attended with a sort of pleasurable excitement and diligence in the pursuit of the study we have entered upon, which lasts until the novelty begins to wear off. then comes the time when we find ourselves falling into a rut from which, if we do not try hard to keep up our standard, it will be difficult to extricate ourselves; but, if we summon all our energy and strive to overcome all impediments and will work hard and adopt perseverance as our motto, we shall not fail of success in the end. our small army enlisted last october determined to fight against all the obstacles which might present themselves in our journey toward success; and after passing through the hardest and most tedious part of our work,--the mastering of the principles,--we found ourselves confronted by an examination, which loomed up before us like a lofty and rugged mountain, which we knew we must ascend if we would get that broad outlook which we must obtain for the work of the remainder of the term. having safely passed that, after a week's recreation, we again assembled freshly armed to conquer the difficulties of the speeding course. this proved to be the pleasanter part of our work, and, after having spent five months with our teacher in this way, and having passed the final examination, you see here to-night all who have been victorious in the battle. we came before our leader total strangers to him and to each other, and many happy days have we spent since first we saw his face, and every day has deepened our regard for him for having been so patient with us. when we have been on the brink of despair, he has consoled us with the assurance that better times were coming, and that, if we did not give up but would push ahead and persevere, we would surely succeed. the "unwearied sun" has performed his daily circuit, sometimes visible, and sometimes hidden by the vapor laden clouds, but right onward, whether seen or unseen, has he gone, and time, that never lingers, has rolled on rapidly and in its flight has brought us to this hour, ere we were aware, and lo! it has already begun to snap the threads which have held us together for the last eight months. our lives have been speeding with the moments into the never-to-be-forgotten past; but the tie which binds our hearts in christian love and fellowship death itself cannot sever. the seeds of stenography, which were cast into our minds at the beginning of our lessons, made their appearance as young and tender shoots when we arrived at the speeding course, and have not only begun to blossom, but also to bear fruit, inasmuch as eight of our number are already holding positions as stenographers and typewriters, and we hope they will soon arrive at full maturity when we have all become experienced shorthand writers. these little plants need the tenderest care and most watchful guidance, for, if neglected ere they are larger grown, and the weeds of careless habits are not rooted out, they will be a source of great trouble and annoyance in the acquiring of speed. how important then that they should be wisely directed! we have now arrived at the completion of our course here in the capacity of learners; but only to enter an enlarged sphere of action and there employ what we have here been enabled to acquire. not only have we been learning stenography but have been benefited in a number of other ways; each lesson in its turn had some moral to convey and some new thought to suggest, which, while teaching us some new form of work, and suggesting new ideas, all tended to elevate our minds. to you, dear members of the g. s. m. & t., are we indebted for enabling us to acquire an honest, well-paying profession, which is aiding so many young women to improve their condition in life, and give substantial assistance to those dependent upon them. to our instructor are we especially grateful for his thoughtfulness and zeal in imparting instruction, and the affectionate solicitude which he has shown for our welfare; nor would we forget the care bestowed upon us by the assistant instructors, who have in many ways supplemented the instruction which we have received from the superintendent. to you, dear classmates, i give my parting word of farewell. often have we met together to study our beloved shorthand, often have the difficulties seemed great enough to overwhelm us; often have our sympathies been aroused by the need of help in one way or another, and now, for the last time, we again assemble at this familiar spot. there can but arise in our breast thoughts of sadness as we take leave of each other, for never again can we meet as the class of ' , but while we regret that this is our last evening together, we must bear in mind, that "a fleeting hour, a month, a year, is all that god permits us here, that we may learn to prize more high that heavenly home beyond the sky." introductory address by oliver barratt, esq. _to the class of ' ._ ladies and gentlemen, i come to welcome you in the name of the young ladies of the graduating class. the entertainment this evening, owing to your presence here which is a source of encouragement to them, will show you what they have learned and what they have been doing during the past winter and spring, and what we have been doing to help them in the good cause and vocation which they have chosen. thomas carlyle once asked this question: "what can a woman do?" well, i think if thomas carlyle was alive to-day and could go through the offices of the merchants and business men and architects and lawyers of this city, he would be willing to confess that at least one profession had been taken possession of by woman. if he could go through the lower part of this city into any of our offices he would look with wonder to see a young lady employed as a typewriter and stenographer, as they almost universally are. in political economy the weakest go to the wall. well, it is said that they do, but in this case i think they have gone to the front. to illustrate that i will tell you a little experience of my own. some two or three years ago i went into a gentleman's office on some business, and made a statement to him. he said, "stop! i want that taken down." he called a young man sitting at the desk and said, "take this statement down." the stenographer was about six feet tall, built strong proportionately, and he sat down to take my statement. one of the first things that struck me was that it was a pretty light business for a man of his size. the next time i went into that office, the stenographer was again called to take my statement, but it was a young lady this time, instead of that great hulking man. i spoke to my friend about it and he said, "i have a young lady now and i find she does a great deal better than a man. her work is more perfect; more satisfactory." in this case the weakest had gone to the wall! the stronger intellect had forced the weaker to the wall. now, young ladies, i congratulate you on the success you have attained in the school in your work, and would like to say a few words to you with regard to your future career. when you go into the employment of some merchant, banker or lawyer, recollect one thing, that you are his confidential clerk,--taken into his confidence,--and what you hear there and write there must not be carried out of his door. when you go out, leave it behind you, and you will always be successful. and now, i congratulate you again upon your success here, and hope for a bright future for you and hope you will be successful in the vocation which you have chosen. salutatory address by miss emma e. reimherr. _class of ' ._ it affords me much pleasure to greet you this evening, and, on behalf of my classmates, to extend to all a sincere and hearty welcome. no presence is more inspiring than that manifested in the attendance of friends at such exercises as these. truly it is a deep source of gratification to us, for, as we gaze into the many kindly faces before us, we are conscious that it is unqualified evidence of the loyal interest taken in our work, and a full appreciation of our past efforts. we welcome you, gentlemen, representatives of the society of mechanics and tradesmen, for, not only desirous of granting us every opportunity to acquire a knowledge of stenography, without expense, you go still further and lend us your presence, which dignifies and adds grace to this happy occasion. we, in return, express our cordial obligations for your favors and philanthropy. we welcome mr. mason, our faithful teacher, and give him heartfelt thanks for his kindness to us as pupils, and the earnest attention he has shown in conducting the school work. we can truthfully say that the success of the class in their studies is due solely to the skill of his instruction. when we entered upon the inception of our task about eight months ago, contemplation of such a tedious study as stenography had made us somewhat apprehensive of successful consequences, and when, subsequently, we beheld so many curious marks, hooks, loops, spirals and disjointed straights, then, indeed, did alarm seize upon and almost terrorize us. how could we accomplish such an arduous undertaking? we pondered the subject long and well, and, as in all such matters, a solution was arrived at. you will doubtless not be surprised when i say it was application--yes, application, with hard, earnest study as a relative concomitant, which solved the problem. this was the beginning, an auspicious one, you must admit, because, having unraveled the chief skein of difficulty, it seemed to imbue us with increased confidence, and study we did, with intense fervor and earnestness. thus it continued. not a careless and desultory endeavor, but one of energetic determination and indefatigable zeal. "_festina lente_," as the old romans were wont to say,--"make haste slowly,"--was our motto, as little by little we gained in acquisition. the curious little dots and dashes which at first seemed so strange and mysterious, soon lost their mystery and ere long a simple acquaintance with them had ripened into a desirable familiarity. the same success attended our efforts at the typewriter. the irregular and heavy sounds which first greeted the ear of the learner, have lost their harshness, and in their turn, as nimble fingers lightly touch the enameled keys, the regularity of the merry ticks, broken only by the gentle ring of the silvery bell, as the cross-bar passes from side to side, partakes almost of melody. such has been the past, and to-night the conferring of many diplomas will convince you that our labor has not been in vain. stenography as a study is not really difficult. the cardinal requisite is practice. leave the rest to time and the result will not be disappointing. since those who have studied here this winter expect to use the knowledge acquired as a means of subsistence, it is a comforting reflection that we can thus earn a livelihood in such a satisfactory and congenial manner, especially when bearing in mind that the majority of young women, who toil in this great metropolis, are constrained to pass long and dreary hours at work which is far less lucrative and much more debilitating and unhealthy. again, the study of stenography requires constant and critical attention, thereby strengthening the mind and doing away with idle day-dreaming. mental perception is rendered more acute, as rapid yet steady thinking is continually demanded. so, after all, now that the labors of the term are over, we may indeed feel satisfied and happy, assured that you are willing to endorse the satisfaction we feel at this happy outcome. and now, thanking you for the considerate attention you have accorded these words of salutation, we trust that our programme will greatly please you; that at its conclusion you will be happy to offer heartiest congratulations to the class of ' . address of rev chas. s. harrower, d. d. _to the class of ' ._ mr. chairman, ladies of the class of ' and friends: i almost feel as if i were one of the graduates of this institution, i have been here a number of years now. but one thing that puzzles me is how i should go to work to report these speeches, and, really, a moment or two ago i thought the young ladies were engaged in taking down the music. and i should not be surprised if they after a little while would be able to take music down stenographically and write it out on the typewriter and perhaps, by some modification of their skill, evolve it into tune again. i know that they can talk musically, because we just heard some beautiful music talked by one of them and i know that she is a representative of the class. so i think that after all the only claim i have to representing this institution is the fact that i have been honored by being associated with the officers, and the teachers, and the graduates of this school a number of seasons in succession, and age is my only claim to honor, for i cannot write stenographically, although i can make some crooked marks, but i do not believe that anybody else could read them after they get cold, because i know i cannot myself. i can some of them, but i mean i cannot read them all. i feel particularly honored to-night upon being given a place upon the platform. i believe this is the very first occasion when the society of mechanics and tradesmen have pushed out from their own ancient hall into the world to give a larger welcome to their constantly growing and most admirable and enviable constituents. i was wondering to-night how many of the young men and of the young women before me here had enjoyed the facilities of this institution in the times past. i am sure they would have to take a hall that would hold six or seven hundred people, who would fill it full just as this place is filled full, and to-night this is just as full as our old hall over home has been during the past five or six years. we should fill anything because if our friends know they can come and get away alive, they will come, but if they think they are going to sweat nearly to death, and be crushed to death, possibly there will a great many of them stay away. i want to congratulate these young ladies. there is one matter that was referred to in the salutatory this evening,--there is one aspect of your work and of your success to-night that strikes me. happy is the institution that puts a class of fifty young ladies year after year into the position which those young ladies occupy who have finished their course, and to-night are to receive their diplomas. oh, i do not wonder, after what i know about life in new york city, and life among women and girls, that your doors are crowded every fall and that you have two, and three, and four times the applicants for the facilities and opportunities of the school that you can possibly accommodate. i do not wonder at it. why i know a woman years of age with four children whom she is trying to support, and who works eleven hours a day for six days of the week, and barely makes an average of sixty cents a day, and on saturday night gets six times six or thirty-six,--$ . for her week's toil, and she has been at it till eleven at night, starting soon after six in the morning. just think of a story like that. oh, girls, i will call you girls; young ladies, if you had rather be called young ladies, i pray you never forget the sisters and the mothers who are toiling like this. they were just as bright girls, and just as brave girls when they were girls as you are now, and yet life has crowded them down, and i do not know how we are to lift them up, but, by a tremendous concentration of all of our consciences and all our powers, which shall make a public sentiment, that shall look into the sweaters' hells as much as it looks into the factories, and into the stores, and establishments of men who do not mean to be cruel or more cruel than you are, and i should be, but who, in the tussle and competition of life, are led to take part in a system which is sweating and destroying life which is as brave and worthy as any of theirs. i wish to create a public opinion which shall make these exigencies of toil impossible in our modern life. you and i must do something not only to lift ourselves up, but to help some one else to climb the ladder to better conditions than otherwise they will be led to, and i congratulate you that you have climbed the ladder and have climbed to a better height than that. this institution just helps you all where your future is secure. do i say too much? oh! no, daughters and sisters, mind, this institution has helped you to the place where your future is secure. nothing can take the place of toil. nothing can take the place of work. the emperor severus, when he lay dying at the foot of the grampian hills in the old town of york, a stranger who had taken him from the field turned to the men about him, and making a little address emphasized his last words over and over again, saying, "laboramus, laboramus, laboramus!" we must work, we must work, we must work, he said, and what was true of the emperor of rome cannot be untrue of us; is just as true of all. there is nothing done without work, work, work. but you will work. you mean to work. you came here because you were determined to work. you have been working over hours and overtime. you have been overworked some of you, just to get the facilities which this institution and this blessed year of grace can give to you, and you will do it. i know you will be true. it is not for me to repeat what mr. barratt said. i know that he told the truth when he said that one of the essential things is fidelity to the confidences which come into your position, through the relation you sustain to your superiors, your employers and your principals. i know that that is true. i know, too, another thing, and that is, that there will be times when you will feel tired-headed and wish you could rest. did you ever read about charles lamb? you know what beautiful things charles lamb wrote. some of you have read the jolly story of how roast pig was discovered by the young chinaman. you have read that, and if you ever want a good laugh some time get the essays of elia and turn to the paper on roast pig, and read it, and you will enjoy it immensely. at last charles lamb was released from his duties in the india office, he went home and wrote a letter and said to his friend,--he was so excited with the fact that now he was free,--he said, "for £ , i would not labor ten years longer in that old india office. the best thing anybody can do is nothing, and next to nothing, perhaps, go to work." and he went out to do nothing. he had nothing more to do. two years after that he says, "any work is a hundred times better than no work at all. the sun looks down on no forlorner creature than me with nothing to do." toil is necessary, labor is necessary for our happiness, as well as our prosperity. but i do not want you to overwork, and i believe you do wrong when you do. just for a little while, while you are getting this knowledge, you must be willing perhaps to overwork; do not overwork, do not overstrain yourself. you can break your brains as easily as you can your back, and every now and then you hear of some young fellow who breaks his back. don't break your back, and your neck, and your brain, and don't forget, just for the sake of getting ahead a little faster and making a little more money. remember that your life and happiness are worth more than a few dollars. i say that because i know that some of you would be tempted to overwork, but i want to say alongside of it, another thing that i believe you cannot forget, and that is this, that there is an element in true life and in true service which dollars do not pay for. there is an element that is higher and finer which we usually think of when we think of the faithful performance of our work, the work allotted to us and the faithful keeping of business secrets that are intrusted to us. there is something finer than that. it would be supposed that the men of the learned profession were the men who work for something beside money. the doctor must respond to a call no matter whether it comes from the poorest home, or the richest home. there is something in the professional relation to society that lifts a man up to a point where he dare not work simply for money. the minister must go, and it makes no difference where the call comes from or what time of the night or day a call comes, and he goes without asking anything about what is to return to him. the lawyer will stand up in court and take a case and plead for it, when there is not a single shilling to come into his hands, because the task is assigned to him. he is a servant of civilized society. so is the medicine man. and it used to be supposed that only professional men were the servants of society, in this high sense that takes them out from a mere consideration of gain. that used to be supposed. but they will not be able to monopolize this high idea. the doctors, and lawyers, and ministers in that respect are just like the rest of you. there is a point for which money cannot be paid you, nor the lack of money release you, it is the putting of your heart into your work, the putting of your interest into your work, the putting of your words into your work, and doing your work not simply as long as men's eyes are on you, but doing your work faithfully, to the best of your ability, as long as you receive a man's money and as long as you hold relations of obligation to him. there is that which money does not pay for. there is that element of the highest profession in all services, whether it be a woman with the needle or a typewriter, or whether it be the stenographer, or whether it be the mechanic in the house,--if he does his work as he ought to do it he will put something into it that he does not expect to be paid for. he will put something into it for which he is to be paid in the improved condition of life and the benefit that he has done to humanity. humanity is to pay him, and not his employer, not in gold but in goodness, in virtue, in worthy services, he is to get his pay. put your heart into your work. join the learned professions, if you please, by being not only true and faithful but by being hearty and conscientious and faithful at every point in your business life. and now i have said all that i ought to say but i cannot avoid saying that one word more. you remember when sir walter scott lay dying, he called his son-in-law to his bedside and said, "i may not have a minute or two in which to speak to you my dear, be virtuous, be religious, be a good man. nothing else will be any comfort to you when you are lying where i am lying now." be virtuous, be religious. be good women always and bless your associates. be faithful in your accomplishments. be useful in your services. be proud of every achievement that you can make, but above all fear god and in this way live close to the christ himself who lived not for what should come to him, but for the blessing which should come to the worthy. a class history by miss nellie j. bell. _class of ' ._ from the time of the creation to the present day, everything that has ever existed has had a history. every leaf and tree and blooming flower, each have theirs; that sky-lark soaring high in the sunny blue sky has a history, and, as it pours forth a sweet melody, how the air vibrates with the gladsome song! even that tiny spray of hare-bells clinging tenaciously to a cleft in the rugged rocks, over which the foaming mountain torrent leaps and dashes, has its own little history. so has the torrent itself. it began away back among the snow-capped hills, and at first was only a tiny stream, but, joined by other courses, and swollen with the melting snows and spring rains, it has become a foaming, dashing mountain stream, plunging headlong over rocks and forming many a pretty cascade and sparkling waterfall. now it runs deeply and swiftly through some dark cañon, and now, emerging into broad sunlight, and flowing peacefully through green meadows, it gives refreshment to the ferns and rushes along its banks, and to many a little songster. so it flows on and on until it reaches the friendly arms of the sea, outstretched to receive it. the class of ' is no exception to the general rule which governs all nature. the history of this class began last october; it is thus just eight months old. its diet up to the present time has consisted chiefly of phonographic outlines, well seasoned and flavored with vowels and grammalogues, and served á la pitman. and, in the words of abraham lincoln, we say, "for those who like that kind of diet, why it's just the kind of diet they like." from the time of the commencement of the class, we have been climbing, climbing, up the steep and rugged paths of phonography. we began our ascent from the base, and while traveling up the foot-hills, our guide explained to us something of the nature of the ascent, and brought us into contact with some very amusing incidents. the road for the most part was straight, but as we progressed we found ourselves following our guide around curves, and sometimes even around and around in circles. at first we looked about us a good deal, thought it would not be so very hard climbing after all, and so gradually accustomed ourselves to it. we found that we could accomplish more and more each day, and the higher we climbed the more invigorating grew the air. one day we had been toiling up a long steep hill which some one suggested was like the hill difficulty. we struggled up its steep sides, weary and travel-stained, discouraged, but not ready to give up, and at each step plunging in our mountain canes, which were black, sharpened at both ends, and labeled "faber no. ." soon we heard a cheery halloa, and looking up saw a tiny little man standing at the top of a hill. "that's mr. try," said our guide, "he is one of the best people in this mountain. if any one is in trouble, wearied, discouraged, and just about to give up, then is the time you may depend on try. he comes with words of consolation, and with his bright cheery talk so convinces his poor broken down fellow-beings of future success, that they get up and begin to depend on 'try again.'" soon we began to notice signs on the trees along our road. one was, "wash tubs and window-sash, vinegar, putty, pails and glass." another, "two boys to let for the summer." this was interesting, and we hurried along in hopes of seeing the author of these strange signs, for our guide told us he was the queerest man in that section of the country. soon we came to his house and found it fairly bristling with signs. curiosity overcame us and we stopped in and asked for a drink of water. the object of our curiosity was leaning his elbow on the mantel. he had long hair and was greatly stooped. we found his wife very talkative, and when she found out who we were, began to tell us about the deed of their property. "when we were married," she began in a high nasal voice, "chauncy's father gave him a clear title to this place; and after chauncy's death it is to go back to the old homestead again." then she took us through his work-shop where he manufactured the articles displayed on his signs. next we came across another dwarf, just the opposite of try, our guide said. he was always up to some sort of mischief, and his greatest delight was to get other people into trouble. the country people had long wished to be rid of him but he had a long lease of his house and he meant to stay there. he was a homely little elf, with bright red hair, a slight squint in one eye and a wart on his nose. if a lesson had not been prepared, this fellow, who was called "i forgot," was sure to be on hand in time to whisper into the ear of the culprit, "say 'i didn't think' or 'i forgot,'" and the minute she opened her mouth, out it would come and then the wicked elf would "fold his tent like the arabs and silently steal away" to parts unknown, with a fiendish grin on his ugly little face leaving his dejected victim to receive a well-merited rebuke for carelessness. this dwarf followed us for many days, but heeding the repeated warnings of our guide, most of us at length learned to distrust him and turn a deaf ear to his excuses. thus we struggled on and on up the steep sides of the mountain, and at the close of each day, we realized that, "something attempted, something done, had gained a night's repose," for us, although we didn't always get it. and now we were nearing the end of our journey, our hopes ran high and we kept our eyes upward toward the summit. the obstacles which had continually beset our path had been overcome, and we could say like the irishman, who, on capturing three prisoners in the late war, was asked how he secured them: "indade, sir," replied he with a knowing wink, "it's meself that surrounded them, sir." at last we reach our destination in time to just view the sunrise. the grass is green, the flowers are all in bloom, spring is here. the faint gray streaks of the dawn are in the sky and soon the whole east is suffused with a roseate flush. there is a hush of expectancy in the air, the breeze is soft, the birds are twittering drowsily in the tree-tops, and then in a flood of golden splendor "the morning sun comes peeping over the hills." instantly all nature is alive, the birds pour forth their sweet melodies, the drowsy hum of the bees floats lazily on the air; there is a pleasant rustling among the tall swaying pines. dew-drops glisten on the grass, the flowers nod gayly in the morning breeze, and we feel like singing: "when the sun all gloriously comes forth from the ocean, making earth beautiful, chasing shadows away, thus do we offer thee our prayers and devotions, god of the fatherless, guide us, guard us, to-day." the new day has begun, and we have witnessed one of the finest views in nature's kaleidoscope; for what could be more beautiful than the dawn! so are our lives just at this time. the air is full of hope and promise; so are we. we are just in the springtime of our lives; our hopes, our aims, our aspirations are all as fresh and unsullied as the morn itself. now, in the dewy freshness of the early morning, we see that we are on a broad table-land, and not on the summit of the mountain as we had fondly hoped. we notice paths running in all directions,--some go straight to the top of the mountain, others stop at different places along the route. only the future can decide which path each shall take. we have a grand field of labor before us, in this hill of knowledge which we have been traversing for the past eight months. there are still rich and undiscovered resources of knowledge, which, brought to the light, would make the art a perfect one and us perfect in it. now it is time for us to separate. some of the more ambitious of us will, by dint of hard and unremitting labor, reach the pinnacle of our hopes. others, less ambitious, will be content to spend their days in the peaceful valleys of quiet usefulness. but, before we separate, let us each resolve that we will never, by act or word, do anything which might reflect discredit on this association, to the members of which we owe a debt of gratitude which we can never hope to repay except by doing our very best, and so bring honor upon those who have done so much for us and upon the institution which they uphold. the class of ' is now like the waves of the sea: on the bosom of the ocean, dance the wavelet's glittering band; with a slow and fairy motion moving onward towards the land; but that reached, they burst and sever, bound no more by beauty's spell, thus, we who have toiled together, the goal reached, must breathe farewell. here endeth the simple annals of the class of ' . class poem by miss marion c. burns. _class of ' ._ we extend a hearty welcome to you all, both old and young, who have come to aid in sending off the class of ' . we beg you will be generous in judging us to-night, see not the faults nor blunders, but keep the good in sight. this class you see united here, to-night will have to sever, but where to go, ah! who can tell? and shall it be forever? here, many a pleasant hour we've spent, but now we soon must part, and yet the lessons taught us here shall dwell deep in each heart. in after years we'll fondly think of pleasant times gone by, and when we're treading other paths, the memory'll dim each eye. our teachers we have sorely tried as any one might see; at last they've succeeded in teaching us, typewriting and stenography. oh, thanks to you, our faithful friends, for what you both have done, for firm, but kind you've always been, and patient with every one. these gentlemen deserve our thanks, for their goodness to us here, your kindness we shall not forget, for many and many a year. may fortune on you ever smile, and blessings on you flow, this, this shall be our prayer for you, wherever you may go. for many truly grateful hearts, you surely here may find, who fully all your gifts esteem to elevate the mind. now, with best wishes to you all, on parting we'll not dwell, but to our teachers, classmates, friends we'll say, farewell, farewell. address of mr. henry moore _to the class of ' ._ in behalf of the school committee. of course, it is not expected that the representatives of the school committee will have very much to say. you have listened very attentively to all that has been already said, and i think that the ground has been still further covered in what has already been said. it may not be known to all present that this society, merging community of interest at the time when the camp fires of the revolution had just burned out, associated themselves together for mutual protection and for one another's general good. it was to relieve the unfortunate, the widow and the orphan that brought together the great mechanic minds of the past, and all a-down the past century we can find that they have always been ready, always been anxious, always been willing to lend the hand of kindness and attention to those whom they found in need, to assist, to protect and to care for. robinson, in one of his poems, has said, "who will break the bread of sorrow? who will give the cup of sympathy? who breathe of sympathy to those who are suffering, and relieve with the cup of sympathy the sorrowing ones of earth?" i do not think i have quoted that exactly, but it has been the motto of this society ever to protect those who needed their protection; to care for those who needed their care and their bounty, and to-night we find the result of this care and protection, in the graduates of the class of ' -' . i leave this matter with you for reflection. we all know and realize what it is to be a member of the general society of mechanics and tradesmen, and i, for one, am thankful to be able to say to you in hearty welcome and in hearty greeting that the evidences are now before you of the well-being, and the comfort, and the joy, and the happiness of the graduates of the class of ' -' . valedictory by miss hilda busick. _class of ' ._ [a]das ist im leben haslich eingerichtet, das bei den rosen gleich die dornen stehn; und was das arme herz auch sehnt und dichtet, zum schlusse kommt das voneinandergehen. [footnote a: 'tis said, alas, that life must have its sorrows, that with the roses cruel thorns should grow; and though we fondly dream of love's to-morrows, must every heart the grief of parting know.] the words of the poet are but too true. what rose does not hold up its pretty, fragrant head, feigning unconsciousness of the thorns hidden beneath its bright, green leaves? and just so life's joys are with its sorrows associated. there never was a _perfectly_ happy day, unclouded as the skies of june, for every pleasure, inasmuch as it must end, carries with it some sadness--every meeting, the pain of parting. so to-night the joyous echo of "welcome" is still to be heard, the fragrance of its roses is yet perceptible, when the solemn "_farewell_" rings upon our ears and its thorns pierce our hearts. ruskin says, "it is a type of eternal truth that the soul's armor is never well set to the heart, unless a woman's hand has braced it, and it is only when she braces it loosely that the honor of manhood fails." if then, the honor of the world is dependent upon woman, if she is to be responsible for all war and all peace, happiness or discontent, it behooves us to consider the greatness, amounting to almost awe, of the duty imposed upon us. our task may, perhaps, be a difficult one, but not if we seize it with an unyielding grasp, and fight it to the bitter end--"to the last syllable of recorded time"--if need be. our circle of usefulness is constantly widening. the doors of colleges, and thus those of every profession, have opened to admit us within their sacred precincts. in all parts of the world our sisters are successful as musicians, painters, sculptors--harriet hosmer, for example--physicians, professors, stenographers. many of them are now on the highest rounds of the ladders from which their lack of superior education formerly excluded them. this is especially true of stenography. yet some one has recently written, that, owing to their superior tact in arrangement, their neatness, their unobtrusiveness, their faithfulness, and numerous other excellent qualities, the demand for women in this capacity is steadily increasing. we find them filling lucrative positions in banking, commercial and publishing houses; in brokers' and insurance offices, in law firms, in fact, in every place where the haste of this nineteenth century requires a stenographer's speed. indeed, they have made for themselves, in the use of the "wingéd words," a name which it is our duty to assist in more firmly establishing. in behalf of my classmates, as well as for myself, i wish to thank our instructor most cordially for his thorough teaching; for the interest he awakened in us toward this intricate art, without which we would have long since been compelled to cry "vanquished;" for his timely assistance over the sharp pointed stones and by the brier bushes in the darkened forest, and for his patience which our forgetfulness so sorely tried. and, though our words of gratitude may be weak, the feeling is deep-rooted in our hearts, and through the years to come we shall carry with us many pleasant memories of the hours spent with him, and never fail to appreciate his more than kindness. the neat typewritten exercises, letters and legal documents, which the members of the typewriting class have at different times shown us, are an earnest of the work done in that department, and we can have no doubt that his pupils feel grateful to their teacher. the school committee, indeed all the members of the g. s. m. & t., have our heartiest thanks for their kindness in enabling so many to gain a profession, and for the interest they have always manifested in our welfare. one word of "farewell" to my classmates: during the past winter, while studying together, many of us have formed strong friendships, which we hope shall never decay, or have bound more closely those who were friends before. several of the more fortunate have already obtained positions, making profitable use of the treasures received from our instructor. but the others need not despair, for if we are faithful and determined we shall in due time receive our call, and "in quiet and in confidence shall be our strength," perfection shall be our aim, and when we have reached the goal, may it be said of us, as antony said of brutus: "nature might stand up and say to all the world, 'this was a man.'" in our journey through life, when doubts fall thick and fast around us, and the lowering sky seems just above our heads, surely these beautiful words of goethe will fill us with encouragement: "wouldst thou win desires unbounded? yonder see the glory burn, lightly is our life surrounded, sleep's a shell to scorn and spurn, when the crowd sways unbelieving, slow the daring will that warns, he is crowned with all achieving who perceives and then performs." class night exercises a prophecy of the class of ' . by miss hilda busick. know all men by these presents, that i, having departed this life, have received permission from pluto, king of the shades, to return to this world and make known to you, less fortunate mortals, your destiny. while lounging idly on the banks of the "river of oblivion," the sovereign of that sunless region permitted me to read in his "book of life." listlessly turning over the pages i saw a name in bold characters: "w. l. mason, city, county and state of new york." then the pages began to turn of their own accord and the names of my former friends and acquaintances, _inter alia_, presented themselves in rapid succession. mary a. moore and her husband; john williamson; our well-known pugilistic friend, john l. sullivan; a "hen-pecked" bostonian, and others. as i read a dim mist seemed to come from the river, causing the words to fade; bona fide pictures arose in their stead. _first._ in the famous city of kroy wen, stood a large pagoda, on which was emblazoned the startling legend: "college of stenography, w. l. mason, president." at this hour the college doors were open and within could be seen the bulletin of the staff; it was, the president, the right honorable w. l. mason, d. d., assisted by his able corps of instructors, the professors massie and shaughnessy, the latter by their punctuality and the sweet temper of the former, being of the utmost assistance to him. et signiture was the course. first term. lecture on the principles of shorthand, together with practical lessons in disorder, untidiness, negligence, forgetfulness and carelessness, all thoroughly taught in three months more or less. second term. practice in misapplying all that you have learned, with a view to writing as illegibly and slowly as possible. third term. literature, the reading of mother goose rhymes in shorthand, and the writing of dime novels for the literature of the th century. the right honorable president, as hereinbefore mentioned, is old and decrepit, unable to keep order in his classes, and therefore always carries with him a jumping rope, the handles of which he uses on the knuckles of his unruly pupils, while the rope itself brings to him recollections of his youthful days when it was used for the legitimate purpose for which it was manufactured. _second._ now the panorama changes and shows a lady of medium height, fair, slight and happy. she walks through one of the crowded streets of kroy wen, handing to the passers by circulars which read as follows: "to the people of the city of kroy wen, "greeting: "i beg to notify the public that the first issue of my new paper,--wit,--will be ready in two weeks and i hereby guarantee to the said public that it will afford amusement, entertainment and instruction, with a special column devoted to phonography. "in witness whereof, i have hereunto set my hand and seal, the day and year last above written. signed, "c. cellpur." _third._ a revolution had evidently taken place in england; the people were clamoring for constitutional government. discussions were loud and prolonged in the "house of lords." in the latter, on one of the front benches, sat the stenographer who had been admonished on her life to write the turbulent speeches verbatim. she was our dear friend, miss rhythm. _fourth._ an imposing publishing house in the city of not sob, which city is noted for its cultured inhabitants. small boys were placing on the doors and windows of said publishing house, the same to remain thereon without hindrance or molestation, large notices which bore this inscription: "our most recent publication is a book written by miss n. murphie. it is important as a work of art and is an authority on all topics of etiquette, especially as regards language. the cultured inhabitants of not sob cannot afford to lose this opportunity of making themselves more familiar with those refinements of speech which have long marked them as the most cultured people in the land." then i saw what seemed to be an illegal document purporting to be a marriage settlement, in which mrs. ocean is wisely having her property settled upon herself, mindful of the time when she learned that "what's hers is his, and what's his isn't hers." _fifth._ a convention of the woman's rights association. the hall is crowded. several determined looking women who have already addressed the meeting are on the platform. the audience is breathlessly awaiting the appearance of what edward everett hale calls "a hen's right hen." she is at length presented, her remarks are interspersed with legal terms; evidently some part of the training has been at the f. s. & t. c. of the g. s. m. & t. her talk is upon the uselessness of the male sex and the applause is loud and enthusiastic. her face and manner are very familiar, and looking at the programme i see that the initials of her name spell h. e. m. p. _sixth._ a copy of the "post and lightning;" it is yellow with age. it had probably been handed down from generation to generation as a precious heirloom. the column containing the marriage notices is folded outward, and one marked with blue pencil reads: "wolf--lamb. mr. f. wolf to miss m. lamb, both of the state of kroy wen, may th, , at the home of the bride." "the wolf had devoured the lamb." verses read by miss carrie r. purcell, upon awarding prizes to the members of her section, tuesday evening, june nd, ' . i beg of you all just a little time in which to attend to this dear class of mine. dear tuesday night girls you should all have a prize, and it makes me feel sad, and tears dim my eyes when i think that for most of you i have no prize. but a dear little "tot" in this class doth belong whose euphonious cognomen is margaret armstrong, if she will come forward, i gladly will give a prize she can cherish as long as she'll live. and here is another for nellie j. bell, whose sweet resonant tones you all know so well; come hither, dear nellie, a friend greets you now, here, take this _small_ package and make a large bow, while i tell your dear classmates, with smiles all serene, that soon you will rival the renowned lawyer green. ah! here is another, it seems to be round, i wonder for which of the class it is bound. it may be intended for some gentle "myth" but no, my dear friends, it is meant for miss smith, who'll take the world easy wherever she is,-- will she take it this evening and smile as she does? here's something else before we pass on for our dear kind teacher, mr. w. l. mason, for oft have i seen the briny tear start to his bright kindly eyes, while my classmates so smart were kept _waiting_, while i tried to write like the chart. address of miss ellen m. phillips, upon awarding prizes to the members of her section, tuesday evening, june, nd, ' . in these days of model schools it is difficult to find an innovation or to advance a theory of improvement which has not already been made; but it seems to me there is one crying grievance from which all schools suffer, and which i should like to do my little mite to redress. my ideal of a school-master is the one in the opera of "billy taylor." his creed is summed up in the quatrain. "when a pedagogue, i'd often wish, i'd give prizes to the _worst_ boys at school. the good boys i would like to swish, but alas! i would not break the rule." since the pleasant duty of awarding prizes has fallen to my lot, i am determined to award them according to my theory, and lest my reasons for bestowing them may not be perfectly clear to all, and the system of reasoning by which my results are attained appear somewhat illogical, i will endeavor to explain my reasons. what, for instance, can be more absurd than the usual way in which the prize is chosen for the individual obtaining the highest per cent. in an examination? what, forsooth, is awarded but a collection of books!!! yes! to the very person who is supposed to know all that books contain! it would be much more logical to my thinking to give the aforesaid set of books to a poor plucked student who would be so glad to avail himself of a little of their weighty contents. for, and in consideration of the aforesaid reason, and for other valuable consideration, i hereby assign, transfer and set over unto you, my dear miss reidy, this little volume. it may seem small, but believe me therein is comprised a respectable proportion of human knowledge. it will be your consolation in time of need. in it you will find every thing a mortal mind may desire. do you desire wealth? you will find it described on all that certain lot, piece or parcel of column , situate, lying and being on page . or perhaps happiness is your aim? that you will find near the southeast corner of page , the same being therein described as the state of enjoyment. in short, you will have no wish unfulfilled. go, _read ye_ and be wise, and however friends may forsake you, be sure this faithful dict. will never fail you. another striking injustice in the bestowal of prizes is the fact the teachers get none of them, and who, pray, is more entitled to them? is it not the teacher who has crammed and coached the unfortunate students to the saturation point? now, in my model school, no such injustice shall be done, but, what to offer? there's the question. of course a teacher's mind is a compendium of all human knowledge, therefore books would be out of place. so, mr. mason, to you i offer no gaudy volume, but only this little machine, adapted for physical culture. it is warranted to exercise every one of the blank muscles of the human body at once; besides cultivating the artistic taste. note the graceful curve it describes in the air! note the harmony of color in the handles! take it, dear teacher, to have, to possess, and to enjoy the same unto yourself, your heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns forever. another striking incongruity is the fact that the best student is generally a pale, slender girl, or one on which the ravages of disease have set their mark. to this delicate creature is given a prize of books which will still further tax her powers. now, would it not be wiser to minister to the body diseased and award a prize of this nature. will miss hilda busick step this way? permit me to ask you one question. _be you sick?_ that is all i wish to know. _be you sick?_ if that be so, dear friend, take this in time. it is warranted to cure every ill under the sun, and taken internally or externally makes no difference. take it, and bless your fortunate star which brought this to your lot rather than a pile of dusty volumes. for you, dear miss clancy, i was at a loss, but knowing that your future career will be a busy one, i thought this little engagement slate might be handy. you see you can hang it up in your office when you are called away to take down a sermon of phillips brooks, or to report the world's fair of ' , and the horde of stenographer-hunters may subscribe their names here and their humble supplication that you will attend to them on their return. the other side of the slate may be used in casting up bills. i quite agree with miss sharp that patriotic sentiments ought to be inculcated, and for this reason i have chosen this little flag of our country which i beg she will accept; accompanying it is a little bundle of fire-crackers dear to every patriotic heart. the best way to appreciate them is to tie them together with their fuming little projecting frizzles, set fire to the last one and throw them on the street; the result will astonish you, i am sure. and now, my dear friends, you have seen the merits of my system, but it is with pain that i point out its only defect. i give prizes to the worst ones at school, the only trouble is there are so few "worst" that the list of prize-winners is naturally small. but i hope you will acknowledge that its defect is amply compensated for by its other excellencies. a tale of woe by miss carrie r. purcell. (_read on class night, tuesday, june , ._) listen my friends, and you shall hear a _dreadful_ poem which i have here. 'tis about the class of ' , and a harrowing tale when once begun. a tale that will make you all shiver and shake; the thought of it now is making me quake. 'tis a tale of struggle and grief and woe, of the girls who wrote fast, and the girls who wrote slow, of girls who came early, of girls who came late, of those who had plenty, others, none to dictate. of the girls who held pencils as if they were pills, of others, who held them as if they had chills. of the dear darling girls who did everything (write) right, of other unfortunates weeping all night, oh! indeed, my dear friends, 'twas a terrible sight. of a dear kindly teacher who came every night, and who stayed long after the electric light, of the class in a circle the teacher around, while he watched every outline, and heard every sound. and the five minutes recess to catch the fresh air. of return to the circle and "catching" it there; of the girls who can stand up and read as they'd write. of others who couldn't if they stood up all night; ah! yes indeed, 'twas a pitiful plight. of complaints and of answers, of leases and deeds; of all kinds of letters for business men's needs; of good sound advice as we all neared the end, from our dear kind instructor, who is "also our friend." of that dread monday eve which had long been expected; of the papers accepted, and the papers rejected. of this beautiful calm which has followed that night; and i'm sure that my teachers and classmates unite in thanking class ' for this pleasant sight. verses read on class night by miss nellie j. bell. _june , ._ hail! to our friends, both one and all, hail! to our neighbors, great and small, hail! to the sweet june air and sun, hail! to the class of ' . for the past eight months we've been working, working with might and main, to get phonographic outlines fixed firmly in our brains. but now our work is ended, our winter's work is done; then hip hurrah, hurrah, hurrah, for the class of ' ! and we smile as we think of the hours that we thought so fraught with pain; they have gone like the fleeting shadows, n'er to return again. and now we can sit in our cosy homes, and watch the drizzling rain; it used to be, "put up your umbrella and don't you miss the train." i was seated one night, with book and pen, the midnight oil burned low; while on the table spread before me lay, a legal doc. with verbiage slow. when all at once on the still night air, rang a terrible shriek, so wild and shrill, it curdled the warm blood in my veins, and made my very heart stand still. i rushed to the casement, and open it flew the pale moon shone in the azure sky, and like costly gems, 'neath a cloud of lace, gleamed the stars in the milky way. and i looked and shuddered, for what did i see, but thomas and maria a lookin' at me, their voices were pitched in the high key of c. classmates, now step to the front, and make your bow to the business world, we are ready to work for honest hire, with our banners all unfurled. and now in conclusion we bid you adieu and make room for the class of ' . now give three cheers, and three times three for this glorious g. s. m. & t. god's blessing be on it forever, we say, may it know naught but prosperous days. address to the graduating class _on examination night._ by w. l. mason, instructor. my dear pupils: this is the last night of our course, and since we have studied our final lesson together, it has occurred to me that this would be a good opportunity for a little talk with you, as you are about to leave this school and go out into the world. first of all, i want to tell you, as i have many times told you before, how very much i have enjoyed my work in connection with this class during the past winter. there is a certain satisfaction in feeling that i have been able to help you to learn something, and this feeling is increased by remembering that i, too, have been learning, and that my knowledge of the art of shorthand has been enlarged by teaching it to you. you, on the other hand, must keep in mind the fact that you have not learned all there is to be learned about phonography. though you may live many years, and practice phonography all your life, you probably never will feel that you have a perfect knowledge of all the details of the art. this, however, need not discourage you, but, on the contrary, should fill you with pleasure to think there is something yet to be learned, and thus the fascination which the study of phonography has had for you during the past few months, can never diminish so long as you have a desire to advance more and more towards perfection. it is not to be expected that you will for any length of time remember everything that i have ever said to you with regard to the advantages of shorthand or its practical use; but of one thing i feel very sure, and that is that whatever i have said that is worth anything will at some future time recur to you when you need it most, and when it will probably be better understood than it is now. there is one fact that i wish very strongly to impress upon you, namely, that you have, by your diligent study of the past winter, gained something which is of priceless value to you, and, if used aright, something which must some day, sooner or later, prove of particular advantage. this practical knowledge of shorthand which you now possess is something which cannot be bought or sold; it is something which you can never wholly forget; it is something which many persons would give a great deal to obtain; and i therefore charge you to guard it with care, and treasure it as a talent for the right use of which you will some day be held accountable. do not by any means give up your practice. even if you cannot continue it regularly, do not abandon it altogether, but look upon your shorthand as a mine of intellectual wealth which, if rightly worked, will yield rich results. and now, one word more: be diligent, be persevering, be true to whatever trust is reposed in you; and, if you seek a reward outside of the natural satisfaction that will come from work well done, remember the word of one who said, "thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will make thee ruler over many things." with hearty congratulations upon your success, and with the most cordial wishes for your future prosperity, i bid you god-speed. transcriber's note: minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors; otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to the authors' words and intent. "[=a]" indicates an a-macron. generously made available by the internet archive/american libraries.) [illustration: charles lewis cocke] charles lewis cocke founder of hollins college by w. r. l. smith, d.d. boston richard g. badger the gorham press copyright, , by richard g. badger all rights reserved made in the united states of america the gorham press, boston, u. s. a. foreword it will be obvious that this biography has been written in a passion of admiration and loyal love. conscious of the eminent worthiness of its subject, the writer has felt no temptation to exceed the just limits of praise, or to violate the demands of a true sincerity. the effort has been to hold the record to a faithful presentation of the facts in a long and distinguished career. the singular unity of his life-work, localized on one spot of earth, has made the gathering of materials an easy task. an intimate and affectionate friendship of twenty-three years, is one of the author's invaluable sources. then, abundant information was found in the minutes of the trustee meetings, the yearly catalogues, the college magazines, the occasional reminiscent speeches to students and the annual commencement address. one makes bold to say that he fears not the verdict of the older hollins girls on this memoir. if it shall awaken hallowed memories and unseal the fount of tears; if it shall tighten the clasp of their heartstrings to dear old hollins, its purpose will have been largely accomplished. w. r. l. smith. contents chapter i page the early years chapter ii call of the southwest chapter iii hollins institute in struggle and growth chapter iv the clearing skies chapter v expansion and achievement chapter vi the president and his girls chapter vii commencements and addresses chapter viii religious enthusiasms and activities chapter ix characteristics chapter x his comrades and co-workers chapter xi his monument list of illustrations charles lewis cocke _frontispiece_ facing page charles lewis cocke and susanna virginia pleasants, about the valley union seminary, - the female seminary at botetourt springs, - hollins institute mrs. charles l. cocke "good morning, 'gyrls'" charles l. cocke mrs. charles l. cocke mrs. anne hollins john hollins hollins college introduction this biographical sketch of charles l. cocke has been written with fine appreciation and sympathy. it brings before us an exceptionally strong man, who after years of struggle against discouragements realized, in large measure, the ideals of his early years. it is a story of heroic achievement that can not be read without emotion. hollins college stands today as a fitting and permanent memorial of its founder's indomitable will and noble aims. but there was something still finer connected with his years of struggle and toil. long before the end came, he had made the noblest achievement of human life, bringing from its disappointments and conflicts, not a cynical distrust of his fellow men, but a courageous, hopeful and invincible character of righteousness and love. he learned to look upon the tumultuous world with a serene and benignant spirit. it was my privilege for many years to serve as one of the chaplains of hollins college. the hours spent in mr. cocke's office after the evening service are among my cherished memories. our talk, often protracted till nearly midnight, turned chiefly on educational, religious, and social subjects, which always made a strong appeal to his vigorous mind and earnest nature. he loved the truth; but in the expression of his opinions there was sometimes a delightful touch of exaggeration that lent a peculiar charm to his conversation. beyond any man i have ever known he possessed the power to call forth noble sentiment and stimulate intellectual activity. this quality explains, in part at least, the loyal devotion of his co-workers and the grateful affection of his students. it made him a great teacher. it endowed him with a sort of divine right to leadership; it crowned him with the glory of perennial, unconscious beneficence. in the quality of his intellect he was distinctly roman. by the law of resemblance he easily conjures up before our minds the dignified and sturdy personality of a cato. without the gifts of attic versatility, his strong intellect and sound judgment set him apart for substantial practical achievement. we are fully warranted in believing that he would have won in any industrial or political field the same distinguished success that he achieved in education. the religion of the new testament was a vital element in his character. its dominant feature was not emotion but conscience. to him the call of duty was imperative and final. it was in obedience to this call that he entered upon his work at hollins. the materialistic science of the latter half of the nineteenth century left him untouched. he recognized the divine agency in the lives of men no less than in the destiny of nations. this profound and dominant faith habitually filled the future with hope, and imparted to him, as to all who cherish it, unfailing courage and strength. a massive intellect, supported by a deep sense of religious duty, made him an independent and fearless thinker. he had the force to break the trammels of tradition. with the vision of a true pioneer he saw the need of a better intellectual training for american women, and with the resourcefulness of a strong nature he led the way in its attainment. his aims and efforts were manifestations of real greatness. it is men of like vision and resourcefulness who are raised up from time to time to lead the forward movements of our race. it is no reproach to say that mr. cocke would hardly have been in full sympathy with the feminist movement of recent years. no man can live too far ahead of his time. but he helped to prepare the way for it by his pioneer insistence on a richer culture and larger opportunities for women; and it may justly be said that no other man in virginia or the south has a higher claim on their recognition and gratitude. he was fortunate to recognize in his early manhood his vocation as a pioneer educator. the call was clear, and his consecration complete. few men have ever labored with greater singleness of purpose. as tennyson dedicated his life to poetry and darwin to science, so mr. cocke gave himself to the work of a nobler culture for the women of virginia and later of our whole country. without this singleness of aim, which gave unity to his efforts for more than fifty years, he could not have brought his great life-task to a triumphant conclusion. but his great mind and heart were not so utterly absorbed in this work as to exclude from his thought and effort other important interests. before the present movement for social betterment had been inaugurated, he labored unselfishly for the material and moral improvement of his community and state. he was interested in the establishment of schools for boys. he was a recognized leader in the extension of the baptist church in southwestern virginia, and his foresight and wise counsel contributed in no small measure to the vigorous life and growth of that denomination. yet he was not narrowly sectarian. his broad outlook on life welcomed every agency that contributed to moral and religious advancement. to his mind denominational differences of creed were of secondary importance as compared with the great fundamental agreement in the work of establishing the kingdom of god in the world. he cultivated friendly relations with all branches of the christian church, and invited their ministers from time to time to conduct services in the hollins chapel. his chief requirement was a helpful message supported by an upright life. he delighted, it seems to me, in what we might call intellectual athletics. he welcomed a disagreement of view, and enjoyed measuring strength in an argument. the enjoyment, i think, was independent of the outcome of the discussion; it was found in the pleasurable exercise of a vigorous brain. defeat in argument yielded him scarcely less pleasure than did victory. the warmest discussion never ruffled in the slightest degree his self-possession and friendly courtesy. in the massiveness of his character he was exempt from the foibles of smaller natures. in his striving after truth he was unswayed in his judgment by petty prejudices. his broad benevolence and warm interest in the welfare of others shielded him from envy and jealousy. while sternly intolerant of wrong-doing, he was gently patient with the wrong-doer, being less anxious to punish than to reclaim. though he was doubtless conscious of his strength, as are all truly great men, he was too sensible and honest to feel the inflation of egotism. his natural stately dignity forbade familiarity; but to those in need he was uniformly kind and helpful. it is the memory of his kindness and helpfulness that has enshrined his image in many hearts. the life of so rare a character deserves to be recorded in permanent form. it will thus stand as an inspiration and guide to others. as biographer dr. smith has performed his task worthily; and i esteem it a privilege to write this introduction and pay this tribute of admiration and affection to one of the greatest men i have known. f. v. n. painter. salem, va., september , . chronology _february_ charles l. cocke was born at edgehill, king william county, va. he entered richmond college. he entered columbian college at washington, d. c. graduated from columbian college, and accepted a position at richmond college. on _december_ married susanna virginia pleasants, of henrico county. - connected with richmond college. called to take charge of "valley union seminary," a co-educational school, roanoke county, va., at botetourt springs. _june_ arrived at botetourt springs to take charge of the school. _july_ the first session under mr. cocke's superintendence opened with boys and girls. board of trustees discontinued the department for boys. _july_ the session -' opened for girls only, under the name the female seminary at botetourt springs, va., mr. cocke, principal, registration girls. _september_ the session of -' opened with increased faculty and registration of girls. mr. and mrs. john hollins of lynchburg, va., donated funds to the institution, and in their honor the name was changed to _hollins institute_. -' average attendance . -' doors not closed during this period. average attendance . -' average attendance . - buildings, enlarged to accommodate students. _may_ charles l. cocke died. charles lewis cocke founder of hollins college i think i would rather have written a great biography than a great book of any other sort, as i would have rather painted a great portrait than any other kind of picture. phillips brooks. charles lewis cocke chapter i the early years - in the library at hollins college is a life-size portrait of a great virginian. in its presence, you instantly feel the spell of a commanding personality. the figure is tall, graceful, well proportioned, and in the right hand is a diploma, the proper symbol of the vocation of a college president. the attitude exactly fits the supreme moment on commencement day. in the face, the artist has cunningly gathered the insignia of fine mental quality, and pictured the forces of achieving manhood. the ample brow looks the home of ideality and enterprise, the aquiline nose hints endurance and tireless energy. napoleon selected as his marshals men marked by the prominence of this feature. that jaw and chin and those thin lips speak virility and determination. in the glance of those blue, eagle eyes, are intimations of keen intensity and lightning force, yet subduable to all the moods of tenderness and love. truly, this is a notably fine presentation in art of one of the noblest virginians of the th century. this man was marked for high performance, and would have won distinction in any sphere of honorable endeavor. "excelsior" was the divine imprimatur stamped on his nature. his call was to leadership, and his response enrolled him among the pioneers in the cause of the higher education of women in the south. the educational ideals of thomas jefferson became the inspiration of his youth, and with astonishing tenacity and unity of purpose he pursued them until he worked out hollins college, making it one of the rare gems of american culture. his work stimulated the founding of other like institutions in virginia and the south. thus he builded wiser than he knew. he wrought well in his generation, and a multitude of splendid women throughout the whole nation will revere his name forever. it was a brilliant battle he fought against hostile conditions and appalling odds. he was cast in heroic mold. in fancy we can see him bearing his banner up the heights, his eyes flashing strange fires, and every energy of soul and body exerted to its utmost. the name of this remarkable man is charles lewis cocke, and there stands the faithful, impressive likeness of him in the library building at hollins college. it is the story of this man that we want to know, and to that end the following pages are written. it is the right of every child to be born of honorable parentage. the life of charles l. cocke began with a good heredity. he was born february , , at edgehill, the home of his father, james cocke, in king william county, virginia. elizabeth fox was the maiden name of his mother. both family names run back a number of generations, the old english ancestors having come to virginia in the th century. richard cocke bought a home with three thousand acres, and from to represented henrico in the house of burgesses. john fox located in york county and then in gloucester, in the years to . from this worthy stock descended the subject of this biography. charles lewis was the oldest son of the family at edgehill. religious reverence and intelligence dwelt in the home, and correct views of conduct were expressed in parental example. the baptist faith was an important part of his inheritance, and at beulah church near by his childhood received its first impressions of divine worship. by singular good fortune, the benign influence of the eloquent pastor and friend, the rev. dr. andrew broaddus, fell on the family and the growing lad. in the atmosphere of this happy home, and in the moral securities and privileges of a good country community, the early years were passed. the boy's mind was alert, and both on the farm and in the local schools, gave hints of latent powers. the growing youth demonstrated his managerial capacity one year by taking charge of a kinsman's farm and raising, as he said, "the finest crop it had ever borne." self-reliance and the power of bringing things to pass early became distinguishing qualities. the father was proud of the promise of his son, and when the boy was about fifteen years of age, gave him his choice of a career on the farm or in some professional calling. the father could hardly have been surprised at the prompt decision in favor of a profession. richmond college was then new, and under the presidency of the rev. dr. robert ryland, was prosecuting its work in the suburbs of the capital city. the college was only twenty miles distant from edgehill and soon our ambitious youth was diligently pursuing his studies within its walls. no special genius betrayed itself, but there was the same bent of assiduous application which was on display when the abundant crop was raised. dr. ryland was not slow in discovering the promising traits in the new student, and a mutual interest sprang up between them. the astute president saw in the boy the prophecy of stalwart young manhood, just such a factor as might some day be of value to himself in the labors of the institution. the interest grew into intimacy, and there were occasional confidential interchanges respecting the boy's hopes and aspirations. the time of attendance on the college classes was drawing to a close, when one day the doctor suggested to him a further course at columbian college, a baptist institution of higher learning in washington city. the thought enlisted the youth's enthusiasm, but he urged the lack of funds needful for such a scheme. then the generous friend replied: "i will furnish that, and you can repay me at your convenience." here was a compliment from a wise educator which, though it tended to no inflation of conceit, put a glowing stimulus in a young man's soul. no true man or woman ever fails to give gratitude and honor to those who quickened and encouraged aspiration in the days of youth. impressed deeply by the kindly offer, and stirred by leaping ambition, charles lewis cocke left the college and returned to his home. at once he communicated to his father the new visions and hopes. the father, pleased at the hunger of the son for larger knowledge, said: "you shall go to columbian college; but we will not draw on the generosity of dr. ryland. i will supply the means." charles was then about eighteen years of age. the boy daniel webster was riding one day in a buggy with his father, when at a certain point of the conversation the father said: "son, i have decided to send you to dartmouth college." the announcement fell like music on the aspiring soul, and the only response the delighted son could make was to lean his head on his father's bosom and burst into tears. edgehill knew an emotion like that in the summer of . pursuant to plans for early departure to washington, james cocke and his son drove to richmond in a buggy. while the reins were in the father's hands, the horse went at a sluggish gait. presently they were passed to the son, when instantly the drudging steed pricked up his ears and struck a new stride. "you have been whipping this horse," exclaimed the surprised father. "no," was the reply, "i have never whipped him, but he knows what i want him to do." long years afterward, this little incident was told by the president of hollins institute to his graduating class, with the reflection, that he had learned that the best movements in horses and in people can be secured without whipping. the new student was welcomed into columbian college and there pursued the courses of study with unabating enthusiasm. naturally the environment of the national capital served as a wholesome stimulus to all his faculties. the good habits of his life suffered no deterioration and the fine qualities of his mind went on maturing rapidly. it was during this period that deepening religious impressions resulted in an open confession of faith, and in union with a baptist church in the city. he was baptized in the potomac river. closely following his twentieth birthday came his graduation with the degree of m.a. it is to be regretted that no letters written to his parents during this season have been preserved. fortunately, two written to his friends do survive. one, sent to his college chum, mr. a. b. clark, of richmond, virginia, bears date of may , : "i walk at the usual times alone, spending the moments mostly in meditation on serious subjects. my thoughts are more apt to turn this way than formerly. i write two lessons per day in greek and read but little in other books." something far more significant appears in the second letter which was addressed to a kinswoman in the neighborhood of edgehill. in that he declared a settled purpose, "to devote my life to the higher education of women in the south, which i consider one of our greatest needs. in this decision, my promised wife concurs." what special influences led the college boy to such a majestic consecration, we have no means of discovering. that it is a mark of uncommon maturity and breadth of intelligent conception, there can be no question. the benignant spirit of democracy was becoming atmospheric and the intellectual emancipation of woman steadily and slowly pressed to the fore. ancient prejudices and stupidities were beginning reluctantly to yield. not one of the elder ages had ever grasped the thought of woman's mental, social and political equality with her brothers. here and there a lone voice had been lifted in her behalf to fall on deaf ears and unresponsive hearts. the world habit of thought laughed the innovation out of court and the bondage of general ignorance remained unbroken. but the imperial idea of the dignity and worth of the human individual could not be forever submerged. its persistent pressure loosened the bonds of tradition and began to breach the walls of custom. modern freedom wrought itself into the minds of men, and thinkers announced the harbinger of a new era. practice, as usual, lagged behind theory, and one hundred years ago when charles l. cocke was born, advantages for the culture of daughters were inferior to those afforded the sons. that this inequality should have impressed the mind of a young collegian, shows uncommon susceptibility to social needs and sacred human rights. a rare young manhood came to expression when he dedicated himself to the new ideal. he did not originate the ideal. it was borne to him in the expansive thought of the time. his shining merit is in the fact that he made the early resolve to be an agent in bringing in the better day for the liberal education of young women. it was in the spring of that his college work closed and he received the degree of master of arts. before the finals of that session, there was some important correspondence between himself and doctor ryland. the good president had startled charles with the flattering proposition that he should become a member of the faculty of richmond college, as assistant teacher in mathematics and as manager of the dining hall. the college was then trying to combine training in agriculture with the usual curriculum, an experiment that was soon abandoned. the young man was too genuinely modest to fancy himself equipped for so responsible a position. he faced the issue frankly, however, and much influenced by confidence in the judgment of doctor ryland, decided to accept. leaving columbian college he hastened to witness the closing exercises at richmond college. it must have seemed almost comical to see a practically beardless youngster put in charge of some of the vitally important duties of the institution. there he was, without a touch of egotism of self-consciousness, quiet of manner, and yet with something about him that looked resourceful, unapologetic, and unafraid. you may be sure that the boys looked at him curiously, and asked themselves, "can he do it?" of course there were cautious conservatives who doubted the competency of the new incumbent. this tribe is always with us. however, there was ground of assurance in the known confidence of doctor ryland, and nothing remained but to wait and see its vindication. no misgivings troubled the doctor himself. without bluster or consequential airs, the assistant professor made prompt acquaintance with his tasks, and discharged them with an efficiency that left nothing to be desired. he was on his mettle, conscious of the questioning curiosity centered upon himself. for the first time in his life he stood before the footlights of public observation and expectation. leadership had thrust its burdens on him early and had imposed its first critical test. [illustration: charles lewis cocke and susanna virginia pleasants about ] a survey of the affairs of the dining hall convinced him that a change of methods was necessary, and with pure audacity he introduced them. at the opening of the fall session of he presented the boys with a new bill of fare. to their astonishment he gave them oysters, finding them as cheap as other meats. he gave them raisins and plum pudding for dessert. he scored instant success, and the boys' heartstrings were in his hands. without incurring increased expense, the new manager secured a new satisfaction with the dining hall. noiselessly other needed changes were made and the voice of the growler ceased to be heard. at the helm was an officer who knew college boys, and the college spirit was noticeably improved. like competency appeared in the duties of the class room. he could teach mathematics and he did. before the commencement in , charles l. cocke was recognized as a distinct contribution to the life of the institution. here is a young professor who does not propose to rest content with inadequate facilities and outworn methods. his whole nature cries for improvement and for better ways of doing things. what a boon to many a school and college would such a man be. good doctor ryland's face wore a smile which plainly said, "i told you so." his judgment of capacity and character was sufficiently justified. the young comrade was to him an object of ever-deepening interest and their relations steadily ripened into sincere and loving friendship. now, the president knew that his assistant was romantically entangled with an affair of the heart. he also knew the fair young woman who was responsible for that state of things. miss susanna v. pleasants lived five miles north of richmond in a lovely old virginia home which bore the indian name of "picquenocque." knowing that a matrimonial alliance was imminent, the doctor, one day, ventured to ask charles about the date of the coming event. he warmly approved the match and was exuberant in congratulations. as a matter of fact he was hoping that the marriage would tend to fix his assistant more firmly in richmond college. this genial intrusion into sacred privacy was not resented, but charles found it inconvenient to confide. the question was asked in november, and at that very moment the issue to be decided between the sweethearts was whether the ceremony should come off on the last day of december, or the first of january following. that problem enabled the young gentleman to make a complete but truthful evasion. his honest reply was: "i know neither the day, nor the month, nor the year." there the matter ended, and the mystified doctor relapsed into silence. later the mighty problem was solved and the marriage was solemnized on the last day of . doctor ryland, officiating, beamed on the happy pair and found great merriment in the perfectly true, but dextrously non-committal answer, made just six weeks before. the bride and groom had not quite reached their twenty-first birthdays when they began that remarkable human pilgrimage which was to endure a little more than sixty years. the angels of domestic peace and joy sang benediction all the way. that home life is a glorious memory now, but its lesson is more precious than gold. an astronomer discerned a luminous star. on closer inspection he found it, not single but binary. the twin stars joined their radiance, which came streaming down in one glorious pencil of light. such a star beams forever in the hollins firmament. chapter ii call of the southwest - the attraction of the blue ridge and alleghany mountains was a fact freely confessed by eastern virginians. even before the revolutionary war the section, now known as the tazewell country, became an eldorado, and thitherward set the streams of migration. along the beautiful valleys and in the hearts of the hills lay the possibilities of fabulous wealth. through the early decades of the nineteenth century this fascination continued, population increased, centers of culture were formed, and men of enterprise began to think of a railroad from lynchburg, virginia, to east tennessee. christian evangelism was active, but education lagged. there were fine brains in the southwest, but the means of culture were deficient. the land called for the school teacher. slowly the providential workings were preparing a place for a young professor in richmond college, who as yet had no dream of it. seven miles north of the city of roanoke, carvin's creek pours down out of the mountains into the wonderful roanoke valley. right in the aperture of the hills where it emerges, was discovered a little sulphur spring whose properties suggested the establishment of a watering place. accordingly, mr. johnston, a man of wealth from richmond, bought a hundred acres and built a commodious brick hotel near the two springs, one limestone, the other sulphur. this was somewhere near the year . a race course was made one of the additional attractions. the place took the name of "botetourt springs," and at once leaped into fame as a health resort. the turnpike from the west passed immediately in front of the hotel and between the springs, which are one hundred yards apart. general andrew jackson stopped here for entertainment on his way to and from washington city. general lafayette, on his last visit to the united states, was an honored guest. touring south, he came out of his way to pay respect to his old friend, mr. johnston. interesting legends from the old pioneer days gathered round the spot. one bold adventurer, named carvin, was said to have built a rock castle on a crag near the springs and to have had many hair-breadth escapes from indians and wild beasts. all that is certainly known is, that he left his name on the little creek that passes nearby. a huge, isolated mountain, in the shape of an elephant, rises just one mile to the north, and tradition says that cowardly slackers of the revolutionary period made it a hiding place. they mended pots, plates and pans, and so were called "tinkers." thus it comes that the beautiful mountain wears a homely name and perpetuates an unworthy memory. botetourt springs was popular and well patronized by seekers for health and pleasure, but the death of mr. johnston brought a crisis, and in the property was on the market. the administrator, col. george p. tayloe, offered it to the highest bidder. just at this time a baptist minister, the rev. mr. bradley, from new york state, had come into the neighborhood, seeking a home and work. being an intelligent man and especially interested in education, he saw that this property was capable of being converted to the uses of a school. his zeal and industry soon materialized in the organization of the "valley union education society," and that body purchased botetourt springs with promises to pay. [illustration: the valley union seminary, - ] the buildings were easily adaptable to the purposes in hand. the old hotel, consisting of a basement and two stories, provided a dining hall, a chapel, and thirty-one rooms. then, there were seven smaller buildings with two to four rooms each. these latter were ranged on opposite sides of the front yard, at right angles to the main building. in the fall of the "valley union seminary" was launched, under encouraging conditions, with mr. bradley at the head. the patronage was large and the prospects alluring at the outset, but soon the relations of the principal with his faculty and students became unhappy. he was a worthy, irreproachable man, and intellectually competent, but it seemed impossible for him to make tactful adjustments with the young virginians. the management was changed, attendance was large, and the only cloud on the enterprise was the unpaid notes. the affairs of mr. johnston's estate must be wound up. the young seminary in its third year was in the breakers, and looked disaster in the face. it was now in the spring of . deliverance must come speedily, or another dead school would pass into the abyss. in this critical hour, two or three students just returned from richmond college said to members of the society: "we know a man who can handle your seminary and make it go." any remark that hinted at relief was more than welcomed by the trustees, who asked whom the students had in mind. "it is professor charles l. cocke of richmond college. he is only twenty-five years old but he has had five years' experience in teaching. he knows how to bring things to pass, and if your school can be pulled out of a hole, he is the man you want." such was the homely but emphatic tribute of the college boys, and it did not pass unheeded. propositions from the society went promptly to richmond, and the professor was induced to come to the mountains to look the situation over. the society was pleased with him, and he was impressed with the possibilities of the seminary. the call of the great southwest sounded in his ears and the visions of the things that may be, beckoned him on. the call was made in the spring of . he would ponder it devoutly. shall he break all the tender ties that bind him to his tidewater home? shall he sunder relations with richmond college and bring grief to the heart of his devoted friend, dr. ryland? shall he take his young wife and three little children into a rugged land, remote and destitute of the comforts they have known? such questions voiced the negative, self-regarding view, and he asked himself: "is not this southwest a land of great promise and educational need? may not this be the providential arena for the realization of my fond dream of mental liberation for the daughters of virginia and the south?" this noble speculation, still working, was hid away in his soul, vague and undefined. it would grow. this was the positive and unselfish view, and he knew it. "yes, i will go," was the final settlement of the painful controversy. like abraham, he would go forth all unknowing, yet believing in the guidance of a divine wisdom. no, this young man was not the football of impulse. his decisions were the outcome of long deliberate thought. this was the most vital step of his life. he heard the voice of duty, that "stern daughter of god," and obeyed. he had an imaginative power which went, not to the uses of poetry, but to the practical problems of life. it was his habit to project his thought thirty years forward, deploying before him the reasonable developments of a growing civilization. in these forecasts, imagination did him a fine service. here was the spring of those ceaseless demands for enlargement and improvement of facilities, which later marked his work as college president. the spring of is come; the six years of work in richmond college are closed; the farewells are spoken; and mr. cocke journeys toward the sunset. it is a weary overland drive of five days in a carriage from richmond to botetourt springs. lofty "tinker" salutes the pilgrims as they move up the highway, and now the vehicle stops in front of the old hotel, whose front yard is a wilderness of weeds. mrs. cocke's heart sinks within her as she looks on the inhospitable desolation. ghosts of dilapidation and decay stretch out hands of welcome in sheer, grim mockery. the anguish in the young wife's heart is momentary. with a sublime courage, equal to that of her husband's, from that awful moment she goes smilingly with him to the task of preparing for the coming session. unwittingly, they are laying the foundations of the noble institution which, today, is a pride and joy to the state and nation. little do they dream that before the closing of their toil, they will see girls from thirty states parading and singing on that outlandish front yard. "i'd rather walk with god in the night than go alone by day." by a business arrangement with the trustees, mr. cocke had put into the treasury of the society $ , . of his own and his wife's money, to stay off the creditors. on the rd day of june, , the session opened with the new principal in charge. it was a new dignity, truly, but how precarious and involving what weight of responsibility! the young soldier is on the firing line with an independent command. he can hardly anticipate the leagued masses of trouble, disappointment and despair that lurk in the mountains, plotting his destruction. for the next twenty-five years we shall see the storms of battle break upon him, and we shall see his banner waving in victory to the shoutings of a multitude. the principal is a born leader. he is resolute and confident without egotism; resourceful and wise without display. the richmond college boys were right. here is the man. however, the burden-bearing years must develop the fact. the first nine years will carry us through seasons of struggle and painful progress. with the outstanding facts of this period, it is the purpose of this chapter to deal. he was now the head of a co-educational seminary, which from its inception was designed to be strictly benevolent in character. in ample proof is the fact that $ . paid the student's bill for tuition and board for five months. the school never made money, nor was that ever its end. the purpose of the founders was to put education in the reach of all who thirsted for it. such was the generous basis of the enterprise. the small revenues thus realized, yielded the teachers pitifully inadequate reward, and made improvements practically impossible. you may be sure that good order was maintained and good lessons were required. from the start, mr. cocke's administration won popular confidence and approval. soon after his coming he was announced to speak in the baptist church in big lick (now the city of roanoke), and a large audience was there to greet him. in the address he said, among other things, "i have come to southwest virginia to give my life to the cause of education, to spend and be spent in that work." a fine impression was made on the citizens, and on dismission a gentleman said to a lady: "that is the man to send your son to." fifteen years later that boy was a colonel in the confederate army. this boy's older brother had told mr. cocke that thomas was a bad boy, and had added, "if he does not behave, i hope you will thrash him." for two whole sessions the youth found himself seated at the table next to mr. cocke and the coffee pot. he was entrusted with messages here and there, and finally the boys began to say that tom lewis was mr. cocke's pet. not so: that was his ingenious discipline. he could control horses and boys without whipping. in the long after years the principal had no more faithful and devoted friend than colonel lewis. once a group of older boys made some of the younger ones drunk. the offenders were promptly expelled, and nothing was done to the innocent victims. other young men made angry threats, and their expulsion followed. rebellion grew; a large body of the boys defiantly paraded the campus, making the situation ominous. the school was called to the chapel, the boys on one side and the girls on the other. the principal fronted the boys and said: "i am the head of this school and i am going to run it. i have sent some disorderly students away, and if necessary i will send more. i will send every one of you home and start a new school, and if i can't run it i will give it up and go at some other business." the audience understood the tone of that voice and took warning from the gleam in the blue eyes. after that the incident was closed. his skill in dealing with mischievous boys is exhibited in another episode. some of them felt that school life was dull without a little spice of adventure, so in pure fun they sallied forth at night to visit the neighbors' orchards, and even to take unwarranted liberties with their chicken roosts. complaints came to the principal, who at once sought a private interview with the culprits. he talked to them kindly, yet with earnest protestations against such pranks. he knew they were not thieves, far from it, but they should not take people's property that had cost labor and care. after duly moralizing on the case, he closed the interview with the following burst of magnanimity: "now boys, if hereafter some irresistible impulse is on you to prowl, spare the neighbors and plunder _my_ poultry yard." what human heart but a school boy's could resist an appeal like that? one night not long thereafter, mrs. cocke heard curious noises on the back premises. mr. cocke slipped out in the darkness and readily took in the situation. the following night he stood at the window of one of the boys' cottages and saw the preliminaries looking to a midnight carnival on roast duck. just as the feast was ready to begin, there was a tap at the door. hospitality invited entrance, when in stepped mr. cocke! to his friendly inquiries they responded that they were about to dispose of a savory meal and coolly invited the visitor to share it, which he as coolly proceeded to do. the party was jolly, and though all knew that nobody was deceived, the fact was not betrayed by one look or word. mr. cocke bowed himself out with a pleasant good night, and the mystified marauders went to bed. depredations ceased, and the boys' admiration of that midnight diplomacy was unconcealed. when a boy was guilty of some offense, not mean, but mischievous, his case was stated in the presence of the school, and the roaring laughter that followed was sufficient correction. there was not a case of disobedience among the girls in the years -' , but they would keep their windows open. the boys lifted hats in passing, and were rewarded with pleased and winning glances. often while sitting by the open window, a thoughtful look covered one side of a girl's face, while on the other side, looking window-ward, played a bewitching smile. in those days was established the yearly october visit to the top of tinker. the day of the excursion was a "secret between charles and the lord," as mrs. cocke once humorously said to the inquiring girls. arriving on the summit, and viewing the landscape over, suddenly an apple would fall in the midst, as from the sky. where did it come from? the girls knew, and the boys knew. the boys had gone before and hidden behind the rocks and brush. then the mountain scenery lost its charm, and a romantic search for flowers began. the halls of the seminary filled to their capacity and the principal pleaded for more room. alas, the trustees had no money, and the school's revenue was a sacrifice to the benevolent principle of minimum rates. the institution he wanted could come only through increased equipment and accommodations. there the young principal was, the sport of harsh conditions. one balm came to his heart in the timely sensible praise of the trustees. in their meeting, january , , they said in formal resolution: "we cannot speak in terms too high of the untiring diligence of the principal and his assistants in maintaining judicious discipline, and in the prosecution of their responsible duties." his efforts for notable success had a double motive. first, he quite properly wanted to convince all of his capacity for educational work. second, by the overcrowded conditions, he wanted to force an issue on the trustees respecting the future policy of the school. the accommodations were palpably insufficient, and as there was no possibility of increasing them, what should be done? the principal knew what to do. he boldly advised a radical change: dismiss the male department and convert the seminary into a school for girls. to his immense delight, the proposition was accepted. the new order looked like the opening of an approach to the goal of ambitions born in his college days. his loyal interest in the education of young men was not abated, but the dream of the higher education of women became a passion. this important decision was made in the spring of , and thus a ten years co-educational school, in which mr. cocke had labored for six prosperous years, came to a close. with mingled feelings of grateful hope and keen anxiety, he now faced a golden opportunity. he enjoyed the distinction of being the head of the first chartered school for girls in virginia. the fall session of opened with eighty-one pupils. that of the fall of , with one hundred and fifty. the wisdom of the radical change was fully justified. it was a time of radiant satisfaction and jubilant hope. [illustration: the female seminary at botetourt springs, - ] but it was now that the battle with austere conditions and scant equipment became the torment of his mind. the trustees could give no material aid, and popular interest in education was too feeble to proffer financial help. it is simple truth to say that on this vestibule of his great enterprise, the gravest doubts and trepidations of his whole career assailed him. in moods of depression the heroic man feared that he had attempted the impossible. was he unnerved or unstrung? not for one minute. in these black days he fronted his task with the resourcefulness of an uncommon manhood. the stamina of his nature came to expression in a way that surprised even himself. he made imploring appeals to friends who were well to do in this world's goods. a good providence put him in touch with two noble spirits, mr. john hollins and his wife, of lynchburg, virginia, members of his own denomination. mr. hollins presented the seminary with a gift of $ , cash, and then the daylight began to break. the good man proposed as a condition of his gift that the old management by an education society and its appointed trustees must give way to a board of self-perpetuating trustees. to all concerned the proposition seemed wise and just, and it was so ordered. it was then generously agreed that the name of the institution should be changed, and that henceforth it should be known as "hollins institute." to mr. cocke and the dissolving society, this appeared to be a compliment well deserved by the man and his wife who had saved the life of the school. the transfer of all the property of the valley union education society to the trustees of hollins institute was made in march, . thus in the first nine years of his incumbency, mr. cocke saw two revisions of the original charter granted in january, . by the first revision in , the seminary was made a school for girls. by the second, in december, , the name of the institution was changed, the old management was abolished, and its functions put into the hands of a self-perpetuating board of trustees. no friction arose; all was harmony. the old régime passed, but its personnel remained steadfast. in all the stress and tribulation of the past years, mr. cocke had been the central bolt that held the structure intact. around his single heroic personality gathered all the forces that made possible the perpetuity of the institution. his reward had now come, and a blessed assurance threw its foregleams on the future. he was now in his thirty-sixth year and athrill with that full health and masculine energy that was his blessing to the end of his life. chapter iii hollins institute in struggle and growth - that was a high day, in the summer of , when hollins institute flung its banner to the breeze. a munificent gift, a new régime and a new name put fresh enthusiasm into the institution, and the gladness of hope into the hearts of all its friends. you have noticed how these joyous effects always flow from new deals and revisions of plans. a better day has dawned, bright visions float in the brain of mr. cocke, and the blue mountains seem to hail him with congratulation. the human heart would famish but for these fountains that break out in the midst of weary, toiling years. economic conditions are improving in the southwest. the kanawha canal now connects richmond with buchanan, a village just twenty miles away. the virginia and tennessee railroad has been built ( ), supplying quick communication with the outside world; and the macadamized turnpike has been built from buchanan to the west, passing within a few hundred yards of the school. the general conditions were never so cheering, nor was the outlook ever so bright. some necessary changes have been made by the trustees in internal affairs. the rates of board and tuition are moderately increased, and mr. cocke is put in charge of all departments, with authority to select his teachers and to fix their salaries. the new board of trustees knows the qualities and capacities of the principal, and from this time forth they give him confidence and almost unlimited powers. charles l. cocke, not yet thirty-six years of age, had attained enviable distinction in the educational ranks of his native state. he will justify the faith of his friends. the hollins gift of $ , was put to work. the east building with thirty-eight rooms, was projected, and by january, , completed at a cost of $ , . alas, calamity crashed upon the school. in the fall of typhoid fever broke out and forced a temporary suspension. with cruel suddenness the epidemic worked a loss of public confidence, and once more the heart of the principal was harrowed with discouraging thoughts. it was given out that bad sanitary conditions had invited the scourge, but rigid investigation exploded the theory. the fact was that the disease had been brought to the institute by one of the pupils. slowly the panic yielded and confidence returned, but the experience was shocking. quickly the principal regained his tone of courageous hope and its wholesome contagion spread far and near. in july, , in a report to the trustees, he made this important and assuring statement: "by affording these superior inducements the school has realized a degree of prosperity beyond that of any boarding school in the state, and has given an impulse to female education heretofore unknown. the plan and policy of our school must be considered the true one. this plan recognizes the principle that in the present state of society in our country, _young ladies require the same thorough mental training as that afforded to young men_, and accordingly, in the arrangement of the course of studies, and the selection of teachers, and the conferment of distinctions, we have kept this principle steadily in view. this feature of the institution has given to it its prominence and past success, and other institutions, originating since our plan was made public, have almost uniformly adopted it." "to each man is given a marble to carve for the wall; a stone that is needed to heighten the beauty of all; and only his soul has the magic to give it a grace; and only his hands have the cunning to put it in place." during the year , the activity of the trustees secured a good many subscriptions, and the generous mrs. anne hollins rallied with her own gift of $ , . the dark days of began to be a memory, and the revival of public confidence and patronage smoothed the brow of care. it must not be supposed that mr. cocke lost interest in the education of boys when the co-educational system was abandoned in . no man in virginia was more enlisted in the education of all the people than he. there must be a school for the boys in the virginia mountains, and in the later fifties, though sufficiently burdened with local cares, he turns his attention to this interest. with the valuable assistance of dr. george b. taylor, later an eminent baptist missionary to italy, he was the chief factor in establishing alleghany college, in greenbrier county, one hundred miles northwest of hollins institute. this county was included in the new state of west virginia, organized in . the school opened with one hundred young men and ran well for a brief season, but was suspended at the beginning of the civil war. the buildings were occupied by federal soldiers, and shortly afterwards were destroyed by fire. all subsequent efforts to revive the college were unavailing. with characteristic loyalty, mr. cocke matriculated his son, joseph james cocke, at the opening of the first session. the brave boy laid down his books at the first alarm of war and entered the confederate army, and in the terrible battles in northern virginia, he was twice dangerously wounded. that boy is now a venerable and honored citizen of the state of texas. long years after, mr. cocke bent his efforts towards the erection of alleghany institute at roanoke, and had great satisfaction in its commodious buildings and its promising attendance of boys. in the course of varying fortunes this enterprise fainted by the way and ceased to be. one can but fancy that if mr. cocke himself could have held the helm in these two adventures, the story would have been different. the storms beat and the floods came, but hollins institute stands. her standards are stirring thought currents and stimulating like enterprises in virginia and the nation. for our pioneer in the southwest, this is compensation and a crown of glory. without one thrill of jealousy does he see the spread of his views and the certainty of large competition. to stand in his own place and make good, is the one guiding and all-controlling purpose of his life. in , mrs. hollins, now a lonely widow, signalized her profound interest in a new gift of $ , . this generous and timely act pushed up the contributions of the hollins family to the handsome sum of $ , . the growing popularity of hollins sprung the problem of enlarged facilities and to solve it was the design of this latest benevolence. it was greeted with boundless gratitude, and the trustees deputed one of their members, mr. wm. a. miller, to bear to her their most cordial thanks. accompanying this message was an urgent request for the oil portraits of the two benefactors. in due time the portraits came, and to this day they adorn the walls of the main building, whose erection was made possible by the recent gift. an architect was employed, and work was begun on this building in the spring of , on the very day that virginia seceded from the union. the tempest and blight of the civil war came down to threaten the life of the institution and to almost break the heart of the founder. expectant hope had looked for early occupancy, but it was not to be. in one year the walls were upreared, the roof was on, and then the work stopped. the contractor quit his job because the war had disorganized labor and the situation was simply helpless. there stands the unfinished structure, and there it will stand, a ghastly skeleton for eight long years. at this beginning of horrors, mr. cocke's reputation as a strong man was established, and the fair name of his school was extended beyond the limits of the state. seasoned in old battles and richly schooled in experience, he stands in his place unterrified. he dares, even amid the clouds and disasters of war, to send out his adventurous thought, thirty years to the fore. what ought to be, what may be, the facilities and achievements of this institution a generation hence? he is now too well fortified in his convictions of educational theory and practice, and of their fitness to the needs of the time, to be affrighted by the spectres and goblins of ultimate failure. in , he speaks to his girls and the public in this fashion: "the organization of this school is unlike all others in virginia. to some extent it is denominational, but decidedly anti-sectarian. its trustees perpetuate their own existence. its funds cannot revert to any other object. it is responsible to no religious body and its success depends solely on its merits. it looks to permanent existence and to the good of the whole commonwealth. its successes have exceeded the most sanguine expectations of its friends. it was first to adopt a high standard of classical education for young women in virginia; first to place the english department under a regular professor; and first in the nation to adopt the elective system of studies. with the prestige of a history of twenty years, it may properly and confidently appeal to the general public to make it an addition to the permanent wealth and moral elevation of the country. i believe its reputation will spread until it draws pupils from all over the south." under the distressful conditions, is there not something morally grand in this utterance? it was a prophetic speech, and the daring prediction was more than realized in the thirty years that followed. in , one hundred girls filled every room, and seventy-five applicants were turned away. oh, for the forty-six student-rooms in that unfinished hulk! sequestered snugly in the mountains, no institution in the country suffered less from the demoralization of the war. families driven from the areas of invasion sent their daughters to the haven of its seclusion. the faculty of four gentlemen and three ladies had ample occupation. it was at this juncture that the president dropped the wise remark that the success of an institution demands a capable manager as much as qualified instructors, and that he is harder to find. of course, during this period, the depreciated currency and the correspondingly high cost of living required advance in the rates of the tuition and board. in , one hundred and twenty-eight students were crowded into the rooms, and an equal number were turned away. in these days of inevitable stringency, the fare was far from luxurious, but it was accepted by teacher and pupil with that cheerfulness which becomes sensible and considerate people. that year the school was not immune to the alarms of war. a federal raid, led by general hunter, rushed into the town of salem, nine miles distant, and the news spread consternation at hollins, but without panic. the president had prepared a paper, stating the defenseless condition of the college and entreating protection by the general of any invading force. this paper he kept in his pocket, ready to be sent by messenger, if from any cause he himself should be prevented from going to make an oral request. happily, hunter came no nearer than salem, and the awful suspense was relieved. on that very day, george newman, the faithful colored driver, went to salem with his omnibus, and was waiting at the depot, when the horsemen in blue came thundering down the street. he cracked his whip over his trusty four and dashed southward across the river, amid a shower of bullets. he was going in a course directly opposite from hollins, but that was the only avenue of escape. when he was not heard from for the best part of two days, he was given up for lost. but late on the second day, who should drive in but this same george newman, with an air of triumph and an ecstasy of smiles on his face! he came bare-headed, having lost his hat in the impetuosity of that patriotic retreat. the girls hailed him with a storm of acclamation and instantly took up a collection with which they crowned the hero with a new straw hat! mrs. cocke, in these times of nervous excitement, was perfectly sure of her own demeanor in case of irruption by the enemy. she would stand defiant in the doorway and forbid all entrance. the family tell a story which the dear mother never denied. one day her son charley, a lad of ten years, with some of the servants, was coming back to the stables with the horses which had been hidden in the woods of carvin's creek, to escape the hands of the enemy. the youngsters came galloping down the road, when some excitable person imagining it a charge of yankee cavalry, raised the alarm, and then followed the worst panic hollins ever knew. mrs. cocke, quietly busy in the pantry, hearing the shrieks, following an irresistible impulse, left the pantry door wide open and vanished to some place, she was never quite sure where. it was mr. cocke's custom in those days to send a group of girls in the omnibus to the sunday morning service of one of the churches in salem. such was the economic stress of the period that a handsome new hat in the school produced a sensation. fortune crowned one of the students with a beautiful headgear. she wore it to church, and generously, on the following sunday put the treasure on the head of a comrade who was going up to worship. so the ornament became a regular attendant at the salem services. gathered at the church doors were the salem boys, of course, and they soon became merrily interested in the new hat. one day after service, the girls found in the omnibus a note, inquiring: "who does that hat belong to?" the owner lives, today, in blacksburg, va. those trips to salem ceased long ago, and now in the hollins chapel, regular sunday evening services are conducted by chaplain pastors from the various denominations. in the spring of , pneumonia became epidemic in the school, taking off six of the pupils and two more in their homes. this disaster caused a suspension one month before the close of the regular term. with the fall of the confederacy, mr. cocke had again to face a condition that seemed the mockery of his hopes. everywhere were economic prostration, social disorganization, and pinching poverty. shall hollins keep up the fight? will the sun of austerlitz ever rise on her long and varying battles? what young institution ever threaded its way through a wilderness so gloomy or by pits and precipices so dangerous? hollins will go on, walking by faith, and its doors shall not be closed, even for the part of a session. that is the mind of the president. he and his faculty, though exhausted in means, will face the destitution and never give up the ship. the session of - ran on with forty-five students. rates had to be increased, and even with that, the college would have been compelled to close but for a timely loan from colonel tayloe to buy food. this noble friend and president of the board of trustees had been a comfort to mr. cocke from the beginning, and will continue so for thirty years more. our great leader did not talk about his troubles, being always master of himself. once he made this brief pathetic admission to his trustees: "i am so burdened that i do not feel fit for my work." what can move us to tears like a strong man's grief? and there stands the ghastly figure of the unfinished main building, mocking his struggles and dreams. for five years now, pine boards have been nailed up to cover the windows, and not even a porch relieves the monotony of its ugliness. two alternatives were before him: first, reduce the faculty, which is a most deplorable thing to do; second, go on as we are, but that is bankruptcy and ruin. hear him: "i will go on; i will trust in god and the people." he insisted to his trustees: "we must not descend to the character of a neighborhood school." their sympathies were with him, but they felt unable to cope with the iron stringencies of the time. he did go on, never lowering a standard or abating the passionate cry for more room and better equipment. how he ever pulled through this slough of despond, he himself could not possibly tell. of one thing he was in no doubt and it was this, that in the long night of anguish, there was a precious mystery of heavenly aid. [illustration: hollins institute [main building completed . east building completed ]] one of the encouraging incidents of this season, was the fact that one of the finest young scholars in virginia accepted a call to the institute. when professor joseph a. turner, in , consented to become a member of the faculty, it meant that a finely accomplished man had confidence in the character and destiny of the college, and that certified confidence was a tonic to the president's soul. but hollins is still in the depths. there is no bracing of firm rock under her feet. all the officials know that the whole property is in peril of a public sale. how did the school go on? you must find answer in the resourcefulness and adamantine will of one great man. hollins did go on, and complimentary testimonials from leading scholars in the state began to be written and spoken. mr. cocke was cheered at the generous recognition and said: "we must lift our standards a little higher than ever before. our school should be second to none in the state and we must reach out for more distant patrons." the tide begins to rise, and on the horizon there are gleaming hints of a better day. in , mr. cocke secured a loan of $ , , and by the end of , that nightmare of the main building was transformed into a handsome and completed edifice. the passing of this melancholy incubus made a new epoch in his life. it was the cutting of chains from his feet, and the addition of wings wherewith to fly. the new structure greatly increased the accommodations, and now begins active propaganda in the south, acquainting the people with hollins institute. newly risen, like a star above tempest and cloud, she will shed benignant light on the homes and daughters of the land. may she go on shining forever! chapter iv the clearing skies - the torturing issues of the past are now settled. mr. cocke will let them pass to practical oblivion while he presses on to larger realizations. of course annoying problems will continue to dog his steps, but they will not wear the malignant aspect so familiar in the strenuous years. his ideal is a flying goal, and he will never see his loved college free from growing pains. the happiest decade of work that he has yet known is before him. he stands on its threshold with hope assured, and his face is lit with thanksgiving as he beholds the clouds receding, and the sunshine flooding all the sky. it is a time to grasp his hand and shower him with congratulations. he has now completed twenty-four years of toilsome labor beside the little sulphur spring. into the holy enterprise he has grandly flung himself, his property and his family. never had a man a more tactful and sympathetic co-worker than he found in his wife. without one murmur of complaint she has shared all his burdens and cares. her feminine quietness and grace have matched his masculine push and executive force. in him is a certain rugged virility which is delightfully supplemented by her charm of patient gentleness. with a noiseless and tireless efficiency, she has managed the domestic details, while he has handled the administrative affairs of the school. in the apportionment of praise, he would resent a bestowal that made her unequal to himself; nor would he fail to recognize the services of his children. since the wedding bells rang, thirty years ago, nine have come into the home [joseph j., leila v. (mrs. joseph a. turner), sallie lewis, mary susan (mrs. c. w. hayward), rosa pleasants (mrs. w. r. l. smith), charles henry, matty l., lucian h., and bessie (mrs. j. p. barbee)]. brought up in an atmosphere of service, all of them have, for longer or shorter periods, loyally served the institution. the new session of -' began with the registration of eighty girls. the trustees at this juncture stepped to the front with a cheering note, announcing that the institute was "getting on a firm basis," and expressing their intense gratification at its increasing popularity and patronage. they emphasized their high appreciation of the system of instruction, and the thoroughgoing diligence of the president and his faculty. all honor to these men who were sensitive to merit, and who had the grace to crown it with praise. these men also had learned that human progress is not much accelerated by whips of fault-finding and rebuke. in all their official records there is not an instance of clash between them and the president, nor even a hint of cross-purpose or loss of good understanding. when we think of the rough road they had travelled together, and the bewildering tangle of issues with which they had grappled, this concord is as surprising as it is honorable. an obstinate and wrangling board could have crippled him cruelly. these harmonies were due to two facts: first, the absolute confidence of these gentlemen in the judgment and business capacity of mr. cocke; second, his reciprocal confidence in them, accompanied by the most cordial respect and courtesy. at the board meetings through this decade they will not forget the value of commendatory resolutions, and it is pleasing to mention now, that this congenial partnership never knew a jar in all the after years. never was sunshine more grateful to the flowers, or music more cheering to a tired spirit, than were the tokens of the spreading fame of hollins to the soul of mr. cocke. golden appreciations by distinguished men began to be spoken and written. here is a tribute from professor edward s. joynes, of washington college, lexington, virginia: "i am intimately acquainted with the history of hollins. it is an institution of the very highest character, certainly second to none of its kind in this state. it has existed for upward of twenty-five years and been conducted upon the very highest standards of moral and intellectual education. its success and permanence have been due to its merits alone. it is an unendowed institution, founded originally by benevolence and supported by public patronage, and by the energy and economy of its administration. the president is a man of ability and of the highest personal character, and no institution in this state has a higher claim on the public confidence." dr. john a. broaddus, of the baptist theological seminary, greenville, south carolina, wrote his estimate: "i know of no better female school in the whole country, and very few, that for a moment, can be compared with hollins. the instruction takes an ample range, and is able, skillful and honest." the rev. dr. j. l. burrows, pastor of the first baptist church, richmond, virginia, stated his view: "in beauty and healthfulness of location; in attractiveness and adaptableness of its buildings; in tasteful adornment of grounds; in the wild grandeur of surrounding scenery, hollins institute occupies one of the most charming and sequestered nooks among the far-famed mineral springs of virginia. in the comprehensiveness and thoroughness of its course of study; in the ability and devotion of its instructors; in the carefulness and homefulness of its domestic economy; in its seclusion from the distractions of fashion and social disquietude, i regard this institution as one of the very best for girls on this continent." many such heartening notes by university professors, ministers, editors and heads of colleges for girls, began to sound forth as early as . golden opinions, rightly deserved and rapidly spreading, brought the natural result. the session of -' opened with twenty-one girls from nine southern states, not including virginia. the year following, the number grew to twenty-eight from the nine states. the session of -' reported thirty-nine girls from thirteen states outside of virginia, and that of -' enrolled fifty-three from fourteen states. the session of -' registered a total of one hundred and seventeen students, seventy of them coming from other states. this noticeable decline in the percentage of virginia girls is easily accounted for by the increasing competition of the new and excellent schools for girls, now arisen in the old dominion. during this decade, the fair fame of hollins spread swiftly, and from this time on, a gradually increasing and uninterrupted stream of pupils, from all points of the compass, poured smilingly through her doors. nor did her native commonwealth fail in admiration and generous support. you can imagine the emotions of the founder in this happy emergence from the dilemmas and horrible incertitudes of the past twenty-five years. his bearing was calm and undemonstrative, while in his bosom the peans of thanksgiving go up to the great white throne. but on the gladness of these days, a blight of bereavement was about to fall. in , the brilliant and able professor turner had married miss leila virginia cocke, an accomplished daughter of the president. he was a shining light in the faculty, and on him great hopes centered. for two years his health declined, and on may th, , gloom settled on hollins. great was the grief at the going of the beloved scholar and teacher. his twelve years of service began in the dark days of , and closed in the full tide of victory. the memory of him will never perish from the hearts of pupils and friends who almost idolized him. an event in meant much relief and comfort to our veteran educator, amid his manifold labors and cares. charles h. cocke, his son, now in early manhood, capable, courageous and completely responsive to the father's wish, took on himself the duties of business manager of the institution. here was a much needed and most grateful division of responsibilities, and the competent new official magnified his calling to the uttermost. the thoroughness and courtesy with which he handled affairs, won for him the confidence and affection of the girls. have we ever found mr. cocke in a state of perfect satisfaction with things as they are? never. he is a stranger to that experience, and will ever remain so. when we met him forty years ago as an assistant professor in richmond college, his slogan was, "betterment, enlargement, progress." the urgencies of an early ideal are still upon him, and he will never count himself to have attained. this fact touches him pathetically, now that he is nearing his sixtieth year. unrealized aims add somber hues to every earnest life. "all i aspired to be and was not, comforts me." the equipment of growing hollins is far from complete; much remains to be done. the spirit of advance gives him no rest. he has a vision, and "forward" is ever his imperious challenge to things as they are. absolutely sure is he that his beloved college, with its reasonably low rates, and its high standards, is on the sure road to greatness in human service. all through this decade his brain had been active with schemes of improvements. in the early seventies, the baptists of virginia were freshly aroused on the subject of education, and made large plans for strengthening richmond college. taking cue from this new denominational interest, the trustees of hollins institute determined to go before the public and ask for a contribution of $ , . a financial agent went among the people with argument and appeal. the result was disappointing and the agent was withdrawn. the failure was depressing, but by no means unnerving. from the beginning of the "seminary" in , the intermittent calls on public benevolence had never met with notable response. nor is this fact any real ground for reproach. the mood of the general public had never been toned and cultivated in the interests of liberal education. from first to last the benevolent gifts to hollins amounted to but $ , , exactly half of which had come from mrs. ann hollins and her husband. in the light of the recent failure mr. cocke saw that there was no further ground of hope from this source of supply. the school's expanding reputation and growing patronage gratified him exceedingly, but the financial situation excited disquieting apprehensions. the trustees had no funds in the treasury; the institution was making no money, and their debt was growing every year. the mind of the president was filled with foreboding and grave anxiety. [illustration: mrs. charles l. cocke] let it now be said that not one dollar had ever been added to the debt by any form of extravagance. no head of an institution ever practiced a more rigid economy in projecting improvements. not even a fancy catalogue was ever sent out from hollins. his severe frugality, and the constantly demanded investment of his personal means in improvements, actually limited the reasonable privileges and gratifications of his family. never did a family bear restrictions more cheerfully and uncomplainingly. it was not in mr. cocke to rebel against the law of sacrifice, but once, in his annual report to the trustees in , he permitted himself to say: "it is a hard case, however, that a man should have all his means so wound up in an institution, conducted for the public, that he cannot command enough money to give his family anything at all, except hard work and self-denial." in , by express contract with the trustees, mr. cocke became principal and steward of the seminary without stipulated salary. neither he nor any one of his sons and daughters, who worked so loyally with him, ever received a salary from the board. that initial agreement illustrates the unbargaining generosity of the man. he pressed on the attention of the trustees the certainty of continuous demand for enlarged facilities. to provide for this, it was agreed that the revenue from the boarding department should go to the trustees, who would devote it to that purpose. how ridiculously small that revenue was likely to be, may be gathered from the fact that a student was boarded at the rate of $ . a month! through all the subsequent years this principle of benevolent rates had never been abandoned. the figures were necessarily increased, but only with the view of keeping out of debt. now what possible promise was there in this arrangement for increasing facilities? absolutely none. so the long issue of events proved. by the same agreement, mr. cocke was to pay his teachers' salaries and maintain himself and family out of the tuition funds. what remained in the treasury after the teachers were paid was his. out of that residue, it soon became evident, must come much of the means for repairs and improvements. there was no other source from which to draw. improvements were made, and self-denial paid the bills. now, while this involved inconveniences, it did not, of course, mean the making of gifts to the trustees. in just business fashion, they recorded each outlay of this kind as a loan to themselves. as a consequence they went steadily in debt to mr. cocke, until by they owed him $ , . this included the $ , which he lent to them in . this curious financial arrangement continued, unavoidable and regretted by all concerned. in , the debt of the trustees ran up to $ , , and in it reached the sum of $ , . why had not these claims been settled? we have seen the source of the trustees' revenue; how could they pay? the $ , raised by public gift had been given to the trustees, who invested every cent of it in new buildings and accommodations. not a dollar of it ever touched the hand of mr. cocke. on the contrary, as noted above, the growing plant had commandeered much of his own slow, hard earnings. either this undesirable order of things had to go on, or mr. cocke had to abandon his dear ambition. but the time had come for better adjustments. he felt that the multiplying years required that he think of the interests of his family. with these views and wishes, the trustees were in their usual cordial sympathy. the institution was their property. they were in debt to mr. cocke in a large and yearly increasing sum. they had no possible way of liquidating that debt. what could they do? what ought they to have done? they solved the question by offering to give mr. cocke a deed to their institution in satisfaction of their debt. the proposition was declined. he did not want to own the college. such had never been his aim. he saw that the move would be a relief to the trustees, but a disadvantage to the school. he deprecated the idea of the college going into private ownership. the associated wisdom and responsibility of a good board of trustees he regarded as one of its best assets. moreover, what could such a deal effect in the way of relieving his financial embarrassments? he could not see, and so the troublesome question was left unsolved. the school was prosperous, his heart was serenely grateful; and this personal matter could wait. chapter v expansion and achievement - the projection, building, and safe establishment of cornell university, in the state of new york, was essentially the work of that remarkable man, andrew d. white. in the face of many obstacles and antagonisms he founded it, named it in honor of its chief benefactor, was its first president and led its fortunes until he saw it take rank among the famous institutions of the united states. another famous man performed the same kind of service for his people in the south. the founder and builder of hollins institute was long a voice in the wilderness. you have seen the stern, invincible purpose of this man in the face of an apathetic public, painfully straitened finances, epidemics, and the desolations of war. several times his enterprise trembled on the verge of ruin. but in him was that iron quality that never knew when it was beaten. forty years of toil in the educational field sat lightly on him, thanks to the natural vigor of a well knit body and the resilient tone of a well endowed mind. we come now to the last lap of the journey, which most gratefully takes the form of a triumphal progress. in the good providence of god, the next twenty-one years were to be filled with expansion and achievement. his years multiplied, but there was no slowing down of energy and contriving strategy. destiny put him benignantly into a life-long association with the young, and he could not grow old. to thousands of us still, no figure on the hollins quadrangle ever stands out so statuesque as his large form, becomingly clad in a prince albert suit, and surmounted with a favorite tall beaver hat. as he walked in unconscious majesty, one could hear that resonant voice, issuing orders or bestowing courtly greetings. the grace and evenness of the old virginia gentleman sat on him like a crown, making him ever accessible to student and friend. he was a worker, and he hated idleness as sin. unrelentingly he demanded work. never a student was allowed to escape that imperious law. for this his girls gave him honor. well did they understand that hollins was not for fashionable finish, or for money-squandering, but for downright honest study and true adornment of womanhood. he requested parents not to encourage extravagance in their daughters by putting in their hands undue sums of money to spend. the sessions in the early eighties showed a rising volume of patronage from the southern states, a condition that was to go from more to more. his chief resulting gratification was in the obvious awakening of southern people to better appreciation of the higher culture of women. along with this pleasing discovery, however, he began to realize a serious barrier to the task at hollins, created by the defective preparatory training in the primary and secondary schools of the country. in later years the difficulty began to disappear. to him, education consisted in the acquisition of knowledge, the training of faculty, and more especially, the broadening and multiplication of powers. his students must think, reason, and understand. that is the top of culture. did he show any disposition to remain satisfied with the standards already erected? not by any means. this is a growing world where nothing is stationary but a cemetery. the developing impulse in the mind of the founder would never subside while the perfect was unattained. even in this good summertime of , nineteen years after his going, the mighty momentum he gave to the college operates with undiminished force. one does not expect spectacular variety in the life of an educator, particularly in one whose labors for fifty years were focalized on one spot. the philosopher kant never went away from the place of his birth, nor figured once in the publicities of his time, and yet the patient thinker has won undying fame among the intellectuals of the world. so we shall not find abundant incident at hollins, but we shall know that its organizing genius is ever active and sounding the note of progress. on the th of june, , was adopted a new adjustment with the trustees. mr. cocke was still unwilling to take over the property in payment of the trustees' debt, but he had come to the conclusion that it might be wise to take a lease on it for fifteen years. to this the trustees agreed, and the lease was duly written in favor of charles l. cocke and his son, charles h. cocke. at this time the debt due mr. cocke was $ , , and by the terms of the contract, that sum might be increased to $ , . an annual rental of $ , was to be due the trustees, which was offset by the interest due on their $ , debt. in this arrangement the only right reserved by the trustees was that of sanction of all improvements that might be undertaken during the period of the lease. on the very day when this agreement was written, mr. cocke submitted a plan for a chapel. this was promptly approved by the trustees. the work began, and soon the sacred edifice was an accomplished fact. a little later the open grates and hot air furnaces in the buildings were abolished in favor of steam heat. the limestone spring and the pump in the yard were abandoned to give place to a reservoir on the side of tinker mountain, which supplied running water on every floor. needed philosophical and chemical apparatus were forthcoming, and a beautiful art and music hall was built on the site of carvin's rock castle. then followed a new and enlarged dining room with all its appurtenances. the trustees acquiesced cheerfully in all these betterments, but they looked on the vast increase of their debt in a sort of helpless wonderment. how should they ever meet the huge obligation? while they forbore to put a check on this advance, they were sure that there could be only one way of ultimate settlement. in july, , came the first great heartbreak his own household had ever known. his daughter, rosa pleasants cocke, wife of the rev. w. r. l. smith, pastor of the first baptist church, lynchburg, virginia, passed to her dreamless sleep. she was young, beautiful, universally loved,--the fairest bloom of queenly womanhood. she left a little edith, who, twenty months later, went to rest with her mother on the green hill near hollins. the enrollment of one hundred and seventy-six girls in the session of -' , was the largest in the history of the school. at this date the president found, by careful comparison, that during the past forty-seven years, the average attendance had been greater than that of any other school for girls in the state. the session of -' registered two hundred and nine students, and for the first time since applications had to be declined. the only minor chord that marred the general joy sounded in the troubled minds of the trustees. in his own private reflections, mr. cocke had to confess that the solution offered by the trustees looked like the obstinate, unavoidable necessity. about this time he made known to the trustees and friends, a compliment to the institution, recently paid by the national bureau of education at washington. in a report of that body concerning schools for girls in virginia, hollins was named the foremost institution for girls, the best known and the most effective in the state. the report continues: "there is an admirable foundation already laid at hollins institute ... for a woman's college of the type of vassar, smith, wellesley and bryn mawr ... in a beautiful and healthful region with ample buildings for a great beginning.... an investment of a million would place here a great school of the highest type, and perpetuate the well-earned reputation of this well-known institute,--for the past forty years one of the most notable of southern schools." this fine appraisement, coming from an independent and impartial source, was unspeakably pleasing to the man around whom this school had grown, and he could but cherish the hope that some large-minded man of wealth would arise to follow the suggestion of endowment made in the quotation. a rare sensation was sprung on the hollins community in the celebration of mr. and mrs. cocke's golden wedding, december , . all unknown to them, a group of loving hearts and hands had prepared an elaborate and impressive program. but some days before the brilliant event, mysterious hints, furtive interviews and beaming expectancy gave away the secret. mr. cocke himself began the jubilee in the early dawn, by slipping on the finger of his sleeping wife a handsome plain gold ring. all day, by letter and telegram, came happy congratulations and "bridal presents" from former pupils and friends. in the evening, hollins took on unprecedented splendor with illuminations everywhere. chandeliers, windows and doors were hung with ivy, and over the door of the main parlor, in large green figures, were placed the dates, - . at : p.m. mr. and mrs. cocke took their stand in the large parlor, thronged by loved ones and friends. prayer was made by rev. dr. g. w. beale, pastor of enon baptist church and chaplain of the college. then, the rev. dr. e. c. dargan of charleston, s. c., a former pastor of enon and college chaplain, made an affectionate address. among the appropriate remarks is the following quotation: "this great school, the love and labor of your life, speaks for itself, both in glad presence and widely extended absence. from over all the land, and indeed from far distant lands, the pupils of hollins send their love and congratulations. through the willing service of one who has labored long at your side,[ ] they present to you this book, containing the signatures of hundreds, who came to learn of you. their affection also presents to you this portrait, intending that it shall be a perpetual heirloom, at once a splendid souvenir of this day and a monument of their lasting gratitude." [ ] mrs. eliza s. childs, associate principal. as these words were spoken, two of his little granddaughters, thalia hayward and leila turner, touched a wire, and the veil dropped, revealing the fine life-size portrait of mr. cocke, described in the first chapter of this book. it was the work of his accomplished daughter-in-law, mrs. lucian h. cocke of roanoke, va. mr. cocke made brief and tender acknowledgment of the honor done him, and then his son, mr. lucian h. cocke, expressed in few words the same sentiment. professor wm. h. pleasants read a poem, written for the occasion by a former pupil and teacher of hollins. two other short speeches were made by admiring friends and dr. dargan pronounced the benediction. in every particular, this program was beautifully conceived and gracefully executed, making one of the most felicitous and memorable events ever known in the life of the institution. on the occasion of their meeting in july, , the trustees signalized the completion of a half century of service by renewed expressions of admiration and love for mr. cocke. one year later they returned to the theme and took action which gave the most general delight. they passed two resolutions: "first, that in honor of president cocke, while living, and after his death, in memory of his great achievements in education, the st of february, his birthday, be set apart as a legal holiday in hollins institute. second, that the young ladies be permitted to celebrate the day in such manner as may be deemed by the officers of the school appropriate to the occasion." such was the origin of founder's day, only three happy celebrations of which the beloved president was destined to see. the eventide drew gently on, and that good, gray head was crowned with glory and honor. his own health was still fine, but his dear family was drawing near to a land of shadows. three times in a very short period the billows of bereavement went over him. an avalanche of grief fell on his stout heart in the sudden loss of three of his children. mrs. leila virginia turner, on october st, , laid her burden down and was put to rest beside her husband on the green hill. on the rd of may, , the noble manager, charles h. cocke, passed away, and was gathered to the loved ones gone before. miss sallie lewis cocke died on july th, , and was added to the silent company of brothers and sisters. "though he slay me, yet will i trust him." with chastened tenderness and submissive resignation, mr. cocke held his course as one who gets support from an invisible world. the concerns of the institute pressed on him, and he must still take hold on life's affairs. the lease, in , had been extended for a new period of ten years. but, obviously, it was now full time that his business relations to the trustees be brought to a definite and final settlement. the issue, pending through many years, could be deferred no longer, and on june nd, , a radical change in the old order was made. the trustees found themselves in debt to mr. cocke $ , , in addition to the $ , in bonds already executed. not yet had they been able even to pay the $ , loaned by him in . he gave up his notes and bonds to the trustees, and they in turn gave over the institution. thus the board of trustees, after a period of forty-five years, went out of existence, and hollins became the property of mr. cocke. it was not the consummation that he wished, but there was no other alternative. the venerable man, now in his st year, had on his hands the great institution he had so laboriously builded. if he could have called back forty years, the responsibility would have rested on strong shoulders and a confident brain. but the competencies of the earlier years were spent, and age could only plan for the activities in which it should not share. he stood a noble, picturesque figure on the peak of life's work, looking backward with thankful satisfaction, and then wistfully forward into those years when other hands, hearts and brains should shape and guide the institution. not with one touch of gloomy foreboding did he make this provision. he believed that his children and grandchildren would loyally cherish his ideals and aspirations. they would hold the legacy sacred, maintain its standards, and keep it true to its aims. in the mellowing days of life's late afternoon this confidence gave him comfort and peace. human affection played around him soft and tender as summer sunset on the mountains, but it could not be doubted that among the deepest satisfactions of his soul was the conviction that his successors would do him the real homage of preserving the fruitage of his long, unselfish labors. his form was unbent and his physical force gave him hope of ten more years of life. it was not to be. in the summer of a violent carbuncle brought him perilously near the brink of the great mystery. two years later, warning symptoms came upon him suddenly. they did not yield to careful treatment, and with premonitions of the end, he decided in january, , to go to the home of his son, lucian h. cocke, in roanoke. this arrangement was his own device. he thought thereby to save hollins from the anxiety which his illness would create, and from the shock of its probable end. what could be lovelier than the two letters that follow? "hollins, virginia, february , . "our dear mr. cocke:-- "we, the members of your faculty,--or rather of your great household here at hollins,--deeply touched by your never-ceasing thought of us, and your intense interest in the work of our classes which prompted you even in the hour of great bodily distress to send us from your bed of sickness a message of comfort and encouragement, feel that we can not suffer this, your birthday, to pass by without some expression of our gratitude and sympathy. "we can never cease to be grateful for the kindly wisdom of your counsel which has directed us always unerringly to what is true and right, and for the firm guidance of your hand which has unfalteringly led us through the dark places of doubt and despair. though we miss your wise head and guiding hand, we shall ever feel the inspiration of your spirit and the silent influence of your example; and trusting in that divine providence which has so long directed and prospered the labors of your brain and hand, we will endeavor to carry out, along your own lines, the work which you have so nobly planned and which you are now forced to lay aside. "in this time of your physical weakness and bodily suffering, our thoughts are often with you, and we send you this message assuring you of our sympathy, both as a body and as individuals. may our heavenly father take you in his keeping and give to you unwavering faith and comfort and peace. "with the expression of our affectionate regard. "j. m. mcbryde, jr. "on behalf of your fellow laborers, the faculty of hollins institute." "to the faculty and pupils of hollins institute: "it is now nearly two months since i have been with you. during this time i have been prostrated by great infirmities of body, and my weakness still is extreme. during my illness, however, there has been no time when i have ceased to have the welfare of each of you upon my mind and heart. of all the expressions of sympathy that have come to me, none have been so comforting and gratifying as those that have come from my faculty and pupils. i wish to extend to each one of you my sincere appreciation of your earnest solicitude on my account. from every source the information comes to me of the orderly conduct of affairs at hollins--teachers and pupils in their accustomed places, performing in a faithful and conscientious manner each duty that the occasion demands. it would be difficult indeed to adequately express to you the gratification that this information brings to me. for many years it has been my earnest desire to so conduct the affairs of the institution, that whether i was present or absent there should be no abatement in the earnest purpose and devotion to duty which i have sought to make a part of the atmosphere of hollins. i can not express to you a proper idea of what a pleasure it has been to me to know that this ideal is being exemplified in your conduct, and i feel that in my declining years i am greatly blessed in having your sympathy and co-operation in the proper conduct of the work which has been on my heart for these many years. "i trust that under the care of a favoring providence, i may yet be able to be with you, and exchange once more the kindly greetings that have been a delight to me; but should it be otherwise, i always feel well assured that i can rely with confidence upon you to give to the institution and the work with which i have been connected, the same devotion and loyalty which you have, without stint, accorded to me. "may our father in heaven preserve each one of you in his holy keeping. [signature: charles l. cocke] "march th, ." it was on may th, , that the end came. in the early morning of may th, the body was brought to hollins and placed in the chapel. mr. cocke had planned the two funeral services of the day. the first was held in the chapel, for the family, faculty and students, who crowded the room. it was conducted by the rev. dr. f. h. martin, baptist pastor at salem, assisted by ministers of the presbyterian, lutheran and episcopal churches. at the beginning and close of the service were sung his favorite hymns: "how firm a foundation," and "my hope is built on nothing less." at p.m., the second service was held at enon church, which was thronged by neighbors and friends. the pastor, the rev. j. m. luck, presided, and after the singing of "there is a fountain filled with blood," remarks followed by the pastor, the rev. dr. w. e. hatcher, and mr. william ellyson of richmond, and the rev. dr. p. t. hale of roanoke. the service closed with "my jesus, as thou wilt," and then the procession moved up the hill in a sudden shower of rain. as the casket was lowered, the great assemblage sang softly, "there's a land that is fairer than day," and the rev. t. j. shipman offered the closing prayer. two impressive incidents followed. a procession of hollins girls, dressed in white and bearing white carnations, came up the slope and covered the grave with flowers. in the same moment the setting sun broke through the clouds and bathed the scene in a radiance of glory. dr. hatcher, with felicitous tact, called attention to the shining symbol of heaven's benediction on the proceedings of that solemn day. chapter vi the president and his girls a careful examination of the catalogues and school registers of the early years leads us to believe that by june, , when mr. cocke delivered his semi-centennial address, he had seen under training at hollins not fewer than , young women. to the privileges of the school he had welcomed the children and grandchildren of his first pupils. as terms of study closed, what did this host of girls think of the head of the institution? today in thousands of homes throughout the nation, the name of hollins unseals, as by magic, a well-spring of precious and tender reminiscence. with unanimous devotion, the girls who knew him, honored and loved the name of charles l. cocke. hardly did tinker and dead man mountain loom so large to them as the form of the venerable man. they honored him because he was strict and absolutely just; because he held high standards of school decorum and culture, and insisted on hard work. he was too honorable to take the daughters of patrons, and allow waste of time and opportunity. his stringent demands may sometimes have caused irritation, but the good sense of the student was certain to react to grateful recognition of his wisdom. the after years never fail to evoke loving acknowledgment in the heart of a girl whose teacher requires her to make good in her studies. the hollins girls loved mr. cocke because he was uniformly considerate and kind. the fatherly interest in his heart, not one was allowed to doubt. daily he met them at the evening worship. often has the visiting "old girl" spoken of those unforgotten prayers. he welcomed them in his office, listened to their requests, responding with sound advice and encouragement. arbitrariness and severity were foreign to his nature, but all knew that the standards of conduct and study must be maintained. how proud he was of the distinctions won by his girls! in the early eighties five of them, in the english literature classes, took the shakespeare prize offered in london. [illustration: "good morning, 'gyrls'"] the class room work was ever the major interest, but beyond this was a large range of activity and diversion. in the euzelian (love of wisdom) society was organized for debate, recitations and essays. increasing numbers in required the formation of the euepian (pure diction) society. still memorable are those exciting joint debates, held occasionally by the societies, along the years. in these latter days, they have given place to other disciplines more in harmony with the practical spirit of the age. class organizations, sororities, clubs, student government, the college "spinster" and magazine, monopolize the spare hours. the young women's christian association maintains its prominence and usefulness. but the old-time diversions do not pass. those glorious romping trips up carvin's creek to the falls, and the annual holiday climb to the top of tinker in october, together with the strenuous games and sports on the campus, will continue to furnish happy memories. the democratic spirit of the institution mr. cocke constantly cultivated, and with profound satisfaction he welcomed students from the homes of rich and poor. all entered on terms of equality in privilege and opportunity. the rich girl of common sense and industry won popularity and honor; and by the same token the poor girl gained the love of classmates and the medals of distinction. at no institution was there more contempt for snobbery or for the spirit of favoritism. moral and intellectual worth were the sole tests of credit and high standing. his interest followed the students, and he smiled at the tidings of their usefulness. he counted on their private and public values in society. some, he was fond of saying, had become the wives of ministers, of lawyers and judges, of officers of the army and of the navy, of political leaders and of distinguished men in all ranks and professions. with pride, he spoke of those who were teaching in the schools and colleges, and of those who had gone into the far mission fields of the world. in his heart the grand old man felt: "they are all my daughters, and the sweetest benedictions be on every one." you will never meet the daughters of hollins, old or young, whose faces do not light up at the mention of his name, or that of the dear place where many of life's holiest memories were stored. when old hollins girls meet--whether as bosom cronies, after years of separation, or as strangers at some exposition, gazing through tears at a portrait--a listener need but catch fragments of their reminiscences to know how mr. cocke's personality glows in the memory of his "gyrls." "could we ever forget how he used to read the hymns at evening worship? nobody else could, or can, read them as he did: guide me, o thou great jehovah-- my hope is built on nothing less, than jesus' blood and righteousness-- in the cross of christ i glory, towering o'er the wrecks of time-- this last always with an unconscious lifting of the head in his vision of the glory one day to be revealed. it meant much to look, once a day, on a colossal faith like his. was it due to those unbroken, silent trysts with his savior in the chapel, in the early morning?" "latin and mathematics were always second to the bible with mr. cocke," testifies another. "he was certainly never afraid of the 'hard-grained muses' for us. i once heard him say, with a touch of regret, 'the next generation in our country will produce many more readers, but fewer scholars.' he revered true learning and made us revere it, however little some of us possessed it. scholarship with him was no musty work, smelling of the midnight oil. he never laughed at it as odd or pedantic. it was, in his mind, never dissociated from service; but scholarship was a high thing, and he flung out the work as a challenge to the best within us. "one now laughs to recall her own mental protests, as a new girl, when mr. cocke would so earnestly tell her fellow-students that they would be leaders in their communities, in their states. 'how mistaken mr. cocke is about this,' i would say to myself. 'he doesn't know this year's girls. he is thinking about those women who shone out so brilliantly here two, four, ten, thirty years ago--those stars in the crown of hollins. but these girls are just ordinary people. the best of them don't even know their lessons every time--not to mention the rest of us. they could never lead communities. great women would be necessary for that.' but those girls _have_ been real leaders, just as mr. cocke said. they were nothing but girls, just like other girls, but they did, many of them, go forth to lead and to lead straight. it may be that they had from him some touch of his power; it may be that he opened their eyes to the fact that there is, after all, nobody else to do most of these things except just plain humanity. there really is nobody else, you know. "and mr. cocke's dignity withal--how cheap have many other men looked to my eyes when set beside my image of him! it is like that fabled measuring rod which made inflated pride shrink to its true stature. mr. cocke was the only man i ever saw who really seemed equal to wearing a high hat. i have watched the throng of the genteel coming down broadway in their sunday best and have thought, 'not a man of you looks right in it--looks wholly free from affectation.' to him it was as natural as the crown of white hair beneath it. "imperious sometimes? yes. i recall once, certainly. that new invention, the telephone, had been installed at hollins. it was wonderful, enabling one to talk to the depot agent at cloverdale, _three_ miles away. for the first few days of the new 'fixture,' miss matty had attended to all the preliminaries, so mr. cocke had not realized just what these preliminaries were, or that any were necessary. i saw him walk up to the transmitter and speak into it, without ringing the bell, asking a question of the agent. no response, of course. he spoke again. the same dead silence. then he right royally tapped the transmitter as with a rod of office and commanded, 'here, _answer_ me!' although i knew that the ringing of the bell was essential, i had the feeling that some response _must_ come when mr. cocke spoke like that. "by means of credit and otherwise, he helped me and helped other girls from my section of virginia who had less ready money than craving for an education. the work of one of these, as foreign missionary, has been so good and so big that i love to think that in her, hollins may have its reward for what it did for the rest of us. but so utterly did mr. cocke ignore all such benefits conferred by himself that i used to think he surely must not know about these things, that they must have all been transacted in the privacy of mr. charley's business office. the president looked so far above any money considerations; and still he must have been a wonderful financier. who else could have found the means of building and maintaining that great institution without aid of church or state or millionaire? i never know what to say when asked by school men how hollins was financed in the old days. the means must have been brought down by prayer from heaven somehow. "we talk much of the prudence that keeps at a safe distance from the plague of influenza. that is right, often. but when lagrippe came from russia in and invaded hollins, i saw how the suffering was, to some of the girls, far outweighed by the honor and joy of having mr. cocke himself make the rounds to visit them as if he cared. cared? i have looked out into the semi-darkness of the campus and seen that stately figure, with bowed head, walking up and down beneath the window of the infirmary, where some girl lay extremely ill, moving to and fro, far into the night, in a vigil, which, let me say it with reverence, has made it easier to believe that close to all earth's pains, "standeth one within the shadow, keeping watch above his own." e. p. c. such was the inner life of hollins. it was and is the loving fellowship and co-operative industry of a big family, consecrated to true culture, good citizenship and human progress. it was the life-work of the good president, to cheer and help his girls onward to the realization of these noble ideals. one day in may, , the sad tidings of mr. cocke's death reached them. out of the multitude of letters that came to hollins, all bearing the same message of sympathetic grief, only a few can be subjoined. "it is sad, and almost unbearable, to think of hollins without mr. cocke. and yet, our grief at his death has, mingled with it, a spirit of thanksgiving for his life. we are so glad that we came under the influence of that life. i was so young when i first went to hollins, and hollins was my home for so long, that its influence, the life-example of mr. cocke, all, indeed, that made up the strength and beauty of those days, are woven into every fibre of my being, have become a part of my very life, so that i know i am better for having known hollins, and mr. cocke." r. b. "for a long time i have realized that i owe more to the influence of my teachers and friends at hollins than to all the text-books i have ever opened, and today i count it one of the greatest blessings of my life that it was in the pure, elevating atmosphere of hollins that i grew into womanhood. to dear mr. cocke, the founder, the head, the life of hollins, i do now and ever shall feel the deepest gratitude, and shall ever think of him with reverence, so high has always been my regard for him. hundreds of women all over the land are sorrowing that they will see his noble face no more; for we, his old pupils, have lost a benefactor, a teacher, a friend." m. w. c. "indeed, a course so nobly run can be as fitly congratulated on its close--a close pertaining not merely to the finite conditions which fetter it here, but which, freeing it from these, ushers its powers, refined, magnified, glorified, into the blessed sphere of attainment awaiting those who have steadily followed the steps of the master in ceaseless effort for the good of man. it is not the note of lamentation that accords with this grand freeing and glorious entrance of a friend of man, a soldier of the cross, into the kingdom he has won: we rather shout our acclamations for the triumph of our friend, and drop the tear only that we are for a moment shut from the comfort of his countenance. we all, in fullest degree, offer our love and attachment, founded on unspeakable memories of early and lasting life." b. d. f. "i am only one of the hundreds of girls who loved mr. cocke dearly, and honored him beyond the power of words to express. i feel that i loved him particularly well, more than others did; but perhaps many others feel the same way. i never knew any other man whose religion showed so plainly in his daily life. it always seemed to me that he walked with god. hollins will never be the same again to the old girls." l. j. m. "i feel sure that all you dear hollins people know how fully my heart is with you at this time; but i feel that i must give some outward expression to the love and sympathy that i feel. along with thousands of other old hollins girls, i know what a great loss the world has sustained, and what a great and lasting grief has come to all of us who knew and loved and revered mr. cocke. to think of the thousands of minds and souls he has helped to strengthen and fit out for life's work! his opportunity was great, and he made the most of it,--and what higher praise can be given to any man?" b. p. m. t. "i have been more distressed than i can tell you to hear of dear mr. cocke's increasing feebleness and dangerous illness, and i have opened each letter from hollins with a feeling of dread, always fearing the worst. but although the sad news, now that it has come, does not find me unprepared, my grief is no less acute. i know so well what this loss means not only to the thousands of girls who, like me, loved him as a father, but to the cause of education and religion, in which he stood ever as a beacon light. my heart is very sad when i think of how much goodness and greatness and strength went out of the world when he was taken. i have not the power to express in words the grief i feel! i shall always thank god for the priceless boon of being for a time under the influence of that consecrated life, and it is my earnest prayer that i may never lose sight of that blessed example of 'pure religion and undefiled before god and the father.'" e. s. f. "a friend writes me that mr. cocke's work is done, and that today he is laid to rest, i suppose on the beautiful hill that looks down on the field of his labors, that field that has borne such beautiful fruit. we are all distressed, as will be a great many others throughout the south who have felt the importance in life of a character like that of mr. cocke. if there were more men with like quality of character and mind, the world would speedily become a better place. he did what he could to better it, and there are many left to honor him who have not the strength to do likewise." l. b. p. "as one of the many thousands who owe to him unestimated, because inestimable, blessings, treasures of thought and influence and inspiration that time can not touch any more than it can dim his priceless memory, i sorrow today for hollins' great 'creator, builder, guide.'" s. b. d. "the news of dear mr. cocke's death has filled me with sorrow, for i realize what an inestimable loss the church, the school, his friends, and his family have sustained. i never knew any one like him! no one ever laid down a life more filled with good works, and he has indeed earned the blessed rest which he is now enjoying." c. m. j. "the knowledge of such a life is invaluable. we should, we will, cherish the remembrance of it and hold this among the greatest object lessons taught us by god. the treasure of his memory would not be so priceless had his life been one smooth journey. it is the knowledge of the struggle, the knowledge that a man has fought and gloriously won in life's severest conflicts, that furnishes us the incentive, that lends us the inspiration." a. w. chapter vii commencements and addresses the fine portrait of mr. cocke in the hollins library, executed by his daughter-in-law, mrs. lucian h. cocke of roanoke, was formally presented at the golden wedding celebration in . death claimed the brilliant artist in . with keen insight she portrayed her subject at the culminating moment of the final exercises of the institution. the diploma in his hand is the one which he handed to his daughter, miss matty l. cocke, on the day of her graduation. the artist wanted a real diploma, and by felicitous chance, this was the one supplied. at the time, the owner little dreamed of being her father's successor as president of hollins institute. as now, so during the lifetime of mr. cocke, maytime at hollins stirred a flutter of excitement in the student's mind. the session's close was drawing near, with its terrors of examinations; its flourish of music, oratory and white dresses; its orderly pomp and splendor. the season brought a new flush of animation and gaiety. there were happy greetings of fathers and mothers. the old girls came, eager for the raptures of re-union. the bright stars shone on dear old hollins; the blue mountains stood guard round their jewel; and the sky dropped down benediction. nature and the human heart held high festival on commencement day. services began with an interesting dramatic presentation, and the reception to the senior class. the sunday services were conducted by invited ministers. in the days following, came the jollities of class day, the joint celebration of the societies, the musical concert, and lastly, the annual address by the president, with the conferring of diplomas. of course the programs of the earlier years were not so elaborate as the one just indicated, but the exercises were as vitally interesting and popular. on these occasions many distinguished men delivered strong and eloquent addresses. woe to the man who ventured to stand before a hollins audience without honest preparation. declamatory rhetoric never deceived this group of intellectually alert students. mr. cocke drew his ministers for commencement from the various protestant denominations, as the students came from all these bodies. sectarian narrowness never guided his choice, and that spirit never thrived in his school. christian truth and character were to him the eternal verities, and among all communions he made devoted friends. one of his preachers disappointed him cruelly. that good man made a calamitous mistake. he had fancied that he was to appear before a mountain school, and that almost any sort of a sermon would answer. lazy unpreparedness meets retribution. arriving at hollins, his disillusion was instantaneous, and all that saturday night he tossed in mental misery. the next morning he appeared in the pulpit with an irrelevant theme, and a profitless sermon. college girls are never profoundly impressed by unctuous platitudes, or by theological combat. one of the surprises about these years is the small number of full diplomas that were given. from to , mr. cocke bestowed this honor on one hundred and twenty-five girls. to secure it the student had to graduate in at least seven of the departments of study. the standards were high, so that to win the full diploma, demanded native ability and long, hard work. in the operation of the school's elective system, each girl chose the classes she preferred, and received certificates of graduation as the work in each subject was accomplished. though, as we have said, full diplomas were rare, many girls won these minor distinctions, which also bore the name of diploma. many were the students who, coming for one year's course, were stirred by these commencement occasions to larger views and longer attendance. this imposing pageant of the finals was apt to awaken in the ambitious, first-year girl, a sense of her intellectual poverty, and to inspire noble resolution for ampler education. at the close of the session of - , mr. cocke delivered his nd annual address. sad to say, it was his last. it is a notable and probably an unparalleled fact, that he should, through fifty-two consecutive years, have made the graduation address and have delivered the diplomas. in these messages he dealt with the many problems of educational theory and practice, never failing to appeal for high and noble standards of living. he counted on his girls as the finest advertisement, and as the most eloquent testimonial of the merits of hollins. it was no vain reckoning. as a matter of fact, it became no unusual thing for him to hear patrons confess that they had seen hollins girls and had been deeply impressed by their intelligence, cultured manners and social grace. now we yield the platform to the president. there can be no more fitting close of this chapter than a few paragraphs, taken from his annual addresses. the captions are not his, but they indicate the special thought of the passage. this one thing "i have aimed to implant deep in the hearts of my pupils the principles and precepts of our holy religion, as taught in the word of god. as to those externals of religion which divide the christian world into parties and sects innumerable, i have nothing to say; for our great law-giver and high priest has said, 'the kingdom of god is within you,' and unless we are subject to this law, all rites and ordinances and organizations put together and scrupulously practiced, cannot save the soul." review of fifty years june, "our trouble has been all during these fifty years, to secure equipment. had this been furnished, the history of the school would have been far more satisfactory. the success of the school in and years following, gave a wonderful impetus to girls' schools in virginia. many chartered schools came into existence during that decade. some of course proved failures, and others exist to this day. "the annual registers of pupils during the entire existence of the school, aggregate , . it has been almost exclusively a boarding school, and as such has led in numbers all the schools of virginia. its contributions to the teaching profession have been most valuable and probably more numerous than that of any other virginia school. it has educated many daughters of ministers of different communions, free of charge for tuition. it has aided large numbers of indigent girls. its graduates are in all parts of this country, north, east and west as well as in the south, where they are numerous. some six or eight are in foreign mission fields. the school has far surpassed my own expectations and has been a surprise to the general public. "as soon as we took charge in , and became acquainted with the surroundings and prospects, we saw clearly that the school could not live with a merely local patronage. it was almost wholly a boarding school, and it must draw its pupils from a broad area. the necessary steps were taken to make its advantages known in all parts of virginia, and that patronage was sufficient for our limited accommodations until the close of 'the war.' we often declined applicants for want of proper accommodations. but after virginia had been devastated by two contending armies within her borders for four years, we had to look to still broader fields for pupils. it was about the year that we first made known the advantages of the school in other states, and now a majority of our pupils come from other sections beyond our state lines. this patronage, with more ample equipment, might be greatly increased, and with broader and more ample facilities, it might be made the most prominent school for girls in all the south. its country location, its invigorating atmosphere, its mineral waters, its glorious mountain scenery, all combine to bring to it increasing numbers from different and distinct sections. the great boarding schools for girls in the north, in which millions are invested, are in the country. "my life has been one of unceasing work and energy, of constant cares and anxieties, and of a deep sense of responsibility. i have only laid a foundation on which the next generation may build. will virginia, the most desirable state in the union for institutions of learning of every grade and class, seize the opportunity and again advance, through educational channels, to the leadership of states, and inaugurate an era of greater glory and higher destinies for this great american people? oh, that she may be wise to discern the ominous signs of these times and seek through great schools for young men and young ladies, a power and progress which shall far eclipse her pristine glories! "and now, at the close of fifty years' connection with this school, i can, without reservation or modification, say i have done all i could to conduct and perpetuate an institution which might prove a blessing to the people without distinction of sect or class, and an honor to my native state. and this, too, on the very basis i found it standing when i took charge." educational theory june, "these graduates are not confined to a single christian denomination; they have come from all denominations. and this is, in my judgment, the true ideal of a christian school. i have often said that the associations of a school for young ladies, properly conducted, are worth more to them than any single department of study. they learn so much from contact and association with each other. "certainly a school for young ladies should not aim to send forth all its pupils of exactly the same type. its facilities and associations should be such as to give ample scope for individuality of development, and that genuine sympathetic contact and impress, which lifts the less cultured to higher walks and ways, and impresses the more fortunate with their duty to the needy and dependent, often the most deserving, and often reaching, under such influence, the highest stations of life. "the school from its beginning has maintained and made prominent one feature so culpably neglected, and even opposed by most schools for girls. it has maintained a broad and elevated course of study and fixed high standards of graduation. this has been done with special reference to the demands of that class of girls who propose to make teaching their profession or business in life. and most abundantly has it been rewarded in this effort. its graduates are in great demand and many of them hold elevated positions as teachers. but there are other courses in addition to that required for full graduation. these are intended to meet the varied wants of other classes of students, who, from feeble health, inadequate means or mere preference, decline to pursue the full course. "the school has accomplished far more than its early founders aimed at or even dreamed of. they looked to local demands and a limited sphere. but its influence has been felt not only through virginia, but throughout the south and west, and even from the great north, pupils have sought and enjoyed its advantages. graduation from school does not imply full and complete knowledge on any subject or in any department of learning. the object of true scholastic training is, first, to discipline the powers, and, second, to open to pupils the sources of knowledge. in these processes, of course, much information is imparted; but to stop here and read and study no more, would be fatal to a high and commanding success in life. you must read and read systematically and continuously. you must keep up with the progress of the times, and times are in quick movement in this day...." secret of success "if you would have your minds well disciplined and well stored with useful information, you must be willing to retire, for a time at least, from the enticing and distracting scenes of the busy world, and in the quietude of academic life, devote your powers to those labors which alone can secure the desired boon. here the work must be done, here the foundation must be laid, upon which your future attainments and your future eminence must rest. neglect this preparation, and you can have no well grounded hope of rising to distinction in society, or of exerting an influence which shall leave a record of your name and your deeds upon the hearts and memories of those who shall come after you.... "the secret of success is the ability _to fix the attention on one subject at a time...._" creative work "i urge you to cultivate a taste not only for literature, but for _making literature_. the literature of a country determines its institutions, its social conditions, and its destiny. it is really its inner life whence its external manifestations spring." literary taste june, "many a wise man has said repeatedly: 'let me go into a young lady's parlor and examine the literature which lies on her table, and the books which fill the shelves of her library, and i will tell you all about her; the secret thoughts which habitually haunt her imagination, the purposes, the ambitions, the affections, good or bad, which agitate and fill her heart; the scenes, the sights, the objects, the aims which thrill her soul--all this i know from the companionship amid which she delights to linger and live, and with which she delights to commune.' young ladies, when you reach home and unpack your trunks, will you take out the text books you have studied in this school, one by one, and place them on the highest shelf of your library and in the far corner, and with a scowl on your face say to them, 'now, you go and stay where i put you; you have cost me weeks and months and years of toil, of anxieties, of troubles, vexations and tears, but you have at last given me my full diploma and i want nothing more to do with you'! are you going to speak thus to your best friends, who have done more for you than father and mother? "are you going to turn your back upon, and quit the company of, the only true aristocracy of all the ages and all countries, and seek lower associations? these people are not upstarts; they have lived and still live in all ages and countries; they have been the intimate and loving companions of kings and queens; of emperors and statesmen; divines and poets, scientists and linguists, and all the great of all the earth and every clime and kindred. "again, the good book says, 'where there is no vision the people perish.' this was spoken most probably in regard to the ancient prophets and seers who received the divine light from the great original source, and reflected it from their own hearts and minds on a benighted race. "but has not the great inspirer of light and knowledge, since that remote past, raised up other prophets and seers and imparted other visions that the people might not perish? these great men are among us; they do not compel, but they invite companionship; they say, 'come, go with us, talk with us, commune with our spirit, drink with us of the clear, cool springs of nature; the journey is pleasant and the scenery is grand; come, go with us and we will do thee good.' "will you reject the invitation and decline the association? so, young ladies, as i said in the beginning, from a literary standpoint, from a social standpoint, from a business standpoint, and from the standpoint of philanthropic and christian usefulness, your future position and success in life depend upon the company you keep. under the great principle of the freedom of the press, the newspaper has become a universal institution in america,--omnipresent, and almost omnipotent. the result is that the vast constituency of our great government are better informed on current events all over the land and all over the world, than any people on the earth. "but the curse of the land is this: we spend too much time on this and kindred literature; this habit enfeebles the mind, contracts the vision, and suppresses high ambitions in the fields, the vast and elevated fields of broader, more solid, more useful and more permanent knowledge. our people are making the most marvelous progress on all lines of human thought and effort, but on none more rapid than that of science and literature. the spirit of the nation seems to be a consuming ambition to lead the world in thought, in intellectual development, and in products of the brain of men. to keep in harmony with this spirit, you, young ladies, must rise above the plane on which so much of our literature moves and study the works of great minds." true culture "the great mistake which so many make and which satisfactorily accounts for their want of success, is that they regard the mere accumulation of facts as the sole object of scholastic study;--that knowledge may be stored in the mind as we gather grain into a garner, and this, too, without regard to its character or quality, or the order in which the deposits are made. we have aimed, young ladies, to give you a better theory of education, and a more enduring foundation of scholarship.... "the great object of that culture and training which courses of scholastic study afford, is to assist the mind in the processes of its own development; to give to its searchings after truth and its toils in the fields of literature, direction and system; to enable it to think, to reason, to solve; to give it scope and expansion that it may successfully grasp both the theoretical and the practical of life and advance to those objects and destinies which its very structure implies and foreshadows...." broad sympathies june, "i would remind you, young ladies, that you go forth into life at a time when society is advancing on all lines of progress. in breadth, variety and thoroughness of literary and scientific knowledge, we are no less a marvel to ourselves than the wonder and admiration of the oldest civilizations of the world. this american people proposes to hold no inferior rank in the world-wide race for the greatest and grandest results in material development and production. this the most casual observer beholds all around him in every-day life. but when we come to review, critically and comparatively, the rise and progress of american learning, we see one determined and steady advance towards the highest standards the world has ever known. in the production and giving forth of all kinds of literature, this people aspires to the highest place; to the most advanced achievements that bless society and adorn life. "and shall our own section and people continue heedless and oblivious of this throbbing, restless, inspiring energy to rise to the very acme of literary fame and glory? we blush to own that, thus far, we have made but a feeble response to the high and honorable calling. when the poison diffused through the channels of a false and envenomed literature during the last generation, south as well as north, shall have spent its force, and the prejudices and passions that literature engendered and fostered shall have given place to just and generous award, then, and not until then, will the whole people and the outside world be prepared to receive and appreciate a truthful revelation, and do mental honor to all, of every section, who from their standpoint and environment, and with the light that shone upon their pathway, lived and labored for great ends, and the same ends. that record will show that not only under southern skies, but throughout the nation, in national senate, in northern cities, even in western wilds, southern counsel has contributed in full proportion to the great results which today astonish the world. and furthermore, it will show that northern energy, foresight and enterprise have made their deep and ineffaceable mark on the whole country in its educational and religious work, its business, political and social life, and its institutions. the gigantic struggle which occurred on this continent just before your eyes opened on the light of day was the result of a misunderstanding; a family quarrel on a grand scale, such as more than once has occurred in the land of our forefathers. but even when the conflict rose to its most fearful height, deep down in the heart, this people were one. they are now one, and may the high council of heaven ordain that they shall never be other than one. "young ladies, suffer no sectional jealousies or narrow prejudices to find a resting place in your bosoms. they dwarf your souls, they contract your minds. love your country in all its sections and broad limits and constituent elements, and contribute your best energies, in appropriate spheres, to its high and grand mission." confident hope april, "you go forth at a dark and threatening hour.... when the great plans of his far-reaching and comprehensive providence shall have been accomplished, in the stupendous conflict which you now behold, he will speak peace to the troubled waters, and there will be peace. till then let us wait with calm resignation and abiding confidence in his designs of mercy.... this providence, however complicated and strange, leads only to some good and grand result, opening up new channels of usefulness to the virtuous and the good, and saying to the faithful--nations as well as individuals: 'this is the way, walk ye in it.'" guiding purpose "for many years it has been my earnest desire to so conduct the affairs of the institution that whether i was present or absent, there should be no abatement in the earnest purpose and devotion to duty which i have sought to make a part of the atmosphere of hollins." chapter viii religious enthusiasms and activities all the activities of a good man's life are religious. intelligent christian thought has long since abolished the distinctions, "sacred" and "secular." the minister is not the only man with a divine calling. it is the right of every true man to regard his tasks, of whatever kind, as sacred, and the vigorous discharge of them as religious fidelity. the apostle, making tents, was serving god as truly as when preaching to the philosophers of athens. all the vocations are spheres in which men serve their generation, increasing the sum of human comfort, and securing the moral order of the world. the man who serves his fellowmen is the anointed servant of the lord. mr. cocke's life was an uninterrupted consecration to the cause of the education of women, permeated and energized by spiritual motive. no man understood better than he the living unity between intellectual and moral culture. he knew that cultivated faculties without corresponding nurture of the spiritual nature may prove a curse rather than a blessing. along with growing mental power, must go a development of religious character. the two are inseparable in any right conception of human life. so, while he wrought with a wonderfully sustained enthusiasm in the sphere of education, he kept always in mind the transcendent claims of religion. there he recognized the fundamental interest of humanity. teaching was his vocation, but the honor of god was his comprehensive guiding principle. to him the bible was the word of life, and the worship of the holy one of israel the supreme privilege and duty. such was his view and, without intermission, his practice. from the beginning of his work at botetourt springs in , daily the assembled students heard the reading of scripture and united with the president in ascriptions of praise. nor were mr. cocke's religious services given only to the school. his christian interest ran out to the whole community. he recognized an obligation to his neighbors, and was soon meeting them here and there, instructing them in the scriptures, and leading them in their worship. in the little enon baptist church was organized and located within a quarter of a mile of the springs. into membership in this church he and his family went, to be a strong nucleus around which has since grown the excellent congregation and the beautiful building of today. the pastors of enon never had a more loving and loyal member of their church. by all odds the strongest force in the body, he could have ruled as he pleased, but the humble man never dreamed of domination, or of the assertion of any kind of superior right. he wanted harmony and growth, and sought it by preferring his brethren in honor. his wise counsel and influence were potent, of course, but not another member of the church was farther from the assumption of authority. he was a model church member in attendance and gifts; hence all the people gave him honor and love. but enon set no limits on his religious activity. the neighboring towns and communities felt the force of his spirit of evangelism. the christian religion must have free course in the regions round about. there was not a village within twenty miles of his school that failed to catch something of his spirit. the impulses he gave in that early day lie at the foundation of much of the present religious strength and prosperity in the regions he touched. did this young school teacher overlook the needs of the colored people? would it look strange to see him conducting a sunday school for the slaves on sunday afternoons at big lick? that is what he did. "inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these, ye have done it unto me." the negroes, in the days of slavery, learned to love him as a friend, and when freedom came, his service among them did not cease. their struggling pastors and congregations sought his counsel and were not disappointed. they looked on him as their big white brother, wise and good, and to this day he is remembered among them with affection. here is a tribute written by a negro teacher on the occasion of mr. cocke's death. no more tender or significant praise has been accorded him. "my race in this section of the state would be guilty of the rankest ingratitude did they not pay a humble tribute to the memory of their friend and benefactor, professor charles l. cocke. any tribute to his memory must needs be incomplete without a touching reminder of his devotion to the cause of christianity among my people in the days of slavery. to him my people looked for religious instruction in those dark days. through his zeal and untiring efforts the slaves of this section of the state were allowed to attend services at the white baptist church sunday evenings where they could hear the word of god preached to them by the white ministers of the gospel, professor cocke himself frequently leading the meetings. he taught the slaves sound lessons in morality and honesty, and it is a well known fact that the slaves of this county were among the most upright, honest and trustworthy to be found anywhere in the south. upon every plantation were to be found christian men and women of our race whose lives were honest and true, and whose characters were spotless, and they enjoyed the confidence, respect, and sometimes a devotion, from their masters, that was touching and beautiful. upon every plantation were to be found colored preachers who 'exhorted' to their people and explained to them the lessons that had been taught them by professor cocke. whilst laboring faithfully amongst the whites, he did not forget the poor african slave. "at the close of the war, when freedom came to our people, he gave them the best advice and encouragement in the organization of their own churches. he was full of the milk of human kindness. he was ever ready, willing, yea, anxious to give advice and instruction to our preachers who sought his aid. his purse was open to any colored minister who appealed to him for help. no colored church was ever built in this county that did not receive substantial aid at his hands. thousands of our people with bowed heads mourn his loss and revere his memory. my mother and father received religious instruction at his hands, and it is with a heart full of untold gratitude that i pen this tribute. professor cocke was a white man in all that word implied, but he was a christian and not afraid to labor among men of 'low estate.' "such men are the negro's best friends on earth. we have nothing to fear at their hands. to them we have ever been true and devoted, and shall forever remain so. such men are the salt of the earth, and the negro believes in such salt. "we, too, drop a tear upon his bier and shall ever hold in grateful remembrance his many acts of kindness to a benighted race. sweet be his rest." zachariah hunt. with the increase of baptist churches in the southwest, the valley association was organized, and enon became a member. not a pastor brought into that body more interest and zeal than did mr. cocke. he was not of those whose christian liberality slackens and enfeebles devotion to their own communion. while broadly charitable, he was firmly baptist. the influence he carried into these conferences with his people arose from his personal worth, not from his official prominence in education. not one of the denominational causes failed to receive his cordial support. they appealed to him in the degree of their relative importance, but in the roundness and balance of his benevolence nothing was slighted. he spoke in advocacy of each and all. of course many gatherings wished to hear mr. cocke speak on the subject of education. in such addresses the fire of his soul was apt to burst into flame. he did not quote much. being the impersonation of the educational spirit, he did not need to borrow thoughts. the man who does things has power with an audience. your theoretical orator has no thrills. after one of his powerful utterances, many fathers and mothers said in their hearts: "i want to send my daughter to that man." his motive was not the cunning calculation of a man with a school, but rather the pure devotion of a large-minded servant of the master. in the state assemblies of his brethren, where he was regularly found, he was equally a man of recognized distinction. likewise in the meetings of the southern baptist convention, he was greeted with the honor due to one who had advanced the credit of the denomination. he knew that fact himself, but no man could have been more innocent of self-important airs. while the higher education of young women was the goal of his daily thought and labor, the kingdom of god was central to all his aims. religious controversy never interested him. through the years ministers of the various churches were invited to hollins to lead its services and receive its hospitalities. many were the interviews with them in his office and on the verandas in which conversation drifted into animated discussions of things political, educational and religious. views differed, thoughts clashed, but the best of humor prevailed. in every denomination he had devoted friends. in vacation periods it was his frequent custom to make tours through the southwest in a large vehicle, capable of carrying six or eight persons. his trusty colored driver, prince smith, held the reins, and commonly there was in the party a goodly number of baptist ministers from middle or eastern virginia. from one district association to another, the _caravan_ went, adding zest and interest to the meetings. it was a genuinely delightful religious progress. the baptists in all this region considered him as their greatest layman and their unordained bishop. everywhere he and his fellow-travelers were welcome guests. sometimes they lodged in homes presided over by women who had been hollins girls. then the hospitality was overflowing. these summer visits did much to stimulate the hope and courage of many small and slowly growing churches. and what charmingly exhilarating experiences they brought to the _caravan_! the men who shared these progresses with the "bishop" of the southwest considered themselves the favorites of fortune. it was never his habit to go off for a summer's rest. it might have been well if he had done so, but such was not his bent. when the pressure ceased at the close of the session, he began to plan another visit to his brethren in the mountains. to go about doing good was the call of his heart in those long past summertimes. religion and education were the watchwords, written on the tablets of his heart. "this one thing i do, ever pressing on to the mark of the prize of the high calling of god." here is the rare spectacle of a long life, full of religious activity, supported by unfailing enthusiasm, by fixed, high purpose, and by that ardor of achievement which are the marks of a great soul. unselfish human service magnified him and gave his name to grateful remembrance. chapter ix characteristics there was nothing angular or disproportionate in the structure of mr. cocke's mind. the photograph of it may be said to have been reflected in his face, with its fine assemblage of strong and well-balanced features. the intellect was clear, the will robust, and the feeling intense. one never saw him when he did not know what he wanted to do; never found him irresolute or languid of purpose; and never knew him indifferent or unresponsive. along every line of enterprise that summoned him, these powers were joined in unity and concert of action. he was not in the smallest degree visionary or quixotic. illusions, phantasms, utopian dreams, perished in the light of his large common sense. yet this man was a true idealist. in his youth he saw a vision. at first he saw it dimly, but as time passed it grew in clarity, until it materialized in a better system for the higher education of young women. had he failed, we might have called him a dreamer; but as he succeeded gloriously, we rank him with the adventurous thinkers who have blessed the world. he followed the gleam and domesticated it in society. in his early days hollins institute was to him what the holy grail was to the knights of king arthur, or what the golden fleece was to the ancient argonauts. the thing that makes a man great, is a great idea seized and brought into beneficent application. he is greatest that is servant of all. when mr. cocke said that his habit was to think thirty years ahead, he was hardly conscious that it was a fine feat of imagination. yet this is his title to the crown of the legion of honor. intellectual and moral heroism must have its reward. [illustration: charles l. cocke] he would not have us say that his scholarship was broad. too honest was he to make pretense of much learning. broadly intelligent and well informed he was, and an efficient teacher of mathematics, but he made no claim to extended acquaintance with literature, science or philosophy. it is interesting to know that he was fond of milton's "paradise lost" and pollock's "course of time," and could quote long passages from each. he deplored inability to devote himself more assiduously to wide reading and deep study. the scholarly instinct and craving was in him, but the engrossing cares of his institution absolutely monopolized his attention. pathetic necessity barred him from the fuller measures of intellectual culture. on administrative burden bearing depended the life and growth of the school, and with perfect intelligence of the personal sacrifice involved, the responsibility was accepted. however, he was keen to discover scholarship, and quick, with the wisdom of a master, to add it to his faculty. it was sometimes said that he was autocratic, and he himself admitted that there was some ground for the charge. how could it be otherwise? he was the informing soul and energy of the institution, and in that fact was the sole guaranty of its development and perpetuity. he knew his plans and hopes, he had bold confidence in his own judgment, and he possessed an indomitable will. he had to speak with decision and authority. all confessed his right to command and understood the certain penalties of faulty service or of disobedience. the harassments of interminable worries and of defeated hopes may at times have resulted in a look of sternness, or have given his manner a touch of unpleasing abruptness; but, withal, it was far from him to inflict intentional pain. austerity of manner, incidentally of expression, was balanced by as kind a heart as ever beat. he was a superb gentleman, and in his prevailing gentler moods, had pleasant greetings for all. he was at the helm, and the necessity was on him to guide and direct, but behind the flash of those keen blue eyes lay a wealth of human kindness and affection. all hollins knew it. tyrant he could not be, but master he was. never did it pass from his thought that he was a servant of god and that the mind of the master was the goal of his life. he had the bearing of a lord, but the child in his heart never died. then, if ruggedness appeared, it was but a surface exhibition, the fatherly feeling being the deep inextinguishable fact within. for this, his pupils and friends gave him a life-long devotion, and his children loved him, almost to adoration. this man was no autocrat. he was conspicuous for his liberality. owing to the fact that his earnings and that of his family were constantly swallowed up by improvements in the institution, he was never a wealthy man. yet that fact did not close the door of his compassions and generosities. gifts went to the poor, contributions unstinted went to his church and to the benevolences of his denomination. once, when attending the baptist state association at petersburg, virginia, after several speeches had been made on missions, he arose and said: "now let us do something. i wish right here to subscribe $ ." the suggestion struck the body and a handsome subscription was taken. mrs. cocke said, some time after the event: "charles came home and sold a horse to pay that subscription." at an educational gathering in enon church, when the inevitable subscription was taken, his young son, lucian, signalized his immature and reckless enthusiasm by saying: "put me down for $ ." the cautious collector called out to the father what the boy had done. "all right," said the acquiescent father; "he has a pony." in dismay the youth saw the meaning, and the pony went to education. not often did he relate jokes and anecdotes, but he enjoyed them at the hands of his friends. he had a saving sense of humor and could relish a flash of it even at his own expense. this incident he told on himself. at one of the valley meetings of ministers and laymen, he made a stirring speech. his oratory was of the spontaneous, practical type, often impassioned and tremendously moving. when he closed an admiring brother arose and paid compliment to the speaker for his "exhaustive" address. the modest orator meekly protested the extravagant language. then a wit of a preacher stood up to explain to mr. cocke that the brother did not mean that the speaker had "exhausted" the subject, but that he had "exhausted" himself! the house was instantly in a roar of laughter, in which the orator himself as heartily joined. his brethren knew they could take innocent liberties with him, because they loved him so. at walnut grove baptist church in bedford county, virginia, a meeting was in progress in the fall of . the house was crowded when mr. cocke arose. the good genius of speech was upon him and that address on education was memorable for power. later, in the church yard, a good mother was talking to a minister about the speech. a flush was on her face and tears glistened in her eyes as she said, "oh, i wish i was able to send my daughter to hollins." now he had not said one word about hollins, his effort being to magnify the importance of the education of young women, and to fasten conviction on parental hearts. at another time, while he was attending a baptist meeting in southern virginia, he spoke before the body. a college professor in the audience inquired as to the personality of the speaker. on being told, he said: "i want to meet him, for he said more forcible things in five minutes than all the speakers before him in fifteen." an interview followed, with the result that the distinguished professor kusian spent twenty-eight years in teaching at hollins. self-conceit mr. cocke regarded as a sort of vulgarity. with all sincerity, his soul responded to the sentiment of him who asked: "why should the spirit of mortal be proud?" his friends thought that in some instances his humility was overdone. richmond college gave him the degree of ll.d., but he declined it, silently and unostentatiously. his frank reverence for truth disallowed acceptance. the degree, in his view, stood for a measure of learning which he regarded himself as lacking. his modesty wronged him. the compliment has come to be bestowed on high civic merit and achievement as well as on broad scholarship. in the former virtues, mr. cocke stood pre-eminent. his standard, if applied, would strip a multitude of names of this honorary title. interest in making money seems never to have touched him. not once did he venture on an investment. the material prosperity of men gratified him. he knew that most men ought to make money, but he had no time for it. "this one thing i do." on one thing, the gifts, plans and powers of his long life were literally and undividedly centered. he loathed the feeling of jealousy. he would have despised himself if he had been unable to hear the praise of other college presidents and of their institutions without inward pangs. eulogize his brethren, and you smote on no chord of envy. he was a large man. he bore no grudges and carried no enmities, the common luggage of proud and envious minds. what a good and generous neighbor this man was! the successes and sorrows of the countryside round about hollins touched him sensibly. he was their counsellor in times of perplexity; their comforter in seasons of grief. frequent were the times when a minister not being accessible, he conducted funerals and buried the dead. he loved the people as do all who really love god. the religion that attempts to terminate on god, ignoring human beings, is as sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. of such worship this man knew nothing. he expressed love to the divine in even-handed justice and in benevolent sympathy among men. perhaps the finest tribute paid at his funeral was spoken by the lutheran minister, dr. f. v. n. painter, a part of which is as follows: "dr. cocke was a great educator. he was great both in theory and practice. he had not made, i think, an elaborate study of the science and history of education, as they are presented in text-books. his knowledge was deeper than the knowledge acquired in that way. in the educational work of more than fifty years, his strong intellect worked out independent views of educational principles and methods. in no small degree he helped to make the educational history of virginia and of the south. "dr. cocke always impressed me as a large man. his stalwart frame was but the counterpart of a vigorous intellect. there was nothing petty, narrow, cynical, in his views or aims or methods. he loved to deal with fundamental principles and great facts; and in his discussion of any subject, there was always a breadth of view and a vigor of utterance that commanded attention. in his great, absorbing concern for truth, he cared but little for that delicacy of diction and that refinement of phrasing which so often, in the hands of smaller men, become an end in themselves. he was a strong earnest man, wrapped about with invincible integrity, reminding us of carlyle's words on luther, 'great, not as a hewn obelisk, but as an alpine mountain, yet in the clefts of it beautiful valleys with flowers'. "dr. cocke was a man of sterling integrity of character. a brief acquaintance was sufficient to elicit our highest confidence. he was straightforward and honest in his aims and methods of work. he attempted to deceive neither himself nor others; and it is impossible now to associate an insincere or crafty diplomacy with his character. his native integrity of soul, which must have come as a rich inheritance from worthy ancestors, was strengthened by his deep religious life. he recognized his supreme obligations to god; and he took the life of jesus christ as his model. thus he stood before us as a beautiful example of christian manhood. in character and in life he reflected credit on our common humanity." it is the divine way to do mighty works through consecrated men and women. christian faith so identifies one with the life of god that the eternal energies can flow onward to great consummations, even to the casting of mountains of difficulty into the sea. nothing evil was ever charged against mr. cocke. the absolute open purity of the man shamed all envy, and paralyzed misrepresentation. misunderstood and unappreciated at times he doubtless was, but this he accepted as one of the inevitable assets of an ongoing, achieving career. he was not perfect, but he pressed far up the heights of resplendent manhood. the signature of a divine call was upon him, and he honored it to the end. his long labor fell far short of his dreams, but it was crowned with the blessings of heaven. "all i could never be, all, men ignored in me, that was i worth to god." hollins college is his monument. there it stands, a thing of beauty, by the little sulphur spring. there may it stand forever! chapter x his comrades and co-workers the building of hollins institute was not the achievement of one man. it was the outcome of associated work. there was a leader, gifted with vision, judgment and iron will, but without abundant and able co-operation, there would have been no realization of his scheme. no man would be more prompt than mr. cocke in acknowledgment of this fact. he was accurate in measurements of the qualities of men and women, and not often in his selection of teachers was his judgment at fault. it was a compliment to be invited into his faculty, and its members always found hollins one big family. in one dining hall, students and teachers met three times a day, and the warmth of home feeling fused all generous natures into one delightful fellowship. mr. cocke did not look on his comrades as hired people. he took them into his confidence and high regard as honorable and worthy associates in his sacred work of education. he was no dictator; he issued no commands. he trusted his teachers, invited their freedom of initiative, and complimented them with the expectation of efficient service. he asked for good team work. it is no surprise that in such an atmosphere and under such genial conditions, he always had a loyal and harmonious faculty. rarely did one of its members go away without happy memories and loving attachments. many fine men and women, through the long years, made invaluable contributions to the upbuilding of the institution. their work was worthy of all praise, and it is a matter of regret that most of their names have to be omitted from this brief record. _mrs. charles l. cocke_ in the presentation of mr. cocke's fellow-workers in the building up of hollins institute, no one will deny the first place to his wife. her pre-eminent worth has already been indicated in the foregoing chapters. longer than others, she bore him company and demonstrated a sturdiness of character, quite as marked as his own. she did not want to come to the mountains with her three little children. in , she listened with loving interest to the enthusiastic recitals of her husband, just returned from the southwest, but kept hidden in her heart an invincible preference for her old home. yet, in the summer of , she went with him, loyally and cheerfully. his optimism she could not share, but the path of duty she trod as willingly as he. in the far after years she confided to her children that she had never loved the mountains, and then added, "but i never told charles!" the fact would not have helped him, hence it was shut up in her heart. that confession is full of great meanings, pathetic, unselfish and honorable. such was her faith in him, such her love and hearty comradeship in toil and sacrifice, that he most likely never suspected the secret feeling. [illustration: mrs. charles l. cocke] the shock of that first view of her new home we have seen. a little later, the primitive rawness of it was accentuated to her as she saw a wild bear leisurely passing through the premises! bravely she plied the domestic tasks, and smiled sympathetically on her husband's plans. in truth, without such a wife he could not have won. in the strong cord that held him to his work, she was the golden strand. though loaded with the cares of the household and of her little ones, this wonderful woman gave herself to numberless ministries among the girls. one feels astonishment at her physical endurance. her energies and womanly loveliness were elemental in the making of hollins. six years after her arrival, it was her joy to see her brother, professor william h. pleasants, added to the faculty. in the long, dark struggles that were to follow, there was no breaking down of her faith and courage. through two generations, the girls loved her with a genuine affection, and made no distinction between her and mr. cocke in the bestowal of honors. it was truly said, that if mr. cocke was the head of hollins, mrs. cocke was its heart. that splendid patriarchal trustee, mr. wm. a. miller, says: "it is common to speak of the wife as the better half. in my view, mrs. cocke was the better two-thirds." she watched the health of the girls, and entered into their amusements, sometimes even lending her own wardrobe for a histrionic performance. she could never endure harsh criticism, and if conversation drifted in that direction, she invariably withdrew. no unkind speech ever escaped her lips. to most mortals this will seem unbelievable, but ample testimony supports it. if ever compelled to express disapproval, it was in fashion so gentle that no sting was left. in the latter years, all the graces and beatitudes seemed to cluster on that feminine face, framed in with silver locks and the little white cap. she had a delightful gift of humor and many times the unconscious play of it surprised her by its mirthful effects. enon church and its worship always enlisted her active sympathy and gave her spiritual comfort. often in quiet seclusion, she was found reading her bible. the eventide came slowly on, with the relaxation of cares long borne. then came the desolation of sorrow, and a deepening of life's lonesomeness. there was no decay of mental power, no encroachment of disease. at last the mortal part went down without pain, and on january th, , the mother of hollins went away. just three weeks more, and she would have rounded out her eighty-sixth year. the last services revived memories of those solemn scenes of may th, . she was laid beside him on the hill, and weeping college girls strewed the grave with flowers. _professor william henry pleasants_ here is a great looking man, scholarly, courtly, popular, and in his maturer years, affectionately called, "uncle billy." he was born at the "picquenocque" homestead, five miles north of richmond, january th, , the youngest in a family of nine children. the family was reared under the quiet influence of the quaker faith. at about eighteen years of age, the young man graduated at richmond college, and entered into business relations with a foreign tobacco firm, in which was the promise of promotion and wealth. turning from this inviting prospect, he went to the university of virginia, and by diligence in study, bore off its honors. mr. cocke invited him to hollins in , just as the "female seminary" began its work. soon thereafter, he married miss minta smoot, of washington city. after a few years, the young wife passed away, leaving him with a little daughter and son, who became the sole objects of his devotion. it was his joy to see the daughter, mary, achieve distinction as a teacher of music at hollins. he was a lover of latin and greek; and literature, ancient and modern, was his passion. latin was his special department of instruction, but so versatile was his culture that he often taught the classes in natural science and philosophy. he was a magnetic teacher, accurate, clear and inspiring. he won reputation as a polished writer and speaker, and had a natural fondness for music and flowers. in association with congenial friends, he was the center of courtesy and charm. masonry was his pleasing avocation, and he was twice honored with the office of grand master of masons of virginia. here are a few of the many fine sayings which reflect his quality: "find out things for yourself, and you will know them better than if i were to tell you beforehand." "i am afraid that the average teacher of the present day prepares the students for examinations, not for life." "all higher education is essentially self-education." "can anyone who himself neither intelligently observes, reflects, nor reasons, aid others in so doing?" washington and lee university gave him the degree of ll.d. in . he gave up his work as teacher in , having spent sixty years in the service. on november th, , he passed away, lacking only two months of fulfilling his eighty-fourth year. he sleeps with his kindred in the little cemetery on the hill. _professor joseph a. turner_ professor turner was born in greenville county, virginia, august th, ; was a b.a. of richmond college in , and an m.a. of the university of virginia, in . he served in mahone's brigade, army of northern virginia, during the entire war, and in accepted the chair of english and modern languages at hollins institute, which position he held to the time of his death, may th, . hollins has had many able and popular teachers, but it is simple truth to say that none ever stirred more enthusiastic admiration and devotion than he. indeed, after hearing and reading his eulogies, one is almost forced to the conclusion that he was one of the most remarkable teachers the institution has ever known. of high character, broad scholarly sympathies, and passion for teaching, he made his classroom electric with literary contagions and enthusiasms. not only did he teach, but he magnetized and inspired the student. his teaching was largely by lecture, punctuated with pointed questions. intellectually honest, accurate, painstaking, he cultivated the same qualities in the student. he published a valuable treatise on punctuation and left several works in manuscript on his special subjects of english literature and philosophy. he contributed occasionally to _appleton's journal_ and _the atlantic monthly_, and regularly to the editorial columns of _the nation_. mr. cocke honored and loved him, and the tribute he paid to the lost teacher in his annual report to the trustees in , is probably the finest ever given by him: "mr. turner was a man of no ordinary type. when a boy, he was a mark among boys; when he became a man, he was a man among men. he hesitated long between law and teaching, and when the question was settled, he gave all the energies of his soul to his chosen calling. prompt, able, faithful and enthusiastic, he carried his pupils to the highest standards of improvement of which they were capable, opening the fields of literature, where they might wander, explore and gather the richest fruits in after years. not only did he give them knowledge and culture, but he inspired a zest for knowledge which would carry them beyond the ordinary confines of female acquirements. as an officer in a school for girls, his eminent literary attainments, his temperament, manners and very person, inspired respect and affection. his purpose was to make this a prominent institution for young ladies, and accordingly he was engaged in preparation of textbooks adapted to that end. among literary men, mr. turner was regarded as a scholar of mark, and destined to become a figure in the literary world." _mrs. leila virginia turner_ mrs. turner, mr. cocke's oldest daughter, was born in richmond, virginia, february th, . she was educated at hollins and taught twenty-one years in the institution. brightly gifted, ardent, magnetic, witty and companionable, she had peculiar power to win and hold the hearts of students and friends. she was happily married to professor joseph a. turner in , and was consigned to early widowhood in . two little children were left to her care. the daughter, now mrs. erich rath, teaches in the college, and the son, mr. joseph a. turner, is its business manager. [illustration: mrs. anne hollins] _miss sallie lewis cocke_ this gentle and accomplished daughter was born in richmond, virginia, may th, . she was a graduate of hollins, and taught many years in the college. though frail in body, she was alert in mind, and lovingly responsive to all those tasks wherein she could do her father service. gentleness and spiritual refinement were eminent qualities. friendliness and social grace seemed native to her character. her teaching was in the department of literature and languages, and to this day her pupils speak in praise of her taste and skill in the teaching art. she was a model of feminine culture, and filled her mission well. on the th of july, , the lovable life faded away, at hollins. _mr. charles henry cocke_ this nobly useful man was born at hollins, may st, . he took a course at richmond college and in early manhood became an invaluable helper to his father in the business affairs at hollins. the growth of the institution, with the multiplying years and cares of the president, made assistance imperative. no more timely relief could have been given than that which came when young charles h. cocke threw his fresh energies and enthusiasm into this work. on the new manager a multitudinous and bewildering mass of incessant duties descended. he discharged them with surprising swiftness and ability. a friendlier manner or a kinder heart could not be. he had patience even with the trivial and senseless interruptions that arose. everybody leaned on him and everybody loved him. his work at hollins was one of the finest contributions given by any one to the success and stability of the institution. all honor to his name. his health began to fail before the end of twenty-five years of service, and, too late, he began to recruit his spent vitalities. on may rd, , his labors closed in death. all hollins wept and mourned his loss. mr. cocke said: "he was the right arm of my strength. without him the school would never have reached the commanding position it now holds." with the precious company on the hill he rests in peace. one is glad to see his son, m. estes cocke, a prominent member of the faculty. _mrs. eliza speiden childs_ this noble woman was one of the distinguished factors in the evolution of beautiful hollins. rich and varied are the contributions which she made to the school. she was born in washington city, july th, . her father, william speiden, was a u. s. naval officer, and rose to the rank of commodore. her mother was an english lady. eliza was the oldest of seven children. she was educated at mrs. kingsford's school in washington, and in that environment of elegant culture, her young womanhood was nourished. by the strange vicissitudes of human life, she was, before middle age, twice a widow, with two little children in her care. in the year , by good fortune both to herself and mr. cocke, she came to hollins as associate principal, a position she was to fill for twenty-five years. after resignation, she was made "emeritus." mr. cocke said of her: "mrs. childs' gifts and qualifications were of inestimable value to the institution, and without them and her untiring service, it could not have reached the excellence it has." there was about her a captivating nameless grace of womanly finish, delicacy and comeliness. her unaffected goodness blended smoothly with her emphasis of authority, and a perfect taste joined itself to charm of manner and flowing sympathy. it was social culture to be in her company. her influence went out over all the south and will abide. her daughter, miss marian bayne, is librarian at hollins today. mrs. childs resigned at hollins in , and on august , , she passed away, at marshall, virginia. her body was laid to rest at alexandria, virginia, near the scenes of her childhood. _professor a. t. l. kusian, ll.d._ here is one of the most picturesque and delightful of scholars. his history is dramatic and his experience of the world is rich. he was born in france and educated in germany. during the civil war his sympathies were with the south, and he bought supplies for the confederacy in france and italy. he came to the united states while still young, and took out naturalization papers in kentucky. he married a virginia lady, and taught a number of years in the baptist college at danville, virginia. from there he was called to hollins in . after more than twenty-five years of work in the department of modern languages, he retired as professor emeritus. he was a man of remarkable memory, never forgetting a fact or a face. he was one of the most competent, courteous and obliging of teachers and friends, and for mr. cocke he had the most sincere admiration and attachment. honored and revered by all, he fell asleep march th, , at his home in accomac county, virginia. _trustees_ two of the original trustees of hollins stand out particularly as notable for long service and devotion. [illustration: john hollins] _mr. william a. miller_ this venerable and delightful gentleman was born in pittsylvania county, virginia, in march, , and is now in his ninety-seventh year. this summer of , he is in fair health, and goes daily to his place of business in lynchburg, where most of his life has been spent. his whole career has been one of stainless virtue and lofty christian character. his first meeting with the trustees of hollins was on july th, ; his last was in february, , making a term of forty-five years. he was always high in the esteem of mr. cocke. he recently explained in humorous way, that his long term of life was due to long teaching in baptist sunday schools. this got into the papers, and he has received letters from all over the country, and some from people in other countries, asking his methods of teaching the lessons. a halo of honor is on his head, and thousands of friends wish him long life. _colonel george p. tayloe_ on the th of april, , this splendid citizen of roanoke, virginia, this strong and invaluable friend of hollins institute, passed away, in the ninety-third year of his age. he was the first-named trustee on the board of the valley union seminary, in . that position he held until the school took the name of hollins institute. in he became president of the board of trustees, and as long as he lived, he held this office with distinction. in some members thought it expedient to elect another president, owing to colonel tayloe's frequent, enforced absence on account of sickness. mr. cocke objected, however, and the grand old man was re-elected. before the next annual meeting he was no more. mr. william a. miller has this to say of his comrade: "colonel tayloe was a gentleman in every sense of the word, and was often consulted by mr. cocke. he seemed to feel himself a part of hollins and was almost like the right arm of the president." mr. cocke himself, in giving a brief history of the institution, in , said, "i cannot close this sketch without a tribute to one who well deserves to be mentioned on this occasion. the hon. george p. tayloe, of this county, a gentleman of wealth and exalted social station, was the administrator of the estate which held possession of the property at the time the purchase was made for educational purposes. he not only heartily approved of the establishment of the school and gave liberally to its funds, but he gave his personal influence and more than all, he indulged the trustees in the payments due the estate, to the utmost limits of the law, refusing to accept offers made by others, until he finally secured the property to its present owners, thus enabling the school to continue its high mission. for nearly the entire period of fifty years, he has held the presidency of the board of trustees, and seldom has he been absent. when at any time during the history of the school, money had to be raised for any emergency, he was the first to subscribe and prompt to pay. his influence has contributed largely to its successful career." the institution never had a more loyal friend, or a more generous and intelligent trustee. hollins and its community ought to wipe the opprobrious name of "tinker" off the beautiful mountain, and replace it with the honorable and cherished name of "tayloe." _mr. and mrs. john hollins_ mr. and mrs. hollins lived at lynchburg, virginia, prosperous, highly respected and influential. mr. hollins was a man of superior worth and always responsive to the generous impulses of his intelligent wife. her ancestors, the halseys, came from england in . one of these kinsmen was a member of the english parliament, and another went to the united states congress from new jersey. she was a member of the first baptist church of lynchburg, but her husband, on account of self-distrust, never joined. mr. hollins' gift of $ , in was by her inspiration. her own later gifts, amounting to $ , , assured the life of the institution. but for the civil war, which destroyed most of her wealth, she would have given much more. they had no children. mr. hollins was born february th, , and died april th, . mrs. hollins was born in and died july rd, . both were buried in spring hill cemetery, at lynchburg. chapter xi his monument the perpetual, unsatisfied longings of the founder of hollins projected plans and schemes whose completion had to be left to other hands. in his wise view, an institution completed was an institution already on the downward grade. the large, expansive life of the age requires continuous modifications and enlargements to meet the ever-springing exigencies of society. in his eighty-first year, amid the desolations of a triple bereavement, the aged hero sounded this note: "i will devote my energies to putting the institution on a permanent, broad basis, with facilities of all kinds to meet the advancing demands for such schools; for education of every kind throughout the south is on rising grade, and virginia, like new england, may yet have a reputation for school facilities with scholarly men and women equal to those of any section of this broad and progressive land." this is the same clarion voice so familiar through two generations. thus came from his lips the general program, committed to his successors for the following thirty years. with no consciousness of the fact, he was providing his own monument which lives in the noble hollins college of today. when the institution passed from the trustees to mr. cocke, it became the charge of a board of governors, selected from the members of his own family. from that day, they have regarded as their precious inheritance the plans of his mind and the wishes of his heart. his principle of progress has been the guiding light of the board of governors and not for a moment have they forgotten that the passionate desire of the founder of the college was to make hollins, in an ever increasing degree, a leader in the cause of the education of women. what has been done during the nineteen years of the board's control? it is impossible to visit hollins without feeling that the memory of mr. cocke and his influence equally abide. he, being dead, yet speaketh. at his death the presidency of the college went to his daughter, matty l. cocke, and the chairmanship of the board of governors to his son, lucian h. cocke. the business affairs, so long and heroically managed by charles henry cocke, are now entrusted to two of the founder's grandsons: marion estes cocke as secretary and treasurer, and joseph augustine turner as general manager. [illustration: hollins college] the improvements on the grounds and buildings, and on the farm, have been many. a beautiful library building, made possible by the alumnæ, was erected in , as a memorial to mr. cocke. the susanna infirmary was built in , as a memorial to mrs. cocke. in , the science hall was built. meanwhile important changes were being made in the courses of study. the curriculum was gradually enlarged, and eight years after the founder's death, the institution was standardized on the basis of a four years college course. when this change was recognized in a new charter from the legislature of virginia, the name "hollins institute" gave place to that of "hollins college." the realization of the founder's dream is an endless process, and the motto will ever be, "forward and upward." in the very atmosphere of the place, the sensitive soul feels a brooding presence. the trees on the campus, nearly all of which he planted, seem to whisper the revered name. his ideal lives, and his spirit interfuses all. his monument is building still. let it go shining down the centuries! on the firing line in education by a. j. ladd _professor of education, state university of north dakota_ boston richard g. badger the gorham press copyright, , by richard g. badger all rights reserved made in the united states of america the gorham press, boston, u. s. a. preface of the ten studies making up this little volume only one, the last, aside from the introduction, was designed primarily for publication. each of the others had a definite personal audience in mind while being prepared. still, nearly all have later found their way into print, and some have been reprinted in other periodicals and quoted quite extensively in still others. many letters of appreciation, too, from strangers who have chanced to read this address or that, have come to the writer. these facts, together with expressions of appreciation upon delivery and with definite suggestions from many for publication, have finally led the writer to feel that possibly their gathering together might be worth while. but in fairness to himself, as well as to others, also in the interests of accuracy, he is prompted to give an additional reason for venturing upon the hazardous undertaking of offering "cold meats" to people not overly hungry. not words of praise alone, no matter how warm, would justify such a decision, for one can never take such expressions at quite their face value--'tis so easy to make pleasant remarks! so the matter was thrown back to where it belonged all the time--upon the writer to decide the case on the merits of the various discussions as dealing with present-day educational problems. while separate addresses, upon different topics, given at different times, and with no thought of connection, they all do bear upon one great matter of universal interest--that of education. the title, "on the firing line in education," belongs specifically to but the first of the topics discust. still, it is appropriate to the entire group since the various matters handled are fundamental and the positions taken considerably in advance of common use. but we are clearly moving in the general direction indicated--'twill not be long now before the main army has caught up, and then the firing line will be still further advanced. i have a very definite conviction that, at any financial cost, we should provide thru the school for the physical as well as for the psychical and the moral development of the child. this is not to take the place of the home--merely to supplement the work of the majority of homes. only thus can we adequately educate all. i believe, too, that in any scientific view of the educational process the sense organs are paramount in importance, and therefore urge their care and training. that the positions taken in the various addresses upon these and other matters are sound has been pretty well demonstrated during the last two years when the demands of war have faced us. this is made clear in the introduction that follows. i am under obligations to the various periodicals in which these studies have appeared for permission to use them again in this form. i also appreciate the courtesy of mr. badger, the publisher, in allowing me to use certain simplified forms of spelling, thus departing from the usual over-conservative practise of publishers. is not this, too, one of the firing-line activities? a. j. ladd grand forks, north dakota, march, contents chapter page introduction--have the schools been discredited by the revelations of the war i. on the firing line in education social betterment, the dominant motive in education child study physical education the educational survey vocational guidance the educational psychologist ii. the relation of the state university to the high schools of the state the elementary school the high school the state university iii. the university and the teacher the kind of teachers the university should employ the university teacher in his classroom the university's attitude toward the preparation of teachers for the schools of the state iv. the eye problem in the schools v. the home, the church, and the school the home the church the school vi. noblesse oblige vii. improvements in our public schools viii. local winter sports ix. the function of teachers college x. credit for quality in secondary and higher education index introduction have the schools been discredited by the revelations of the war? _from school and society, april , _ knowing that i was about to publish a book on education in which the great war, now happily closed, was not taken as the point of departure, a friend said to me one day, in substance, "aren't you taking undue risks just now in putting out a book on education that isn't based upon a program of reconstruction? haven't all our so-called educational principles been dis-credited? shall you get any readers if you do not admit educational failure thus far, and proceed to discuss a change of front, made imperative by recent revelations?" and the editor of a well known educational journal, in asking me for an article, recently, said, among other things, "i should be glad to have an article upon some phase of reconstruction after the war, educational, social, philosophical, as you may like. here is the next great battlefield of the future, and if the educational forces do not redeem themselves here, it is my opinion that we shall become a greater laughing stock than we have ever been before." to both of these statements i desire to take exception. to be sure, the war has taught us many lessons bearing upon education; to be sure, it has revealed shortcomings, limitations, and weaknesses. but it seems to me that it has also made clear that we have been working along right lines. our fundamental educational principles have not been dis-credited. there is no far-reaching educational failure to admit, nor is there any serious shortcoming from which the educational forces of the country have to redeem themselves. "laughing stock," does the gentleman say? oh no! far from it! let us not get panicky! some weaknesses brought to light? certainly. but in the analysis, later to be made, let us see if, for the most part, they do not but demonstrate the soundness of our educational principles and the far-sightedness of our educational leaders together with the short-sightedness of the present critics, in that had suggested recommendations been followed these weaknesses would not have existed. let us give here but one illustration, and that briefly. we all admit that the medical examinations for the war found too many physical defects, and too many men thereby incapacitated for efficient military service. but would not the results have been very different if, during the last generation, the suggestions and strong recommendations of educators relative to physical education in our schools been acted upon by the public? ah! the fault was not with educational principles; they were sound. the educational forces of the country knew what was needed, but a parsimonious public would not follow intelligent leadership. we could say, all along the line, "i told you so," if we felt so inclined. instead of being the "laughing stock" we could--if the matter were not too serious--throw the laugh upon the other fellow. the purpose of our schools has never been to produce soldiers at the drop of the hat, and so they have never been blighted by military training. (may it never come!) their task has been to produce men and women of character and purpose and ideals--men and women of initiative who could become anything called for by an emergency. and nobly have they succeeded, as evidenced by the successful prosecution of the war. in view of all that the united states has done to assist in bringing the war to its successful close, from the adoption of the selective draft down thru the management of the training camps, the operation of the railroads, conservation of food and fuel, to the knitting of a pair of socks and the sale of a thrift stamp, what shall be said of the success or failure of our schools? every man, woman, and child in this gigantic work, from president wilson down to the colored bootblack who saved his nickels to buy a stamp, or to the little girl who voluntarily went without her sugar, has been a product of the schools. thru the instruction, the discipline, and the training given in those schools, they became the men and women who could rise to the emergency and do the things needed. and they did. no college or university or professional school ever taught mr. wilson how to be president of the united states during these troublous days; nor mr. mcadoo how to manage the railroads; nor mr. pershing all about war; nor any local worker how to lead the red cross work, any more than the lower schools have taught the boys who went into the trenches how to use the gas mask and how to go without food; how to shoulder arms and how to march. but the schools all along the line did help to give them ideals, did train them in team-play; did instil into them the principles of democracy and the love of country, so that when the need came they arose as one man to repel the foe. and the study of arithmetic, geography, and grammar; of chemistry, physics, and medicine; of latin, greek, and history has, in each case, made its contribution to the preparation of home workers, soldiers, scientific experts, financial managers, and statesmen--has helped to make each an individual of initiative. under the guidance of our educational leaders, following principles that they had workt out, the schools of the country were moving quietly along, each one of the , teachers doing faithfully the work at hand day by day. we had never thought of war as a possibility for us, and of course preparation for it had not been made, in the slightest degree, a part of the work of the schools. but when war, with all its horrors, was finally forced upon us and we needed statesmen and scientists and military leaders to guide and direct, they were at hand in the graduates of our colleges and universities--broadly trained men capable of assimilating, or learning, or in other ways gaining quickly, the specific form of efficiency needed in the particular activity assigned. and when we needed soldiers they were at hand in the person of our boys of the schools, both common and high, from every nook and corner of the land--boys and men who merely needed direction and leadership, capable of at once falling into line and quickly taking on the professional phase of their training. could we have asked our schools to do more? the supreme test had come, and it was being met in a manner gratifying to all. the boys and the girls, the men and the women, on the farm, in the store, in the home, in the workshop, in the schools and colleges, have responded "here am i. show me what you want me to do, and i will do it even unto death." it was done, and they did it. the schools had nobly demonstrated their efficiency. to be sure, all this was not done without making mistakes. not all the products of all the schools were able to rise to the occasion and to be depended upon in our hour of need. when the great national search-light was trained upon the product of the schools, seeking leaders of infinite variety and number, and likewise hosts of followers to do definite and difficult things, many deficient ones were discovered--some deficient in mental caliber, some weak in moral fiber, some lacking in physical stamina. and right here is to be seen the only serious failure of our schools. not every boy, not every girl, had been made as efficient as could have been desired. but, happily, in our great numbers enough were found to do even the stupendous work at hand, and to do it well. in spite of moral lapses, not a few, in spite of instances of mental incompetence, far too many, and in spite of physical handicaps, distressingly large--in spite of all this, i say, the united states surprised the world with the quickness with which we pulled ourselves together, and with the marvelous efficiency with which we mobilized all our resources. many losses of course there were--losses of men, losses of days, losses of dollars. but when all is said and done, the losses were slight when compared with the accomplishments. credit to whom credit is due! but because of these losses unthinking men immediately began to criticise the schools. they should have been trade schools, or industrial schools or military schools--any kind of schools that they were not. and how clearly it was being demonstrated, we were told, that the time formerly spent on music and drawing, art and literature, algebra and geometry, history and latin, had all been wasted! how much better it would have been if, instead of these "frills," the children had been given "practical subjects"! (practical. save the mark. one is tempted here to go off on a by-path and discuss the topic, "what is practical?") thus the criticism of the unthinking--of the laymen who went off at half-cock. and this criticism was deepened and strengthened and extended and made more vehement, again by the unthinking, when the fine results of the plattsburgh experiment were revealed, in which, thru the processes of intensive training, men were quickly whipt into shape for new, and difficult, and responsible undertakings. and the equally good results that came from the officers' training schools, in which college boys by a similar program were metamorphosed, almost at over-night, into capable army officers, had the same effect. how signally had the schools failed! and these long years spent in school and college, "dawdling over the frills," had been to no effect, whereas "a few weeks under _intelligent_ educational direction accomplishes marvels." and the same has further illustration. ministers of the gospel selected for chaplains, physicians and surgeons chosen for medical service, nurses for the red cross, engineers for various forms of engineering, and many others have all been given this short period of intensive training and, to their credit and ours be it said, all responded quickly. but the conclusion drawn by the unthinking has been, all along the line, that the later efficiency of these men which has gained for us the plaudits and the gratitude of the world was due to this short period of intensive training, "under men who were intelligent enough to know just what was needed and just how to go about to secure it"--men not hampered by any pedagogical nonsense or grown stale over a long attempt to discriminate between the "infinity of nothingness and the nothingness of infinity" (as one might summarize a rather common criticism), rather than to the former years of patient toil, and discipline, and accomplishment which had really laid the foundation so well that all were able thus to respond. the common school, the high school, the college, and the professional school was dis-credited, one and all, in favor of a short-cut method analogous to the so-called "business college,"--a short-cut method that could result only in disaster if applied without the appropriate preparation. how long it does take people to realize that real education is a slow process! that it takes years and years and years of varied experiences for the processes of assimilation and development to bring about the fine fruitage of stable character! and the government, too (i suppose we can criticize washington just a little now without serious danger of being sent to jail), must have had the same point of view in regard to the general management of education since, during the war, it did not entrust its educational war program into the hands of the national bureau of education. it did have the war department and the navy department and the treasury department manage their respective phases of war activities. why was not the department of education called on to direct the educational work? had it been, the s. a. t. c. fiasco, as well as some other blunders, would doubtless have been avoided. but the thought (or was it the lack of thought?) must have been that most anybody outside of the teaching profession would know better how to get educational results than any one from within. a similar point of view is generally discernible in the election of boards of education in towns and cities thruout the country--any one is satisfactory save those who know definitely what should be going on inside of the school house. perhaps all this was to be expected. i rather think so. but i confess to surprise when i find such criticism being echoed from within--from men who should know better, as, for example, the two quoted at the beginning of this article. the explanation, i suppose, is that, timid in nature, they have become panicky and lost their bearings. perhaps they were suffering from a mild form of brain-storm, and have temporarily slipt back into the ranks of the unthinking. let us analyze the situation and see if we can discover just what the war did reveal as to the short-*comings of our educational system. let us then try to locate the responsibility. one of the most serious of the educational shortcomings thus revealed is a high percentage of illiteracy--nearly eight per cent, i understand, the country over. the seriousness of such a situation can scarcely be overestimated. it was serious in time of war--the inability of a soldier to read orders, or to follow written directions, or to make written reports, especially when one takes into consideration the myriad forms of war service just recently used, would limit his possibilities of service and cripple himself and all his companions. but illiteracy is even more serious in times of peace, for then such individuals are not immediately under the direction of intelligent officers and thus prevented from the disastrous results of their own ignorant actions. think for a moment of what it means in a democracy and for a democracy to have one out of every ten (disregarding children) of the possible directing forces of the government unable to read or write! but when we add to this statement of mere illiteracy the fact that a large percentage of these illiterates are of foreign birth or extraction and have never learned either to speak or understand the language of their adopted country, the situation is seen to be even more serious in potentiality, both in peace and war. our authorities have been too lax, it seems, in not requiring that all children of foreign extraction, whether foreign or american born, be educated in the english language. in communities thickly settled by alien peoples they have too often allowed the schools to be conducted in the vernaculars of the people--a german school here, an austrian school there, and an italian school over yonder, and so on. and it goes without saying that in schools in which children are instructed in alien tongues 'tis not the american spirit that is inculcated nor american ideals that take root. no one would challenge the statement that here is a defect in the execution of our educational program, and one that must be remedied at any cost. still another serious weakness as revealed by the merciless hand of war is that of physical shortcoming. a large number of men were rejected for service and a still larger number accepted only for limited service because of physical disability as shown by the medical examinations. i have not the figures at hand, but 'tis common knowledge that the situation is considered grave. eye defects, ear defects, defective teeth, weak lungs, flat feet, round shoulders, spinal curvature, unsymmetrical development, and many other defects were discovered in great numbers. perhaps nothing but a rigid medical examination by a military officer would ever have opened our eyes to the real situation. but this did. the revelations came as a surprise to nearly all except the educational leaders of the country. they have known, all the time, what the situation has been and, for a generation, have been trying to combat it. again the question is raised as to whether these defects, or weaknesses, of american education, in both fields mentioned, as serious as they have been seen to be for war, are not even a more serious menace when looked upon from the point of view of peace, and therefore, even tho the war has been won, of such commanding importance as to demand our immediate and continued attention. one might go on and name other shortcomings in the working out of our educational program that have been more clearly brought to the surface during the critical days of our warfare. but this article is not intended to be a catalog. the two mentioned are fundamental and far-reaching. illiteracy and physical disability! weakness along these lines strikes at the very roots of national life and of individual well-being. and if, as a nation and as individuals, we are ever going to enter into our inheritance, these defects must be remedied. but before trying to discuss remedies, it will be well to locate responsibility. are our basic educational principles unsound, or merely our educational practises unsatisfactory? are the educational leaders of the country all wrong in theory? have their heads been so high among the clouds that they have not seen the real boy and his homely task? or have they seen clearly and mapt out wisely, whereas the public, relatively unthinking upon technical matters and always slow to act in new fields, has not been ready to follow? is it in theory or in practise where the real shortcoming is to be found? the answer to the question is vital. if in theory, then is the situation serious indeed for that would mean that our psychology is wrong--that our whole philosophy of life and of government has been built upon error. truly, then, after all these years, the "educational forces" would need to "redeem" themselves so as not to be "a greater laughing stock than we have ever been before." but if the weakness lies merely in our practise, not yet having been able to attain to our ideals, then, tho serious, it would be but child's play, comparatively speaking, to put ourselves right. we should need to take courage, redouble our efforts, and all that, but should not need to start all over again. how shall we account for the illiteracy revealed among both alien and native born? not by faulty methods of teaching can it be explained, nor by anything else that teachers have done or have not done. illiterates have not attended the schools. it is due either to insufficient legislation or to non-enforcement of laws, doubtless more the latter save in the case of adult aliens. from the very beginning of our colonial life, early in the th century, universal education has been a part of both our educational and our governmental creeds. a program of compulsory education was early found necessary, early adopted, and never abandoned. beginning in massachusetts and going south and west, following considerably behind but then keeping almost even pace with settlement and development after statehood had come, legislation has decreed that every child born into the land or coming into it by immigration shall enjoy the advantages of education, at least to the extent of knowing how to read and write the english language. every state in the union has compulsory attendance laws upon its statute books. these laws are not as thorogoing as they should be in many cases but yet, even as they are, if enforced, they should leave almost no illiteracy among people whose childhood has been spent in this country. for the least satisfactory laws--those of some of the southern states, georgia, for example, require school attendance for at least four months of each year between the ages of eight and fourteen. but illiteracy, even among our own people, has been revealed--too much of it. the laws have not been enforced. there is the sore spot. why have they not been enforced? but of that later. the education of adult aliens is another matter, and a very different one. as a problem it is almost new. that is, it has been only in relatively recent years that it has been recognized as such. true, for several years some of the states most largely affected, such as massachusetts, new jersey, new york, pennsylvania, and others have been wrestling with it, but not very much has yet been attempted toward introducing the compulsory features. and private agencies, philanthropic, industrial, religious, political, and others have also done good work. but all that had thus far been done had accomplisht little more, at the outbreak of the war, than to open our eyes to the existence of a problem. and in our leisurely way we were going about its solution. but war came. the european nations were aflame. we had many europeans in our midst. investigations were made. the universal draft was adopted. the revelations were startling. it was discovered that in there were in the united states , , white persons of foreign birth, years of age and over, unable to speak the english language. of these , were from ten to fifteen years of age, , between fifteen and twenty-one, and , , twenty-one and over. note the number, _more than two and a half millions, twenty-one years of age and over--men grown, fathers of families, many of them_--unable to speak the language of their adopted country! and of these , were illiterate--unable to read or write in any language! nothing short of legal requirements on a large scale, and rigidly enforced, absolutely free of cost to the immigrant, can ever remove the menace. the law-making bodies of the country, both state and federal, must act and act quickly or this growing menace will get beyond our control. and the long catalog of physical defects--what shall be said of them? shall they be charged against the "educational forces" of the country? are they a disgrace from which we must "redeem" ourselves so that we shall not become the "greater laughing stock"? it is perfectly evident that somebody has blundered because the whole sad list of defects is, speaking broadly, preventive and, for the most part, also remediable. but where lies the responsibility--upon the home, the school, or society? of course, primarily, upon the home; the child comes from the home, goes to the home, is a part of the home, is under the immediate control of the home. but yet, many homes, especially homes of alien peoples, are not sufficiently intelligent to have entrusted to them matters of such far-reaching importance. and many others are not financially able to have proper attention given. but the school does know. and it, or what it represents, is abundantly able financially to handle the matter. it knows clearly how the child with physical defects is hampered in trying to perform its school work; it knows, too, how seriously the entire work of the school is interfered with when there are many such in the room; and it also knows the handicap under which such unfortunate children face life when school days are over. and the school knows, too, the preventive and remediable natures of these defects. possessing all this knowledge, why has it not acted? to make a long story short, it has acted. to the extent of its authority and with all the influence and power at its command it has acted, has been acting for many years, and is still acting. for more than a generation the educational forces of the country have been engaged in a nation-wide educational campaign designed to make clear to the homes of the country and to the voters of the country the growing seriousness of the situation. on the lecture platform and from the gospel pulpit, in the educational press and in the popular magazine, aye, in the daily newspaper, in private conversation and in public discussion, in season and out of season, they have labored unceasingly to acquaint the public with the facts and to urge preventive and remedial action. to the unselfish work of these leaders of educational thought and action, supplemented by the generous assistance of the medical profession, is due the fact of our present-day intelligence in regard to the matter. educators have been deeply interested, thoroly alive, and intelligently at work. how they have agitated the matter of better ventilation and better lighting of schoolhouses! how they have pleaded for medical inspection and appropriate medical treatment of school children! how they have urged the employment of the school nurse! how they have workt for the playground and the gymnasium and for sane methods of handling the same! but they do not form the court of last appeal. they have no authority. they all stand in about the same anomalous position as does the man nominally at the head of the educational activities of the country--the united states commissioner of education. they may gather statistics, make reports, and suggest action. but that is all. tho possessing full knowledge of the situation, tho knowing just how to proceed to usher in a better day, they are not permitted to take any action. responsible? of course they are not responsible. "redeem" themselves? from what, pray? "laughing stock"? how long, oh! how long, will our great army of teachers, three-fourths of a million strong, be unappreciated, belittled, and maligned! who, then, is responsible? in the last analysis there is but one answer--the public itself. since the community at large as well as the individual afflicted is, in the final outcome, a sufferer in every case of physical disability, as also in that of illiteracy, it is its duty, as a mesure of self-protection, at least, to assume direction. adequate information is at hand as to desirable methods of procedure. demonstrations a-plenty have been given to prove that the program suggested is feasible, inexpensive, and beneficial. this has been brought about thru the action of a few small groups who have thus presented clear and convincing object lessons. but why must we say "a few"? why is not such work nation-wide? that is a longer story. it follows. the united states of america is a republic--a representative democracy--a government in which all the people participate. and the government of the united states is a federal government. it is made up of a group of states, each one exercising supervision and control over its local matters. and education has thus far been considered a local matter. and in many ways that soverenty has been still further divided. we have as a smaller unit of school organization the county, and a smaller one yet, the township, and, in many states, a still smaller one, the school district, containing, in many instances, only a few square miles of territory and, of course, a very limited population. but in some respects, within certain limits, each of these small units is a law unto itself, having much to say as to the length of the school term, the character of the teaching, and many other phases including such as the one under consideration. for these reasons it frequently happens that side by side are school districts, or townships, or counties, with widely differing educational programs. here is one with attractive buildings, well ventilated and well lighted, well equipt in every way, in the hands of competent teachers, with physician and nurses subject to call. but just over the imaginary line is another with nothing quite satisfactory. they are just living up to the strict letter of the state's requirement and that is all. not one dollar is being spent that represents the community's voluntary contribution to the welfare of its child life or to the future well-being of humanity. and why? just because we are a democracy. just because our action must be the united action of many, representing the average intelligence of the entire governmental unit and not that of its most intelligent members. for this reason a democracy is always slow to act along new lines. the majority of the people have to be convinced of the wisdom of the new mesure. and education is itself always a slow process. people change their minds slowly. slowness of action is one of the prices we have to pay for our democracy. on the other hand, an absolute monarchy can act quickly, for there may be but one individual to assimilate the new idea or to be convinced of the wisdom of the proposed change. these facts are easily made clear by historical references, and, happily, in the very matter under discussion--educational procedure. in the eighteenth century prussia, under the two great hohenzollern kings, frederick william i and his son, frederick the great, the two ruling from to , made most rapid strides in education. both were practically absolute rulers, but they were benevolent and far-sighted, and the educational reforms that they inaugurated were basic and far-reaching, such as state-control and support, compulsory attendance, and the professional education of teachers. being absolute in authority, all they needed to do was to promulgate the decrees and order their execution. the result was that, educationally, prussia immediately forged ahead of all the other european countries. england, on the other hand, was a limited monarchy. her king could not have acted thus even if he so desired. such mesures had to have the sanction of parliament, which would have to hark back to an enlightened public opinion since parliament was a representative body. and public opinion, especially in matters of education, is slow of creation. as a matter of fact, even tho the english people were much in advance of the germans in civilization and in all the refinements of life, it was not till that england as a government took her first step looking toward the education of her children thru appropriating money. and the grant of that act was only a paltry £ , a year to be used by two religious societies for the erection of school houses. and it was an entire generation later, even , before they adopted the necessary principles of compulsory attendance and local taxation. more than a hundred years behind prussia, england was, in the management of educational affairs! another illustration of the slow action of democracy is nearer at hand both in time and space, even in our own country. for one reason or another, rather, for many reasons, education was at a low-water mark in the united states the latter part of the eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth centuries. thoughtful men, progressive educators, prominent statesmen, searching for the cause and for the remedy, found the one in the poor character of the teaching being done and the other in the establishment of the state normal school patterned after those of germany. this was first suggested in in connecticut and pretty faithfully kept before the people of new england thereafter. but in spite of every effort, including a campaign of education and the establishment of private normal schools for the purposes of demonstration, it was not till that the massachusetts legislature could be induced to act. and she would not have done so then had it not been that a very prominent man of boston, a friend of the cause, mr. edmund dwight, showed his faith in the movement by making a generous contribution out of his private funds. note, too, this action from another point of view--the amount of democracy's initial contribution toward this new great movement in america: mr. dwight's gift of $ , was evenly matched by that of the wealthy state of massachusetts! and the $ , was the amount planned for the establishment of _three new normal schools_ and their maintenance _for three years!_ that amount to-day would scarcely build a coal shed for each of three new normal schools! but i am not advocating monarchical methods even to hasten so good a cause as educational improvement. i am merely accounting for our slowness of action in needed reform. for several reasons i should be decidedly opposed to adopting such a program of centralization even if we could. in the first place, not every absolute monarch would act as did frederick the great. there are few benevolent despots. in france during the seventeenth centuries the louises were just as absolute as were the fredericks in germany. but they were not interested in education for the people. again, germany's system of education, tho objectively efficient, has been far from satisfactory because not based on sane moral principles. and that fact, by the way, has finally been germany's undoing. now, we can scarcely conceive of democracy erecting an educational structure on an unsatisfactory moral foundation. and still again, the action of an absolute monarch, in all such matters as education, tho perhaps temporarily rapid, is not permanent. remove the guiding spirit and it slips back. an illustration will assist. again germany furnishes it. the little duchy of gotha, just south of prussia, serves us. during the thirty years' war gotha had suffered greatly. near its close, in , duke ernest the pious became its ruler. he had at heart the good of his people. he believed that education could be a very important factor in their upbuilding, and at once put into effect a progressive program. his people were greatly bettered and his duchy became a fine object lesson for other german states. but duke ernest died. and his educational reforms, not springing from the people themselves, followed him not long after. a few years ago president diaz, mexico's benevolent despot of nearly half a century, died. and his people, never having been taught how to rule themselves nor practised in the art, went to pieces. democracy is slow but she is apt to be sure. her action in educational matters is often provokingly dilatory, but she holds what she gains and thus continues to progress. she does not take a step forward until she is sure of her ground, but then she stands firm. her actions are the results of deliberate thought based on adequate data gathered from actual experiments and not to be shaken. democracy would not give up universal education nor take one step backward in the matter of compulsory attendance to secure it. she would not part with her elementary normal schools for anything in the world. and when once she sees her duty clear she will add to her school workers, in every community, the physician, the nurse, and the playground director. she will do it and, quickly noting improvements, soon wonder why she had not done it long before. since so much emphasis has been placed on the conservative nature of democracy and on its consequent slowness of action, a word should be added as to its possibilities in emergency. tho we were slow in entering the great war, once our duty was clear we acted with a promptness, a unanimity, and an efficiency that surprised both friend and foe, giving heart to the one and consternation to the other. tho a democracy, we invested our chief executive with a power and an authority beyond that possest by any monarch in the world. so let us not be discouraged. the situation is not as bad as it might be. our fundamental principles are sound. we are working along right lines and accomplishing good results. our shortcomings, our weaknesses, our failures, if you wish to call them such, are seen only when our record is compared with a perfect score. the schools have not yet attained to per cent efficiency; that is, the country over. here and there, under the favorable conditions of an intelligent citizenry willing to follow expert leadership even to the extent of providing adequate funds, are schools and departments of schools of approximately per cent efficiency. and these, as democracy's experiments, assure us of other advance steps. they are object lessons. thus democracy always advances. finally, what shall we say? what shall we do? not to "redeem" ourselves, oh, no! not that! but to approximate the per cent efficiency all along the line? what? why, knowing that we are headed aright, keep steadily forward with our eyes on the goal, refusing to be stampeded by the unthinking critic of whom democracy always has a plenty. take courage! speed up! i on the firing line in education _president's address delivered at the annual banquet of the fortnightly club, grand forks, north dakota, june , _ the plan of the military campaign is worked out in the quiet, away back in the rear, sometimes at considerable distance from the place of actual hostilities. it is worked out quietly, usually slowly, and attracts but little attention. but when worked out and ready to be put into operation, the plan is taken forward and activities begin. supplies are gotten ready, men stationed, guns loaded, the firing line is formed. here is where the battle is to be fought, where an attempt is to be made to carry out the plans formed in the quiet, back there in the rear. activity characterizes the scene. advances are being made, new things being done. every effort is put forth to realize the plans. it is not different in education. in the quiet of the laboratories and the study, thoughtful men consider conditions, form plans, and develop theories of educational betterment that have to be tried out, out in the open. a firing line has to be formed, a place where new things are to be done different from the regular conventional activities. the humdrum, prosaic, traditional, everyday work goes on, in the main, all around but at these points where some advances are being tried, a new and it is hoped better program tested. all eyes are centered, all minds eager. the analogy is not inapt. it is my purpose to discuss briefly some of the things that are happening on our educational firing lines. i want to bring to your attention first, however, the plan of the great educational campaign upon which we have entered, the goal before us at the present time, and then take up a few of the relatively new and typical positions being taken by leaders of educational thought, having the realization of that goal in view. this will present to you some of the things that are actually being done in a few progressive communities and point out possibilities for others. social betterment, the dominant motive in education if i interpret aright the present-day educational thought, the dominant motive in it all is social in character. that is to say, in all of our plans for the education of children we keep them in mind as future members of society, acting with one another and all working together for the common good and for the betterment of the race. and around this motive, or back of it, or being used by it as a means, can be grouped all the significant educational practises of the time. formerly the motive was largely psychological. that is, the school effected its organization, chose its curriculum, worked out its program, and decided upon its methods in order that it might assist the child in the development of its instincts and capacities, thus enabling him to realize his own personality. the great french educator, rousseau, living in the eighteenth century, was responsible for this movement and it was a notable advance beyond the haphazard and aimless practise of the time. pestalozzi, the great swiss educational reformer, froebel, the german apostle of childhood, and herbart, the psychological genius of the fatherland, were disciples of rousseau and worked out from his point of view, trying to put it into practise in the school-rooms. and here was the firing line in education for many a long day. true, none of these later men ignored social relationships as did rousseau. true, a strong case could be made out, if one should wish to defend the thesis, that these distinguished followers of rousseau, even tho carrying out his program in the main, were likewise inaugurating the new sociological movement. but yet it was not sufficiently clear to dominate even in their own minds. the individual stood out beyond the mass. he filled the stage. nor did they clearly pass it on to others. as a matter of fact, what the immediate followers of these men got from them was the theory of individualism in its better form. the best definition of education that can be given from this point of view is _the development of an inner life_. that is what rousseau wanted to bring about and pestalozzi and froebel, and our own colonel parker of more recent times, the modern apostle of childhood, had the same vision. and so to froebel and these others, likewise, the school was an institution in which each child should discover his own individuality, work out his own personality, and develop harmoniously all his powers. true, in that environment and doing all that, the child is going to learn the relationships of society, and thus the school might become a means for social progress as well as the instrument of individual development. but this was incidental. the development of the inner life was the goal. fashioned in the quiet, in the study, away from the haunts of man, this became the program and the rallying cry, and out on the firing line it was striven for. on the educational battlefields of both europe and america, where redoubts were being stormed and advance positions taken, this was the one great end in view. it eventuated in the child study movement of the present generation that is now at its height and that has done so much to mitigate the severities of the old time school room practises and likewise greatly aided in putting education on a scientific basis. the immediate followers, i say, of the great european quartet of educators had the above worthy goal in view; but with their followers, many of them, especially the noisy ones, the modern sophists, it degenerated into a theory of pure individualism of the most selfish type. the theory of getting on in the world, every man for himself, became rampant. the school came to be looked upon as an institution in which children could learn how to get ahead of the rest of the community, and education as merely another weapon to use in making society contribute more to purse and pleasure. and on the firing line, formed by these noisy agitators, mistaken by many as educational leaders, these were the things striven for. but this aberration was only temporary. the real educational leaders, in trying to realize the goal of rousseau and pestalozzi and to do it having to combat this movement of wildcat educational speculation, gradually came to see a more important truth even than the one they were seeking. as on many another firing line, victories by the wayside have clarified our vision and given us new perspectives, and a goal, not at first recognized, looms large upon the horizon. for thru all this struggle we have learned that the first business of the public school is to teach the child to live in the world in which he finds himself, to understand his share in it and to perform it because, after all, unless people learn to adapt themselves to other individuals and communities, disorder and chaos follow. in it all we have come to see that education is the best instrument for regenerating society. not individual development, then, the selfish view of rousseau, not even the harmonious development of all the faculties, the one-sided, somewhat restricted, or undeveloped, view of pestalozzi and others of his followers, surely not individual efficiency for personal gain, the selfish view of crass materialism, but social efficiency is the present-day motive in education. and the definition of education takes on a different color. not merely the development of inner life but in conjunction with that or in addition to it, _the development in the individual of the power of adjustment to an ever changing social environment_. and likewise the school becomes more than a place in which the child can discover himself. aye, it is the instrument that democracy has fashioned for realizing its broad and humanitarian ideal. democracy is ever striving for closer and more harmonious relation between its members, a greater degree of social justice, and the school is its efficient means. these two tendencies, the psychological and the sociological,--only two since the narrow individualistic was never accepted and is now being rapidly eliminated--these two are not antagonistic nor mutually exclusive. the difference is largely in point of view or emphasis. one may say that they are but the two sides of the same shield but the fact remains that there _are_ two sides. there is a difference and the change came as suggested. and the change has modified conditions on the firing line. ever since mr. spencer asked his suggestive question, "what knowledge is of most worth," the question of educational values has been raised and the curriculum has come under close scrutiny. the result has been a modification. the purely linguistic and literary, that which does not function directly for preparation in life and society, is slowly giving way to that which deals with the facts and forces of nature and of social institutions. thus far i have tried to make plain the great educational campaign in which we are engaged, as seen on the firing line,--to point out the goal before us, universal education, of course, and social efficiency for each member of the group. that suggests at once as a definition of education, the one made famous by herbert spencer more than a half century ago, "_preparation for complete living._" that was good as a start in the new direction, but one of the most prominent generals of our educational forces now commanding at the front, john dewey of columbia university, has suggested a modification which brings it up to date and gives the key-note of explanation to the tactics now in vogue out there in the front ranks. he says that instead of being the preparation for life, education is life itself. some without trying to probe deeply into the thought back of the trenchant expression, have said that this was a mere play upon words. but dewey is not a man who plays with words. what he meant by the statement is that the child is best prepared for life as an adult by living the right kind of life as a child. that is by living a life that has real meaning to him now, a normal natural life, putting forth those activities that spring from within, not merely sitting behind a narrow desk trying to memorize wordy descriptions of complicated facts thought to be useful to him later on. and when we go out and see what they are doing on the firing line we shall see just that being done. child study but perhaps i should guard against a possible misapprehension. in eliminating the materialistic point of view in individualism--narrow individual development for personal gain--we have not thrown aside the goal of development suggested by rousseau and pestalozzi. advanced educational thought has that prominently in mind--the discovery of the child's latent powers--his possibilities--his tastes--his "bent" and the development of the same. but while with them that was the goal, the end in view, and a somewhat selfish one, even tho not crassly materialistic, it has become, with us, a means to a larger end, namely, social betterment. the child must be known and developed to enable it to be able to contribute its largest quota to the welfare of society. with this general direction of educational activity made plain, and incidentally the character of the activities along the entire battle front, let us pass to a consideration of a few specific activities that will illustrate the general movement. let us bear in mind that we have in view, in the first place, the individual child whose tastes and aptitudes we must discover and, on the basis of discovery, whose fullest development, consistent with the rights of others, we must seek. and the reason for this, you know, is that only as this is done and he is prepared to do that kind of work in the world for which his tastes best adapt him--only thus can he be made the most efficient member of society possible. because, as plato said, centuries ago, "society is but the individual writ large"--a collection of individuals. the foundation of all things in social life is the individual. now, i'll admit, at once, that that is not the program of the rank and file of the schools. it should be, but it isn't. what the schools are trying to do, in the main, is to teach the children a lot of facts that tradition says would be well for them to know when they become adults, wholly irrespective of the child's present attitude toward these facts--whether or not they have meaning for him. what the high schools are trying to do is to teach the relatively few who survive this grade program, in addition to these elementary tradition-directed facts of knowledge, a lot more of meaningless matter prescribed by the colleges and listed under that alluring title, "entrance requirements." and as a result of these programs the schools are sending altogether too many of their boys and girls into society unacquainted with themselves, and ill-fitted for any useful occupation, and therefore out of sympathy with the serious work of the world. they are misfits in the social and economic world and are obliged to take their places in the ranks of the lowest-paid of unskilled labor--and work up if they can. now, what is being done on the firing lines to remedy this situation and to usher in the new day? well, first, in our normal schools--institutions established and maintained for the simple purpose of preparing young people for teaching children--great emphasis is being placed upon the study of the child. it is felt that only as the teacher understands the child mind and the laws of its development can she direct that development aright. (that's a sensible point of view, isn't it? and yet it is only on the firing line in educational practise that we find it recognized. without that factor of equipment, the teacher is teaching subjects, not boys and girls.) in many normal schools child study is one of the required subjects--no one may graduate or be recommended for a teaching position who has not taken it. it should be required in all--and will be a little later on. no person should be allowed to occupy the position of teacher of children who has not made such a study--and proved himself efficient in it. boards of education should demand it even if some normal schools do not yet require it for graduation. it is far and away the most important part of the teacher's professional equipment. and then in our schools of education and teachers colleges--institutions set apart for preparing teachers for our high schools and for administrative positions--the study of adolescence is receiving increasing attention. the high school boy and the high school girl are being made the subjects of close, careful, scientific study. it is thought that in order to deal effectively with these young people the high school teacher should understand those marvelous changes--physical, mental, and moral--thru which they are passing. how else can one know how to check where checking is needed (and it usually is needed somewhere along the line); to guide where the pathway is obscure (and every adolescent is sure to pass thru valleys of darkness during the high school course); and to inspire where inspiration is lacking (and with some it is lacking a good deal of the time)--in a word, how else than thru a knowledge of the situation can one be the "philosopher, guide, and friend" that the adolescent always needs? do you know that about one-fourth of all students who enter the freshman classes of our high schools, thruout the united states, drop out before the close of the first semester? do you know, too, that the elimination continues right along until that one-fourth is made more than one-half before graduation day arrives? now, these boys and girls enter full of hope and expectation, eager and ambitious for what the high school is supposed to do for them; they do not plan to drop out before completing the course--nor do their parents plan to have them do so. why do they do it? what has changed their point of view and sent them from the school, sad and disappointed, and their parents dissatisfied with both school and child? what is it? do you want me to tell you? the situation has been the subject of investigation in many places thruout the country, and the conclusion reached by thoughtful men and women, unbiased students of educational practises, is that, while many influences combine to bring about that unfortunate result, the chief cause of this high mortality is the unsympathetic attitude of high school teachers toward the adolescent. but, you may ask, why unsympathetic? because they regard them as fickle, unstable, and irrational, and so have but little patience with them. i'll admit that the adolescent seems all that at times, but that is only on the surface. the developmental changes--physical and moral--thru which he is passing often make the life during this period one of turmoil. from fourteen to eighteen--the normal high school period--is frequently called the "storm and stress period" of life. not having made a study of the situation, high school teachers, in the main, do not know the fundamental scientific facts, and therefore can not account for actions, points of view, signs of waywardness, lack of appreciation, poor lessons, etc., etc., that sometimes characterize the youth while a student in the high school. they often lay to an unclean mind what springs from a perfectly normal development of the sex function; they are sure that moral perversity is the basis of actions that are more correctly explained by reference to a moral nature merely in the process of development; they think that pure laziness alone explains the lack of vigorous work, whereas the boy is growing so fast that he has no strength for anything else; they scold him for being awkward and say it is due to carelessness and a slip-shod mind, because they do not know that the muscles sometimes grow faster than the bones, making accurate co-ordination a physical impossibility; in a word, to general, all round cussedness they charge behavior that should be referred to high blood pressure, aching bones, the knitting together by fiber growth of the various brain centers, and finally, to youthful enthusiasm, all of which are perfectly normal signs of developing youth. they do it because they do not know any better. they are ignorant of many things that touch, and vitally, the young people with whom they are working. but how could it be otherwise? they have never given any reflective thought to the matter. the term "half-baked" that they often apply to the adolescent in disgust, or in coarse jest, is, from this point of view, more applicable to themselves. that, i say,--the unsympathetic attitude of the high school teacher toward the adolescent--is the chief cause of the high mortality of high school students. that, coupled with another, that springs from the same fundamental situation--ignorance of the needs and points of view of the adolescent--tho not so chargeable to the individual class teacher as to the school system as a whole, local, state, and national, pretty nearly cover the ground. the other cause to which i refer is the course of study and program of activities that are so ill-adapted to the tastes, and needs, and capacities of adolescent boys and girls--studies and activities that have no real meaning to them and that fit them for nothing definite save college entrance where the same old process, meaningless to many, often goes on for another period. what is being done on the firing line to better such conditions? a good deal; quite a good deal. normal schools and schools of education here and there, the former more than the latter, are now giving attention to the matter, requiring in some cases and urging in others, prospective teachers to become intelligent in regard to the lives they are to direct. it is being done at our own institution as at others. this year dr. todd has given instruction in child study to nearly one hundred young men and women who are looking forward to teaching in the grades, and i have had a group of some thirty-five or forty prospective high school teachers and superintendents who have been making a careful study of adolescence. i guarantee that these people will not make the crude and unfeeling blunders that i have mentioned as too common among high school teachers, as they run. these are firing-line activities. they were nearly new a dozen years ago. my introduction of such courses in our university was smiled at indulgently by some of my colleagues and sharply criticised, especially the work in adolescence, by others. they are not yet required of students preparing to teach, but have evidently demonstrated their value since, tho in no sense snap courses, they have become very popular. as illustrative of this work let me refer to a notable recent action of the legislature of iowa. it has just passed an act appropriating to the state university $ , a year for the purpose of financing what is called a "child-welfare" campaign. the plan is to make an exhaustive scientific study of the child from both the physiological and psychological points of view, to the end that it may be better known and thus more satisfactorily guided in its educational career. one other thing, in this same connection, is being done on our firing lines all over the country--something that is hoped will set the people at large, parents and citizens generally, to thinking sanely on educational matters and ere long rectify our blunders as to subjects of study and general school activities and thus result in sending the children out efficient workmen in suitable fields. i refer to addresses and discussions such as this and others, to articles in newspapers and magazines, and the educational press, and to even more extensive and thoro discussions put out in book form from time to time for the laymen. the old darkey says, "the world do move." we sometimes think it moves very slowly, but yet it "do move." tho we can't see it move, we can, by looking back, see that it has moved. physical education another thing for which we are fighting out on the firing lines is an adequate system of physical education. this would include periodical medical inspection of every child from the kindergarten up; it would also include the school nurse and the visiting nurse, and, as well, free public clinics for ear, eye, nose, throat, and tooth difficulties. it would also include, for mental and moral as well as physical ends, well-equipt playground and gymnasium facilities under the direction of men and women expert and skilful in those fields--and these would be in operation the entire year. the physical education of the child and adolescent should be as carefully planned, as scientifically workt out in a positive way, as the intellectual. why not? because you know--every intelligent person knows--that the physical is the basis for the mental and the moral. you know--we all know--that a sound, a healthy, a sane life can not be developt in an unsound or a diseased body. then why are these activities merely on the firing lines and not a part of the regular program? because ignorance, and prejudice, and selfishness, and stubbornness, and penuriousness are still keeping many people in the trenches. but they will be dislodged. just as sure as fate they will be driven from cover. they are fighting a losing battle. they are standing in the way of an irresistible movement that is sure to engulf them. if there were time i should like to describe just what is being done along this line in some places and give the reflex influence of the same on the community. it has surely meant a new heaven and a new earth to many a child, and glimmerings of the same to many a community. but i pass to less spectacular matters, continuing to discuss principles rather than illustrations. the educational survey another matter of interest these days is the educational survey that has been taken up by many progressive communities. the plan is, as many of you know, to subject the school system of a city or community to a searching investigation in order to discover, if possible, its weak points, if it has any, to the end of their betterment. experts are brought in who, without fear or favor, examine the system from all possible points of view--location and arrangement of school buildings including heating, lighting, and general health conditions, adequacy of playground and athletic facilities, the extent to which the schools are satisfying community needs in the way of equipt workmen and the needs of the young people for equipment for suitable work, the cost of the system, attendance, methods of teaching and supervision, course of study, etc. outside experts are brought in for various reasons: known to have no personal interest in the outcome, their reports are likely to be received with greater respect; and, too, a local committee, thru nearness and very familiarity, would fail to notice features, good as well as bad, that might at once attract the attention of strangers. many cities, ranging from to half a million people, have already availed themselves of the survey with, in the main, very gratifying results. not only have cities used the survey, but other units of educational administration. there have been a few very significant and interesting rural school surveys by counties in several states. a similar study has been made of several state universities, wisconsin, iowa, nevada, for example. i notice that the legislature of minnesota has just arranged for a survey of theirs. you all recall that such a survey was made of all the institutions of higher education of north dakota only a short time ago. the general feeling is that it was well worth while. such and even more extensive surveys have already been made in five other states--oregon, iowa, washington, colorado, and wyoming. the end sought in each and all of these surveys, whether city schools, higher institutions, or state-wide systems, is greater efficiency--larger service to society. a survey of this character is usually followed by a detailed printed report that is generously distributed resulting in greater interest in the schools and a more intelligent appreciation of their work and their needs. vocational guidance much has been said in recent years about vocational education. the schools have been severely criticised for not teaching trades. many have demanded that that be the dominating motive in all our schools, especially in the high schools. the educational press, for the last decade, has kept the matter in the limelight. books have been written calling attention to the heavy dropping out of school of pupils even before reaching high school age wholly unfitted to do anything above the most menial and lowest-paid work. they have argued strenuously and sometimes logically for better things. to this program the objection has been raised that children in these early years are not yet ready to choose their work of life; that they do not yet sufficiently know themselves--their own tastes and capacities for such serious choice; it has also been urged that to place before children such attractive objective features would result in swerving many from the normal pathway of their development and check it midway. the result has been what might be called a compromise, and the firing-line activities have been somewhat modified. not vocational education but vocational guidance is now more nearly the thought. and this has a much larger content, a background, a more scientific basis, and one organically connected with the larger movement of which i have already spoken--the social motive in education supplemented by the individual involving the discovery and development of taste and capacity. i have already called attention to the high mortality of high school students. the reasons i have given are the lack of sympathy that the teacher has with the adolescent and the lack of meaning found in the work being done. the same facts account for the heavy elimination that takes place in the upper grades of the elementary school. but both are being remedied to some extent. the first thru the child-study movement and the second thru the matter of vocational guidance. and the two are very closely connected as one can see at a glance. thru the child-study movement the teacher comes to know child nature so well that direct application can be made to the individual child and an intimate knowledge gained of his tastes, capacities, ambitions, and dominant interests. this will enable her to give the subject matter definite meaning in the early years, and, later on, when vocations begin to attract, the guiding may be intelligent and the final choice a suitable one. from the beginning of the adolescent period there should be opportunities furnished by the school or thru its co-operative effort for children to test themselves in various lines--academic lines, vocational lines. they should, in a word, be vocationally tempted in as many different directions as possible so as to come to know themselves so well that the final settling will not be haphazard. in these ways they should be guided into their vocations, definite ones, just as early in life as they can be adequately prepared for them. for example:--if his tastes and capacities fit a certain boy for merely a mechanical pursuit that requires but little academic learning, such as carpentry, plumbing, blacksmithing, brick laying, etc., he should, relatively early in the adolescent period, be thus guided, and not forced to attempt an academic course that can have no possible meaning to him. this would send him out, a productive member of society, happy in his work because suited to him and efficient in it because fitted for doing it well. if, on the other hand, tastes and capacities fit for academic or professional careers, such as medicine, law, teaching, or engineering, the principle would remain the same but the program would differ. the academic work, meaningless to the prospective plumber, or dressmaker, would be full of meaning to the embryo lawyer or teacher, and the period of preparation much prolonged. such are the points of view that teachers should hold, and such the opportunities that schools should offer. and it is all being found out on the firing lines. this program is being carried out to some extent in many places in different parts of the country. the time is not very far distant when something of the kind will be demanded in all our towns. for out in the front ranks the high school is no longer regarded chiefly as a preparatory for college. out there it is seen to possess a much larger function--assisting the child--every child--to form its own acquaintance and to begin the planning of its future. in other words, the thought on the firing line is that the high school is an institution established by a community for community purposes--to take its young people--all of them--and guide them thru the difficult and transitional period of adolescence, directing, inspiring, shaping, checking, developing for the largest manhood and womanhood possible and providing the community with efficient workmen in various lines. the educational psychologist while there are many other activities, significant and interesting, that might well be considered in such a treatment as this, i shall close with a very brief mention of one more--the place and work of the educational psychologist in our modern system. one of the most significant of the newer movements in educational procedure is that termed _educational mesurements_, perhaps better called the _mesurement of intelligence_. about a generation ago it began to be observed that many children did not pass thru the grades with the regularity that was thought normal or desirable. many were obliged to repeat grades--they did not "pass," to use the language of the schools. the more the matter was investigated, the more serious was it seen to be. investigation has gone on until at last carefully gathered statistics tell us that almost, if not quite, one-half of all the children in the schools fail to progress thru the grades at the expected rate. for some reason, or for some combination of reasons, they are retarded from one to three years. and of the $ , , annually spent to carry on the work of the schools it is estimated that from $ , , to $ , , go every year in attempts to teach these retarded ones what they have already tried but failed to learn. here was a double loss, a financial one of large proportions and a human one of much more serious import. why the retardation? and what could be done to check it? thoughtful consideration was given to the matter with the following revelation: it was seen that in educational procedure all matters of grading, promotion, even choice of subject matter where there was a choice, were being handled on the basis of results of tests of information--possession of knowledge facts--rather than of ability or intelligence. this might not be so bad if the knowledge sought in these tests were knowledge necessary to have in order to function adequately in the new or advanced environment. but usually no such relationship could be traced. it was but another illustration of no present meaning connected with the work of the school. a remedy was sought, and is being sought, in trying to substitute for the information test a test of intelligence. it is generally admitted that neither one is an adequate mesure of the other. a child may have a very high grade of intelligence and yet make a very poor showing in the ordinary schoolroom test for knowledge, not that he has been unable to learn such facts but merely that his interests and attention have not been thus focust. on the other hand, it is entirely possible for one of low-grade intelligence to receive a very creditable "mark" in a test for information since it is frequently a test of verbal memory, that "great simulator of intelligence," as binet calls it. one of the most interesting of the books bearing upon this new educational movement is _the measurement of intelligence_ by professor terman of leland stanford university. in the thoughts just exprest i have used material found in this book. so, for a few years now, educational psychologists have been trying to work out a series of tests of intelligence, so that children may be located on the basis of their general intelligence, or ability to accomplish results. the results so far are very promising as tending to eliminate much of the loss mentioned above. and out on our firing lines the educational psychologist is being looked upon as a necessity in any system looking forward to real efficiency. it is thought that thru the saving he could effect in the two directions cited his regular employment would be a matter of economic foresight. a few years ago it was the school physician who was being fought for out in the front ranks. he is now a fixture in every up-to-date school system, and it is the psychologist for whom battle is now being waged. and it is only a question of time when his position will be secure and the line pushed forward for another attack. i have discust with you briefly some of the interesting points of view of the education of to-day. i have tried to place before you, first, what i think to be its dominant motive--social betterment, made effective thru discovery and development of the individual's tastes and dominant interests. to show how this program is becoming established and worked out, i have touched upon various new lines of activity in sympathy with and contributing to the general movement. thus i discust briefly the great child-study movement having for its goal knowledge of the individual child as a basis for its educational treatment. following this i spoke of physical education--its beginning in many places and the great need for extension. another activity named was the educational survey by means of which a community may have its own educational activity tested by impartial experts that its real efficiency may be known. then followed brief discussion of the new movement for vocational guidance that is doing so much where being used to make the youth efficient and happy in his chosen and appropriate field of activity. i closed the discussion with a mention of a still newer movement having the same great ends in view--the employment of the educational psychologist. firing-line activities all of these are, each vigorous and active in the great movement for educational betterment. ii the relation of the state university to the high schools of the state _an address delivered before the annual conference of the north dakota superintendents and principals at the university of north dakota, may , _ this is a topic of great interest to us all--to you in the field and to us here on the campus. the work of the two institutions is so closely related, each depends so much upon the other, that participation in the activities of one bespeaks interest in the other. but before we can discuss at all intelligently the matter of relationship it will be necessary to look at the two separately--objectively, as it were--to note the function of each and its place in the educational system of the state. what is the university? what is the high school? and what is the work of each? are questions that must first be answered. in the first place, of course, the two are but parts of a still larger whole, neither being an independent, self-sufficing entity. the larger whole is the educational system of the state, of which there is one other part equally important with the two named, even the elementary school. and all three parts forming the whole are creations of the state, devised, controlled, and maintained for a very definite purpose--namely, the welfare and happiness of our people. while it is true that the three parts are correlative, each supplementing the others and the system incomplete without all three, it is also true that they are co-ordinate, no one of the three being, _per se_, in authority over any other, nor any one subordinate to another. let me put before you, very briefly, that we may all be thinking together, the system in its outlines and then discuss each of its parts, trying to discover its function and its node of work. then we shall pass to the matter of relationship. the system as a whole covers and tries to provide for the entire school life of the individual. the elementary period, or department, includes, in the main, as now organized, the work of the first eight years of the child's school life and ministers to it from the age of six to fourteen years. the secondary, beginning where the elementary closes, carries on the work for four years and is followed by the higher, the colleges and the professional schools--the university. it may clarify matters somewhat and thus give us a clearer perspective, if, before, entering upon the discussion, i account for the system as we have it to-day. our colonial forefathers in the old bay state, back in the th century, in providing to meet the situation that prest upon them, unconsciously laid the foundations for an educational system that expanded with their expansion and developed with their development. but before taking the initial steps they did not wait to analyze the entire situation and upon logical or philosophical grounds map it out in its entirety. they had no such thought. they needed ministers of the gospel and, since a knowledge of latin was the one sure gateway to that profession, they established a latin school almost as soon as they had set their own dwelling places in order. this was in , and harvard college followed the very next year to complete the preparation. it was an afterthought and came eleven years later when they legislated for an elementary school. and even tho we can see, in what they had then produced, the fundamental factors of our present somewhat complicated system, the people who were responsible for its organization were only dimly conscious of the significance of it all. they builded better than they knew. the broad outlines can not be improved. details, of course, are ever changing as local conditions change, but from the very nature of things, the elementary, the secondary, and the higher schools have remained with us, each for a quite definite purpose and all working together for a common end. let us look, therefore, for a moment, at each of the three and see for what it stands and what it should attempt to do. the elementary school the fundamental purpose of the elementary school in a democracy is well stated in the first legislation on the continent touching elementary education, tho not mentioning the elementary school. it was in the massachusetts colonies in . the general court passed an ordinance of which the following quotation gives the substance: "this court, taking into consideration the great neglect of many parents and masters in the training of their children in labor and learning, and other employments which may be profitable to the commonwealth, do hereupon order and decree that in every town the chosen men appointed for managing the prudential affairs of the same shall henceforth stand charged with the care of the redress of this evil ... and for this end they, or the greater number of them, shall have the power to take account, from time to time, of all parents and masters, and of their children, concerning their calling and employment of their children, especially of their ability to read and understand the principles of religion and the capital laws of this country; and they shall have power ... to put forth as apprentices the children of such as they shall find not to be able and fit to employ and to bring them up." here was compulsory elementary education, that children might know how to read, might "understand the principles of religion and the capital laws of the state," and also that they might be taught to work. and why? for their own present and future welfare, and that they might be "profitable to the commonwealth," the document reads. it was for all the children of all the people. the same thought is with us to-day and, analyzed and stated in our present-day terminology, may be put about as follows: the elementary school is for all the people and aims to do for all three things: first, exercise a positive directive influence over the child's physical development; second, carry on, in a more systematic, scientific manner the training of the sense organs already begun by the home, thus opening up the life to the beauties of nature, art, and other forms of truth, and so providing for the development of the inner life of each in accordance with inherent leaning and capability; and, third, equip them with the tools of knowledge and give such knowledge facts and develop such points of view as will enable each to become a self-directing, constructive, and contributing member of his democratic community. attendance upon the elementary school should, in the interests of all as individuals and of the state as an organization, be compulsory. the high school the high school should likewise be for all, tho for a somewhat different purpose. while attendance should not be compulsory, the aim should be to make it universal. for a somewhat different purpose, i said; i should perhaps have said for an added purpose, because i would have the three ends of the elementary school kept constantly in view as fundamental bases. but, assuming that these things have been well done, the chief purpose of the high school should be to discover the child's latent powers, his dominant interests, and then, so far as these are wholesome, help him plan his education in their general direction. i might put it briefly thus: the chief function of the high school should be to help the child to become acquainted with himself and begin the planning of his future. let us look at it carefully and see if it is not sound. at the conclusion of the elementary school, at the age of , the boys and girls are still children; they are developing, not developed, in either body or mind. they have not yet reached, in the main, the period of rapid acceleration of physical growth, intellectual expansion, or moral development; they are just reaching it; they are now in the early stages of that wonderful period of adolescence when the boy is being transformed into the man and the girl into the woman. they are neither children nor adults, yet manifesting the characteristics of both. they do not know themselves, nor does any one else know them intimately. how can they? they are not yet formed. they are in the process of formation. what will emerge as a result of the process, we know only in broad outlines--not at all in minute detail. so many factors are at work and there are possible so many combinations of factors that no one can tell; for it is during the period of adolescence that hereditary characteristics show themselves. up to this time the child is a child of the race; during this period it becomes the offspring of its parents. and the factors of heredity--father, mother, ancestry--are mingling and clashing and combining with the factors of environment, and what the outcome is going to be, nobody knows, in specific cases, in advance. this is the period when the heart, the lungs, and the brain are being transformed, modified, whipt into shape for the performance of the duties of adulthood. it is a period when, in the intellectual realm, because of what is taking place in the physical, concepts are being clarified, relationships traced, ideas formed, things seen in the right perspective, and real reasoning begun. it is the period when, in the moral field, because of what is being accomplished in the physical and the intellectual, principles are being apprehended that will finally enable the individual to distinguish between right and wrong, to organize on principle rather than upon expediency his relationships with his fellows, and eventually to become a free moral agent, self-controlled and self-directed. it is the period, therefore, when ideals are being formed, habits fixt, character shaped, life plans matured, and professions chosen. and so, with such an individual and during such a period, what other function of the high school can begin to compare, either in importance or in appropriateness, with the one stated? it may be objected that i do not include in this function of the high school that which has been during a large portion of its history its foremost work--preparation for college. the seeming omission has not been accidental. i say the _seeming_ omission because, even tho not specifically stated, it is there, for all who should be encouraged to prepare for college. but it has not been made prominent since, in my judgment, it is of minor importance. note again the function as suggested--to help the child know himself, find out what he wants to do and what he can do best, and then begin getting ready for doing it well. if the specific form of future activity decided upon in a particular instance should call for the contribution of the college, then of course the plan mentioned would include appropriate preparation. but from what point of view should the high school be regarded and for whom should it be planned? should it be for the relatively few who go beyond, or for the great majority who do not? it is a fair question and admits of but one answer. the high schools of the state must, of course, give adequate preparation for entrance into the state university. some of them must--not necessarily every one. it must be the preparatory school, since both are state institutions and the only ones occupying the field. but it should do vastly more than that. being of the people, by the people, and for the people, it should be so handled as to serve all, not merely a few, of the people. it is perfectly plain, therefore, where the emphasis should be placed. please do not misunderstand me; i am not looking upon this from any narrow point of view, i am not thinking merely of getting these children ready for jobs--certainly not all of them. i am not advocating the transforming of our high schools into trade schools--not at all. what i am urging primarily is a different point of view--and so enlarging and modifying our high school activities and equipment that all our children, instead of only a few, may find there a congenial atmosphere and activities suited to their tastes. if their tastes lie in the direction of carpentering, or of plumbing, or of dress-making, well and good; let them be thus developed and prepared to go out into their community somewhat equipt for remunerative toil and for community service. why not? are they not as worthy as those who have tastes and ambitions or a more literary character and who, therefore, look forward to the chair of the teacher, the office of the lawyer, or the practise of a physician? and is not the community under as much obligation to the one as to the other? some fear that such a program would lessen the number preparing for college, that work of this objective character would be so attractive that all would choose it. these fears are groundless. children are not all built that way. at any rate it would not lessen the number who ought to go to college--who are adapted to that kind of work. it would, of course, greatly increase the number attending high schools--holding those who now, because of lack of interest in the work offered, drop out of school entirely and thus swell the ranks of unskilled and unintelligent labor. and that is greatly worth while. my own feeling is, too, that out of the greatly increased attendance of the high school an even larger number than at present would find their way to the university, and that they would be better equipt in point of view and purpose than are many who enter under present conditions. this suggestion is made not to keep boys and girls out of the university, but to send them there with a purpose. but there is oftentimes a misapprehension as to these two possible programs for the high schools. preparation for college and preparation for life are by no means antagonistic. preparation for college is the only kind of preparation for life for him who goes to college. and for him who, during his high school course, plans to go to college, but who at its close, finds himself unable to do so, for economic or other reasons, it should still be the best possible preparation for life that he could have made, and it will be if, as i am urging, it has all the time been based upon his own nature and seeking his normal development in the direction of his dominant interests. and preparation for life should be the very best kind of preparation for college, for him who later changes his plans and goes to college as well as for him who does not, since the college itself should be regarded as merely completing preparation for life. but a great many, the majority, no doubt, will not go to college, should not go to college, or to put it better, perhaps, need not go to college. the activities of life, psychical as well as manual, for which they are best adapted by native endowment, and in the performance of which they will, therefore, be happiest, and thru which they will, therefore, contribute most to the welfare of society, do not need for their satisfactory performance school preparation beyond the high school period. in other words, a great many boys and girls should not be urged to go to college. they should not if they do not have within them those characteristics of leadership which, developed, will make them leaders. the college graduate who, in later life, is a street car conductor, or a pullman porter, or what-not, has largely wasted the time and money spent in college. and this is not because these occupations are not honorable, but because they do not call for that kind of preparation. and the kind of an individual who is at home as a street car conductor does not usually profit greatly by the work of the college. i will not put it as david starr jordan is said to have done, that "it does not pay to give a fifty-cent boy a five thousand dollar education." it is not a question of dollars and cents--rather one of fitness and of fitting. the so-called "fifty-cent boy" who may have been given the "five thousand dollar education" and because of its inappropriateness degenerated into a ten-cent man, might have been made into a thousand dollar man if he had been given the right kind of education. the boy who has the instincts of a blacksmith, who likes the shaping of iron and the shoeing of horses and the smell of the forge, will be a far happier and more useful member of society as a blacksmith than, made over by the college, as a lawyer without clients, a physician without patients, or a teacher always hunting a new position. i have discust the high school, as you see, from the point of view of the developmental needs of the children of the community. the outcome would have been practically the same had i looked upon it from the standpoint of the industrial needs of the community. i fully believe that a high school should be to-day just what it was originally planned to be back there in the first half of the nineteenth century--a school higher than the elementary, controlled by the community, in co-operation with the educational leaders of the state, serving the needs of the community, fitting its boys and girls for service in the community and discriminating, if at all, in the favor of the group of boys and girls who are not going to college, since that group is much the larger. since boys and girls are nearer to us than industrial needs, i have chosen to look at the problem from that angle. i am well aware that my point of view in this entire matter is not quite in accord with the present-day program. the american high school still has preparation for college as the one dominant object. its curriculum is planned for that end. it is rated at first, second, or third class, depending upon the degree in which it meets college entrance requirements--not upon the degree in which it serves the community needs or develops the community's children. i realize fully that the change suggested would involve quite a decided rearrangement of the ordinary high school program. with the time at my disposal it will be impossible to discuss the matter in detail, but it should be touched upon briefly to get the matter of relationship clearly before us. the first change would be in the matter of organization: instead of having the elementary school, as now, covering eight years and closing with the child at the age of , it should cover but six years, sending the child to the high school at about the age of , at which time, approximately, begin those physical and psychological changes earlier spoken of, as belonging to adolescence. and that thought has taken root, as we all know, in the junior high school movement. six years is long enough to do well all that the elementary school should be expected to do. it certainly is as long as children can be held interested in the kind of work thought necessary for the child, and as long as he can be happy in the atmosphere of the ordinary elementary school. it is long enough for the laying of foundations. it is time something else should be taken up. planning to meet the needs of adolescents, we must take the adolescents as they are--many of them not primarily students of books, but individuals of ceaseless activity, physical as well as mental, vastly more interested in the doing of things than in the learning of lessons. and we must provide a means whereby they can learn to do all sorts of things that have to be done in the community. the subject matter, the methods of handling young life, the atmosphere, the activities, and the ends in view, should be so changed or modified, or supplemented as to be appropriate to the new and changing personalities to be affected by them. the details would differ with different communities but the principle is adaptable to all. the state university with the functions of these two departments thus clearly in mind, let us look at the next in order--the state university. fortunately this discussion need not detain us long since there is a quite well recognized unanimity of opinion in regard to its work. while the state university does many things, and some of them well, and while it can be said to have many ends in view, its one all-inclusive function is to prepare leaders for society. it must prepare leaders in law, that justice may be done; leaders in medicine that health may be preserved; leaders in engineering that the state's resources may be developed; leaders in education that the youth of the state may be educated; leaders in research that the boundaries of knowledge may be pushed out--leaders all along the line that character may be formed, statesmanship developed, and the welfare of the people secured and preserved. and the preparation of all these is not, primarily, that those prepared may achieve fame or amass fortunes, but that society may be better served. we are all agreed, in the united states, that elementary education should be universal. many are now taking the position that i have already advanced that secondary education should likewise reach and serve all. but all stop at that point. no one even suggests a college education for every boy and girl. and the reason is found in the above statement of the function of the institution, since not all are suited to leadership. it takes only the relatively few who stand out clearly in their high school experiences as possessing the characteristics of leadership, and these few it develops, equips, locates. coming a little closer to our subject--tho i think we have not been very far from it at any time--let us inquire as to this relationship along some more specific lines. it goes without saying that the relationship should be very cordial. the two institutions are creatures of the state, partners in the important work of educating the children of the state. each has its own work to do, and neither has been given any authority over the other. at the same time each depends upon the other, neither being able to do its own work without the other's assistance. they should work hand in hand, each assisting the other in every possible way to realize its largest usefulness to the community and the state. in general, the high school should send its students to the university well equipt to do the lines of work for which they respectively apply. and the university, knowing in each case just what that work is to be, and the difficulties it presents, should be the judge as to the details of that equipment. on the other hand, the university should not make requirements for beginning its work that are beyond the capacity of the ordinary high school student. nor should it definitely require or legislate against specific subjects upon which there is no general agreement among educational leaders. something is wrong somewhere, in the matter of educational values, when some colleges absolutely prescribe for entrance certain subjects for which others will give no credit at all: for example, at the present time colleges in the united states require at least one unit of natural science and colleges will not accept a single unit; again, require units of natural science and will not accept the two. until we know a little better than we do at present what we are doing and why we are doing it, it might be well to move slowly in legislating for or against specific subjects. the university should keep in mind the fact that the high school has other duties to perform--and possibly more important ones--than preparing a few students for the university. i am glad to say that in this matter of entrance requirements the two institutions are gradually coming closer together. the university is coming to have greater respect for and more confidence in the high school and its work. whereas in the earlier days all entrance work was rigidly prescribed, now, in nearly all of our higher institutions, several units are open to free choice from a list of accepted subjects. in a goodly number these units may be chosen from any subjects offered by an approved high school. and, too, there are five institutions of good standing that allow the entire units to be thus chosen. our own, as you doubtless know, is much more generous in this matter than the great majority. it gives a margin of units to be thus selected. i think there are but institutions in the whole country more liberal. as you know, too, in all our colleges save engineering we specifically require but units-- in english and in mathematics. from the others free election among groups is allowed. the movement here and elsewhere seems to be in the direction of requiring the completion of a full four-year high school course, with increasing flexibility as to specific subjects. and that seems wise. it gives me pleasure, at this point, to say that the relationship between the university of north dakota and the high schools of the state has ever been most cordial. i think there has never been a time when the two, tho differing at times in details, have not co-operated in the most frank and cordial manner to bring about the best good of both and to secure the best service to the state. neither one has been selfish, trying to secure undue advantage over the other. where domination of the university over the high school can be seen--as it most certainly can be seen--and even tho, as i have said, the work of the high school is what it ought not to be--mainly a preparation for the university--_this_ university and _these_ high schools are not at fault. it is not a local situation. it is nation-wide, and even nation-wide as it is, it does not include, consciously and directly, the state universities. the older colleges and universities did dominate, but the relation between the state university and the high school has ever been cordial. they have always recognized their partnership and have acted in accordance with it. but yet we have all been caught in the maelstrom, and it would be difficult for any one institution or any one state to get out of it. so no immediate or rapid change can be expected. large bodies move slowly. the change will come, but it will come gradually thru claiming a little here and granting a little there. but before leaving this topic of entrance requirements, i desire to refer to one of its broad factors and touch, incidentally, upon the large matter of university attendance in general. in discussing the high school, and again the university, i have tried to make clear the fact that not all high school students should be urged or expected to go on to the university. remember that the high schools should be made to serve all the youth of the state but that the university's work is to take but the choice ones of these, or, better yet, the scholarly output of the high schools, and equip them for leadership in society, and the point is clear. it is a new problem but coming to be a very real one. going to college is getting to be the fashion--almost a fad in some places. we all know that a goodly number of students, boys and girls alike, enter the universities, east and west, every year who have no characteristics of leadership, who are not fitted for real university work, either in academic equipment, maturity of judgment, point of view, or earnestness of purpose. many of these young people are wholly worthy, well meaning, and ambitious in a weak way, but they have been misguided. they have listened to the attractive preaching of the popular but unintelligent gospel of college attendance for all and, caught by the glamor--the foot-ball, the track meet, the declamation contest, the fraternity pin, the junior prom, etc.--have answered the hail of "all aboard for the university!" without knowing what university work really is or what it is for. the college and the university are also coming to be thought a convenient place for rich fathers to dump their incorrigible sons and marriageable daughters for a few years. and in some sections these rich fathers are increasing in numbers at an alarming rate. the presence of all such people (they can not be called students) in various classes is a drag, and the wheels of the institution are clogged. these people themselves are soon disillusioned but ashamed to quit; the home people are dissatisfied with results; the university is unjustly blamed for not developing them into leaders--there is trouble all around. i am not speaking of our own institution alone; others are experiencing the same difficulty and are seeking a way out. michigan university, for example, is now urging its alumni to discriminate carefully in sending students to their alma mater; it wants only those fitted by nature as well as by the preparatory school. as said above, this is coming to be a real problem and difficult of solution. what shall be the relationship of the university to the high school touching these various classes of its graduates? should it receive them all? if not, where shall the line be drawn? and who shall draw it? shall one factor of the entrance requirements be the recommendation of the high school principal or superintendent? would it be well for the high school to have two distinct grades: one for local graduation and a higher for university entrance? that is done in some places. the entire matter is worthy of careful thought of both high school and university. with the discussion of one more point of contact, the preparation of teachers for the high schools, i am thru. if, as stated above, the great function of the state university is to provide leaders for society, then, in a broad way it is easy to answer the question as to what it should do for the preparation of teachers for high schools--it should prepare them. for where else is clear-headed, unselfish leadership more needed than in the high schools from the students of which are being selected, thru direction and competition, the boys and girls who are to pass out to the colleges and then into the world as leaders? we all know that that is what happens. the man or woman, untouched by college or university, who yet occupies a responsible position of leadership is an exception to the rule. and where else than in a university can preparation for high school teaching be secured? but of what sort should be this preparation? the answer to the question in general has long been clear--it should be professional as well as academic in character. mere acquaintance with the subject to be taught is no longer held adequate by people at all intelligent along educational lines. and during the progress of the movement that has demonstrated to us the need of professional preparation, there has been worked out also, along somewhat general lines, the details of this preparation. we are now, the country over, in approximate agreement that it should cover the history of education, philosophy of education, psychology, including the study of adolescence, and methods of teaching. institutions differ somewhat in minor matters within these broad fields, but the development of the movement in the united states has resulted in approximately the above program--professional preparation for all teachers in the high school and that along the four lines suggested. but the movement has gone much farther than suggested by my statement. the results are found in something more authoritative and more permanent than tentative agreement among educational leaders, or even among educational institutions. the law-making bodies of the land have taken a part, and by legal enactment have required about what i have suggested. the state of north dakota, for example, requires professional equipment of every teacher within its borders--no, not quite, it does not require it of its teachers in the special schools--the reform school, the schools for the deaf, blind, and the feeble minded--nor in its institutions of higher education, including the normal schools and the university. and in this north dakota does not differ from other states of the union. but it is strange, isn't it? that the state absolutely requires professional preparation of all its elementary and secondary teachers and yet does not require it of those whom it engages to equip them? some of them have it, of course, and the majority of those who give the specifically professional courses, but the greater number of all teachers in the higher institutions are lacking in this respect. that doesn't mean that all university teachers are poor teachers. many of them have learned how to teach in the crude and expensive school of experience. they have, at last, the professional equipment, but gained at high cost. perhaps this lack of professional equipment accounts, in a mesure, for the admittedly poor character of much of the teaching in our colleges, normal schools, and universities. but to come back to the high school and the preparation of high school teachers. what does north dakota require, and how does the university meet the requirement? all teachers in classified high schools, save special teachers of music and drawing, are required to hold certificates that presuppose proficiency in psychology, history of education, principles of education, school administration, and methods. special teachers in music and drawing are required to have covered in professional lines only psychology and pedagogy. but in cases where the certificate is granted on the basis of college work instead of on results of an examination, the law requires that the applicant shall have covered at least two year-courses, or sixteen semester hours, of professional work, and it recommends that this be distributed among the four great fields: history of education, principles of education, methods of teaching, and school management. the school of education has been organized within the university for the specific purpose of preparing teachers for the high schools of the state. to graduate from the school of education and thus receive the b.a. degree and the bachelor's diploma in teaching, which is accredited by law as a first-grade professional certificate, and also to be recommended for teaching specific subjects in the high-school, an applicant is required, first, to have specialized, academically, in the subject to be taught. the amount of work required for this specializing varies with the different subjects, but in most cases it is from to semester hours. recall what is meant by the work of a semester hour and you will easily see how broad our academic requirement is. it means that in addition to one's high school work he is required to carry the subject in practically daily recitation for from - / to years in the university. to some that may seem too much, but we feel that the first requirement for teaching in the high school should be a thoro grounding in the subjects to be taught. the academic matter thus disposed of, let us note the professional. for this, in its various phases, we require semester hours covering psychology, history of education, secondary education, philosophy of education, and methods of teaching academic subjects in which the student has been specializing and which he expects to teach. the course in methods includes observation and practise teaching of the same subjects in the model high school under expert supervision. many of our students voluntarily take more than hours, but that is all that is required. we have cut down the professional requirement to the minimum so as to leave ample opportunity within the course for thoro mastery of the subjects to be taught, and also for general culture and the development of broad-mindedness, not being willing to send teachers into the high schools as narrow specialists. were there time i should like to go more into detail in regard to these various requirements and try to show the contribution of each; but i must pass on to speak of another way by means of which the university enables students to meet the legal requirements for teaching in the high schools--thru the college of arts. a student who graduates from the college of arts and who has had, during the progress of this course, hours of education is, upon application to the state board of education and the payment of a fee of $ , granted a first grade professional certificate. but this method of preparation is seen to be quite unsatisfactory when contrasted with the one just outlined. the arts student is a relatively free lance, practically wholly so in the choice and arrangements of his professional work. in the school of education the program is for all the professional subjects, save general psychology, to be taken after the beginning of the junior year and so immediately prior to the actual work of teaching, and too, when the student is relatively mature. but with the arts student, it may all be taken much earlier, during relative immaturity and making a long period elapse between it and the work of teaching--quite long enough for the influence of the professional atmosphere, always valuable in such matters, to be wholly lost. the question of the professional work of the school of education student is carefully planned to meet the ends in view. each course has its definite contribution. the arts student may, and often does, select courses that are not the most appropriate for high school teaching: for example, instead of a course in adolescence he may select one in child study which deals only with the child in the grades. instead of a special methods course in the subjects he plans to teach in high school, he may select a course in methods in elementary subjects; and he may not take any course in secondary education nor have any practise teaching in the model high school. the work may be--quite often is--ill-arranged and of little value as a professional preparation for high school teacher. i have dwelt upon this contrast because the university and its school of education has suffered by the laxness of this second mode of preparation. some of the people who thus go out are not good representative products of the institution's professional activity. just a closing word as to this phase of the subject. you see what we are trying to do and how we are trying to do it. from the work of the young people whom we have sent you from time to time, how successful have we been? our work as to time and content of courses and our general equipment are about the same as found in similar institutions in other states. we differ somewhat, of course, in personalities and in individual point of view but, taking everything together, we are doing the best we know how with the material that you send us as students. how does our product suit you? what criticism have you to make and what changes to suggest? iii the university and the teacher _an address delivered at the university of manitoba, winnipeg, canada, march , , in the exchange lectureship existing between the university of manitoba and the university of north dakota. it was printed in the "american schoolmaster," december, _ having accepted the kind invitation of the university of manitoba to be one of the exchange lecturers from the university of north dakota, for the current year, i made inquiry as to the nature of the different groups of people whom i should be expected to address. i did this so as to be able to select appropriate themes for discussion. for this gathering, therefore, semi-popular in character and made up, as i was told it would be, of the more thoughtful and intelligent people of the community, university, and city, i selected as my topic for discussion, "the university and the teacher." to a group of educated men and women who have visions--people who are characteristically looking beyond the present and trying to plan for the development of a great democratic state and for the welfare of a free people, i know of no line of thought more appropriate or suggestive. this is true because in such a state and with such a people, the state or provincial university is the recognized leader of thought and action. and this is true since the one great function of such an institution is to take the choice youth and maidens from the various sections of the state and, thru the work of the class room day in and day out, week by week, year after year, give them knowledge, shape their opinions, mold their characters, and develop their minds, and then send them back into society as recognized leaders of the next generation. the topic is doubly suggestive when we stop to inquire as to what makes a university or any other institution of learning--what it is that really gives it its reputation, its character, its influence. what is it, anyway? its towering brick walls? its libraries and its laboratories? its athletic prowess? its beautiful campus? why, no, of course not. not any one of these nor all of them combined, complete and extended and excellent as they may be, or as useful as they all are, ever yet made or ever can make a great university. a real university, or any other institution of learning, is made up of the men and the women who form its student and its teaching bodies. the character of the institution, its very life blood, is drawn from them. their points of view, their motives, their scholarships, their visions, their aspirations, make it what it is in every instance. you recall that ex-president garfield's description of a university included only two factors as essential--the teacher and the student. the external equipment--buildings, libraries, laboratories--what not--is merely a tool in their hands. please do not misunderstand me. i am not inveighing against these things; they are necessary. what i am insisting upon is that not _things_ but _teachers_ make a university. and so my topic, "the university and the teacher," launches us at once into the midst of a great big thought. so big, indeed, it is, that it goes without saying that it cannot be adequately handled in the brief space of a single address. only certain phases of the large topic can be touched upon at all, and they treated but briefly. but, after all, the function of a speaker, certainly upon such an occasion as this, is not merely to give information. it is not to speak with finality upon any subject. is it not, rather, to direct the thoughts of the listeners along worthy lines? for any good that shall result from the meeting together of speaker and audience will be the direct outcome of their thoughts and not of his words. so, after having thus spoken briefly of the university as a whole--of its place in the state, its great influence and that of its teaching body--i invite you to think with me as i touch the subject here and there briefly discussing these three sub-topics: . the kind of teachers the university should employ; . the university teacher in his classroom; . the university's attitude toward the preparation of teachers. our first discussion, then, will be of the kind of teachers the university should employ a few moments ago i said that the one great function of a state university was to provide the state with a competent leadership. that involves, however, a subsidiary function of such great importance, especially as we regard the teaching force, that an added word is needed both to prevent misunderstanding and to make clear the line of discussion of this sub-topic. the development of a competent leadership _is_ the all-embracing function of such an institution, but that can not be done save as the institution is, at the same time, thru some or all of its teachers, keeping fully abreast, or well in the lead, of the discovery of new knowledge and of new applications of knowledge in the various fields of human endeavor. and this is true because men can not be leaders in any field of action unless they possess the fullest and latest items of knowledge obtainable in that particular field, and again because real leadership can not be developed save thru the use, as educative material, of the fullest and latest. what kind of teachers should the university employ? clearly, teachers who can do these two things: men of open and enquiring minds, men of imagination, men who are hungry and thirsty for knowledge, men of research--men of the laboratory and the library. but that is but one side; we must also have men of vision, men of great breadth of view, men of broad human sympathies, men who can take this knowledge, old and new, and with it, as educative material, help to shape opinions, and mold characters, and fashion destinies, thus transforming crude, unstable, and immature youth into men and women of virtue, and knowledge, and courage, and sanity, and poise, into whose trust, therefore, can be placed the guiding of a great, free, developing people--men of the classroom, teachers and inspirers of youth. the question may well be asked if i mean two _groups_ of teachers, a _research_ group and a _teaching_ group, neither one acting within the field of the other. not necessarily and certainly not absolutely. to quite an extent the two functions should overlap since each supplements the other. the man of research should also be a teacher in order both to keep his human sympathies alive and as a spur to still further search. and every teacher should be, to some extent, a man of research so that thru his own joy in discovery he will be able to kindle a like fire in the minds of others, thus keeping the spirit of discovery alive and active in the land, and also that he may invite his students to drink at a living stream instead of a stagnant pool. the teacher who is not also a student, and continually working at it, is usually but a poor teacher. but while all this is true, it is probably true also that no person is equally successful in both fields. some men are primarily teachers--are in their element in the classroom engaged with the problems of the student but only indifferently successful in the laboratory, while others, at home in the laboratory, are somewhat out of place and ill-at-ease in the classroom. i shall not attempt to say which of the two functions is the more important or the more useful. both are needed and, as said before, both are needed, to some extent, in each. but, in the main, where characteristics are marked, the shoemaker should be allowed to stick to his last. it is a very wise procedure that is more and more being followed at the present time, in american universities, of recognizing such differences and making provision for research professorships that include no teaching duties whatever. the percentage of these should be small, of course. what kind of a teacher should the university employ, then? the teacher who is eager to push the boundaries of human knowledge a little beyond the point yet reached and who also greatly desires to take knowledge as an instrument and with it develop boys and girls and equip them for leadership in the great world of action. so far as possible the two kinds of service should be performed by the same person, but yet that is immaterial--the material thing being that both kinds be performed. what kind of teachers should the university employ? why, teachers who not only desire to do these two things, but who also know how to do them. if one is to do research work, he should know how to do it, economically and efficiently. his preparation should have included a certain amount of reflection upon the reasons for research and of training in the manner of conducting the same. likewise, if he is to be a teacher, he should be well grounded in the theory and art of teaching. if he is going to shape opinions, mold character, give points of view, develop human minds, then it goes without saying that his preparation should have included a very thoro study of the human mind in its various relationships, activities, and stages of development. if a teacher is expected to equip young men and women for the duties of life as leaders in the great social, economic, and political activities, he must also possess great stores of knowledge, and likewise know how to impart that knowledge so that it will become equally the possession of others. the university teacher in his classroom the second of my three topics, "the university teacher in his classroom," is an even more intimate one than the one just treated. it is so intimate that perhaps discretion would be the better part of valor, but since i am at a considerable distance from the people and the institutions i am discussing, i feel that i can proceed with comparative safety. there is abroad at the present time considerable hostile criticism of our higher education. our graduates, it is said, are not able "to connect up"; "it takes them two or three years after they get out to find themselves"; "they first have to get rid of a lot of theoretical notions that have been given them before they can learn the practical things of life." president foster of reed college, oregon, puts it thus: "it is possible to graduate from almost any college without an idea in one's head." professor wenley, head of the department of philosophy in michigan university, had about the same thought when he gave me his original definition of an american college as "a so-called institution of higher learning whose chief accomplishment is the inoculation of innocent youth against education." or shall we put it in the words of our friend mr. dooley: "nowadays when a lad goes to college, the prisidint takes him into a turkish room, gives him a cigareet an' says: me dear boy, what special branch iv larnin wud ye like to have studied f'r ye be our compitint perfessors?" such are some of the caustic remarks that we occasionally hear. of course the situation is always exaggerated in such criticisms; but, as the old saw puts it, "where there's so much smoke, there must be some fire." where does the trouble lie? all sorts of guesses have been made, and some careful investigations entered into in an effort to discover the cause. the outcome of all such consideration, so far as i am able to learn, throws the responsibility upon the teacher rather than upon the institution as a whole, and upon his teaching ability rather than upon any lack of knowledge. we cannot teach, it is said. in spite of the knowledge that we possess, we do not know how to present that knowledge so that another can gain it. nicholas murray butler, the brainy president of columbia university, says, "the teaching of many very famous men [in colleges and universities] is distinctly poor; sometimes it is even worse." these are rather interesting statements and worthy of thought. what is meant by teaching, anyway? teaching involves a double process and two persons, both active upon the same matter. both must be successful for either to be. teaching is causing to learn, and when there is no learning, there can have been no teaching. "learning is not merely the correlative idea of teaching, but is one of its constituent elements." no matter how much an instructor may know, no matter how much he may say nor what he may do, if he doesn't cause the student to put forth those mental activities that result in learning, he doesn't teach. and it is claimed that, in many cases, our university instructors do not know how to do this. he knows but he does not know how to cause another to know, is a common criticism. i suppose it is true, tho loyalty makes me rather dislike to admit it, that with us the poorest teaching in our entire educational system is done in colleges and universities. my own observation both as a student and as a teacher all along the line leads me to say that, in the main, our best teaching is done in the elementary grades, second best in the high schools, and poorest in the higher institutions. another puts it thus: "we have excellent teaching in the lower primary grades and in the graduate schools, but between these two extremes, we can call it teaching only by courtesy." another, the president of a state university, is reported to have said, "i have resolved never again to turn my undergraduates over to young ph. d.'s. it takes five years to make a commonsense teacher of a raw doctor fresh from three years of graduate work." if these statements are true, and i am afraid that there's much of truth in them, the situation is rather serious. still, it isn't at all surprising when one takes the whole matter into consideration. for relatively few university instructors have given any attention to the matter of teaching itself. they have studied the subject matter with which they are to deal. they have become proficient so far as knowledge is concerned. no fault can be found with them touching the matter of erudition. but they have not given any reflective thought to the art of teaching. they have not made a study of the human mind in its development in order to know how it receives knowledge as mental nourishment, and to understand the assimilative process; they have not given themselves to a systematic and scientific study of human life so as to know how to handle it in its various moods and characteristics. how differently these good people would have planned if they had expected to practise law, or medicine or to enter the ministry! in every such case they would have made professional preparation for their work. isn't it strange that any one should think that this profession--the most important--could be practised with success in its higher realms, by people who have never given its practise one moment's attention? president butler, in giving reasons for poor college teaching, says, "too few instructors are interested in education." i am reminded of socrates' shrewd parody of a supposed speech of euthydemus who, totally ignorant of statecraft, desired election to an important position in the government of the city of athens. it is suggestive here: "i, o man of athens, have never learned the medical art from any one, nor have been desirous that any physician should be my instructor; for i have constantly been on my guard, not only against learning anything of the art from any one, but even against appearing to have learned anything; nevertheless confer on me this medical appointment, for i will endeavor to learn by making experiments upon you." comment is unnecessary. there are three kinds of knowledge that every teacher should possess, that every successful teacher does possess: first, knowledge of the subject matter with which he deals; second, knowledge of the human mind which he is trying to stimulate; and third, knowledge of the way to bring these two together in a helpful manner. of the three, i am afraid that university instructors have, in the main, but the first. at any rate, all they know of the other two is of an empirical character and what they have picked up incidentally. there are exceptions, to be sure. every worthy institution has them, striking exceptions, too, some of them are. a few of our older men have become good teachers thru practise and experiment, and an occasional young man now comes with professional preparation. but yet, as in so many other matters, the exceptions merely prove the rule. thus equipt, or rather with this serious lack of equipment, the young university instructor begins his work. if he is, to use the words of the university president just quoted, "a raw doctor fresh from three years of graduate work," he probably begins by copying the methods of procedure of his own recent instructors. he tries to set these immature boys and girls at research problems and, in classroom, tries to impart information by the lecture method. how well i remember such an instance in my own freshman days. i fell into the hands of such an instructor in greek. we were reading that most charming of greek stories--_the odyssey_. textual criticism was this man's hobby, and we were put to work trying to compare texts, to delve into the intricacies of form and structure--trying to improve upon homer! such information as we could not find he gave us, in the formal lecture, day after day. but when we got it, we did not want it because we did not know what to do with it. now, i am not quarreling with textual criticism. it would have been all right for that young doctor (he was younger than i was at that time) to deal with the facts of textual criticism, with some people, at some time, but it was all wrong for him to attempt to give those facts to us in our freshman year in the college of arts. they were not adapted to our intellectual needs. they did not fit into our mental stomachs. we could not keep them down, or in, or something. but the pathetic fact was that the instructor did not know that they did not fit. i, being older than many in the class and thus appreciating better the barrenness of the greek pasture in which we were trying to graze, finally managed, by a little skilful maneuver, to escape and to join another group that happened to be in the care of a real teacher who knew not only homer but, as well, freshman boys and girls, the reasons for teaching homer to freshmen boys and girls, and how to do it. he was acquainted with both the science and the art of teaching. oh, how green was the pasture here, and how abundant and how nutritious the food! in all my university experience i recall nothing more delightful. but this is ancient history? yes, i know it is. but yet, i am sorry to say, history repeats itself. those three great mistakes that that young doctor made in my greek class some twenty or more years ago are being made this very year by young doctors and by old doctors and by many who are not doctors at all, in one subject or another, in well-nigh every college or university in the united states. our instructors do not know well enough how to adapt knowledge to human needs; they have the erroneous notion that the chief function of an educational institution is to impart information; and, too, many of them are afflicted with the lecture craze. touching these three mistakes, let me say, briefly: first, as to the adaptation of knowledge: the word _education_ is derived from the latin _educo_, _educare_, and means _to nourish_, and nourishment, physical, mental, or moral, is never secured save as the food is adapted to the organism. and just as much care as our scientific dietitians give to our dining-room service, our university instructors should give to the mental and moral pabulum that they serve to their students, especially the lower classes if not the entire body of undergraduates. they should know this knowledge as mental nourishment; they should know the condition of the mind, and they should know how to select and prepare this food for digestion and assimilation. as to the second mistake, the undue emphasis upon the mere imparting of knowledge: let me quote a few words from president wilson, uttered when president of princeton university: "we should remember," said he, "that information is not education. the greater part of the work that we are doing in our colleges to-day is to impart information." i am afraid that he is correct. i am very much afraid that that is mainly what we are doing. but it is wrong. the greater part of our work should not be to impart knowledge. it should be to assist in interpreting the knowledge that the student himself gets--to fit it to his own life needs and to help him learn how to study and how to think for himself. in other words, this information in which we deal should not be an end in itself, but a _means_ to an end. and that end should be development, mental power, point of view--character. to be sure, we must deal in knowledge facts (do not, i beg of you, misunderstand me) but not for the mere possession of those facts. and lastly the lecture craze, under the domination of which otherwise sensible people get into the habit of supplying information to students who already know how to read instead of telling them where to find it and then discussing it with them. how common it is! but why? simply because it is easy. how much easier it is than to conduct a real live recitation in which there is the give and take, the action and reaction, of eager vigorous young minds, where the instructor is the agency of interpretation and the inspiration! to conduct such an exercise with from thirty to fifty bright college students and keep them on the alert is no lazy man's task. it requires brains and skill, whereas anybody can do the other thing! president foster is correct in saying, "there should be fewer lectures ... the easiest of all methods of instruction." again let me give an illustration drawn from my own sad experience, just to show what at least some of this lecturing is. this, you see, is getting to be a confession as well as an exposition. i was taking a course in the history of philosophy. it was given by a man well known in the educational world, then and now. he was well thought of both as a teacher and a man. he read his lectures from manuscript. we were supposed to put into our note books every golden word that dropt from his inspired lips. and the most of us tried to do so, and in the effort got down some that were not golden. i did as the rest did till one day, fresh from the lecture, i went into the library and chanced upon a copy of burt's "history of greek philosophy." i opened it and shortly found the very discussion, and some of the very sentences, word for word, that i had just copied with so much labor into my note book. and they were in print, too, so much easier to read than my note book writing! i at once sent to the publisher for a copy of the book and took no more notes in that course. nor did i take any more courses under that instructor. and so it was in a course in history--only there the kind old professor was naïve enough to tell us the name of the book from which he got his lectures. and again, let me say that history repeats itself. am i wrong in my criticism? let me quote from one whose words carry more weight than do mine--nicholas murray butler, president of columbia university--(ed. rev. apr., , p. ): "to use--or rather to abuse--the academic lecture by making it a medium for the conveyance of mere information is to shut one's eyes to the fact that the art of printing has been discovered. the proper use of the lecture is the critical interpretation by the older scholar of the information which the younger has gained for himself. its object is to inspire and to guide and by no means merely to inform." i do not mean to condemn the lecture method absolutely. there are certain lines of work in which it is quite necessary. this is true in some advanced courses, especially in the sciences, where an instructor is doing both lines of university work--carrying on research and giving his advanced students the results of his findings. of course these have not yet been embodied in a text or other printed form and cannot be thus given. and this same justification can be urged for some of the work in our professional schools where both the material used and the end sought are different. in still another line of work the lecture is permissible--if it deal with a relatively new subject or with new phases of an old subject not yet covered by a satisfactory text. but here it need not continue long because some enterprising instructor will soon satisfy the need. the formal lecture has therefore no place in the earlier and but slight place in the later years of undergraduate work. its place should be taken by the text and reference book and the class discussion. one of the finest accomplishments that we can help our students to gain is the ability to master the book. then, in conclusion, touching the matter of teaching, fidelity to truth compels me to admit, tho reluctantly, that much of it is very poor. it satisfies the external demands and that is about all. it is not of a character to kindle enthusiasm nor to develop high ideals of scholarship. much of it, i said, not all. every institution has some good teachers, some very excellent ones, but no institution is overstockt with species of that genus. the great majority of our undergraduates are poorly taught. that examination mortality is not greater than it is is due to two fine qualities, one in the student body and the other in the instructors. it speaks eloquently of the initiative of the students, and demonstrates that instructors can be fair even if they can't teach. many times we know that we are to blame for the poor work of the student and, knowing it, will not visit the penalty upon the unoffending head. the reason for this lamentable situation can be traced to two practises: in the first place, up to the present time, as said before, very few prospective college teachers have made any professional preparation for their work as teachers. in the second place, it is the almost universal custom to place the freshmen and sophomores, by all means our largest classes and the ones in greatest need of skilled teachers, in the hands of young instructors who have not yet learned how to teach. relief will come thru two changes; first, when either the state or the governing board of the college shall demand professional preparation of every one allowed to occupy a teaching position, just as we do now for positions in the elementary and secondary schools. and if any one should raise a question as to the value of such preparation, my only but all-sufficient answer is to point to the universally recognized improvement in the character of teaching in those parts of our educational system since that requirement was put into effect. and the second needed change is this--for presidents seeking teachers to ask candidates two questions instead of one as heretofore: first, of course, the question should be, "what do you know?" satisfied as to that, let the second come clear and strong, "can you teach?" and until an affirmative answer is demonstrated, let the appointment be withheld. it might be salutary, too, in dealing with the forces on the ground, to follow president foster's suggestion given in these words: "it would be well if more teachers were dismissed because they fail to stimulate thinking of any kind." i come now to the last of my three sub-topics, the university's attitude toward the preparation of teachers for the schools of the state fortunately, its discussion need not detain us long. what should be that attitude? if you will analyze the relationship existing between the teachers of a state and that state's progress and development, and then recall my brief discussion of the function of a state university--to provide leaders--the answer to the question is at once apparent. the logic of the situation is clear. for what other body of people in a state are so clearly the state's leaders as the teachers? always intellectually and, for the most part, in these days, morally and physically, the teachers in our schools mold the coming generation and guide it into paths of progress and accomplishment. this is true of the teachers of a state more than of any other group of people within its borders not excepting the ministry. we have, in the states, a system of state normal schools maintained for the purpose of preparing teachers for the elementary schools. each state of the union has from one to a dozen of these institutions. north dakota has three. the course of study covers from one to two years' work in advance of a four-year high school course. in the east it is usually two years, in the west, one. this work is partly academic and partly professional and is always supposed to include a certain amount of practise teaching under expert supervision. the elementary teachers thus provided for by the normal schools, there are left for preparation at the university teachers for the secondary schools, for city superintendencies, special teachers of various kinds, and teachers for college and university positions. and this latter is a work, it seems to me, the state university must perform. they are already doing this, to quite an extent, for the high schools; a few are doing it well and the rest are working in that direction. a few, too, are taking up the more advanced phases of the work and are competent to prepare for college teaching. the movement is strongly on. it may not be uninteresting for me to trace this movement briefly as it has developed with us. for it has been a development. our system of education was not planned at the beginning from a careful theoretical study of our present or prospective educational needs, but has grown up, little by little, step by step, to meet and satisfy from time to time present and pressing needs. the movement for the professional preparation of teachers began in the first quarter of the nineteenth century in massachusetts. that state, with others, was suffering from an educational declension that had been going on for a long time. matters were getting serious. finally, a few clear-headed, far-seeing leaders made an analysis of the situation hoping to bring about a betterment of conditions. they quickly put the finger upon the sore spot--the poor quality of teaching being done in the schools. a remedy was sought. it was found in the european normal schools, an institution devoted to the professional preparation of teachers for the elementary schools. an agitation was begun for its establishment on this side of the water. after many weary years the efforts were crowned with success when, in , the state legislature of massachusetts planned for the equipment of three. thru their work the character of the teaching in the elementary schools was at once improved. other states followed the example and this new institution soon began its westward sweep, following the development of the country. this early work, however, had in mind the improvement of teachers for only the common schools, rural and urban. indeed, at that time no one even suggested that any other teacher needs special preparation. but when, after the civil war, the high schools began to develop so markedly, the problem of teachers became a pressing one. since teachers with normal school preparation were everywhere being recognized as superior to all others in the elementary schools, it was the most natural thing in the world for those in charge of the new high schools to demand professional preparation of their teachers. but where could it be obtained? not in the normal schools, because it should be of different character than that planned for elementary teachers. to make a long story short, the universities and colleges took the matter up and provided the professional work thought necessary by adding departments of education. michigan university was the first to act when, in , the regents established a chair called the "theory and art of teaching." the example was followed by others, and, tho limited in scope and experimental in character, it was at once seen to be justified in the improved character of high school teaching. improvements were sure to follow. the next step was the expansion of the department of education into the teachers college, or school of education, as it is getting to be called, which is now recognized as a professional school of equal rank with the school of law or the school of medicine. an essential element of its equipment is a high school for observation and practise under expert supervision, just as an elementary practise school is an essential part of a well equipt normal school. new york university, in the city of new york, was the first to move in this direction. this was in . for fifteen years progress was slow and halting and confined to private institutions. but it was justifying itself. in the university of north dakota effected the larger organization, the first of the state universities to do so. during the last five or six years, however, several others have fallen into line including such institutions as missouri, wisconsin, and minnesota. the institutions that have not yet effected this change and thus organized schools of education still maintain their departments of education and thus try to satisfy the need. the university of north dakota was also one of the very first to make use of the high school for observation and practise, and in all lines of development has been recognized as occupying an advanced position. other institutions, older and larger, contemplating a change, have frequently advised with us. if this mention seems borne of institutional pride, i trust that it will also be regarded as pardonable. thus the movement--not the result of a theoretical formulation, but a situation forced upon us by the logic of events. it is as logical, however, and as irrevocable, as tho produced by deductive reasoning. an explanation of a statement made earlier in the paper as to the relative teaching abilities of elementary, secondary, and higher teachers, can now be seen in the periods of development of the corresponding professional schools. what should be the attitude of the university toward the education of teachers? let us follow the development a little farther. during the last few years another very interesting phase of the movement has begun to show itself. you will recall that as soon as professional preparation demonstrated its usefulness in improving the character of elementary teaching, it was demanded for teachers in the secondary schools. and now that it has proved efficient in that field, it is being demanded in the field next higher--the colleges and universities. and this demand, like the others, is no longer confined to professional schools or educational journals--to the people from the inside. it is being taken up by laymen, even the daily papers, and prest with some vigor. to give the point of view, i give a single quotation from an editorial in a recent issue of the minneapolis _journal_: "none of our graduate schools require any course in education or teaching methods, or any previous experience in teaching work for a ph. d. degree, except, of course, in the field of education, where theory is cultivated, if not practised. may it not be found that the best method to increase the teaching efficiency of the undergraduate instruction in colleges and universities will be to provide every graduate student with definite and detailed instruction in teaching methods for his chosen subject?" this demand, thus clearly voiced, and coming from many sides, will continue until granted as has been the case with each of the others. and as a result the teaching of our undergraduates will be improved. to do this added work, however, will not require another institution. the present universities, thru their schools of education, amplified and strengthened, will supply the need. just as the university, thru its medical school, provides its community with skilled physicians and public health officers to secure and preserve public health, and thru its law school performs a similar service in sending out men who become competent lawyers and judges to secure the administration of justice, and thru its college of engineering, its engineers to safeguard property, public welfare and life itself, so, thru its school of education, it must provide its teachers for all these and other advanced fields. and all this service must be performed not that individual citizens may be better prepared to make a living, amass a fortune, or achieve fame, but that the community may be served. so the school of education, now given equal rank with other professional schools of the university, must ere long be recognized, by virtue of the work thus forced upon it, as, in a very definite way, superior to them all in opportunity and responsibility. iv the eye problem in the schools _a paper read before the meeting of the north dakota state association of opticians. it was printed in the may, , issue of "the optical journal and review," also in the same issue of "the keystone"_ i do not know how fully people appreciate the importance of the eye as an agent, or factor, of human cultivation. judging from the amount of work it is being made to do in our schools and in nearly all our processes of education, we might perhaps be led to feel that its importance is fully appreciated, indeed, that it is being looked upon as the sole factor, or agent. but, on the other hand, this very excessive use, especially in the early school years, leading, as it does in such a large percentage of cases, to serious impairment of vision, almost tells us that its great value is not appreciated. if it were, should we be likely to abuse it as we do in these early years and thus render it incapable of performing its larger, fuller use later on? the attitude seems rather to be that its conservation is not thought to be necessary. that, however, springs from ignorance rather than from studied disregard. but let us look for a moment at the processes of education and note where the eye comes in. if there is anything upon which leading educators are now practically agreed, or upon which they tend to agree, it is that education as a process is a matter of development rather than the learning of knowledge facts. now, that development is analogous to the growth and development of the plant, that is, it is brought about thru nourishment. in the plant this nourishment is taken in thru the roots, becomes absorbed and assimilated and thus ministers to growth and development. in the child, looking at it from the physical point of view and having in mind psychical, not physical, nourishment, the sense organs serve this purpose. did you ever stop to think that the sense organs form the only connecting link between the great outside world, which serves as raw material for the nourishment, and the inner life of the child, the development of which we are seeking? did you ever stop to think that these sense organs, the eye, the ear, the nose, the tongue, and the surface of the body as the organ of touch, form the only possible avenue of approach to that inner life? cut off, or close up, these avenues and no development of this inner life would be possible in the slightest degree. thus considered, these same sense organs, simple as they seem to be, leap into importance that almost staggers one's thought. the most priceless possession of any child, i often say to my classes in education, is made up of their eyes, their ears, their noses, their tongues, and their finger tips--simply because thru them is poured the nourishment that sustains psychic life and ministers to the development of the same. of these five sense organs, the eye is, par excellence, the one of value. more psychic nourishment is poured into the laboratory of psychic life thru this one channel alone than thru all others combined. indeed, one of our most eminent scientific psychologists after making most careful investigation of the matter, estimates that the eye's contribution is about % as against the other % that comes thru all the other sources. if this relative value of the eye be even approximately correct, how eminently important it is that it be studied with close scientific accuracy, that it be guarded with the utmost and intelligent jealousy, and that it be cared for with the most scrupulous fidelity! but what is the situation? the optician and the oculist have made the most careful, scientific study of the eye. they know it thoroly, both its possibilities of service and its limitations. and they have told the rest of us all about it. but let us see how intelligent we are in the use of the knowledge they have given us. they tell us that the eye of the child is undeveloped and that in the undeveloped state it should not be much used on small or close work. in other words, the child's eye is far-sighted. but at the age of six years we place the child in the school room, put a book in its hands, and compel its use, eyes or no eyes, as long as the child remains in any institution of learning. why, gentlemen, we have gone mad on this book proposition. we act as tho we think that it is only in the book that knowledge can be found. we act as tho we think that it is only thru the printed page that psychic nourishment can reach the inner life of the child, whereas, as a matter of fact, both the knowledge and the nourishment that are appropriate to the child in all its early years are better obtained thru direct contact with the great outside world itself and by direct communication from the lips of the teacher. if this fact were fully appreciated and acted upon, we should, in two very definite ways, conserve this very important organ; for we should use the eyes upon objects at a greater distance thus preventing unnecessary strain, and allow other organs of sense to share with the eye in the work of gathering information and of appropriating mental nourishment. please do not misunderstand me. i am not underestimating the place and value of books, nor decrying their use. they are the storehouse of knowledge and the source of inspiration, but not for children. our young children in school and out of school read too much--are too much tied to the book. thru this prolonged and close use of the eye upon small and nearby objects for which, in its undeveloped condition, it is not fitted, the organ is permanently weakened and rendered incapable of its legitimate use later in life when the book is a necessity. and again, this excessive use of the eye causes an atrophy of the other organs that is really serious. nor is this all. the optician and the oculist have studied the matter so carefully and know the eye so thoroly in its various stages of development that they know exactly the size of type that children of various ages should use. and they know, too, the kind of paper that should be used in books for children. and they have told us all about it. but we systematically disregard all this information gained with such painstaking care, and instead of using the large clear type and the unglazed, soft tinted paper recommended, we persist in tolerating the unsatisfactory merely because it is a little cheaper. penny wise and pound foolish we surely are. what we save now we shall have to pay later on with compound interest besides compelling our children to undergo physical pain and mental handicap. and yet again. we are told by our scientific friends the relative amounts of window and floor space that the schoolroom should have in order to be adequately lighted! not one in ten has as much window space as it should have, and a good portion of what has been provided is frequently covered up by shades thru the teacher's perverted notion of relative values--seeming to have greater appreciation for certain so-called artistic effects than for eye comfort and safety in work. and then again, these scientific friends of ours have told us that there should be in the schoolroom no cross lights; that the light should not shine upon the blackboards nor into the faces of the children, but that it should come only from the rear and the left and from above. they have found out, too, and told us, the proper shades of color for the walls--scientific knowledge, all of it, and therefore thoroly reliable. but how systematically do we disregard all this valuable information! in the construction of a new school building there is nothing that should receive more careful and scientific consideration than the matter of lighting, but too often the architect is either entirely ignorant of the entire matter, or else is selfishly interested in so-called architectural effects. i do not mean that we all disregard all these things, that we have no school houses properly constructed, no school books properly printed, and no teachers intelligent and sensible in their handling of boys and girls. not at all. during the last twenty years we have made long strides in advance along many of these lines in many places. but the bright spots are still the exception and not the rule. the friends of children and of the race need to keep vigilantly at work. now, let us look at the matter from another point of view. let us ask what are the results of this persistent and widespread disregard of the normal conditions under which the eye should work and of the fundamental laws of eye development. what do we find? why, we find just what you are prepared to expect after considering the above disregard. we find that, whereas at the beginning of school life the percentage of school children suffering from visual defects is relatively small, that percentage increases as we ascend the grades. in other words, the regular, systematic work of our schools is all the time weakening the eyes--all the time causing serious visual defects. gulick and ayers came to this conclusion as one of the results of their exhaustive investigation, made in , which culminated in the well known work on "medical inspection of schools," published at that time. this is all the more striking since they found that the prevalence of other physical defects steadily decreases as the years pass. an investigation carried on in jefferson city, missouri, in - , illustrates the point under discussion; % of all children in grades one to three inclusive were found to have defective vision, whereas in grades nine to twelve inclusive . % were found thus handicapped. in some parts of germany the increase in defective vision as children ascend the grades is seen to be much more marked than in our own country. in one particular study that comes to mind, a study of short-sightedness alone (published, however, some years ago) it was shown that the increase was from practically none at all to approximately %. in other words, the work of the schools had made practically every child near-sighted. and the general tendency seems to be in this direction. indeed, i know of but one study in which a contrary tendency has been observed. and that was in a rural district--st. louis county, missouri--where a study was made about four years ago. under the conditions observed there, the frequency of short-sightedness seemed to diminish with increasing age. and the reasons for this local tendency, being so directly contrary to the general tendency, men have been trying to understand. various suggestions have been made such as the atmosphere of the rural as against the city districts being, in the main, more favorable from hygienic points of view; or the fewer pupils in the classes in school, thus enabling the teachers to give more personal attention so preventing undue eye-strain; and the shorter school year maintained in the country giving the children less prolonged periods of eye-strain. but whatever be the explanation of this interesting exception, it yet remains true that the regular work of the school, week in, week out, year after year, causes the eyes of our children to deteriorate, or at least the two go hand in hand with grounds for a very strong suspicion in the minds of those who have expert knowledge of the general situation that the one is the cause of the other. with this point established, namely, that the work of the schools is but ill-adapted to the structure the nature of the child's eye, resulting in steady deterioration, let us try to see how widespread is such deterioration and how serious. this can best be done briefly thru the use of a few statistics taken from the results of investigations that have been made as to the physical conditions of our school children. from these results i disregard all figures save those that bear on the matter of visual defects since that is our one topic of discussion. in cleveland, ohio, in - , a very exhaustive and illuminating investigation was made under the general supervision of dr. wallin, one of the most eminent authorities on the relationship of the physical and the mental in the work of our schools. dr. wallin called to his assistance many experts, both medical and physical, and his report was a very noteworthy one from many points of view. i touch only two or three points here and there. in one school, the mayflower, located in a fine residence section of the city, pupils were examined, and % of them found to be suffering from some rather serious form of eye defect. in an east end school, another of the so-called better class of schools, children were examined and . % found with defective vision. even more startling than these were the results found in a school of about the same size in what was called a "congested" district of the city. six hundred and sixteen were examined and . % found defective. another very significant fact was brought to light by this investigation--the disregard paid to the whole matter by parents and teachers. perhaps i should not include teachers in speaking of this disregard since they have, at best, but advisory power. in the east end school, out of the children examined, , or . % were found defective, but only , or . %, were being relieved by the use of glasses. and in the "congested" district the disparity was even more striking since out of the , or . % of the entire number who had visual defects, only , or . %, were being relieved. in one investigation made in new york city in , , pupils were considered, and % found suffering from eye defects. in jefferson city, missouri, in , the results of the examination of , white children showed . % suffering from somewhat serious visual defects; and many others in lesser degrees. of these , children, , or %, were found to need the assistance of glasses, but only , or . %, were being thus assisted. in los angeles, california, in , , children were examined, and % found to be suffering from the same trouble. again, in philadelphia, in , the well-known dr. risley found, in an examination of , children, that . % were continual sufferers from some form of eye trouble. i could easily cite similar results from many more studies, but surely these are sufficient. these are startling facts, and very serious when we think merely of this one fact alone without considering it in its relationship to anything else. but when we stop to consider the fact that these sufferers are children, in the schools, and are thus handicapped in their work of education--in their efforts to fit themselves for the struggle of life--it assumes even larger proportions and becomes truly appalling. what does it mean? why, it means, in terms of the school man, retardation and elimination. to the layman those words may need interpretation. retardation means the checking of a pupil in his educational progress thru the grades, necessitating the spending of a longer period than that which is considered normal. for example, a normal pupil is one who enters school at six years of age and is promoted each year regularly; or "a pupil whose age and grade correspond to this standard." thus, the standard age for a second grade pupil, during the year, is years; for a fourth grade, years; and for an eighth grade, years; or in every case, five more than the number of his grade. if one is older than the number of his grade plus five, he is retarded by the amount of the difference; thus a twelve-year-old child in the sixth grade is retarded one year since a sixth-grade child should be but eleven years old. somehow he has lost a year. thru failure to do satisfactory work such a child has had to repeat the work of some one of his grades. elimination means the dropping out of a child from school altogether before the regular course is completed. we find relatively little elimination in the lower grades since the compulsory attendance laws require attendance. but just as soon as the upper limit of age is reached there is much of it. i do not know how closely you have followed this matter of retardation in the schools and elimination from them, but i think sufficiently to render it unnecessary for me to discuss the matter at length. let me refer to but one study which is typical as showing the seriousness of the situation. in , mr. s. l. heeter, at that time superintendent of schools in st. paul, minnesota, working under instruction of his board of school inspectors, made a very careful investigation as to the matter of retardation in the schools of that city. you may be surprised to learn some of the results. he found more than one-half, exactly %, of all the children in the schools at least one year behind normal grade, and many of them much more than one year behind. to be exact: , children were below grade. of these, , were one year behind; , were two years behind; , were three years behind; were four years behind; were five years behind, and were six years behind. now, what is the cause of such a serious situation? mr. heeter, in his report of his findings, speaks as follows: "there are evidently many causes of this phenomenal retardation--yet it seems likely that one of the largest factors ... is physiological, and that more attention given in our schools to the bodily conditions of our children will throw new light on our educational problems, and even on the subject of backward children, and of delinquency itself." "it appears," he goes on to say, "that the schools have been too exclusively concerned about the minds of children and too little concerned about their bodies. much time and energy and money have been wasted in trying to make all children equal in mental power, without regard to physical inequalities, until now waste products are clogging our educational machinery." and mr. heeter's conclusion is that of all who have studied the matter with any care. let me now show the relationship existing between the two, that is, between retardation and physical defects. i can do it briefly by referring to the work of dr. cronin in new york city. this is but one instance, but it is typical of conditions. a few years ago, as chief medical inspector of the schools of new york city, dr. cronin read a paper before the school hygiene association of america in which he made the statement that an examination of all children reported as backward by various teachers revealed % of them as physically defective. thus, in a hasty way, but i think correctly, i have thrown the chief burden of backwardness in school, or retardation, upon physical defects. but our special topic is eye trouble. how much of this burden must be referred to this specific source? it is difficult to say exactly. but knowing as we do the great prevalence of eye defects among school children, from % to %, you remember, depending somewhat upon locality and environment; and knowing, too, the close relationship existing between the eyes of our children and the work of the schools (this school work, you know, is nearly all done with the eyes. it should not be, but it is); knowing all this, it is not beside the mark to say that a very large percentage of the retardation must be laid at its doors. and what are we going to do about it? what should be done? the reform is easily seen to be a many-sided one. it is educational--our teachers should come to know that the book is only one, and not the chief one, of the many sources of knowledge open to the child; it is physiological--we should all know the eye better than we do, its normal use and its limitations; the reform is architectural--our architects and boards of education should realize that the seating and the lighting of school houses should receive most careful consideration; the reform is economic--we should come to appreciate the unwisdom of being "penny wise and pound foolish," and recall the old saw, "a stitch in time saves nine"; the reform is medical--we should get our people to see that thoro and regular medical inspection of all our school children is the only sensible method of procedure. and so i might go on naming phase after phase of the problem. it is so many-sided that we can not hope for its immediate and perfectly satisfactory solution. but there are certain quite specific ends in view that should at once and all the time be kept before us. touching the matter of medical inspection, our state law, instead of being merely permissive should be mandatory, and should be made to apply to every school community in the state. of course, the cry of expense would be at once raised, but it could easily be shown, were there time at my disposal, that it would be an economic mesure rather than one increasing the cost of our schools. because every time that a child repeats a grade in school, that year's school work in the life of the child has cost the city or school community twice as much as it should. whenever, as in the case of st. paul, already cited, a child is two, three, or six years behind normal grade, there is an extra heavy burden of taxation placed on the city. medical inspection, wherever it has been made effective, has resulted in lowering, very materially, the amount of retardation. and it is looked upon as saving the community very much more than it has cost, saying nothing at all about the added effectiveness of the child for the work of the school nor of his greater happiness. this statement could easily be substantiated were there time. but that is not necessary. it is so apparent that he who runs may read. but the time when we can expect such a law to be put in force is, i am afraid, considerably removed from the present. large bodies move slowly; we must have patience. we must keep steadily at it preaching the good gospel of reform. but in the meantime can we not hasten the glad day of full and complete medical inspection, and at the same time bring relief to a very large number of little sufferers, by throwing emphasis, whenever the opportunity offers, upon the phase of the subject that is before us this morning? the eye trouble is the chiefest of all those of a physical nature. it has far more to do in causing retardation of our boys and girls than any of the other physical defects, and therefore should receive its own prompt and vigorous attention irrespective of everything else. upon this one point let us have immediate relief and keep it up as rapidly as possible. let us adopt some program of action which will bring relief as quickly as possible to children suffering from visual defects. for i have no sympathy with the position taken by that foolish mother (perhaps i should be charitable and merely say "ignorant" mother. i think she was both ignorant and foolish), who said to me when i was urging her to have glasses fitted for her little girl, "why, mr. ladd, i can't bear to think of mary wearing glasses. i am going to keep them away from her just as long as she can possibly get along without them." i replied, "my good woman, if you have any regard for the comfort and well-being of your little girl, or if you care for her progress in school, instead of keeping glasses away from her as long as possible, you should see to it that she has the best that can be procured just as soon as they can be of the slightest assistance." i went on to tell her that it was entirely possible that the use of the glasses at that time for a year or two might enable her to do without them permanently later on. but she did not get them; of course not. they would not have added to the attractiveness of the little face. how hard it is for the unreflecting to deny themselves a present pleasure, whether in money or pride, for a future good! v the home, the church, and the school _an extension lecture delivered in many places in north dakota and minnesota_ it goes without saying, i am sure, that these three great institutions--the home, the church, and the school--fundamental as they are in the life of each, and even of civilization itself, can not be adequately handled in the brief time given to a single address. but yet i think that in that time we can account for each, roughly trace its interesting career, and locate it in our complex life of to-day with function briefly stated. and in it all, or out of it all, directly or indirectly, i think we shall see the relationship existing between the three. this relationship, so strong and so vital, the appreciation of which is so necessary for constructive action and large results in life, i particularly desire to make appear. and it is this relationship that gives appropriateness to the handling of the three in a single address tho each, from a different point of view, might well be made the center of an entire evening's consideration. the home, the church, and the school! what troops of memories arise around each as we turn our gaze backward! how sweet and sacred appears the home as we recall mother and father, sister and brother, in the old home setting in the early days of our pilgrimage! how solemn and hallowed seems the church as we go back in thought to our first connections with it in sunday school, in its communion service, and to our own entrance as members! and how fascinating and joyful, even the sometimes tinged with regret or apprehension, the school as we retrace our pathway over the years of its associations! the home, the church, and the school--but the first of these is the home. the home let me ask you, therefore, to think with me first of the home--of that institution which in its very inception, more than any other, was god-inspired; that institution which from its very beginning up to the present hour has, more than any other, reflected the spirit and purpose of god--that institution whose center is the child and whose function that child's development--_the home_. it is the most ancient of all the institutions of man. organized and set apart at the very dawn of human life, when the morning stars were singing together, the divine voice gave it sanction and stated its function: "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth." and the institution, as the ages have passed, has never once lapsed and never repudiated its origin or its work. still it has advanced so far and improved so much in outward appearance, at any rate, and developed so greatly that, as we know it to-day, we may almost call it a modern institution, so modern indeed and so different from all others as to merit the name of american institution. students of history have so laid bare the conditions of living and of home life in the past as to reveal to us the fact that the home, as we know it and love it, did not exist prior to our own day. in all former periods, even tho glorious to look back upon, some of them, golden days as they were of the world's upward struggle, we search in vain for our kind of a home. the home of the american workman to-day is provided with more comforts and conveniences, has in it more of the elements of culture and refinement, is more eloquent of love and the higher life than was the home of the ruler of a few generations ago. and the chief factors in it all, those which bind all together and give meaning, are the honored place given the wife and mother and, springing from that, love, love of parent for child and child for parent. for we all know, when we come to think of it, that our love of home and dear ones is ever our motive for action as we explore new fields and mark out new paths, overcome obstacles and surmount difficulties--in a word, carry the banners of civilization to new heights! the home of all people, in all ages of the world's history, but especially as we know it to-day, is the one thing for which men live and work. stop the first man you meet on the street,--"rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief, doctor, lawyer, butcher, priest,"--any man, going along with a preoccupied mind, thinking of the case he is to plead, the trade he is to make, the book he is to write. get into this man's mind, down below this particular thing that is on the surface of it, and down there there is one picture that you wilt always find, the picture of a cozy corner somewhere, of a woman sitting by the table or before the fire, of two or three growing girls, and a boy or two that look like him. meet him wherever you will, find him in whatever occupation, or in whatever stage of spiritual or intellectual development; whenever you get under his jacket, whether it be a blouse or a tuxedo, you'll find this picture hanging on the wall of his heart. ninety-nine men out of every hundred say, with robert burns: "to make a happy fire-side clime for weans and wife, that's the true pathos and sublime of human life." and the young man of to-day, looking forth into the years that are to come, picturing himself as and where he would like to be, who sees himself alone, without the joys and companionship of wife and child, the young man who doesn't plan to have a home of his own to which he can lead the choice of his heart and in which he may multiply, thru the development of his own offspring, his powers of usefulness,--such a young man is a selfish monstrosity. and the young woman who isn't longing for a home of her own--for a little kingdom in which as queen, she may rule jointly with a chosen king in loving ministration to their natural subjects--such a young woman is an abnormal specimen. the desire of every little girl for a doll, the craving of every boy for an animal pet, is but the manifestation of the deep-seated instinct of parenthood. do nothing to stifle it. minister to its growth and development. and young man--young woman, you who have left behind the days of knee trousers and short dresses, and with them have laid aside the doll and the pet, think it not weakness when you find yourself irresistibly drawn by the sweet smile of an innocent babe or by the childish prattle of one a little farther on. be not ashamed when, under such influence, you picture yourself the center of a home, and in this connection think of him or her whom you would like to have share it with you. it is the sweetest influence that can ever come into your life. rightly regarded and used, it will do more for your happiness and usefulness than any or all others that will ever come to you. but when the crucial moment comes--when the die is to be cast and the promise asked and given that will bind the two lives together, halt for a moment until one asks and the other answers this "woman's question." the woman's question "do you know you have asked for the costliest thing ever made by the hand above-- a woman's heart and a woman's life and a woman's wonderful love? "you have written my lesson of duty out; manlike you have questioned me; now stand at the bar of my woman's soul until i question thee. "you require your mutton shall always be hot, your stockings and shirts shall be whole. i require your heart to be true as god's stars and as pure as heaven your soul. "you require a cook for your mutton and beef. i require a far better thing. a seamstress you're wanting for stockings and shirts, i look for a man and a king. "a king for a beautiful realm called home, and a man that the maker, god, shall look upon as he did the first and say, 'it is very good.' "i am fair and young, but the rose will fade from my soft fair cheek some day; will you love me then 'mid the falling leaves as you did in the bloom of may? "is your heart an ocean so strong and deep i may launch my all on its tide? a loving woman finds heaven or hell on the day she is made a bride. "i require all things that are grand and true, all things that a man should be, if you promise me this, i would stake my life to be all you demand of me. "if you can not do this, a seamstress and cook you can hire with little to pay. but a woman's heart and a woman's life are not to be won that way." yes, bobby burns was right when he said, "to make a happy fire-side clime, for weans and wife, that's the true pathos and sublime of human life." exactly what is god's ultimate purpose for the human race, i think no one knows. and i am not sure that we need to know. where clear vision is not granted we walk by faith. but even if the ultimate end is not clearly portrayed, even if we are kept in the dark as to the great outcome, we do know pretty well his method of procedure. a careful study of the past and a critical analysis of the data now at hand looking to the future enable us to grasp with some clearness the leading outlines of the program. from generation to generation, from century to century, from age to age, as time has rolled on, there has been a gradual moving onward and upward, a steady improvement both in the refining and civilizing of man's own being and in bringing that being into sympathetic relations with the external world, that is, a gradual development of man's own powers, and an ever increasing control of the forces of nature. in spite of the fact that this progress has been, at times, painfully slow, it has never once ceased, and during the last century it has moved on with constantly accelerating speed until to-day the human race stands upon the highest point ever reached. i have absolutely no sympathy with that narrow pessimism which is always talking about "the good old times." all in all, there never was a time in the history of the world when man knew so much as to-day; there never was a time when his life was so ministered to by the forces of nature; never a time when his heart was so tender, when it responded so quickly to human suffering, never a time when all forms of evil were so quickly condemned nor when so much good was being done. the long program seems to have been for each age and each generation to hand on to its successors the legacy received, but increased and strengthened and bettered. how much longer this upward movement is to continue, how much more the race is to know and do, how much better it is to be, no one knows. god's ultimate purpose, his great object in view--we may not be able to grasp, but certainly it is not difficult for us to note the general direction of the movement. it is upward. in all this, wherein does the home come, and what is its function? is it not, has it not been from the very beginning the divine agency used for doing this great work? was not the home instituted, endowed with the divine power of love, and consecrated for the perpetuation of the race? "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." true, as many times pointed out, our toils and our struggles, our earnings and our productions, incidentally give us pleasure and satisfaction and power, but yet even these are but a means to an end,--that parents may beget, rear, and educate their children in such a way that they can carry the banner of civilization a little higher--lift society to a higher level and draw mankind nearer to god. so it is that the center and circumference of the home is the child. in the child the home finds its meaning, its excuse, and its justification. it exists, then, that the child may be adequately prepared for doing its great work in the world. whatever else it may do, on the side, it has one great problem. the child! the child! the best crop the farmer raises, the best article the manufacturer puts on the market, the best ware the merchant handles, the best case the lawyer pleads, the best sermon the minister preaches--or at least that which gives meaning to all of these--the child! "the fruit of all the past and the seed of all the future." god bless the home and god bless its best fruitage--the child! the church thus the home--god's simple yet mighty agent in his great work of developing the human race. its work was accepted and for a time all went well. such preparation, mostly physical, as the child needed for its future work the home gave without difficulty. but this simple life could not continue indefinitely. one of the fundamental principles of life absolutely forbade man's standing still. the laws of growth and development pushed him on. whether he would or not, he was compelled to move forward, just as the acorn, obeying the law of its being, changes its form, its size, and adds to its complexity. little by little man, obeying these inexorable laws, began to develop. his mental, his moral, and his physical natures gradually assumed new forms--new needs and desires were born. more and more his vision became expanded until he could see into and mesurably appreciate the forces of nature. his life was becoming more complex. now, this larger life, this greater complexity of life, in addition to its own complexity, added materially to the work of preparing the child for playing its part in this great onward movement. such preparation as was needed by the child of the primitive home to equip it for playing its part as an adult would no longer suffice. the home must now do something more than satisfy the needs of the body--provide food, clothing, and shelter, and incidentally give opportunity to learn, mostly by imitation, how to do this for another generation of children. the spiritual life needed attention and, as well, the intellectual. competition was growing keen, and each felt the need of a better equipment that he might play his part well in the larger life that was surely before him. and this larger outlook upon life was itself growing by what it was feeding upon and making its own demands for better things. but the home was handicapped. it felt the need, but with all other things that it had to do, had no time to take up these new duties. and again, the most of the homes, even if time had been abundant, did not know how to do the new work. so it set about finding a solution to its problem. this was found in the principle of the division of labor. it was seen that time would be saved and results much more satisfactorily reached by delegating to persons definitely prepared and set aside for that purpose certain phases of this work. so the church was instituted and, a little later, the school. to the church was delegated, speaking broadly, the religious and moral development of the child and to the school, the intellectual development. it was exactly the same principle that, later on, took from the home the weaving of cloth and the making of shoes and other industrial pursuits. with this added complexity of life, the homes could not profitably carry on all these varied activities--be, in addition to a home, also a tailor shop and a shoe factory, a church and a school. and so the homes of a community combined, selecting one man particularly adapted to that work to make all the shoes for the community, another the cloth, etc. and, in like manner, earlier in history, one was set aside to minister to the spiritual life, and one to teach the children. both were offshoots of the home, delegated by the home to do a certain very definite portion of its work. each took directions from the collective home and looked to it as the source of its authority. and such it was. the point is this: the home was the original educational institution and, as well, the original religious institution. at first it alone performed the work of all three: it was our home, our church, and school all in one. it finally established the others and merely delegated work to these supplemental agencies, so, at any time, it may withdraw that work from them. it is master of the situation. this withdrawal may be done either by the collective home or by any individual home. if any home represented here this evening, for any reason whatever, wishes to resume the religious function and alone direct the religious development of the children, no one can say it nay. and it is the same in regard to the school. if any parent here wishes to withdraw his children from the school and himself, either directly or indirectly, provide for their intellectual development, he has a perfect right to do so. our compulsory attendance laws are satisfied when evidence is furnished of the child's advancement. of course the church and the school, in this primitive stage, were both exceedingly crude--corresponding to the crude notions of religious and intellectual development then held by man, yet playing the same great part as now in the drama of life. i suppose it is true that these differentiations were at first only semi-conscious, but nevertheless they were real differentiations and had large influence upon the development of man. to trace the development of the church thru its early stages is not necessary for the purpose of this address, so i pass at once to the establishment of the christian church which is in reality our representative of the same fundamental institution. like the home and the school, the church began in a very humble way, and during the progress of the centuries passed thru many vicissitudes and underwent many changes. let me speak very briefly of four stages, or periods, of the history of the christian church: first, the primitive stage, that period of about years following its birth when, in the main, motives were pure, ambitions unselfish, and ideals high. but, tho it was founded to provide the means of securing the religious development of the child and the race thru the perpetuation and extension of the teachings of christ, and tho it was launched forth into its great career in the spirit of love and meekness and fellowship that characterized his life, it was not long, as history counts time, before that worthy function was entirely lost sight of, that spirit wholly cast aside, and the new institution entered upon its second period, becoming a mere political machine which, in its utter disregard of rights and justice, in the shrewdness and daring of its schemes, and in the blackness of its methods, almost surpassed even our own most skilful efforts in those directions. "my kingdom is not of this world," christ had said, and yet the church, founded upon his teachings and led by men pretending to be his true representatives, had become, in very deed, a kingdom of this world. the possession and use of worldly power by the church had so blunted its moral sense that dante, in the early part of the fourteenth century, felt forced to exclaim, and exclaimed with truth: "the church of rome, mixing two governments that ill assort, hath missed her footing, fall'n into the mire, and there herself and burden much defiled." but dante's criticism and other forces brought to bear drew back the erring leaders to some slight conception of their function and to some slight effort toward the performance of duty, tho neither conception nor performance took them back to their pristine merit. and the church entered another historical stage, the third, and one whose dominant thought and purpose prevails even up to modern times. indeed, so recently has it passed that its dark outlines are even yet discoverable as we glance backward. in this new conception of the church and its work we find the function of the institution to be not religious development of the individual and of the race, as it had been at first, but merely technical salvation. and the institution may be pictured as a great lifeboat thrust out into the storm to save from destruction those who can be drawn within--_while all others perish_. you remember the painting of the picture, foreground and background, how the emphasis was thrown upon the world to come! this world was not man's home. he was a sojourner here, a wanderer. his citizenship was in heaven. he was a pilgrim passing thru a strange and weary land, and the only purpose of the pilgrimage was a preparation for the life to come. the nature of man himself was corrupt. the world around him was evil. alone and unaided he was powerless. he was lost both for this world and the next. the storms of life were about him, the great waves were ready to engulf him. but the church, as a lifeboat, was thrust out into the breakers, and upon certain stipulated conditions was ready to take him in. the church was represented as having received direct from the hands of god "the keys of heaven and hell," and as being able to open the gates of a better world to all true believers. but true believers, you know, were no longer the pure followers of the crucified christ, simply those who would accept the man-made dogmas of the church. no matter how full of error the church was, no matter how corrupt her leaders, there could be no safety outside of her fold. accept the dogma, salvation was sure; once within, all was well. religious development was not sought. the character of the life, previous or prospective, mattered not. acceptance of the dogma was the only requirement. so she taught--having departed oh! so far from her character and program when given existence by the home and started out on her beneficent work. and so tight had her grip become that none dared dispute her claims. the child had outgrown her mother, that is, the church had, in its own conception, outgrown the home, and it repudiated her control. indeed, she held the keys--she was the ark of safety. i have dwelt upon this because, with varying degrees of emphasis, that has been the conception of the church from medieval times almost to our own day. indeed, i am not sure that it has entirely passed even at the present time. there are doubtless some people who continue thus to regard the church, and there is more than one branch of the institution whose definitely formulated statements of belief can be interpreted in no other way however much, as a practical fact, the members have departed from them. there are some branches of the church that still teach that the child, newly born into the world, fresh from the hand of god, is already corrupt, prone to evil, of its own volition choosing evil in preference to good. and, believing that, they require the parents when presenting the babe at the altar for holy baptism, to affirm that that pure and innocent babe has inherited an evil and corrupt nature, and that it was conceived and born in sin. a monstrous doctrine, violating not only every parental instinct, but as well all the principles of psychology and ethics. yea, verily, the dark ages are not yet wholly past! yes, there are doubtless some who still look upon the church as a lifeboat, and who think that that lifeboat should offer safety and protection to those alone who already have on the life preserver. in other words, there are still some who seem to think that church membership should be granted only to those whose character and belief already assure them of abundant entrance into the heavenly kingdom and who, therefore, do not really need church membership. but yet, on the whole, as a working conception, we have discarded the lifeboat idea and are now regarding the church rather as a great school, so to speak, in which all the children of men, thru the grace of god and mutual helpfulness, may gradually develop the christian character and eventually come to be the very elect of god. no longer is it being regarded as merely an ark of safety, a lifeboat, ministering to the few, but as a great social beneficent institution shedding abroad upon all people its life-giving light and lifting all men nearer to god; true, giving her choicest blessings to those who come closest and partake most fully of her nature, but yet like the sun which shines upon all and both by direct and indirect rays warms and lightens all. between the two views, what a contrast! and that change can not be better seen than by a contrast of the methods of work--the methods used to replenish the ranks, to offer the boon of membership to those deemed worthy or to those whom such boon could help. the old evangelism--you remember its key-note, the old revival meeting, in which skilful word painting presented the two extremes, heaven and hell. and when the emotional nature was wrought up to the desired pitch and fear to the right degree, a choice was demanded,--conversion, it was called. the newer evangelism--christian nurture in the home and school, and the various agencies of the church--is not as spectacular as the old. it doesn't make as much noise nor draw to itself so much attention. nor do results so readily lend themselves to figures and tabulation. it does not bring about certain times when large accessions are made to the church membership, feeling rather that a continuous stream, tho smaller, indicates a more healthy growth. but it recognizes the fact that human nature is not necessarily depraved, that, on the other hand, the christian life is the natural life and that the child under the sweet influences of the home and school and church passes naturally from one stage to another often not knowing when the transitions take place. christian nurture--_a continuous process_--in which development is the key-note, not conversion, a sudden transformation, a terrible wrenching of the whole being, is the church's present method of growth. oh! the old has not entirely gone--here and there we occasionally see evidences of its presence. professional evangelism we call it to-day. i ran across it in a recent trip east. a big, barnlike structure had been erected which was called "the tabernacle." its floor was of sawdust sprinkled on the ground. here for about a month a professional evangelist had harangued the curious crowds in immoderate, and oftentimes immodest language. wit and sarcasm and slang and emotion had been freely used in his efforts to make sinners "hit the sawdust trail," to use his own spectacular language, as well as to extort money from the pockets of the attendants. he left the town $ , richer than when he entered and also carried with him, as advertising material, a long list of so-called converts. a travesty on the sacred work of the church! but such methods are to-day the exception and not the rule, and the exceptions merely prove the rule. and to-day church membership is graciously held out to all who need help in the work of perfecting character--to all who need assistance in leading the christian life, as well as to those whose battles have already been fought and won. the question asked is no longer, "have you attained?" but rather, "do you wish to attain?" when an individual, child or adult, seeks entrance at the doors of an educational institution, the only condition imposed is assurance of his desire to be a learner. the doors swing open. and thank god the church is at last coming to the same position. and so we see her to-day well started upon the fourth stage of her development, accepting as her one great work that given her at birth so long ago--the religious development of the child and the race. the school the american school is a wonderful institution. in its absolute universality and impartiality, in its fine spirit of democracy both of teachers and pupils, there is nothing like it elsewhere in the world. it is a product of the genius of our people. product? yes, but, also, successively, the most influential cause of the genius of our people. from the first, in a somewhat remarkable degree, we have been a people knowing no social classes or distinctions. the caste idea, so prevalent in european countries, has ever been repugnant to us. and our schools, emanating from such a people, have had a powerful reflex influence in shaping the people and keeping those fine ideals ever before us. but let us go back and see whence it came--trace the connection between the complex, highly influential institution of to-day and the simple offshoot of the home of primitive times. just when it was first instituted, nobody knows; but in essential features it is very ancient. long before the beginning of the christian era, as a supplementary agent of the home having in charge that one portion of its work, it was a well-recognized and highly esteemed institution. i have already called attention to the great changes that have taken place in the home and in the church as the centuries have passed. the school likewise has changed, and is to-day as far removed from its original prototype as either of the others. it has changed because the home has changed, and in its changes has kept pace with the changing ideals and added complexities of home life. at the very first, only the essentials--teacher and boy--were present: no building, the great out-of-doors furnished the room and the friendly tree the only protection from sun and storm; no course of study, no book--the teacher was all in all. but this stage passed and the next, that continued so long and is more characteristic, followed. here we find the building and the book as well as the teacher and the boy. the boy's one task is to transfer the contents of the book to his own mental storehouse and the teacher's function to see that the transfer is made. knowledge was the main element of the child's preparation, that the home demanded of its school. and this often but ill-fitted him for the performance of the duties of life. this period continued for many centuries, down almost to the present time. but another and a greater followed--a period in which not merely knowledge was demanded as an outcome of the school's activities, but something else very different, including that, it is true, but finer and greater than that--something toward which they are the contributing agents--a somewhat harmonious development of the entire life--physical, mental, and moral. little by little, as time has passed, the home seems to have been throwing added burdens upon the school until now it sometimes looks as if the school is expected to give the entire preparation of the child--moral, physical, and manual, as well as mental. it sometimes seems as if the home had gone off on a vacation and left the school to do its work. now, that statement implies a criticism of the home. on the other hand, it is frequently said by unfriendly critics of our public schools that the schools are all the time reaching out and, in a grasping way, more and more taking unto themselves the sacred rights and privileges of the home, even setting themselves up in authority over the home, aye, even alienating the affections of the children, making the home of none effect. where does the truth lie? has the home been so negligent of its duty, or has the school forgotten that it is the creature of the home? which is the usurper? that is an interesting question. we can not go into it in detail, but let me suggest that it has all come about not so much from the unwarranted assumption of the school, nor the conscious and wilful neglect of the home as from the unconscious working out of a great principle fundamental in human development--namely, that the three phases of a child's life--the physical, the moral, and the intellectual,--can not be separately developed. at first the home had the three lines of work. soon it delegated two of them to other agencies and then, thru inexperience or thoughtlessness, made the fatal mistake of withdrawing supervision, assuming that no oversight was necessary. unwise and short-sighted! no individual would thus deal with any other interest. the farm, the store, the financial interest of any kind, even the thing that ministers to the pleasure of life, often receives more personal attention from the parent than does the school. and this situation is not peculiar to our own day. when i was a boy, in another and distant state, we used to sing a song called "the parent and the school." the various verses showed that parents were in the habit of visiting every other known place--the theater, the concert, the fair, the sea, the neighbors, and each verse closed with the refrain, "and why don't they visit the school?" they should, but they did not then, nor do they to-day. somehow, all along the line, the home has seemed to think that if it should satisfy the physical needs of the child in providing food and clothing and shelter, the school should develop the intellectual and the church the moral natures in different places and at different times, and under different conditions, and that in some mysterious manner the three could become satisfactorily blended into a harmonious life. impossible! the three natures are so clearly interrelated, each depends so much upon the others, that the separate and independent development of any one is impossible. the spiritual _depends_ upon the intellectual as the house _rests_ upon the foundation. its mental pictures, its concepts, its beliefs, come out of it, and are marred, misshapen, untrue, just to the extent to which that is faulty. intelligence is necessary to religious belief and religious life. and the _intellectual_, in its foundation laying, can not stop short at that point any more than a plant can stop growing when its roots are well developed. the process once well begun is pushed on by the force from behind and must enter the higher realm. so i am not surprised that the school at times seems to be in charge of the entire work. and _physical conditions_ have so much to do with success in both fields that they must be considered by both. the three processes are not only interrelated, they are interlaced, intertwined, as the strands of a braided cord. and just as the cord would be incomplete, just as it would lack strength, if any of the strands were to be omitted, or if the braiding were to be haphazard, so the life would be incomplete, one-sided, weak, should these three processes not go on side by side under the fostering care of an intelligent unifying agency. indeed, if there is any one thing that has been demonstrated beyond the peradventure of a doubt by modern research in the physical and psychical realms, it is the significant fact that life is a unity. the physical, the intellectual, and the moral are like the three leaves of the clover. and just as with the clover we must apply the nourishment to the root and not to the separated branches, so with the child we must so select and use our educative material that the three-fold development shall result from the single application. a simple illustration or two will help to make the point clear. all children study arithmetic in school. it is an intellectual activity and so clearly belongs to the school. why do all study it? because for the practical duties of life they need to know how to handle numbers. it is a practical study. yes, but there is something else that the subject is supposed to yield or the extended time given to it could not be justified. it yields large fruitage in the development of the power of concentration and intellectual keenness. yes, but better than that. all mathematical subjects, in that they require absolute accuracy and definiteness in their operations, are particularly helpful in developing those fine moral qualities of honesty, integrity, and upright dealing. again, history is taught in the schools as an intellectual subject. in intellectual development alone it is worth all it costs. but over and above the value as a mental quickener it is to be placed as a builder of character, and ministering to the development of the moral and even the spiritual life. nowhere else can the young so well learn that "righteousness exalteth a nation" and that "sin is a reproach to any people." in no other way so well as by the study of history can desired examples of noble character be placed before the young for imitation. take but one other illustration, that of gymnastics and athletics--the entire program of play. for physical development? yes, but in addition to that and finer than that, intellectual development of a high order thru the keener activity of the senses, the quicker and more accurate vision, the developed judgment, and finer discriminations. yes, but better even than mere intellectual keenness there result from such activities the rare moral qualities of tolerance, respect for others, and self-control. and so i might go on and give illustration after illustration. it is not necessary. you catch my point. i am merely trying to demonstrate two facts: first, that the great breadth of the work of the school--embracing as it does, the development of the entire nature of the child, mental, moral, and physical, instead of merely the mental, that which was given her at first, is hers now not because of the home's neglect nor because the school has been unduly ambitious and grasping, but because we have come to see that life is a unity and can not be cut up into parts each separately developed. and secondly, i have tried to show that the school does interest itself in the moral life of the pupil. as a matter of fact, the school does more to develop morality and to lead toward a sane religious life than all other agencies combined. our modern american school is a wonderful institution. but in spite of the fact that the school is broad in its ministrations, it can not stand alone. all three institutions are needed. but the three must work together and in harmony and intelligently, each assisting the others. and one of the three must act as the centralizing, the unifying, the combining agency and bring order out of that which would otherwise be chaos by recognizing the value of each contribution of each of the others, assigning it to its proper place and thus aptly blending the work of the three. now, which shall be the centralizing force? really, is there any question? must it not be the original institution--the home--the one which saw the need of the others and called them into being--the one upon which the responsibility finally rests? and even tho many individual homes are weak, wholly incapable of doing themselves all the varied kinds of work needed, yet the collective institution can and must act. and even the individual home, efficient or inefficient, should, much more than it does, thus act within the limits of its own jurisdiction and up to the limits of its own power. and to whom does the school belong, anyway? to the board of education? is it the private possession of the teachers? does it exist to give teachers positions? why, no, of course not. it is yours, and yours, and yours. they, both board and teachers, are your servants, hired men and women, if you and they please--hired for pay to do your work, just as much as are the clerks in your stores, the harvest hands on the farms, or the maids in the kitchen. a different kind of work to be sure but, nevertheless, we are workmen for pay. and we need watching just as much as do the other workers. but let us put it in this way--we need intelligent, sympathetic co-operation, as an opportunity and as a spur for our best work and as a joy in it all--your constant kindly interest and your intelligent co-operation. i suppose that the situation is quite different in a city of this size from what it is in the large centers. i remember of talking, at one time, to an audience of teachers in a large city. i was astounded to learn that those teachers did not know, by sight even, the parents of one-half of their pupils, and many of them had been in the schools for a period of from three to four years. whose fault was it? the teacher's or the parents? why, what is the school? and whose is it? and what is it for? whose fault was it? the question does not need an answer. it answers itself. but i urged those teachers to visit the homes--to become acquainted with the parents of their pupils so that they could know the atmosphere surrounding them and thus be better able to guide their development and minister to their varied needs. but i did not thus urge them because they had, up to that time, neglected their duty, rather because there seemed no prospect that the homes would embrace their opportunity and take the initiative. i fancy that here in the smaller place where everybody knows everybody it is very different. doubtless there is not a teacher here whose acquaintance has not been made by both parents of every child in her or his room. probably there is not one who has not been entertained in every home represented in the room. this should be the situation not primarily because parents owe teachers such attention, not because any such social responsibility rests upon them, but rather because the relationship thus created gives parents the best possible opportunity to co-operate with the school in doing that portion of the home's great work. no, parents do not "owe" it to the teachers, rather do they "owe" it to their children and the next generation. i am urging this program because it is the only way by which you can get the most and best service from the schools. it is true that parents may not understand all the subjects that are taught in the schools. parents may not be acquainted with the methods of teaching so that they can be intelligent critics of schoolroom procedure. never mind. that is not necessary. you do know boys and girls. many of you could give us teachers valuable suggestions on the best ways of dealing with boys and girls. and there isn't one of you who could not assist the teacher in the work with your own children. and then there is another way to look upon it. it is altogether possible that this closer acquaintance with the school and with the teachers--with men and women who have made a careful, scientific study of boys and girls and of the art of teaching--it is altogether possible, i say, that this contact might react helpfully upon you and the home. you might possibly get suggestions from us that would help you in the home. the closer contact might be mutually helpful. and so, in this necessarily hurried manner we have passed in review these three great age-old yet very modern institutions--the home, the church, and the school. we have seen whence each has arisen, have noted the pathway trod, and caught a glimpse of its present-day function. and the close relationship, too, must have become plain as we passed along. no one of the three, we have seen, could stand alone. each depends upon both the others and likewise lends them both assistance. for sane, all-round, constructive work in any one field, the contributions of all are seen to be needed. let us, therefore, take an account of stock, as the business man says, and note our individual attitude and responsibility. as representing the home, let us look upon the other two as creatures of our own building still requiring direction and fostering care. let our attitude toward them be neither patronizing nor coldly critical. as representing the church and the school, let us not forget the source of our being. we should not ignore the home nor attempt to dominate it. let us, rather, seek to carry out its program, rendering a good account of our stewardship. thus and thus only can the great work originally entrusted to the home be accomplished. vi noblesse oblige _a convocation address delivered at the university of north dakota, january , _ there is no audience before which a speaker should have greater reason for apprehension than an audience made up largely of university students. there is no audience for which a speaker should more carefully choose his thoughts and the words for their expression than a university audience, nor one more worthy of earnest treatment. on the other hand, there is no audience that a speaker can address more inspiring than an audience made up of young men and women in the heyday of young life preparing for better and larger usefulness. all this is true because there is no other audience that can be gathered together whose future work can begin to compare, in far-reaching consequences, in possibilities for usefulness, with that of such an audience. there is no other company of people of equal number within whose keeping there is more of potential weal or woe for coming generations. and these things are true because university students of to-day are the world's leaders of to-morrow. this is not so trite a saying as the one that declares that the boys and girls of one generation are to be the men and women of the next, but it is just as true and just as significant. indeed, i suppose it can not be called a trite saying in the true sense of the term. it has not been uttered so many times, is not now being used so commonly, as to indicate its universal acceptance. it is not so obviously true as to preclude challenge and argument. it is my purpose very briefly to examine the statement and from the conclusion reached connect the same with the thought of a beautiful proverb that has come down to us thru a long lapse of years--_noblesse oblige_--our privileges compel us. so far as i know there is no way of seeing the future save thru a study of the facts of the past and the indications of the present. the university students of a generation ago--where are they to-day? positions of leadership to-day--filled by whom? exhaustive and thoroly satisfactory statistics are not at hand, but such as we have speak eloquently in favor of the statement in question. practically our only reliable statistics touching the matter are gathered from our biographical cyclopedias. a few years ago a very interesting study was made of the data found in the current issue of _who's who in america_. this book, you know, is made up of short biographies of such persons living at the time in the united states as have become real factors in the progress and achievement of the age, in other words, of men recognized as leaders in thought and action in the educational, political, military, and business realms. of the whole number mentioned in the issue studied educational data were given of , . of that number , had enjoyed only elementary school advantages; , had added to these only the advantages of secondary education, but , had come from the colleges and universities. in other words, more than % of these leaders are shown to have received their final preparations for leadership within college walls. figures as interesting have been gathered thru a use of _appleton's cyclopedia of biography_. a few years ago careful study was made of an edition just then out and it was found that of the college graduates of america one out of every forty had gained sufficient distinction to merit recognition in that cyclopedia, whereas only one out of , non-graduates, the public at large, had received such distinction. in other words, the college graduate had chances to the other man's one for achieving leadership. moreover, the higher institutions of learning have furnished every one of the chief justices of our supreme court, % of our presidents, % of the membership of our two highest courts, and more than % of all our congressmen. the last state-men is very significant when one recalls our method of selecting congressmen--our political machinery and its devious modes of working. i have no authentic data of other fields, but all that one needs to do to satisfy himself practically as to other details is to call to his service his own knowledge of the general situation. in the communities with which you are acquainted, among the people whom you know either personally or by reputation, what are the facts? who are the leaders? where college people are found, are they leaders or followers? there are exceptions, of course. there come to you at once the names of men, a few of them, who, thru the exercise of their own inherent strength, unaided by college or university, have risen to deserved greatness. i have only to mention the names of our immortal lincoln, or england's present david lloyd george, in the field of statesmanship, or of lord strathcona or sir william van horne, or james j. hill, railroad kings and empire builders, in the business world, or of luther burbank, in the realm of science, to make the fact of exceptions perfectly clear. but they _are_ exceptions--that's the point--and exceptions merely prove the rule. and even as to the few it is scarcely necessary to say that their positions, tho of leadership, are, generally speaking, subordinate ones, they themselves even while leading in certain limited fields, are following the leadership of others in broader fields which include their own--and the ones followed are they of the broader training. this is especially true of men who have achieved success in the business world or in the political field. their success, their leadership, is often more seeming than real,--depending as it does upon their advisers--broadly educated men. take lord strathcona, for example, or mr. hill, as typical illustrations; with all their far-sightedness and their recognized ability, what could they have done, even in their own field of activity, had it not been for the trained physicist, the skilled chemist, and the engineer--products of the university--who gave them their rails, built their bridges, designed their engines, and in many ways made it possible for them to realize their dreams? they would have been powerless. tho leaders, they followed, and their kind always will follow, the university student. they may hire this student and pay him his wage, but they are still indebted to him for leading them onward and upward. from a hasty survey, therefore, which, however, i am satisfied would yield the same fruitage no matter to what extent pushed, our statement seems to be justified. but let us look at it from another point of view. how is the matter regarded by those of the present time most deeply interested in the future well-being of man and of the nations of the world? by those people and those forces who feel the responsibility of providing leadership for the next generation? what steps are being taken to reach the end--to provide the leaders? on any hypothesis other than the one assumed in my initial statement can you account for the lavish expenditure for the endowment and maintenance of higher institutions of learning that so characterize our generation? from one side to the other of our broad land, aye, from distant lands and from the isles of the sea comes the same testimony: benevolent individuals seem to vie with one another in the munificence of their gifts for higher education. even soveren states and great nations, under the guidance of far-seeing leaders, are planting these institutions and, in a truly generous manner, providing for their present and future needs. that the college is the only source from whence can come our supply of leaders is a real conviction in the minds of men the world over, is shown by a recent incident in war-stricken europe. it was only a few months ago and during the terrible campaign in eastern poland, even while shells were bursting and men were dying, that the central powers stopt, as it were, in the mad rush of wanton destruction, to re-establish and reorganize the old university of warsaw. more than that, they added to the old institution two new faculties, or colleges, as we would call them. strange, isn't it? in the incident i can see but this logic: a recognition of the fact that, with the forces of destruction reaping such an awful harvest, their civilization was doomed unless some step could be taken, not, primarily, to check the present war but rather to provide, at its close, an adequate supply of leaders. that seemed to them the only way to prevent a permanent impoverishment and a dropping back into a state of, at least, temporary semi-barbarism as was so common during the early middle ages under analogous circumstances. and the step taken by those shrewd, coldly-calculating war lords was the strengthening of the forces of higher education. one reason why, during the middle ages, there was this frequent dropping back is the fact that this relationship between leadership and education was not recognized. under the powerful impulse of this conviction, namely, that the well-equipt college as a part of the broad university community is the only source of leadership, men and states and provinces and nations are sacrificing for higher education as never before. new institutions are being founded and old ones strengthened. magnificent buildings are being erected with seemingly little thought of cost provided only that they serve their purpose. libraries so thoroly equipt as to leave nothing desired, laboratories unsurpast in completeness, vast gymnasiums containing every possible apparatus for bodily development, and other facilities of every kind and description, all irrespective of cost, are daily being added. and better than buildings and grounds, more vital than equipment and endowment, are the trained minds and pure hearts that, in ever increasing numbers, are being freely offered on the same shrine. abilities, and training, and attainments that in the world of business would yield their possessors independent fortunes, or in the fields of authorship or politics result in honor and fame, are here freely offered. the material return rendered for such service is the merest pittance absolutely needed for family support, and the immaterial, but one's enshrinement in the heart of an occasional grateful student plus the consciousness of having done one's duty. can such a generous outpouring of material and spiritual treasures be accounted for on any hypothesis other than a recognition of the great world's needs and a firm belief that those needs can be best satisfied thru an educated leadership? nay, verily, all these things are being done because the best thought of the day feels, both instinctively and with reason, that only thus can the kingdom of god come among men. what unique, important, and responsible position the state or provincial university occupies among civic institutions! what splendid opportunities for usefulness are his who is the executive head of such an institution! aye, and what weighty responsibilities rest upon him! fellow teachers, what manifold opportunities for usefulness are yours, and what weighty responsibilities rest upon you by virtue of the fact that you are teachers in such an institution! and my message to you is the same as to the student body--_noblesse oblige!_ freely have you received, freely must you give. tho the state does not, nor ever can, adequately pay you for your best services, still you must not falter. you must continue to live up to your own high ideals of your noble profession. the very acceptance of such positions in such an institution carries with it the obligation of performance--_noblesse oblige!_ but who are these college and university students who have such a large and important future before them and for whose training and development, because of that future, such elaborate preparations are being made? the university man--who and what is he? likewise the university woman? let us answer the question simply and briefly by merely saying that, tho sometimes rude and crude because immature and undeveloped, they are yet the keenest, the brightest, the most far-seeing, the most promising young men and women of the land. they are the choice souls found, one here, another there, one in the hamlet and another on the farm, one in the city and another on the prairie, one in a palace, another in a sod house. they are a picked lot selected not only from the so-called upper ranks of thought and action, but as well from the highways and by-ways of our broad land, chosen because of intellectual strength and moral fiber, because of high ideals and lofty purposes; chosen by themselves, it may be true, but chosen nevertheless, thru their equipment of mind and heart. the very fact that you are here and others are not is testimony sufficient to your greater worth. exceptions, to be true, there are, but none too many prove the rule. i am not saying these things in a spirit of flattery, not at all. i am merely stating facts, and thru these facts trying to help you catch the vision--to see your opportunity and accept the responsibilities. but note the significance--those already best equipt by the superior quality of their brain matter and of their mental fiber and of their moral nature and who therefore without further preparation would easily distance the others, are here giving themselves even better equipment. there can be no question as to the relative position of the two classes in the years to come--the one class is to furnish the leaders, the other the followers. the one is to form the ideals, to set the standards, to decide upon policies, to mark out courses, the other to try to reach the goals set. the two classes may be equally good morally, equally worthy of respect and honor because equally faithful in the performance of duties suited to their tastes and abilities, but yet, from the very nature of things, the one going ahead, the other following behind. and in the years to come your competitors will be not from among the non-college men and women--you have already put yourself out of their reach--but from among those who, like yourselves, ambitious for better and greater things, are to-day, in this and other similar institutions, using every means, straining every nerve, to attain the highest possible degree of efficiency for future service. you are not only to be leaders, but in some way you seem to know it instinctively and to be putting yourselves in a state of readiness. but does some one raise the objection that this theory of leadership does not seem to be in harmony with the spirit and genius of our american institutions; that under a democratic form of government all are equal; that all men, irrespective of intellectual attainment, share equally, not only before the law but in the very making of law; that in america all men are rulers? all this is true theoretically and, to a certain extent, practically, but it does not lessen the need of efficient leadership; it increases that need, or, at any rate, it makes it necessary that the number capable of efficient leadership be greatly increased. the very fact that all have a voice in the government, that all do share, consciously and potently, in its exercise and in its responsibilities, speaks more loudly than anything else can of the need of wise leadership. if the great mass of people were not factors, they would not have to be taken into account. they might need drivers but not leaders. but being factors and yet, in the main, not being capable of adequate analysis of our most complex and highly intricate problems, they must be provided with safe and efficient leaders. i believe in the honesty, in the good intentions, and in the good sense of the common people. but i do not believe in their ability to detect relations, to draw wise conclusions, and to formulate policies touching the complicated political, social, and economic conditions of our times. it is a well-recognized fact that, as some one has said, "speaking broadly, the striking disadvantage under which a democracy labors, as contrasted, let us say, with certain types of autocracy, lies in its inability to plan effectively with reference to remote goals.... what we call 'far ahead' thinking is difficult for the individual, but it is vastly more difficult for the group, and its difficulty is intensified in both cases if it demands large measures of present sacrifice." no, democracy must be led. leaders they must have. if honest and disinterested ones are not at hand, selfish and dishonest ones will be accepted. i grant that leadership is not the greatest need of democracy, that, of course, is a higher level of knowledge and intelligence, but i do claim that leadership is, and always will be, the greatest _present_ need of democracy, since it is only thru that leadership that the higher intelligence can be reached, without loss, and in the shortest possible time. but again, do you point out certain great victories of the common people, so-called, when they have risen in the power of their might and, in the exercise of their right, have put down men who had assumed the right to lead them and were leading them astray? do you point to the state of missouri of a decade ago, and to new york city again and again, and to england a generation ago, as illustrations? true, in all these cases and in many others, notable victories had been gained by and for the people. but is it not also true that in every such case the people won victories because wisely led? think you that corruption and violation of law would have been so checked in missouri a decade ago and the breakers of law been so thoroly punished, had it not been for the clear-headed work of that fearless, public-spirited joseph w. folk? does not charles s. whitman come to your mind when the great struggle in new york city is mentioned? and hiram w. johnson in california? and when we recall the victories of the people in our own motherland across the sea, do we not have at once a mental picture of the "grand old man," william ewart gladstone? had it not been for these leaders or others who might else have taken their places, half of the people whose votes helped win the victories would never have known that there were such victories to win. they would never have realized the extent to which they were being wronged and mis-ruled. certain conditions were not quite satisfactory. all people felt, half unconsciously, that rights were not being respected, that justice was not being done--that something was wrong somewhere--but that was about all, about as far as they went or could go. but these leaders, who, in years gone by, in the colleges and the universities, had been trained to search for causes, to see relations, and to draw conclusions, had scented danger from afar. and to the task of ferreting out the evil and of finding remedies they devoted the strength of their splendidly equipt minds and the purity of their strong hearts. following up the lead of surface manifestations they finally unearthed corporate greed, political domination, and satanic selfishness in such kinds and amounts as to be really appalling. but they did not stop there--they searched for remedies and then went before the people and told them a plain simple tale of what they had found--of how grossly the people were being wronged--and they outlined programs of reform. the people believed them; they rallied to their standards, accepted their leadership, and won the victories. and such victories, in greater or less degree, are being won all over the land, thank god! and back of every one of them you can find, if you search, a smaller or larger edition of folk, whitman, or gladstone. and how about the future? are all the victories won? no more such work to do? ah! the question does not need an answer. then who are to be the leaders? why not you? and you? and you? depend upon it, they are going to be college men and college women, and who more capable or worthy than yourselves? there are two ways in which i want you young people to look upon this matter; in the first place, from the point of view of your own personal interests. here are opportunities for advancement, openings the filling of which will bring to you worldly success, and honor and fame. both by natural endowment and by special training you are fitted for the work. seize, then, the opportunities and make the most of them, because the world and they that dwell therein belong to him who knows how to use them. from one point of view this is perfectly legitimate, and i urge it. it is not only one's right but one's duty to make the most of himself--to advance his own interests. the program becomes censurable only when it absorbs all else--when one's own interest is sought at the _expense_ of the interest of other people instead of in connection with it or as a step in its realization. now, the other way in which i want you to regard the matter is from the point of view of the interests of the people at large. let me put it like this: here is your body politic, the people of north dakota, , strong, or, better yet, the people of the united states, some hundred million in number, partners in ownership of our magnificent country, co-laborers in its administration, and sharers in the work of their own government and in the working out of their destinies--each with a share and an influence and each expected to participate. but so complicated are the matters needing consideration, so difficult of solution many of the problems arising, and so infinitely vast the whole undertaking that the great majority of the people, thru either immaturity or lack of training, often do not know what is best to do. and again, skilful manipulators, dishonest self-seekers, are ever at hand with plausible theories calculated to befog the untrained, deceive the unsuspecting, and to lead them all astray. taking everything into consideration, the situation is extremely difficult. in a plain word, these untrained people, the product of the elementary schools, can not see far enough ahead to know that oftentimes the policy that seems most attractive is full of danger for the future. they are not qualified to weigh, and estimate, and decide. but there is a class among them, college-bred men and women, a small class, relatively, that is qualified. thru long years of study, and investigation, and reflection, in institutions freely provided and generously maintained by the people now in need, they have attained such a knowledge of affairs and such an ability to cope with intricate problems as to make them efficient leaders--leaders capable of guiding aright the noble ship of state thru difficult and tortuous channels beset, on every side, by dangerous rocks and calamitous whirlpools. and among that class of efficient leaders you, young men and young women of the university of north dakota, will soon be numbered. how shall you respond to the call of duty? your state, by virtue of what she has done and is now doing for you, has a right to expect unselfishness and unstinted service in her own interests and in those of mankind. shall she get it? will you rise to the occasion and, even at a sacrifice of personal comfort, ease, esthetic enjoyment, money, give to her what is her due? will you remember _noblesse oblige_? of course you will. for there is a well-established principle, clearly stated in holy writ and sanctioned by the ages, that of those to whom much hath been given, much will also be required. _noblesse oblige_--your privileges compel you. because the theory of the old motto, "_paucis vivat humanum genus_," "for the few live the many," is no longer maintained. the many do not live for the few. the reverse is true. the few live for the many. but yet, the service is not unrewarded--only a portion of the reward has come first. in your equipment you are being paid in advance. david starr jordan has happily clothed the thought in these words: "it is in the saving of the few who serve the many that the progress of civilization lies. in the march of the common man, and in the influence of the man uncommon who rises freely from the ranks, we have all of history that counts." and here i might stop. but a general statement, more or less abstract, needs practical illustration: the "how," the "when," and the "where" are perfectly legitimate questions for you to ask. let us then throw a hasty glance upon some of the great activities that claim men's attention, and discover some of the openings awaiting you. _the teaching profession_ will draw heavily upon your ranks--that profession, full and rich in opportunities for usefulness beyond any and all others, is more and more looking for you, and waiting impatiently for your full equipment and thoro readiness. all of the higher positions must come to you and others like you. no others are, or will be, adequately prepared. in nearly all of our states the legal requirement for a high school teacher and, of course, for the high school principal and city superintendent is the completion of a full four-year college course including a certain specified amount of professional work. in some of the states, indeed, the requirement is of a full year beyond the undergraduate course, or the possession of a master's degree, with the emphasis of this added year thrown upon the subjects to be taught and the manner of handling the same. so the facts are borne upon us that the desk of the high school principal, the office of the city superintendent, the chair of the college professor, the position of college and university president, is soon to be offered you. are you ready for it? ready in academic equipment? ready in professional attainment? and are you equally well prepared in that even finer element--the possession of your soul by the spirit of _noblesse oblige_? i can not say, of course, to which of you here to-day a college presidency is to be offered, nor the professor's chair, nor any other specific position. nor can i say just when the offer will come. but i can say, and with assurance, that all these positions and all others of leadership in the educational field will be offered to college men and college women, and in all probability as soon as they are well ready for them. moreover, it can doubtless be said that they will be apportioned fairly on the basis of merit and fitness. and then you will have in your hands the shaping of the destinies of a great free people with all the emoluments, the opportunities, and the responsibilities that should accompany a work of such moment. and _the gospel ministry_ can no longer look elsewhere. if it is to continue to wield its mighty influence for good, and to play its magnificent rôle of leadership in our developing civilization, especially among our rapidly increasing educated classes, it must more and more come into its rightful inheritance, so long withheld, of that broader conception of brotherhood and christianity that forgets the letter of the law in magnifying its spirit--that puts life before dogma and character before creed. and this, fellow students, can never be without the broad university equipment. we have traveled far during these latter years. and no longer do we consider it sufficient that the minister of the gospel know merely his bible and his theology. in addition to these, aye, as a basis for these, it is now demanded (that is, if he be accorded a position of real leadership among thinking people) that he know as well his history and his sociology, his psychology and his biology, and indeed that he be acquainted with all the fields of human knowledge. not only that, he must know life as it is lived to-day, and the thoughts and emotions of men as they are manifested in the give and take of actual life. and none of these can be obtained within the narrow confines of the old theological seminary. the modern university is the only institution in which the minister of the future can get it all and get it in the right order and in the correct admixture. in the laboratories, the libraries, and the classrooms he will delve deeply into the realms of science, literature, and art, and there and on the campus, in its varied activities, touch hands and exchange thoughts with the future lawyer, teacher, physician, engineer, business man, what-not, and thus gain tolerance, humility, catholicity of spirit, and the spirit of true democracy. thus circumstanced during his preparatory years, he will go out capable of seeing things in their proper perspective. that's the kind of man that the ministry is calling to-day, and the call will be louder and more incessant as the years pass and the education of the people progresses. that's the kind of man we already have in some of our leading pulpits, and they are exerting a tremendous influence in all departments of life. but the supply is limited. there's not enough to go around. many more are needed. our universities must furnish them. will this institution do its share? will some of you young men, with your well-trained bodies, with your finely-disciplined minds, with your highly-cultured natures, with that fine balance of powers that means so much and that can accomplish so much for the world if thus used--will you turn aside from the beaten path that would be sure to lead to fame and power and worldly success and enter the more difficult but more useful field of the christian ministry for the simple purpose of serving mankind? you are the kind of men we want, and i am sure that you will not disappoint us. and so i might go on, did time permit, and point out attractive and responsible openings in many different activities--the fields of engineering and journalism, the professions of medicine and law, the great world of business, even politics (should i not say, rather, and _especially_ politics?). it is not necessary to go farther into detail. you catch my thought. in one and all of these, positions of leadership are calling loudly for men and women of large knowledge, of trained minds, of broad outlook, and of splendid visions; and these characteristics are the fruitage of nothing less than the broad and comprehensive foundations laid in the college and the university. and you who have them are, by the very fact of possession, under obligation to use them for the public weal. how is it, young man, young woman? are you going to mesure up to the twentieth century standard? will you carry with you from this hall when you leave to-day, and from this institution when she honors you with her diploma, and out into the great activities of life,--will you carry with you, i ask, and make the basis of your actions in life, the thought of these two little words that have been engaging our attention this morning--_noblesse oblige_? vii improvements in our public schools _a paper read before the commercial club of grand forks, north dakota, january , , and printed in the grand forks "daily herald," january , _ in accepting an invitation to speak upon the topic assigned, "improvements in our public schools," i come not as a hostile critic, not even as an impartial observer viewing and commenting upon something belonging to another. rather, i come as a sympathetic friend to talk about an institution in which i am vitally interested and of whose good work i am proud. indeed, i am to discuss a great business industry, if you please, in which you and i are joint stockholders and for whose success we are alike responsible. and, too, i have been for so many years a teacher and so closely connected with educational work that i feel akin to every other man and woman engaged in that occupation. knowing how easy it is to make mistakes and thus fall short of attaining our high ideals in this most trying and most difficult work, i am temperamentally inclined to magnify the difficulties and to overlook the shortcomings of educational workers. to be sure, in speaking upon "improvements," i am admitting that improvements are possible. but the best friend of a person or an institution is one who talks frankly and honestly, admitting weaknesses, if such there be, and suggesting assistance. such an attitude can not well be interpreted as a criticism either of men or mesures. a gentleman met me on the street a day or two ago and said, "i understand that you are going to find fault with our schools next tuesday night. what for? i want you to understand that our schools are all right. let well enough alone." a few days ago one of the local papers said of the schools, "the public schools of grand forks are recognized as the finest in the northwest and the school system is up-to-date in every respect." and that idea seems to be chronic. such expressions are common in our papers and from many of our people. the impression sought to be given is doubtless that of "let well enough alone," or "hands off." now, mr. chairman, while this feeling clearly betokens a general confidence in the management of the schools of which those directly in charge may well take pride, nevertheless, it is not an altogether healthy condition of affairs. while i believe in a wise conservatism as against an unthinking radicalism, i am in no sense of the term a "stand-patter." the individual who has earned this picturesque title, i care not whether in the halls of congress or in the ranks of the educators, is a foe to progress. a "stand-patter" is such because he is in a rut and either too lazy or too corrupt to get out. things ought not to remain long as they are in any business, in any enterprise, in any institution. civilization never stands still. the most dangerous attitude of mind that a man can hold is that of complacency, that of perfect satisfaction with things as they are. the good is always a foe to the best. no, gentlemen, our schools are not "up-to-date in every respect," not altogether the "finest" in the great northwest. the northwest, you know, is a pretty big place and has some pretty enterprising towns. but no individual town has, in all respects, the finest schools in the northwest, or in any other place. our schools are, like those of other cities, just a good strong average. like every other system, it contains some good teachers and some not so good; some up-to-date methods of instruction are being used and some which should be improved; some features there are to be strongly commended and some, doubtless, that should be discontinued. and more than this, gentlemen, you have no right to demand, or expect, from your superintendent and your board of education. they will be the very first to endorse all that i have admitted above. indeed, that they do not hold that exaggerated opinion is clearly apparent from the fact that they are even now considering improvements. and may the day never dawn when we shall see no needed improvements for our public schools! should such a time come, it would simply mean that in matters educational our eyes have become dimmed and that we are rapidly falling behind. had the men of this city been "stand-patters" touching the city, grand forks would not be to-day what it is--the surprise and the admiration of every intelligent visitor. were you men here to-night, in your civic relationship, "stand-patters," the promise of the future would be less bright than it is. during my early connection with grand forks i often wondered as to the secret of its enterprise. i was not long in discovering, however, that it was found in the spirit of this commercial club; a spirit, it is, of hope, of civic pride, of optimism, yet a spirit of almost divine discontent. you have all the time been proud of your city, but yet not satisfied with it; not satisfied, because you saw visions of a finer city into which yours might grow. your city was not up-to-date--to help make it so you needed a street railway system; what did you do? worked for it and--got it. not yet up-to-date? a great auditorium was needed; you put your hand into your hip-pocket and lo! it arises in, what was it, thirty days? the goal not even yet in sight? no, because better pavement was imperative--and it came. still something lacking? an up-to-date street lighting system--you put some of your men to work on it and it is now our pride and our neighbors' despair. and so i might go on, i do not need to. only let me say that it will be a sad day for grand forks when we shall think that we have really reached the goal--when there is not something toward which we are striving. i am glad that, in this same spirit, you have now turned your gaze to the school house. let us apply there the same principle of free, intelligent discussion and hearty, generous co-operation, each trying to outdo the other in loyalty and generous support, hoping, eventually, to make our schools the "finest in the northwest," and "up-to-date in every respect." but this is a pretty big subject for treatment in an after-dinner talk of from to minutes. it involves so much, embracing within its scope, as it may, everything from finance to theology. the very function of the school, in the large, might well be considered under such a topic, and scores of details. i might well talk upon the education of teachers as i do before my classes, or upon educational psychology--vital subjects all, but scarcely appropriate here. it is, indeed, a large and interesting subject, lots of places to catch hold. manifestly, i can treat it only superficially. all that i can do is merely in the line of suggestion, trying to direct your attention to some of the general features, somewhat objective in character. the first suggestion i have to make is along this very line--the greatness, the many-sidedness of the educational problem and the need of general community intelligence in regard to it. indeed, there are many aspects of the school work, countless number of details touching books, courses of study, immediate and remote ends, as well as the larger philosophical bases, in which the public is deeply interested but imperfectly informed. many a parent is ignorant as to what the schools are trying to do, and why? not comprehending the end in view, unintelligent as to the means being used, and with little time or ability to investigate, friction often arises. the public and its educational system, the homes and the schools, the teachers and the parents, should in some way be brought closer together and an opportunity given for their mutual understanding. there are various ways in which this opportunity is given in different places: thru mothers' meetings, in some; thru home and school societies, in others; thru the establishment of what some call "visiting days," in others, etc. great good is sure to result from a systematic use of any one of them. but we in grand forks are a very busy people; clubs and societies without number claim our attention and secure our membership; public meetings for the discussion of charities, health, morals, foods, etc., saying nothing about church and social demands, are already taking us too often from homes in the evening, so that i hesitate to suggest another such activity even in the interests of so important a matter as the public schools. but believing very firmly as i do that the largest success of our schools can be secured only thru a cordial co-operation of the homes and the schools, and believing also that this co-operation rests upon intelligence as to the aims of the schools and the means that are being used, i am going to suggest a way of meeting the difficulty--namely, the utilization of another educational agency of large influence and philanthropic spirit--i refer to the press. it is not my purpose to present here an extended eulogy of the press. that is not necessary. you all know what a mighty factor it is in shaping public opinion. i merely call attention to the fact that it is an _educational_ institution; that it appeals not, as do the schools, to the children, but to the parents of the children: and then that in grand forks it goes into almost every home in the city. i suggest that this agency be used to bring about a frank, open discussion, and therefore a better understanding, of the function and the work of our public schools--local, state, and national. for our people, in addition to being busy, are both intelligent and enterprising. they know the value of the press. they are great readers. i have been surprised, again and again, at the large circulation enjoyed by both our enterprising dailies. i have also been surprised to know how closely all our people keep in touch with local happenings chronicled there. an educational column in one or both of the local papers in which the work of the schools, from taxation to lead pencils, could be discust, would be an innovation of great value. an open forum, so to speak, it might be, in which questions could be asked and answered, and also contributions made from the larger field of educational effort. of course i do not suggest this as a place for the airing of personal feelings, of petty details, of minor matters, rather, an opportunity for discussing with and for an intelligent and enquiring people great educational questions, fundamental principles, and broad, humanitarian policies. all such matters, because fundamental in the development of civilization and because of universal interest, should and could be handled with frank simplicity. such a discussion, constructive in character, could not fail of doing great good--of being very helpful to teachers and parents alike. another suggestion that i want to make and an improvement that i am going to urge touches very closely the matter of efficiency of systems of education. now, the efficiency of an educational institution or of a system of schools is often mesured by the success of those completing its course of study--of those profiting, to the full, by all that it offers. that is the point of view taken by those people who so greatly praise the work of the old district school of our boyhood days, "back east." they point to this man and that one, men who have achieved eminent success, whose only "schooling," perhaps, was received in the "little red school house" and therefore claim that it was a great institution for the making of men. but therein lurks a fallacy. great men have issued from the "little red school house," it is true, but they became great not because of, but in spite of, the fact that the school house was "little" and was "red." in pointing to such men as these, as products, they forget the great silent multitude of boys and girls who were in the same "little red school house" but who were never heard of after they emerged. the pathetic feature of the old district school was the great number of children who fell by the wayside. and so, to-day, no educational institution should be rated as to efficiency by considering the success merely of those completing its courses. to form a correct estimate we must consider as well all those who entered and dropt out before completion. no system of schools is really efficient in which any considerable percentage of the children drop out before completing the elementary course of study. no system of schools is satisfactorily efficient which is so managed as to require, or even allow, any considerable percentage of the children to repeat grades, that is, to fail of promotion, making it necessary to go over the work the second time. or, to put it in other words, in which any considerable percentage of the children are doing work in grades lower than their ages would suggest. this is the matter of retardation of which we are hearing so much in these days, and in regard to which grand forks, as well as other cities, suffers. in my judgment, there are two main causes of retardation: poor teaching and physical defects of the children. there are two ways by which satisfactory teaching can be secured: in the first place, by securing the best teachers available, and this, i am very sure, our board of education and our superintendent always try to do. in the second place, by improving the quality of work thus secured thru expert supervision on the part of the superintendent and the principals of the various schools. and this i am sure is not done to the extent that it might be were matters differently arranged. if another suggestion that i shall make later on is adopted, however, provision will be made for this improvement. physical defects on the part of the children i named as the second cause of retardation. and the remedy for the major portion of this cause is found in my next suggestion--medical inspection of our school children. estimating the conditions in grand forks on the basis of what has been discovered in many other places in which medical inspection is in operation, from % to % of the children in our schools are suffering from physical defects of some sort that interfere, to a greater or less degree, with the work of the school. there is no doubt in the minds of well-informed people that here is found a very fruitful cause of retardation, as seen both in grade-failure and in early dropping out of school. and very many of these defects are removable and, therefore, the retardation preventable. now, the only seemingly valid reason that i have ever heard urged against the employment of the school physician is that of expense. it does cost something, i'll admit. all good things do. the necessary expense, however, is often overestimated. but let us see if we are not, even in hesitating at the expense, whatever it may be, wholly illogical. the city assumes the duty of educating the young, but if many of the young are not in a condition to receive that education, should we not logically see that the hindrances are removed? we enact compulsory attendance laws; should we not, where necessary, make it possible for the physically defective as well as others, to profit by such attendance? otherwise, are we not wasting money? i have mentioned the expense, but there are two ways of looking at that. i am now going to advocate medical inspection as an economic mesure--as a money saver. every child who repeats a grade is costing the city more than it should for its education. that is clearly apparent. how much that amounts to, in the aggregate, in grand forks, i do not know. but it is probably no small item. i have no doubt that, in the long run, the saving would pay the school physician. and then we should be clearly ahead in all the years saved by the various children, as well as the greater happiness and usefulness directly resulting from the improved situation. on the whole, it seems to me and to many others with whom i have talked that the next step forward that we should ask our board of education to take is the adoption of medical inspection. another phase of the subject to which i desire to call your attention is that of the superintendency. and it isn't exactly like the old maid sister telling the mother of half a dozen lusty boys how to bring them up because, in addition to spending years in the study and teaching of educational matters, i have occupied the superintendent's office and tried to do his work. historically, the superintendent of schools represents a development from the board of education, not from the teaching body. originally, he was looked upon as the business manager of the board, rather than an educator by profession. quite specifically, he was, at first, often one of the regularly elected members of the board, designated by the board to attend to the details of the work, to keep the educational machine properly oiled, his selection seldom being dictated by any particular qualification of a professional character. but in this matter of education as in other matters, great changes have arisen. in those days teaching was not looked upon as a profession. it was merely a calling, a trade, a temporary activity requiring no special preparation. anybody could teach and could teach any subject. education was not recognized as a science. the function of the school was merely to give knowledge and it was not looked upon, as to-day, as a great social institution, largely responsible for the welfare of society and even for the stability of government. and as touching the child, not interesting itself with the formation of right habits of action, with the development of character, in a word, so handling the child and his environment as to bring about both the normal development of his inner life and the adequate shaping and preparing of that life to satisfy the demands that will later be met. not at all. but great changes have arisen. education has become a science, and its activities, its processes, are being based upon definite scientific principles. we are to-day demanding a professional preparation of all our teachers. we require them to know something about the child mind and the laws of its development. we expect them to know why they teach this subject and that, that is, the educational values of the various subjects, and the best manner of administering this educational food. education, i say, is now looked upon as a _science_, closely allied to and continually assisted by its sister science of sociology, definitely based upon and springing out of the sciences of psychology and physiology, and even having its roots deep down in the sub-soil of biology. together with this change of thought as to the function and work of the school, there has been a corresponding change as to the superintendent and his work. while we are not completely emancipated from the old rule of cut and try, from the old mechanical routine, the country as a whole has taken some long strides in advance. while some boards of education still look upon their superintendent as a chore boy, that idea has, on the whole, long since been abandoned. and the best educational thought of the country to-day regards the superintendent primarily as an educator, having to do with the inner, rather than the outer, phases of the school's activities. and our most progressive centers are looking upon him as a specialist, an educational expert, and demanding in him an educational and a professional equipment commensurate with the larger, more difficult, and most important work. he must be intimately acquainted with the sciences most closely related to his own and capable of drawing upon all the others for contributory assistance. and then, in carrying out the thought of this larger view and so shaping matters of detail as to profit by the superb equipment provided in the new superintendent, he has been freed from the routine work formerly done by him, thus giving the opportunity of studying the local problems and planning their solution. now for my definite suggestion. it has taken me a long time to get to it, but i believe it is worth the time. i want you to look upon the superintendency of your schools as the largest, the most difficult, and most important position within the bestowal of the city. the mayor's job doesn't begin to compare with it. and then after you have so rated the position, i want you to free the man who holds it from all hack-work, from the details of business management, from anything and everything that now prevents him from making a careful, scientific, investigative study of fundamental educational problems that confront him right here in grand forks. and what are some of those problems, do you ask? superintendent kelly could doubtless name a score of them that he is waiting to get at but can not for want of time. let me suggest a few that are confronting our superintendents all over the land. nor can i do more than mention them. i name first this matter of retardation of which i have already spoken. why is it that so many children fail of promotion and so have to repeat grades, thus adding to the expense of the schools? it no longer satisfies to say, "because they do not study"--the question is, "why do they not study?" is it the fault of the child, the home, or the school? and, whosoever it is, how can the difficulty be removed? you would not in your business suffer a daily loss thru unnecessary friction--thru the unsatisfactory working of your machinery. you demand the largest and best output possible for the money expended. why not the same in the biggest business enterprise of the city--your schools? but to prevent the friction, you must know the cause. i want the superintendent to have time to investigate these matters. all this applies as well to those who drop out before completing the course as to those merely repeating a grade. an analogous question: why do so few, relatively, of the graduates of the eighth grade enter the high school? and why do so few of those who enter complete the course? again, is it because they can see no real connection between the work of the high school and the work of life--because it doesn't seem to fit them for anything? these things should be investigated and, when reasons are found, the remedy applied. we should know the facts. but all these matters take time, and the days are only so long and a man's strength always limited. exhausted by hack-work, no man can do constructive thinking. and so we go on in our waste of money and energy and life. the waste of soil, the waste of tools, in our farming communities, doesn't compare with this waste in seriousness. let us adopt the principles of scientific conservation. and now, in keeping with the topic given me to discuss, "improvement in our public schools," i have given three quite definite suggestions: in the first place, i have recommended the utilization of the press as an agent of improvement. that is, i have asked that there be established in one or both of your daily papers an educational column in charge of some competent person thru which the public could become better informed on school matters and thus able to co-operate more intelligently in the upbuilding of the schools. in the second place, i have urged that mesures be taken looking toward the adoption of regular and systematic medical inspection of all school children. and lastly, i have urged you to look upon your superintendent of schools as an educational expert rather than a business man. and, regarding him as such, i have asked you to free him from the petty details of office work and all mechanical drudgery so that his training and his abilities could be used for educational betterment. viii local winter sports _a paper read before the franklin club of grand forks, north dakota, december , , and printed in the grand forks "daily herald," december , _ it is no longer necessary to offer an extended plea for a recognition of the value of physical training. the human race, in its upward climbing, long ago passed the stage where the body was looked upon as a hindrance to the soul in its aspirations. we have likewise gone beyond that higher stage in which the attitude toward the physical being was merely negative, and have clearly reached an altitude upon which we recognize a well-defined relationship between the physical man and the mental and spiritual man. we know now that only as each is healthy and thus in a condition to do its own work well, is the other able to act normally. as the great english philosopher, locke, said, "a sound mind in a sound body is a brief but full description of a happy state in this world." this is a well-recognized article of our educational creed, not only, but even the conservative religious workers have accepted the principle, and we find inscribed over the entrances to our christian association buildings the word "body" as well as the word more commonly found in such connection, "spirit." but to go back just a moment: let us consider it from the standpoint of mere physical betterment. we know that a muscle unused means a muscle undeveloped, and that, on the contrary, intelligent, systematic use, with a definite purpose in view, will accomplish wonders in physical development. we know something as to what a physical trainer can do with a bunch of raw foot-ball material. we know how the gymnasium can metamorphose a loose-jointed, lop-sided, stoop-shouldered, shamble-gaited young fellow. we know what the brisk recruiting officer can do with the "awkward squad." in the one case as in the other, the physical training stands him upon his feet; it takes the kinks out of his back; it throws his head up; it unties the knots in his legs; it puts fire into his eye. the good red blood courses thru his veins, and even shows itself in his cheeks. he walks with an elastic step. every organ of his body is doing its duty. he no longer needs liver pills, digestive tablets or wizard oil. i said "mere physical betterment," didn't i? well, you can not have "mere" physical betterment. in every case suggested above, there is something better than physical improvement. without knowing why, or how, the young fellow, after the training suggested, in addition to being a more perfectly functioning animal, a better working flesh-and-blood machine, is several rounds higher up on the ladder of manhood. he looks you in the eye. he gives your hand a regular stearns grip. he dares to say that his soul is his own. and why? because the life-giving oxygen is getting down into the long-neglected corners of his lungs. because his heart is forcing this purified blood thru his veins building up his system and incidentally throwing off the waste and poisonous matter, so that, relieved of the dregs, the bodily organs can really function. and if that is true of the "gizzard" it is likewise true of the brain. he can feel more keenly, think more wisely. but all this can be done by physical exercise alone. some of the best of these results can be obtained by the use of the mere punching bag; by running around the house, if you run often enough and fast enough; all alone with the dumb bells or indian clubs, if you keep at it long enough, or even by walking out to the university on the railroad tracks and saving your street car nickels. but taken thus, these exercises constitute a mere medicine. and people don't take medicine until they have to. and for some strange reason they won't take this kind even then unless some doctor prescribes it in consideration of the payment of a good sized fee. why is it? simply because we prize things in proportion to their cost? now, we want these results and even better ones. and we don't want to pay the doctor's fees for this or any other kind of medicine in order to get them. what are we going to do about it? isn't there some sugar coating that we can put on to these physical exercise pills to make them a little more palatable? can't we in some way make ourselves believe that we are eating candy instead of taking quinine? for you know that we grown-ups have not lost all our powers of imagination. how often we play make believe, even yet! i'll tell you what we can do. let's have this same physical exercise idea but introduce into it the element of sport which webster defines as "that which diverts and makes mirth." let's do these stunts "for the fun of it" instead of as a medicine. we'll get the results, just the same, and thus get double pay for our pains. i fancy that the skiing and the skating, the snow-shoeing and the curling of which we are to hear, all have that element tucked away somewhere in their anatomy. but you may ask me what more there is than the results already mentioned to be gotten from these physical exercises, if we succeed in covering up the quinine with mr. webster's molasses. i've used indian clubs and dumb bells by the hour; i've walked to the university in season and out of season; i've even run around the house--and as a result have experienced the exhilaration that comes from such vigorous discipline. i've been better for it, physically, and therefore, of course, mentally. more oxygen, better blood, firmer bodily tissue including better nourished brain cells, have done their beneficent work. but yet, as i look back and see myself going thru these various maneuvers, i am fully confident of the fact that all this time i was also doing something else--that my poor brain cells, which really needed recuperation more than any other part of my body, that these brain cells were still at work, that i was all the time carrying on a more or less strenuous train of thought as exhaustive as tho i were seated in my study chair, or standing before my class in the recitation room. more than one lecture, or address, have i worked out while walking to and from the university. now, one of the most important things for us to do is occasionally to stop thinking, or at least to stop thinking along our accustomed lines. we should give those few brain cells that are being made to work over-time a chance to rest once in a while. we are living too fast. our lives are too intense. we are running our machines under high pressure, and some of them are already showing the results altho they are almost new. unless there is a change, new ones will have to take their places ere long. the rate of speed of the life of the modern american business and professional man, the rate of speed of the life of the modern american society woman, is something terrific. we are wearing ourselves out before our time. modern life is so complex, so exacting, so wearing, that we are losing all the joy of living. we are at our own firesides so seldom and for such short periods that we scarcely know our own little ones. longfellow's "children's hour" that came "as a pause in the day's occupation," is almost wholly unknown in most american homes. there is no "pause" in the day's occupation. the occupation goes right on till after these "children" are soundly asleep in their beds and begins again before they are awake in the morning. and all this is true even of us, right here in this select circle, the "favored ones," many would call us. but i am not giving a diatribe on american life, so will not pursue the matter farther. all that i am trying to do is simply this: to call attention to the fact that we are living _fast_--faster than our physical and mental make-up can long stand; that we have already reached the danger point. and what are we going to do about it? well, we shall have to do many things before the problems are all solved, the difficulties all met. as a slight relief, and to answer a question raised a little earlier in the paper, i am suggesting the sports--those activities that both rejuvenate the physical man and also "divert and make mirth." into these we can not carry our teaching and our preaching and our making of social calls. the goods of the merchant, the notes of the banker, the briefs of the lawyer, the annoyances of the teacher, and the cares of the housewife, alike, would all have to be left behind. the mind could rest while the body and the spirit are being recreated. an hour a day, in the open air, with fears and anxieties and schemes all cast aside, in companionship with kindred spirits similarly divested of that which troubles and makes afraid, all engaged in recreative sports, would do more to make us physically well, morally strong, and civilly decent than all the pills of the doctors, all the texts of the preachers, and all the keys of the jailers! in keeping with the world-wide movement in this direction our own people, in their civic capacity, have already acted and have thus become the possessor of splendid park facilities which offer ample opportunities, when fully developed, for a sane out-of-door life of a population many times as large as ours at the present time. and as we all know, the park board has entered intelligently and systematically upon this matter of development and improvement. much has already been done. very much more is fully outlined in the minds of the park board. i think it is their purpose--and i fully believe that they will carry it out--to proceed in this matter of development just as rapidly as the people show, by their use of the facilities progressively offered, an appreciation. nearly all the work done thus far, such as clearing away the rubbish, making the shady retreats usable, fitting up picnic grounds, caring for the tennis courts, golf links, and other game reserves, as well as erecting pavilions and other conveniences, has looked toward putting the grounds into condition for summer use. and the response on the part of the people has been gratifying. as rapidly as the parks have been put into shape, they have been generously used by an appreciative people. it has done my heart good, many times, especially on sundays in the hot summer months, to see the numbers of people, and _the people_, who were really using the parks. they have been the people, in a large mesure, who can not easily get elsewhere the best things that the parks give. thus far, as said, the plans for development have looked mainly toward summer use, but i am especially glad to note a recent improvement that shows that the park board has the winter use of the parks also definitely in mind. i refer to the new skating rink in riverside park. it is a most commendable institution. i very much hope that it will be extensively used, not only by the people living in that part of the city, but by those of all sections. it belongs to all of us. here is an opportunity for a most delightful winter sport freely offered. if appreciated, as shown by its use, i have no doubt that it will be duplicated next winter, and on a larger scale, in lincoln park. and if we show that we appreciate this, other features will be added. perhaps i should stop here, but i can not lose the opportunity of saying just a word to connect this topic with the great playground movement, and therefore in behalf of providing facilities for winter and summer sports alike, for our boys and girls--our young people. do you realize fully that the boys and girls of to-day--yours and mine, yes, and just as truly those less favored--those into whose lives there comes but little cheer, into whose stomachs there goes but little nourishing food, and into whose lungs, but little oxygen--do you realize, i ask, that these boys and girls are to be the men and women of to-morrow, with all the responsibilities of the world resting upon their shoulders? do we want them to enter upon the duties of life stoop-shouldered, flat-chested, spectacle-eyed? do we want them to be anæmic, pessimistic, nervous wrecks? do we want them to be mental weaklings and moral cowards? do we want them even to approximate these conditions? no? then, with all our provisions for their wants and their needs, let us be sure to develop those things which minister so largely to the development of the opposite characteristics. prevention is not only cheaper than cure, it is also better. let us see that our parks are developed with provisions for our boys and girls as well as for the adults. let us see that playgrounds are scattered over our city and provision made for both winter and summer sports. in addition to the riverside park skating rink, i wish the city council or the board of education would establish one on the grounds of the winship school, another at the central building, and still a third on the belmont grounds. this could be done at nominal cost. what a splendid opportunity it would give to all the children of the city to engage in this most healthful and invigorating sport! it would give them their needed entertainment and relaxation in the pure, invigorating, out-of-door air. it would surround them with an emotional atmosphere that is at once normal, natural, and spiritually health-giving. instead of these conditions, what do we find? many of our young boys and girls and very many of those a little older--those just entering upon manhood and womanhood, when both emotional and physical atmosphere count for so much in the forming of habits and the choosing of ideals--many of these future men and women are finding their entertainment and their relaxation (and mind you, at the close of a day in school or in the evening after a day spent in the poorly ventilated office or store) in the moving-picture show or at the vaudeville. and in these places the air is apt to be both hot and impure, and all the physical conditions enervating. the emotional atmosphere, too, is sure to be abnormal, unnatural, and spiritually deadening. we find here, and in too large quantity to be a negligible factor, the atmosphere, the conditions, the associations, that help greatly to breed incorrigibles, truants, and laggards in our schools; that develop juvenile delinquents, hasty marriages, and early divorces; that send into the world paupers, grafters, and criminals. not all the conditions are such in all such places, it is true, but as affecting young life these are usually the dominating ones. i am not condemning the theater. it has its legitimate place, and a large place it is, in normal, healthy, american life. i am merely declaiming against these lower forms as usually conducted for commercial gain--these perversions of the true theater idea--these institutions that deal so largely in the sensational elements and appeal so strongly to the passions. i am told that the cheap theater is the poor man's club. i very much doubt if that is its chief function or, rather, that its chief result is a wholesome quickening of the better nature of this poor man--that its chief accomplishment is to send him back to his home kinder, truer, and stronger, thru either the relaxation or the instruction, to grapple with the difficulties of life. i greatly fear that, as usually conducted, its influence upon the adult is at best but the temporary slaking of an unhealthy and never-satisfied thirst, and that upon the child and the adolescent it is a distinct blunting of all the finer sensibilities and elements of character. but even these lower forms are not all bad. there is enough of good in them to warrant an attempt at improvement rather than elimination. they can be improved, made clean, and wholesome, and thus become a positive factor in the development of right character. i doubt if it will be done, however, until some other motive than personal gain shall be responsible for their management. still, as they are, they might be very greatly bettered if in some way those most deeply interested in the outcome could have a choice in the selection of the material to be used. one of the best ways to counteract the harmful influence of the poorly conducted moving picture show and the vaudeville is to develop something better to take their places. let it be something that contains the life-giving principles, something that will appeal with equal force to the impressionable youth, and yet be clean and wholesome and natural. shall we not look upon the public playground for the children, and the park system, for all, as a promising hope? and, properly developed, would they not soon come to act on the young, both physically and psychically, as a prevention, thus making a later cure unnecessary? and upon adults, might we not reasonably expect their use to tend toward making less attractive, and so to the eventual abandonment of, many of these practises and forms of entertainment and recreation that are now so sapping of both physical and psychical life? ix the function of teachers college _an address delivered before the north dakota state teachers association on december , . it later appeared in the january and february, , issues of "education"_ among the various educational institutions of the united states to-day, the one which, as it seems to me, is attracting the most intelligent attention on the part of our educational thinkers, and the one upon the right solution of whose problems depends, in a high degree, the success of our entire educational system, is the institution for the education of teachers. for we all have come, finally, to accept as true the statement of the old german writer, "school reform means schoolmaster reform," also that other, used so effectively in the days of our own early educational revival, "as is the teacher so is the school." and we are ready to-day to admit that those statements are true whether applied to the ungraded rural school with its noticeable lack of needed equipment, to the perfectly graded school of the city with every facility that human ingenuity can devise and money procure, or to the college and university where scholarship and culture are supposed to make their abode and contribute of their fullness. for i care not, and you care not, what be the physical and material equipment of the school; i care not, nor do you, what be the scholastic attainments of the one called teacher; if he isn't able to teach, that is, to cause to learn, we all know that the school, in just the mesure of his inability, is a failure. one thing further we all know, and that is this: one plank in our great educational platform is belief in the necessity of an institution set apart for the preparation of teachers. we are irrevocably committed to the idea. it is a part of our educational creed. fortunately, in our educational evolution we have left far behind us the stage when the wisdom of that institution was seriously questioned. our pedagogical forefathers, valiant explorers, discoverers, heroes, educational statesmen--carter, mann, page, sheldon and others--have left us this priceless heritage. it remains for us to-day merely to analyze the institution, agree upon the respective functions of its various types, and then apply ourselves with intelligent vigor each to the solution of his own problems. as we look around us, we clearly distinguish three distinct types of the institution under discussion. the oldest, best known, and most numerous is called the state normal school. it dates from the time of horace mann and edmund dwight, the former of whom recognized the need and knew how to inaugurate the movement, the latter, having unbounded faith in mr. mann, provided the funds. nearly every state in the union has now one or more intelligently at work. all that have not, have practically the same thing under another name--normal departments in connection with the state universities. the next type, in order of time and numbers, as well, is found in connection with the higher educational institutions of the country. it has various names, as "department of education," "school of education," "division of education," "pedagogical department," "school of pedagogy" and "teachers college." probably the name most common in the past has been "department of education," or "pedagogical department," tho in the developed form it is changing to "school of education" or "teachers college." of these, there are at work, according to the report of the commissioner of education, . that is, there are colleges and universities maintaining at least a department, or chair, of education, and giving professional instruction of college grade. the third type, latest in appearance and as yet fewest in number, but with fair promise of rapid increase and great usefulness, is the county school, called "county normal training class" in michigan and "county training school" in wisconsin, in which two states the movement is at its best. indeed, i do not know of any other state in which the work has been thus definitely organized. of these, michigan had, a year ago, forty-one, and wisconsin, twenty. possibly in this connection one ought to mention the good work being done in high schools in several states, but seen at its best in nebraska and new york. yet this work is but an adjunct to the high school, and does not so clearly approach a separate institution. of these three types it is the second which is the subject of the present discussion--whose function i seek. it is really immaterial whether we use, in the discussion, the appellation of minnesota and say "college of education," or that of harvard and call it "division of education," or that of columbia, missouri, and north dakota, and say "teachers college." for they are all one and the same institution with but slightly different systems of organization. i use the latter term because more familiar and more likely, i think, as time passes, to prevail. but these three types are so closely connected that the function of one cannot be clearly seen alone. therefore i propose very briefly to examine the establishment of each so as to learn why it was called into existence--what function it was originally expected to perform. i shall then briefly examine present conditions, trying to discover if any changes have taken place in the general educational situation of sufficient moment to make necessary a rearrangement or readjustment. finally, i shall draw my conclusions as to present functions, and with a more careful analysis of certain factors state the reasons for those conclusions as briefly as possible. first, as to state normal schools: it is, of course, entirely unnecessary to go into details as to organization or early work of this institution in our country. i am stating what is known to all when i say that horace mann in massachusetts, henry barnard in connecticut, david page in new york, and william phelps in new jersey had one and only one thought in view in working for the establishment of normal schools and for the development of their work. they, one and all, were seeking some means for providing better teachers for the common schools. no one, so far as i am able to discover, at this time even suggested that any other teachers needed a special preparation for their work. to be sure, the american high school was hardly under way when the normal school movement was inaugurated, in , there being then but half a dozen in the entire country. ten years later there were but eighteen. there was, however, in those days a large number of academies giving secondary instruction. but there was no thought of looking to the normal schools for academy teachers, they came from the colleges. indeed, generally speaking, the academies and high schools as then being developed, were offering a higher grade of academic work than the normal schools, and they were rather assisting the latter in the production of teachers. this was especially true in new york, a movement having there been inaugurated by which, thru financial aid from the state, many of the academies were offering normal school instruction and sending out into the rural schools and city grades a very creditable product. and the character of the movement in the east has continued to be the character of the movement as it has swept westward. i think there has not been established in the united states a single state normal school whose function has not been understood to be the preparation of teachers for the common schools. and by "common schools" i mean the first eight grades of the public school, including both rural and urban communities, for it has been only in recent years that we have carefully discriminated between the two. next, let us look at the teachers college. bear in mind that i use the term as referring to the institution, or department, under whatever name it may be known, that is doing professional work in the preparation of teachers in connection with colleges and universities. in taking up the topic, attention needs first to be called to two facts: the rapid development of our high school system and the high degree of success already attained by our normal schools. after the close of the civil war our high schools began to multiply--rapidly from to , by leaps and bounds from that time to the present. in there were ; , ; , , ; , , ; and in , , . (annual reports of the commissioner of education.) but no sooner had the high school movement obtained good headway than the serious problem arose as to the supply of teachers. and so well, on the whole, had the normal school done its work that it had more than justified its existence. thru its work the character of the teaching in the elementary schools had been greatly improved. teachers, with normal school equipment, were everywhere recognized as superior to those otherwise trained or not trained at all. very naturally, then, when the problem of high school teachers arose, professional preparation was demanded. but where could it be obtained and how? the state normal schools, true to their function of preparing teachers, tried to satisfy the additional demands placed upon them. they added to their equipment, modified and extended their courses, and in every way did all they could. indeed, they did all that was done in a professional way for nearly a generation. but the high schools were increasing, both in numbers and in academic requirements of students and teachers. city school systems were being developed and extended in a most unprecedented manner, calling for skilled superintendents, supervisors, grade principals, special teachers, etc., until, finally, thoughtful men began to see that the impossible was being asked of the state normal schools. for two reasons, it was seen, they could not do the double work; in the first place, they had more than they could do in their original sphere of providing teachers for the elementary schools, and secondly, their academic possibilities, even increased as they had been in attempting the work, were clearly seen to be wholly inadequate. it was discovered, also, that, in spite of the efforts being put forth by the normal schools, the higher teaching positions--superintendencies, high school principalships, etc.--were going to men of collegiate attainment, even at the sacrifice of professional training which was then being recognized as very desirable. what was to be done? to make a long story short, the universities and colleges, with their more extended courses, better equipment, and stronger faculties, took the matter up and added educational departments in which could be given, with but slight additional outlay, both the academic and professional equipment thought to be needed by the high school teacher. this work was first clearly suggested and outlined at the annual meeting of the michigan state teachers' association in . dr. w. h. payne, then city superintendent of schools at adrian, michigan, read a notable address upon the subject, "the relation between the university and our high schools." eight years later, the regents of michigan university established a chair of "theory and art of teaching," and to it called the man who had, by the address just mentioned, offered a practical as well as a logical solution of the difficult problem. the example thus set by michigan university was soon followed by others--cornell, ohio, illinois, harvard, chicago and others, until now this new department is found in nearly every prominent college and university in the land. these are our teachers colleges or, rather, the sources from which they are springing. for, to be sure, not every pedagogical department found in a higher institution of learning, tho doing in a general way the same grade of work, should be called a teachers college. tho having its roots in these, the teachers college proper differs from the most of them in several ways. the pedagogical department of a college, and too, a thoroly reputable college, may be, and usually is, merely one of the many departments of the institution, represented on its faculty by a single professor and offering but a limited range of professional work--a few courses in the history of education, principles of education, and "pedagogy," usually. a teachers college, on the other hand, has an organization and, sometimes, a financial status of its own. its relationship to the institution as a whole is getting to be the same as that of the other professional schools. the movement is toward a separate faculty, headed by a dean, and representing all the different phases of both academic and professional work. while many of the members of the faculty do, and may continue to, give courses in the other colleges, they have a distinct, organic connection with the teachers college. the teachers college is also getting to have, as a vital part of its equipment, a model high school bearing to it the same relationship that the model, or practise, school bears to our normal schools. while this fulness of organization and equipment has not yet been reached by a large number, it has by several, among which are columbia, missouri, chicago, and, approximately, north dakota, with many others moving rapidly in the same direction. just a few words, now, as to the third type mentioned, the county normal school: as already suggested, the line of demarcation was not early drawn between the urban and the rural school. but cities grew; city school systems were developed; the normal schools, in spite of rapid increase, were not able to keep up with the rapidly increasing demands. and, since the field for normal school graduates has ever been an open one, they have located where the remuneration has been the most generous. now, cities and villages are, generally speaking, the centers of intelligence as well as of population and wealth. the people of these communities have appreciated the superiority of professionally prepared teachers, and they have been able to pay the added price. the result has been that they have appropriated practically the entire output of the normal schools. none have been left for the rural schools. and again, with these economic changes there came to be more and more clearly seen, as the years went by, a difference, internal and somewhat vital, between the schools of the rural and the urban communities, making in some ways a different sort of preparation desirable. now, the state normal school, growing with the movement, and ever keenly alive to its opportunities for usefulness, noting clearly the location of its product, very wisely began to modify its work so as to make it better suited to the needs of its main customers--the well-graded schools of the city and village. and so it has resulted that, even if the normal schools could supply the demands for both country and city teachers, so far as numbers are concerned, the preparation given is not the most ideal for the former. and just as when professionally trained secondary teachers were needed a new institution was created for their preparation, in very recent years an institution has appeared to satisfy this new need, one whose function is as clearly announced, and one which seems to fit into the situation as well, and we have the county normal school of michigan and wisconsin, as mentioned above. whether we shall see a rapid extension of this new movement, making the county normal school as fixt an institution as the state normal school has become, and as the teachers college bids fair to become, or whether, thru consolidation, the distinctive type of our rural school shall disappear and our state normal schools be increased in number to meet the larger demands, only the future can tell. this latter, however, will not be in our generation, and i confidently look for the former. i believe the general adoption and adaptation of the county normal school idea would be one of the most economical and speedy means of solving some of our most serious rural school problems. and i also believe that it should be our next step, if we can take but one step at a time, toward professional education of teachers. if i have analyzed aright the present situation, and have been fair in my all too brief account of the rise and development of these institutions, we see that we have in our midst to-day, as a result of the development of our educational system, and to keep pace with it, the development of the idea so long ago adopted--the value of the professional preparation of the teacher--three quite distinct types of an institution for such purpose. enumerating now in order of grade of work rather than of historical development, we have ( ) the county normal school, whose function is solely the preparation of teachers for the rural schools--sixty-one of them found only in michigan and wisconsin, sending into the rural schools of those states about fairly well equipt teachers each year; ( ) the old state normal school of historic fame, whose function is the preparation of teachers for the elementary grades of our city and village schools-- there were two years ago--and they sent out into the schools approximately , teachers, mostly graduates; ( ) the teachers college, found always in connection with a college of high rank or of a full-fledged university, offering work, both academic and professional, of full university grade and covering the full university period of four years. the number cannot be stated definitely, because the process that is transforming the old pedagogical departments into teachers colleges is at such varying stages of development. its function is best stated in the words of the institution in which it was founded (calendar of the university of michigan for - , p. ):-- " . to fit university students for the higher positions in the public school service. " . to promote the study of educational science. " . to teach the history of education and of educational systems and doctrines. " . to secure to teaching the rights, prerogatives and advantages of a profession. " . to give a more perfect unity to our state educational system, by bringing the secondary schools into closer relations with the university." "higher position in the public school service" meant, in the main, in the early days, city superintendencies and high school principalships. to these, others have been added, one by one, owing very largely to the great success of the movement and the growing appreciation of the value of professional preparation for occupants of such positions, until now they include city superintendencies, high school and grade principalships, subject supervisorships, high school, normal school, and college instructorships. already the leading teachers colleges, the ones at columbia, missouri, and chicago universities, are being definitely looked to for these later added and more responsible workmen. thus far i have but stated historical facts known to all who are reasonably well informed touching the history of education and current educational practise in our country. i have done this all too briefly, i am well aware. but the reason that i could do it briefly is the fact that the readers of this journal are well informed upon the historical phases of the subject. all that i needed to do was to cull out and bring to the fore the pertinent facts. but the question now arises, is this differentiation logical? are there any reasons, psychological, economic, or otherwise, for such differentiation? if there are, it is going to continue, and these types of the institution which now seem to have been given each such a definite and separate work to do are going to be relatively permanent. if not, we shall continue to cut and try, undoing to-morrow what was done to-day, and chaos will result. this institution, with its various types, is not one that has evolved from a careful theoretical study of our present or prospective educational needs, but one that has grown up, little by little, step by step, to meet and satisfy from time to time the present and pressing needs of the larger system of which it forms a part, and for the service of which it was called into existence. but is it not true that oftentimes the logic of events--the movements of history--reveal to us our fundamental principles, outline for us our policy of action, and even write out for us our program of procedure as correctly and even more irrevocably than philosophical formulation could do? is not that especially likely to occur under such a form of government as ours? i think it has occurred in the present case. it is interesting to note in this connection the fact that the logic of events has led us, in our efforts to solve the difficult problem of the education of our teachers, to practically the same solution as that already reached by france and germany, which countries proceeded more nearly along the pathway of theoretical philosophical formulation. i believe that at least two of these institutions, the state normal school and the teachers college, have come to stay, and with practically the functions outlined above. of the county normal school, as said before, i do not feel quite so sure. i am led to the belief in the relative permanency of these types of professional school, not only by a knowledge of the history of their development, but also by the conviction, formed by a somewhat careful study of the entire problem, that there are fundamental reasons, psychological as well as economical, for the differentiation. in other words, my own somewhat careful study of the entire situation brings me to the same position that the logic of events has brought us all. as to the county normal school: it is so apparent as scarcely to need mention that the teacher of the rural school needs a preparation differing in many ways from that needed by the teacher of the city grades. the environment, physical, psychical, and social, is so different that a teacher equipt to do thoroly good work in either one place might signally fail in the other. and the present economic situation speaks with nearly the same insistence. even if our state normal schools were sending out teachers ideally equipt for service in the rural communities, the remuneration there offered is, and for an indefinite time will remain, so low as practically to keep them out of the schools. either we must have special institutions for the preparation of the teachers of the rural schools, or else those schools must, in the main, continue to do without professionally prepared teachers. turning now to the other type, it is equally clear to me that the very character of the work in the elementary and secondary schools should be different one from the other, different as to discipline, ends in view, subjects of study, and methods of handling the same. in the elementary school the pupil is a child, with the mind, the tastes, the ambitions of a child, and he should be allowed to remain a child. the ends in view are right habits, right ideals, and knowledge facts. in the secondary school the student is an adolescent, with the mind of an adolescent, having peculiar and erratic tastes, changing ambitions, and conflicting emotions. he is neither child nor adult, but passing thru the most dangerous and critical period of his entire life. the ends in view are no longer merely habits, ideals, and knowledge facts, but, added to these, and now more important for emphasis because presumably right principles have already been established, breadth and fixity of character, self-acquaintance, scholarship, and culture. tell me that the atmosphere, psychical and spiritual, and the training, academic and professional, that will produce the ideal teacher of the child will also produce the ideal teacher of the adolescent? nay, verily! you might as well tell the florist that the american beauty rose and the snow flower of the northern forest will both reach perfection if grown side by side. then surely we need different kinds of institutions. i cannot better conclude this thought than by using the words of dr. wm. t. harris found in the introductory paragraph of an article on "the future of the normal school." (ed. rev., january, , p. .) dr. harris says: "i have tried to set down in this paper the grounds for commending the normal school as it exists for its chosen work of preparing teachers for the elementary schools, and at the same time urging the need of training schools with different methods of preparation for the kindergarten, below, and for the secondary school, the college and the post-graduate school, above the elementary school." the reason just given, the psychological one, is alone sufficient for believing that the differentiation is logical. but let me add another, almost equally effective--an academic reason, directly academic and at the same time indirectly economic. this is found in the following words, taken from dr. payne's "contributions to the science of education." (am. book co., , p. .) "if there is any well-established principle of school economy it is this: the scholarship of the teacher should be considerably broader than the scholarship of his most advanced pupil." nobody now questions the statement. upon the basis of that principle there is little criticism to be offered of the academic equipment of our normal school graduates as teachers in the grades. no normal school now completes its work with less than one full year beyond the completion of a four-year high school course, and two years beyond is rapidly getting to be the standard. so that normal school graduation gives the prospective teacher of the grades at least four years of academic, and from one to two years of professional and academic work beyond the point to be reached by "his most advanced pupil." to be sure, more would be better--a longer experience and a closer acquaintance with the great character forming subjects, such as literature, history, philosophy, etc. this would give breadth of view, clearness of perception, and a right perspective--elements of incomparable value in the equipment of the teacher. but yet, in view of our economic conditions and of a general lack of understanding and therefore of appreciation in the lay mind of the most vital and fundamental work of the teacher, we cannot yet hope for teachers ideally equipt. and our present standards, if insisted upon and the work thus far be thoro and clear and faithful, will give us increasingly better results and eventually lead to conditions more nearly ideal. but this judgment as to criticism must be very different when we look upon these graduates as possible teachers in the high school. the scholarship of such a teacher there would be but little, if any, "broader than the scholarship of his most advanced pupil." while there is to-day no uniform legislation touching the requirements as to qualifications of high school teachers in the united states, each state, and even each school, being largely a law unto itself, there is getting to be a very decided uniformity the country over as to practise, and in many ways this is much more significant than formal legislation would be. for without compulsion, the whole people, each section and each state, independent of all others, seemingly by the very necessity of the case, have fixt upon the same minimum standard of qualification for high school teachers. and that minimum is the completion of a full four-year collegiate course of instruction, including--indeed, in many cases, plus--a certain emphasis to be placed upon the subjects to be handled, and a certain amount of time devoted to strictly professional subjects. to be sure, in some states legislation has spoken, as in minnesota, requiring completion of collegiate work, and practically so in north dakota, requiring completion of such work for superintendencies and high school principalships, and strongly recommending the same for all teaching positions in the high school. in california a step farther has been taken in requiring, in addition to that, a full year of graduate study. the tendency, in several states, seems to be in the direction of the position taken by california. and with that tendency i am in sympathy. this movement upward, however, i do not want to see go any farther. i deprecate the tendency, seen in some quarters, of setting up as the symbol of the standard of qualification for the high school teacher, the doctor's degree. i do not want the boys and girls of our high schools taught, or rather directed in their upward development, by mere specialists--doctors of philosophy, who know everything about nothing, and nothing about everything. nor do i want them directed by men and women who are obliged to "cipher on page twenty while the class is working on page nineteen." but i do want them directed by men and women who are thoroly acquainted with the subjects which they teach, and who know how to handle the same; but especially by men and women of broad, liberal culture, men and women whose lives have been enriched by the best there is in literature, history, art, science, and philosophy, and who know life, and are in warm sympathy with young life. teachers thus equipt are able, from their high vantage point, to reach out here and there and take as educative material that which will contribute to the beautiful and strong development of each case at hand. and such an equipment, on its academic side, comes not short of the master's degree, or its equivalent. my authority for the statement made above as to the growing uniformity of practise in requiring as minimum qualification for high school teachers a full collegiate course, and as to the tendency in several states toward requiring, in addition, a full year of graduate study, is found in an extended correspondence with normal school principals and city and state superintendents representing the entire country. these facts as to present-day requirements seem to me to fix somewhat definitely the matters under discussion. our normal schools, with possibly two or three exceptions, are not equipt to give the extended qualification now demanded for the high school teacher. barring the two or three, the best of them do not pretend to carry the student more than two years beyond high school graduation. and whether it be one or two years, the work is, as it ought to be, mainly professional--not academic. indeed, the presidents of many of our strongest normal schools insist that they do not do any strictly academic work. and if the lack is so great touching high school teachers, how much greater touching positions still higher. to be sure, the work of the normal schools might be sufficiently extended to enable them to do this additional and advanced work. new buildings might be erected, laboratory facilities increased, libraries enlarged, additional and stronger teachers provided, etc. but is it necessary? is it wise? is it likely to happen with our legislators holding the purse strings so tightly tied? to all such questions the answer must inevitably be negative. it is not necessary because not really needed for the preparation of elementary teachers, while for the preparation of secondary teachers other agencies are at hand. and if not needed the unwisdom of such an extension can scarcely be questioned. certainly not, if, as urged above, different kinds of institutions are needed for the preparation of the two grades of teachers. then, if both not needed and unwise, it is not likely to happen in any case where legislators are intelligently informed as to the situation. to indicate the feeling among many of our leading educators touching this point, it might be interesting, in closing, to give a brief summary of the correspondence mentioned above. this inquiry, was directed to all our state superintendents, to forty of the leading normal school principals representing all sections of the country, and to fifty-two leading and representative city superintendents. the following questions were asked:-- ( ) are your normal schools at the present time equipt to give adequate preparation to prospective high school teachers? ( ) if you think they are not, would it be wise to add to their present equipment such facilities as would enable them to give such preparation, or can that work be better done in some other way? replies from state superintendents to question ( ). thirty-eight replies were received, of which twenty-nine were negative and nine affirmative. of the nine, however, only one came from a state in which normal school facilities are at all superior to what may be termed a fair average, and in that state these facilities are found in only one of the five normal schools, whereas, in five of the nine, these facilities are inferior to what may be termed a fair average. in two of the nine, tho the state superintendents gave affirmative answers, the consensus of opinion of the normal school principals was negative. in a word, the nine affirmative replies indicate individual opinions, and result from a limited perspective. to question ( ). twenty-nine replies were received, of which fifteen were specifically negative, five specifically affirmative, and nine implied a misunderstanding of the question. but nearly all of the nine, as well as the fifteen, stated definitely or clearly implied that such work should be done in the colleges and universities. replies from normal school principals to question ( ). twenty-eight replies were received, of which twenty were negative, and eight affirmative. of the eight, three were from states having but one normal school each, and perhaps, therefore, admittedly strong; two from states having each one school much superior to the others of the same state, and referring specifically to that school. of the remaining three, one was from a new state in the northwest, one from a southern state, and one stated that only in some branches was the equipment sufficient. to question ( ). twenty replies were received, of which sixteen were negative, and four affirmative. of the four, not one said that all should be so equipt. each suggested that perhaps it would be well thus to extend the equipment of one school in a state. replies from city superintendents to question ( ). thirty replies were received, of which twenty-eight were negative, and two affirmative. the two were from a state in which is to be found a single normal school, and that, one of the best. to question ( ). twenty-eight replies were received, of which twenty-six were negative, and two affirmative. to be sure, correspondence upon this point was not sufficiently extended to be conclusive, but yet my correspondents were, in the main, leaders in their respective lines, and therefore represent the best educational thought and practise of the times. the summary speaks clearly and to the point, and to the same point, note, that the logic of events has already brought us. the work of the normal school should continue to be, as it has been from the beginning, devoted to preparation of teachers for the grades, while prospective teachers in the high schools should seek their preparation in the teachers colleges, under whatever specific names known, where the professional phases of the work will be as much emphasized, but be different, and be differently handled as befitting the different character of the work to be done, and where they can receive the broader academic outlook and equipment absolutely essential to an adequate handling of the larger and more difficult situation. note.--since the appearance of the january number of _education_, my attention has been called to the fact that in naming institutions giving early attention to the preparation of secondary teachers i omitted some that should have found a place in such an enumeration. it is true that several others might well have been mentioned. on page , line (page , line of this work), i might well have added the school of pedagogy of new york university, also clark, stanford, california, and teachers college, columbia, and again, "and others." and on page , line (page , line of this work), i certainly should have added the school of pedagogy of new york university and clark university, possibly others, for the work is progressing rapidly. but it was the movement i had in mind rather than the specific contributions of various institutions. the omissions were not born of any desire to withhold from any institution the credit that it deserves. since this matter is again open, let me add an interesting fact in regard to the new york university school of pedagogy, just mentioned. if i mistake not, we have here the first real "teachers college," that is, the first instance in which we see a "department of education," having merely equal standing with other departments in a university, become, thru definite action of that university's governing body, "a professional school of equal rank with the other professional schools of the university." this change was made on march , . judging by results, it has been amply justified. the institution is doing a large and splendid work.--the author. x credit for quality in secondary and higher education _from the "educational review," march, , and the "western journal of education" (now the "american schoolmaster"), may, _ in the _educational review_ for may, , mr. w. b. secor had an article under the caption, "credit for quality in the secondary school." mr. secor says, in his opening paragraph, "the present system of giving credit towards graduation in use in the secondary school, takes account mainly of the amount of work done.... the student who barely passes his work gets just the same amount of credit towards graduation as the one who passes high in the nineties. it is to be expected, then, that the student ... will reason something like this: i will be graduated if i pass my work in the seventies just the same as if i pass it in the nineties. what is the use of wasting time and effort in securing a high average?" he then suggests a system of marking which "would not only fix a minimum of quality, but would also recognize different degrees of quality by giving more credit toward graduation for high quality than for low," which system, he thinks, would also tend to "a strengthening of the intellectual life of the secondary school." mr. secor does not claim to be the originator of the idea, giving to president hyde of bowdoin that doubtful honor. he also refers to two articles in the _educational review_, one in the issue of april, , written by professor thomas, of columbia university, speaking of the system as just introduced into that institution, and the other in the issue of december, , by professor kennedy, describing the system as then in use in the university of north dakota. after these references have been cited, the system is discust from various points of view and its extension into the secondary field favored, tho, in his closing paragraph, mr. secor says, "now the plan here proposed does not claim perfection. it may not even be a workable scheme when put to the test." mr. secor's article is but one of many evidences that the experiment now being tried in a few of our higher institutions of learning, of attempting to estimate and adequately reward quality as well as quantity of work done by students, is attracting considerable attention. it is not at all strange that these experiments are attracting attention, for the idea is taking and its justice seemingly so apparent. because of this interest i desire to examine some parts of mr. secor's article and in the process of that examination briefly discuss the so-called "credit-for-quality" idea. i shall be materially aided in such discussion by my experience with the practical workings of the system in the university of north dakota, and shall take the opportunity of letting the educational world know how the system is working and how it is being regarded in the institution in which it has been receiving its most extensive and thoro trial. for while the system did not originate here, it was here first put into operation, and for years an earnest, honest, heroic effort has been put forth in its behalf. i might say, parenthetically, that the details of the system mr. secor suggests are almost identically the ones that have been in use in this institution. they were found to be faulty, however, and have been materially changed. i have read and re-read mr. secor's article with both interest and apprehension; with interest, because the "credit-for-quality" idea has been engaging my thoughtful attention on both its practical and its theoretical sides for a considerable time; with apprehension, since the article seems to recommend the system for use in our secondary schools. i am sorry the recommendation has been made for the conclusions i have reached from my double study are very different from those being held by mr. secor. i seriously question the wisdom of extending the system at all, even when dealing with students of college rank, much more seriously, then, when applied to those of the secondary school who are four years younger, much less mature, and therefore less able to profit by the meritorious features and at the same time withstand the weakening influences attendant upon the system. indeed, i think its adoption in the secondary schools would be nothing short of a calamity. another reason why i feel impelled to speak is that reference is made in mr. secor's article to the working of the system in the institution with which i am connected as "highly satisfactory." in justice to the system itself and certainly in view of its suggested extension, that impression should not be allowed to go forth without modification or correction. i shall attempt, therefore, in this discussion, to do three things, tho i shall not try to separate the three spatially: ( ) to discuss this marking system on its merits; ( ) to report to the educational world our findings after an experience with it of five years, and ( ) to urge against its extension into the secondary field. let me say, at the outset, that i have been connected with the university of north dakota for three years--the last three of the five during which the system has been in use. i have had all the time from one hundred to one hundred twenty-five students. the grading has had to be done three times a year, since our school year, up to the present time, has been separated into three terms. let me also make plain the fact that in all i say i speak upon my own responsibility, not for the institution nor for its faculty, tho it is true that nearly, if not quite, half the faculty hold practically the same views regarding the system. it is true, as mr. secor says, that "the present system of giving credit towards graduation used in our secondary schools takes account mainly of the amount of work done." it passes upon quality, as he says, only "when it fixes a passing mark." it may also be true, as he takes for granted, that it would be desirable to give credit towards graduation for quality as well as for quantity, but of this i am very much in doubt, especially in dealing with secondary students. it does not sufficiently take into consideration the value of content, and that, it seems to me, is a factor that should not be disregarded. i think i value as highly as most men the discipline, or mental power, gained by close application; likewise, the habit of thoroness gained thru doing work well; but yet, in addition to those acquisitions, i confess that i also place high value upon knowledge as a possession. in other words, i want the student, both high school and college, to know something. i will gladly admit, however, that it is very desirable to secure from the student quality as well as quantity. that, i am inclined to think, is the main thing that mr. secor is really after. he thinks the best way, or, at any rate, a very good way, to get it is thru the device of giving extra credit toward graduation for the higher grades of work. my experience with the system does not lead me to that conclusion. interest in the subject matter itself is always essential to the doing of a high quality of work. and such interest in the subject matter of school studies is scarcely secured by anything so artificial as rewards smacking of the market. so far as it can not be secured directly, and resort must be made to artificial incentives to secure it, i think that incentives can be found much more in keeping with the general spirit and purpose of education than the constant appeal to the commercial value of the grades being obtained. the ordinary monthly report card sent to the home, on which the quality of work being done in the various subjects is indicated by "excellent," "good," "poor," etc., and even by the too common "per cent," is artificial stimulus enough. every teacher knows what an incentive the report card can be made. to be sure, teachers differ greatly in their ability to use this card skilfully, but so used it can exert great power. not long ago i discust this "credit-for-quality" matter with a class of about thirty university students, mostly freshmen, and, somewhat to my surprise, i discovered that with the majority of them the chief reason for desiring the "a" and "b" (our marks for extra credit toward graduation) was not that they bore the extra credit, but that the descriptive terms "excellent" and "good" secure extra appreciation from the home when term standings are reported. this might not be true of any large percentage of university students, certainly would not be of the upper classes. added years have made them shrewder. under the influence of our system they have become keener to appreciate a "bargain." but it certainly would be true of a very large percentage of secondary students. considerable experience in the secondary schools leads me to doubt very much that the typical high school student reasons as mr. secor suggests in his first paragraph. some do, of course, and so do some university students, but not the great body of either. barring a small percentage, students as they run, in both high school and college, are an earnest lot of young people. they are in these institutions for a purpose. they are seeking, so far as their vision extends, well-developed manhood and womanhood. their chief desire is not to slide thru. the two immediate ends normally in view are consciousness of progressive growth and appreciation from parent and teacher. how eager the majority are for this appreciation is well known to all. all the stimulus needed, in addition to what the subjects and the student's own desire furnish, the resourceful teacher has at hand wrapt up in his own personality. if any other stimulus is needed it can be given by a grading of diplomas as is now being done in many high schools and colleges. i hold that to add to the marks now in common use what may be called a monetary fringe is both unnecessary and really subversive of the true ends of the school work. as teachers we should seek to elevate ideals, not to lower them; to furnish right motives, not wrong ones; to place before the developing youth high incentives, not low ones. mr. secor says, "the proposed plan is superior to the present system in that it gives a natural and not an artificial incentive to high scholarship." by what process of reasoning he reaches the conclusion that mere "marks and honors" are more "unnatural" and "artificial" than the same marks and honors with a commercial tag appended, i fail to see. the truth of the matter is, both are artificial. as incentives, both are low, but it stands to reason that the latter is much lower than the former. the best friends of the system here, in the university of north dakota, admit that, as an incentive, it is both artificial and low. mr. secor goes on to say, "the system" (that is, the "credit-for-quality") "puts a premium on thorough-going scholarship by enabling the student to come up for graduation without being forced to study so many subjects that he is not able to do any of them well." if our secondary school courses are so arranged as to force the student "to study so many subjects that he is not able to do any of them well," then something is radically wrong with the courses of study. but no evil can be remedied by introducing a greater. as a matter of fact, the application of the system does not lead to "thorough-going scholarship," at least not in the university of north dakota where, for five years, an honest and faithful effort has been made to secure that result. in all our discussions i have never heard one of its friends make that claim for it, altho the charge has been repeatedly made that it is destructive of scholarship. the writer goes on to say, "he" (the student) "may substitute depth for breadth, if he so desires, and is encouraged to do so." shall we, in the secondary schools, encourage depth? yes, to be sure, relative depth, but not too much of it, and not then at the expense of breadth. for is not the high school student in that stage of his development when he responds to the sense of breadth rather than that of depth? we could not make of him a student of research if we should try. let us not try. in the last paragraph of the article referred to we find a hint of a lack of thoro conviction on the part of the writer himself. "it may not even be a workable scheme when put to the test," he says. let me say that here, after five years' use, it is not proving to be satisfactorily "workable" even with students of college grade, and by a recent faculty action it has been entirely eliminated from our preparatory department. this lack of conviction on the part of mr. secor calls to mind an interesting bit of history connected with the movement. as said before, it did not originate in the university of north dakota. dr. william dewitt hyde, president of bowdoin college, is responsible for the suggestion. he sketched the plan in an _outlook_ article of august nd, , but evidently lacking the courage of his conviction did not introduce it into his own institution, preferring, seemingly, that the experiment be made elsewhere. this has been, from the start, very suggestive to me. i have some admiration for president hyde's shrewdness. the university of north dakota fell into the trap thus skilfully set. and it is easier to fall into a trap than to get out of it. as a matter of fact, the system is more on trial now, after five years' use, than ever before. other institutions would do well to await further developments. in attempting to analyze the situation at the university of north dakota, let me again refer to mr. secor's article. he says, "the plan, with some modifications, is at present being used in the university of north dakota and in columbia university with results that are reported to be highly satisfactory." to substantiate his statement he refers, in a foot-note, to the articles in the _educational review_ from which he got his information. now, the conclusion that mr. secor reaches from reading these articles is hardly warranted by the articles themselves. i fear he read too much between the lines. let us see: professor thomas wrote of the columbia system more than three years ago, and only a couple of months after its adoption; nor does he say anything as to its success,--in fact, he could not, for there was nothing to say. he merely explained the new system and gave voice to his expectations. the columbia system may be proving "highly satisfactory," but surely that article does not say that it is. and when the other article is analyzed, the case is found to be somewhat similar. professor kennedy wrote on the system in the university of north dakota nearly two years ago, fully two academic years, for the article appeared in december, , before the close of the first term of the year -' . now two years in the life of an experiment of this kind is a long time. and professor kennedy in writing his article, did not put the case as strongly as does mr. secor from reading it. all that he said of its successful working was: "we ... thus far can truthfully say it is working itself out in desirable results--in more and better work than under the old plan." from these data, given when they were, mr. secor is certainly not justified in saying that "the plan ... is at present being used in the university of north dakota with results that are reported to be highly satisfactory." professor kennedy's statement was his individual judgment at the time he wrote his article. a considerable number of his co-laborers would not then have agreed with him. he probably would not write even as strongly as that to-day. if he should, a still larger number would disagree. he might write as strongly of his own belief in the theoretical soundness of the system, but that is quite another matter. as a matter of fact, during the last two years the weaknesses of the system have become so much more apparent that many members of the faculty then favorable, or at least hopeful, have at last come to despair of ever being able to eliminate the objectionable features and strengthen the weak points sufficiently to warrant its retention. professor kennedy's article goes into detail as to the adoption of the plan, and clearly states its various changes up to the date of his writing. in our efforts, since then, to "improve" and "strengthen" it, various other changes have been made so that, as a matter of fact, one who knew it in its early history only would hardly recognise it as planned for use next year (quite different in detail from that now in use) save in the fundamental principle. that remains the same; the institution desires to secure a better quality of work from its students; it also desires to enable the student of exceptional ability or unusual industry to cut short his period of undergraduate study. to accomplish these ends it continues to use its so-called "credit-for-quality" system of marking. this is done, altho a large and steadily increasing number of the faculty members feel that it does not do the first and that it overdoes the second. as to these ends: i think that no one on the faculty really feels that, on the whole, we are getting a better grade of work than should reasonably be expected without the system; or, to put it in another way, no one would be bold enough to say that our students are doing better work than the students of similar institutions that do not use the system. on the other hand, it is true that some who have come among us since the adoption of the system give the comparison the less favorable turn. thru the operation of the system many can and do shorten their course; too many, i feel. too many who have neither "exceptional ability" nor "unusual industry," unless it be ability "to work the prof." and industry in that laudable enterprise. the course that normally takes four full years can be shortened from a portion of a term to a full year. prior to june, , the "time saved" could reach to a full year and a half. true, no one had actually completed a course in two and a half years, but one young lady's time was only slightly in excess of that and the excess was fully overbalanced by the time she gave to outside work--to library assistance for remuneration, and to journalism. and that gait was being struck by others. it only remained to be seen how long the wind would hold out. it was clearly possible. but the faculty became alarmed. clearly recognizing the above stated possibility and being wholly unwilling thus to lower its high standard, it passed a resolution that arbitrarily limits the number of credits a student may receive in a given time to such an extent as to prevent graduation in less than three years. but several have gained, and others are gaining, sufficient surplus to enable them to complete their work in three years. from fifteen to twenty per cent, it is estimated, are enabled to shorten their course to that extent. now some of these are thoroly good students, and, assuming that the system is sound in principle, well deserve to profit thereby. but others are just ordinarily good students, scarcely above the rank and file. in addition to those who complete their work in three years, some thirty or forty per cent more shorten it by lesser amounts, ranging all the way down to an inappreciable period. but aside from the system's failure in reaching one of its ends and its too great success in reaching the other, it has developed numerous and unfortunate evils that many regard as exceedingly serious, and revealed weaknesses that seem well nigh impossible to eliminate. space allows scarcely more than an enumeration of these, but a mere enumeration is better than to deal wholly in general terms. ( ) in the first place, i should say that the "credit-for-quality" system of marking as used by us places before the students unworthy ideals. students of university rank can be led to seek knowledge for knowledge's sake, truth for truth's sake. they can be taught to see farther ahead than the close of the term, and something more precious than an extra three-tenths of a credit. but this thought has already been sufficiently treated earlier in the article. ( ) it leads to faulty methods of study and unsatisfactory final results. in the preparation of the lessons, a good recitation, rather than thoro understanding of the subject matter, is too apt to be the objective point. many good students have told me that they find it difficult to resist the tendency to subordinate understanding to memory. ( ) it may lead, often does, to unwise election of courses. some teachers mark higher than others. under the influence of our system students are very quick to learn these individual characteristics, and those who have developed the "itching palm" know how to profit by that knowledge. ( ) it places students who receive extra credit for quality at a disadvantage in seeking to enter other institutions of learning. the credits thus gained will not be recognized. this would operate only in making the transfer during the undergraduate period, but it does there.[ ] ( ) [ ] experience has shown that i was in error in the statement of this sentence. it has been found to operate to the disadvantage of our students entering other institutions in graduate as well as undergraduate departments. graduate schools have become very particular, some of them not being satisfied without passing in review well nigh the entire former school life of an applicant, apparently to assure themselves that no short-cuts have been made. this fact is an interesting confirmation of the position of this article relative to the importance of content--when it pleads for quantity, as well as quality. this entire matter is made clear by referring to one instance. others could be cited. one of our graduates, miss ethel j. may, a very strong student, "profited" by the so-called "credit-for-quality" system to such an extent that she shortened her undergraduate period of study by an entire year, receiving her degree with honor. then she taught for a few years with signal success, later returning for graduate work. for her master's degree she spent an entire year in study, since the system did not operate in the graduate department. again she taught with success, later entering the university of illinois as an applicant for the doctorate. here it was that her troubles began, and all because she had thus "profited" way back in her undergraduate days. she was told that the year "saved" would now have to be made up--that the period of study for her doctorate would have to be at least three years, and this in spite of the fact that she held the degree of master of arts from a state university of the first class, and was planning to continue along the same lines of work. after considerable discussion and institutional negotiation, this much of a concession was made: "if your work proves to be excellent, your shortage will be disregarded." so she went to work with that incubus, or stimulus--whichever you wish to regard it--over her. neither she nor her committee knew how to plan her work, not knowing whether it was to be for two years or for three. and not until the very close of her year's work was her status determined--full credit then being granted for her former degrees. miss may's sane comment now is, "i would not advise any one to try to shorten the regular four-year undergraduate period of study." (author ) it is demoralizing to both students and teachers. i refer to the inevitable outcome of such a system; some students (sometimes few and sometimes many) develop considerable skill in "working the prof." teachers offering elective courses are constantly under great temptation and students are shrewd enough to know it. and again, under the same count: it is freely claimed by both teachers and students that the cheating in examinations, of which we doubtless have our share (some claim much more than our share, tho personally i doubt it), is very greatly increased if not largely caused by our system of marking. in hopes of remedying this some of the students are now urging the adoption of the "honor system" of conducting examinations. ( ) it is impossible to create uniform standards corresponding to our various grades. there are as many standards for each grade as there are instructors. a grade of work for which one instructor would give an "a" ( . ), another would give a "b" ( . ) and still another a "c" ( . ). standards can not be fixt. to show how greatly they differ, in marking the work for the first term of this year one instructor gave only seven per cent of his students extra credit, while another thus rewarded more than seventy per cent of his. this range, however, is abnormal. but a range of twenty-five per cent to sixty-five per cent is not, even tho the two instructors have approximately the same students and do approximately the same grade of work. other evils and weaknesses might be mentioned, but these are sufficient to show the tendency. on the other hand, what strong paints can be urged as an offset? the only ones i have ever heard offered are: ( ) it is an incentive, and ( ) it does enable students to shorten the period of undergraduate work. i grant them both, but i hold that the incentive is a low one--much lower than we need to use--and that the shortening of the course is far from being an unmixt blessing. let me again refer to the matter of content, upon our value of which, to quite an extent, our estimate of the merit of the "credit-for-quality" system must rest. the young people in our colleges and universities, in planning for lives of usefulness and success, place themselves in our hands for direction and guidance. knowing that we are older, wiser, more learned, and more experienced than they, they ask our advice and, in the main, follow it. to the incentives we use in dealing with them, they respond; the motives we supply urge them on; the standards of value we erect for them, they use; and the ideals we place before them, they try to reach. all this places large responsibilities upon us. are we wise in telling from fifteen to twenty per cent of these young people that three years is all the time that it is wise for them to spend in college work? they will all remain the full four years unless we plan differently for them. to be sure, there is no magic in the number four as numbering the years of one's college course, nor in three, nor in two, nor in any other number. but would not any normal student who spends four years in the college atmosphere, mingling with college people, both students and teachers, doing college work, drinking from the pure fountains of literature, of history, of philosophy, of science, of art, et cetera, be broader in range and more fully equipt for the varied and complicated duties of life and for life's enjoyment, than he would be with only three years thus spent? and is not the fourth year by far the best of the four? why shall you and i discourage him from doing that which we know to be well for him and which he is willing to do? why deny him the rare fruitage of that fourth year? why say to him when he is just ready to enter into the enjoyments of his student life, "you would better go?" after all, is it not this very three-year student with his finer ability, his keener insight, and his greater industry who can most greatly profit by the extra year? shall we not rather encourage him to stay longer and delve deeper and reach to the very heart of things? whether looked at from the standpoint of the student's own advantage, or from that of the world at large, which is to profit by his equipment, is it not really the four-year or even the five-year student who would better be excused at the end of the third year? instead of being in a hurry to send our choice students away, let us get them to do their high quality of work just the same, but to do it during four years instead of three. they are the very ones who will most readily respond to such appeals and they will so respond unless we put other notions into their heads. it is sometimes urged, in justification of the "credit-for-quality" idea, that one student in three years can accomplish more, in gaining both knowledge and mental power, than another in four. there is no doubt about it. some can do more in two years than others in four; some in one, and some with no college work can easily outstrip others with the best advantages. shall we say to such an one, "you do not need to go to college--it would be time wasted"? by no means. above all others we want him because he can most largely profit by what he gets, and we shall reap the reward later on. but supposing one student at the close of his third college year is better able to make his way in the world than another at the end of his fourth year, that is not the question at all. the function of the college is not to bring students to a level, but to develop each one to the utmost. each should be considered separately and the question asked, "the longer or the shorter term--which will do the more for him?" some other developments here can hardly fail to be of interest. originally planned to operate in our entire institution, exclusive of the college of law into which it was not allowed to enter, this system has gradually been eliminated from all the colleges save the college of liberal arts and teachers college. true, in these colleges of exclusion the matter of content figures more prominently than in the others--the curricula are more fixt--but that is far from being the only reason for the exclusion. and even more suggestive as touching the secondary school extension recommended by the article under discussion, is our recent action excluding the system from our preparatory department, now being transformed into a model high school for teachers college. this elimination, likewise, was in part due to the fixt number of courses demanded of all secondary schools, but yet, not largely so. when this matter came up for decision it needed no emphasis upon that point to carry the recommendation. it would have carried without those conditions. the strongest advocates of the system did not, by a single word, urge its retention in the model high school. all felt, seemingly, that it was not well suited to students of that grade. note.--the reason for repeating this article here is largely historical, tho interest in the matter discust occasionally crops out even yet. it will be of interest to some who have not otherwise heard of it to learn that the university of north dakota long since discarded the system. it was voted out completely early in the year . and thus was realized professor kennedy's apprehension exprest in his _educational review_ discussion of : "we have, i grant, had our doubts and fears, knowing well that many a promising theory lies high and dry on the shoals of the past." index academies, adolescent, - , - , , , , , , , adults, , , aliens, education of, alien people, appleton's cyclopedia, arithmetic, ayers, barnard, henry, bay state, old, binet, boards of education, , , bowdoin college, , burbank, luther, burns, robert, , bureau of education, butler, nicholas murray, , , california, , carter, child, the, , , , , , , , , , , , , child study, , , , , , child-welfare, church, , - civil war, , college, - , , , , , - law, liberal arts, , , college, preparation for, , teachers, , - commissioner of education, community service, connecticut, , county training school, "credit-for-quality" system, - cronin, dr., dante, , democracy, , - , , , , , , department of education, dewey, john, , diaz, president, dooley, mr., dwight, edmund, , education boards of, , , , bureau of, department of, , , , , elementary, , history of, , , , , , motive in, philosophy of, , physical, , , , principles of, , , professional, school of in north dakota, - school of, - , - , secondary, , , , universal, educational mesurements, educational psychologist, , , educational review, , , educational survey, , , elementary school, , , , , , , , , , , england, , entrance requirements, , , , ernest, duke, euthydemus, eye, - , , , federal government, folk, joseph w., , foster, president, , , france, , frederick the great, , frederick william i, froebel, garfield, ex-president, georgia, germans, , germany, , , gladstone, william ewart, , gotha, government, the, grand forks, north dakota, - greek, , gulick, harris, dr. william t., harvard college, , , heeter, s. l., , herbart, high schools, - , , , - , , , , , , , , high school teacher, - , - , , , , , - hill, james j., history, , history of education, , , , , home, , , - homer, , hyde, president, , illiteracy, - individualism, theory of, , iowa, legislature of, jefferson city, , johnson, hiram w., jordan, david starr, , kennedy, professor, , , , law, school of, , leadership, - , - lecture method, - lincoln, literature, , , lloyd-george, david, locke, longfellow, los angeles, louises, the, of france, mcadoo, mr., , mann, horace, , massachusetts, , , , , , medical inspection, , , , medicine, school of, , methods of teaching, , , , , [illustration: portrait] the history of dartmouth college. by baxter perry smith. boston: houghton, osgood and company. the riverside press, cambridge. . copyright, , by baxter perry smith. the riverside press, cambridge: _printed by h. o. houghton and company._ preface. in the preparation of this work the writer has deemed it better to let history, as far as possible, tell its own story, regarding reliability as preferable to unity of style. the imperfect records of all our older literary institutions, limit their written history, in large measure, to a record of the lives and labors of their teachers. to the many friends of the college, and others, who have kindly given their aid, the writer is under large obligations. the following names deserve especial notice: hon. robert c. winthrop, hon. charles l. woodbury, hon. r. r. bishop, wm. h. duncan, esq., richard b. kimball, esq., rev. eden b. foster, d.d., hon. james barrett, n. c. berry, esq., dr. f. e. oliver, hon. j. e. sargent, dr. c. a. walker, hon. a. o. brewster, hon. a. a. ranney, dr. w. m. chamberlain, hon. james w. patterson, rev. carlos slafter, hon. j. b. d. cogswell, gen. john eaton, rev. h. a. hazen, rev. s. l. b. speare, h. n. twombly, esq., caleb blodgett, esq., hon. benj. f. prescott, dr. c. h. spring, prof. c. o. thompson, hon. frederic chase, rev. w. j. tucker, d.d., l. g. farmer, esq., and n. w. ladd, esq. with profound gratitude he mentions also the name of hon. nathan crosby, but for whose valuable pecuniary aid the publication of the work must have been delayed; and the names of hon. joel parker, hon. william p. haines, hon. john p. healy, hon. lincoln f. brigham, john d. philbrick, esq., dr. jabez b. upham, hon. harvey jewell, and hon. walbridge a. field, who have aided in a similar manner. particular mention should also be made of the kindness of gentlemen connected with numerous libraries, especially that of mr. john ward deane, and mr. albert h. hoyt, and the late j. wingate thornton, esq., of the new england historic-genealogical society, by whose kindness the writer was furnished with the valuable letter from david mcclure to general knox, and rev. alonzo h. quint, d.d., and dr. samuel a. green, of the massachusetts historical society, to whom he is indebted for the invaluable list of english donations given in the appendix. valuable aid has been rendered also by messrs. kimball and secor, of the new hampshire state and state historical society libraries, at concord. in this connection the well known names of w. s. butler, prof. f. b. dexter, hon. c. j. hoadley, f. b. perkins, hon. j. hammond trumbull, and hon. e. p. walton also deserve notice. the writer is deeply indebted to hon. john wentworth, of chicago, for his kindness in examining the more important portions of the work previous to its publication. for the carefully-prepared draught of the original college edifice, the writer is indebted to the artistic skill of mr. arthur bruce colburn. in closing, especial mention should be made of the kindness of prof. charles hammond, marcus d. gilman, esq., and others representing the family of the founder, of the family of hon. elisha payne, an early and honored trustee, of the trustees and faculty of the college, and the courteous liberality of the publishers. baxter p. smith. brookline, mass., _june_, . contents. chapter i. introduction chapter ii. ancestry and early life of eleazar wheelock.--his settlement at lebanon.--establishment of the indian charity school.--mr. joshua more chapter iii. education in new hampshire.--action in regard to a college.--testimonial of connecticut clergymen.--legislative grant to mr. wheelock chapter iv. a college contemplated by mr. wheelock.--lord dartmouth.--occom and whitaker in great britain chapter v. sir william johnson.--explorations for a location.--advice of english trustees chapter vi. a college charter chapter vii. president wheelock's personal explorations in new hampshire.--location at hanover chapter viii. commencement of operations.--course of study.--policy of administration chapter ix. progress to the death of president wheelock.--prominent features of his character chapter x. progress during the administration of the second president, john wheelock chapter xi. lack of harmony between president wheelock and other trustees.--removal of the president from office.--estimate of his character chapter xii. administration of president brown.--contest between the college and the state.--triumph of the college chapter xiii. character of president brown.--tributes by professor haddock and rufus choate chapter xiv. progress from to .--administrations of president dana and president tyler chapter xv. inauguration of president lord chapter xvi. the policy of the college, its progress and enlargement under president lord's administration from to chapter xvii. character of president lord chapter xviii. administration of president smith chapter xix. inauguration of president bartlett chapter xx. prof. john smith.--prof. sylvanus ripley.--prof. bezaleel woodward chapter xxi. prof. john hubbard.--prof. roswell shurtleff chapter xxii. prof. ebenezer adams.--prof. zephaniah s. moore.--prof. charles b. haddock chapter xxiii. prof. william chamberlain.--prof. daniel oliver.--prof. james freeman dana chapter xxiv. prof. benjamin hale.--prof. alpheus crosby.--prof. ira young chapter xxv. prof. stephen chase.--prof. david peabody.--prof. william cogswell chapter xxvi. prof. john newton putnam.--prof. john s. woodman.--prof. clement long.--other teachers chapter xxvii. medical department.--professors nathan smith, reuben d. mussey, dixi crosby, edmund r. peaslee, albert smith, and alpheus b. crosby--other teachers chapter xxviii. the chandler scientific department.--the agricultural department.--the thayer department of civil engineering chapter xxix. benefactors.--trustees chapter xxx. labors of dartmouth alumni.--conclusion dartmouth college. chapter i. introduction. the most valuable part of a nation's history portrays its institutions of learning and religion. the alumni of a college which has moulded the intellectual and moral character of not a few of the illustrious living, or the more illustrious dead,--the oldest college in the valley of the connecticut, and the only college in an ancient and honored state,--would neglect a most fitting and beautiful service, should they suffer the cycles of a century to pass, without gathering in some modest urn the ashes of its revered founders, or writing on some modest tablet the names of its most distinguished sons. the germ of dartmouth college was a deep-seated and long-cherished desire, of the foremost of its founders, to elevate the indian race in america. the christian fathers of new england were not unmindful of the claims of the aborigines. the well-directed, patient, and successful labors of the eliots, cotton, and the mayhews, and the scarcely less valuable labors of treat and others, fill a bright page in the religious history of the seventeenth century. to numerous congregations of red men the gospel was preached; many were converted; churches were gathered, and the whole bible--the first printed in america--was given them in their own language. this interest in the indian was not confined to our own country, in the earlier periods of our history. in great britain, sovereigns, ecclesiastics, and philosophers recognized the obligations providentially imposed upon them, to aid in giving a christian civilization to their swarthy brethren, who were sitting in the thickest darkness of heathenism in the primeval forests of the new world. societies, as well as individuals, manifested a deep and practical interest in the work. we can only touch upon some of the more salient points of this subject. but it is especially worthy of note, that the elevation of the indian race, by the education of its youth, was not an idea of new england, nor indeed of american, birth. in stith's "history of virginia" (p. ), we find in substance the following statements: at an early period in the history of this state, attempts were made to establish an institution of learning of a high order. in , the treasurer of the virginia company, sir edwin sandys, received from an unknown hand five hundred pounds, to be applied by the company to the education of a certain number of indian youths in the english language and in the christian religion. other sums of money were also procured, and there was a prospect of being able to raise four or five thousand pounds, for the endowment of a college. the king favored the design, and recommended to the bishops to have collections made in their dioceses, and some fifteen hundred pounds were gathered on this recommendation. the college was designed for the instruction of english, as well as indian, youths. the company appropriated ten thousand acres of land to this purpose, at henrico, on james river, a little below the present site of richmond. the plan of the college was, to place tenants at halves on these lands, and to derive its income from the profits. the enterprise was abandoned in consequence of the great indian massacre, in , although operations had been commenced, and a competent person had been secured to act as president. this is believed to have been the first effort to found a college in america. passing to the middle of the century, we find the distinguished christian philosopher, robert boyle, appointed governor of "a company incorporated for the propagation of the gospel among the heathen natives of new england, and the parts adjacent in america," and that, after his decease, in , a portion of his estate was given, by the executors of his will, to william and mary's college, which was possibly, in a measure, the outgrowth of the efforts of mr. sandys and his coadjutors, for the support of indian students. in , col. william byrd, in writing upon this subject, laments "the bad success mr. boyle's charity has had in converting the natives," which was owing in part, at least, to the fact, that the interest of their white brethren in their welfare was confined chiefly to their residence at college. pursuing these researches, we come to the name of another distinguished british scholar and divine, george berkeley, who has been styled "the philosopher" of the reign of george ii. we quote a portion of a letter relating to his educational plans, from dean swift to lord carteret, lieutenant of ireland, dated sept. , , in which he says: "he showed me a little tract which he designs to publish, and there your excellency will see his whole scheme of a life academico-philosophic, of a college at bermuda for indian scholars and missionaries. i discourage him by the coldness of courts and ministers, who will interpret all this as impossible and a vision, but nothing will do. and therefore i do humbly entreat your excellency either to use such persuasions as will keep one of the first men in this kingdom for learning and virtue quiet at home, or assist him by your credit to compass his romantic design, which, however, is very noble and generous, and directly proper for a great person of your excellent education to encourage." the pamphlet alluded to begins, as one of his biographers informs us, by lamenting "that there is at this day little sense of religion and a most notorious corruption of manners in the english colonies settled on the continent of america, and the islands," and that "the gospel hath hitherto made but very inconsiderable progress among the neighboring americans, who still continue in much the same ignorance and barbarism in which we found them above a hundred years ago." after stating what he believes to be the causes of this state of things, he propounds his plan of training young natives, as missionaries to their countrymen, and educating "the youth of our english plantations," to fill the pulpits of the colonial churches. his biographer is doubtless correct in the opinion, that "it was on the savages, evidently, that he had his heart." he obtained a charter from the crown for his proposed college, and a promise, never fulfilled, of large pecuniary aid from the government, and early in he arrived in america, settling temporarily at newport, r. i. failing to accomplish his purpose, he remained in this country but two or three years, yet long enough to form the acquaintance of many eminent men, and among them president williams, of yale college. finding that there was no prospect of receiving the promised aid for his college, berkeley returned to england in . soon after, in addition to a large and valuable donation of books for the library, he sent as a gift, to yale, a deed of his farm in rhode island, the rents of which he directed to be appropriated to the maintenance or aid of meritorious resident graduates or under-graduates. although he failed to carry out his plan of establishing a college himself, in america, perhaps he "builded better than he knew." most fitting is it, as we shall see hereafter, for the current literature of our day to place in intimate association, the names of boyle, berkeley, and dartmouth. passing to , we find rev. john sergeant commencing missionary labor among the indians at stockbridge, mass. after a trial of a few years, he writes in a manner showing very plainly that he believes civilization essential to any permanent success. in one of his letters to rev. dr. colman, of boston, he says: "what i propose, in general, is, to take such a method in the education of our indian children as shall in the most effectual manner change their whole manner of thinking and acting, and raise them as far as possible into the condition of a civil, industrious, and polished people, while at the same time the principles of virtue and piety shall be instilled into their minds in a way that will make the most lasting impression, and withal to introduce the english language among them instead of their own barbarous dialect." "and now to accomplish this design, i propose to procure an accommodation of acres of land in this place (which may be had gratis of the indian proprietors), and to erect a house on it such as shall be thought convenient for a beginning, and in it to maintain a number of children and youth." he proposes "to have their time so divided between study and labor that one shall be the diversion of the other, so that as little time as possible may be lost in idleness," and, "to take into the number, upon certain conditions, youths from any of the other tribes around." his plan included both sexes. mr. sergeant died in . besides accomplishing much himself, he laid the foundations for the subsequent labors of jonathan edwards. this rapid glance at the earlier efforts in behalf of the aborigines of our country, shows that the next actor upon the stage, undaunted by any lack of success on their part, measurably followed in the footsteps of learned and philanthropic predecessors. chapter ii. ancestry and early life of eleazar wheelock.--his settlement at lebanon, conn.--establishment of the indian charity school.--mr. joshua more. eleazar wheelock, the leading founder of dartmouth college, was a great-grandson of ralph wheelock, a native of shropshire, in england, through whom dartmouth traces her academic ancestry to the ancient and venerable clare hall, at cambridge, where he graduated in , the contemporary of thomas dudley, samuel eaton, john milton, john norton, thomas shepard, and samuel stone. coming a few years later to this country, he became a useful and an honored citizen of the then new, but now old, historic town of dedham, from which place he removed to medfield, being styled "founder" of that town, where he remained till his death. he devoted his time largely to teaching, although, having been educated for the ministry, he rendered valuable service to the infant community as an occasional preacher. his name is also conspicuous among the magistrates and legislators of that period.[ ] [ ] his daughter rebecca married john craft, whose birth is the earliest on record among the pioneer settlers at roxbury. some of his descendants (by another marriage) are conspicuous in history. medfield records connect the names of fuller, chenery, and morse with the wheelock family. in the character of his son, eleazar wheelock, of mendon, we are told there was a union of "the christian and the soldier." having command of a corps of cavalry, he was "very successful in repelling the irruptions of the indians," although he treated them with "great kindness," in times of peace. from him, his grandson and namesake received "a handsome legacy for defraying the expenses of his public education," and from him, too, he doubtless acquired, in some measure, that peculiar interest in the indian race which so largely moulded his character and guided the labors of his life. near the time of ralph wheelock's arrival in america, were two other arrivals worthy of notice: that of thomas hooker, at cambridge, "the one rich pearl with which europe more than repaid america for the treasures from her coasts," and that of the widowed margaret huntington, at roxbury, of which there is still a well-preserved record, in the handwriting of john eliot. the guiding and controlling influence of hooker's masterly mind upon all, whether laymen or divines, with whom he came in contact, must be apparent to those who are familiar with the biography of one, to whom the learned and religious institutions of new england are more indebted, perhaps, than to any other single person. hooker's settlement at hartford is fitly styled "the founding of connecticut." when a little later the family of margaret huntington settled at saybrook, their youthful pastor, who was just gathering a church, was james fitch, a worthy pupil of thomas hooker. not satisfied with their location, pastor and people sought an inland home, and in laid the foundations of what is now the large and flourishing town of norwich. from this time huntington and fitch are honored names in the history of connecticut. a quarter of a century after the settlement of norwich, an english refugee from religious oppression began the settlement of the neighboring town of windham. to this place, ralph wheelock the younger, a grandson of the dedham teacher and preacher, was attracted, marrying about the same time, ruth, daughter of dea. christopher huntington, of norwich. mr. ralph wheelock was a respectable farmer, universally esteemed for his hospitality, his piety, and the virtues that adorn the christian character, and in his later years was an officer of the church. of mrs. wheelock, it is said:[ ] "every tradition respecting her makes her a woman of unusual intelligence and rare piety. her home, the main theatre of her life, was blessed equally by her timely instructions, her holy example, and the administration of a gentle yet firm discipline." their son eleazar was born at windham, april , . [ ] huntington family memoir, p. . the first minister of this honored town was rev. samuel whiting, a native of hartford, and trained in the "hooker school." for a helpmeet he had secured a lineal descendant of that noble and revered puritan, gov. wm. bradford. the labors of this worthy pair were largely blessed to their people. at one period, in a population of hundreds, it is said "the town did not contain a single prayerless family." thus kindly and wisely did the master arrange, by long and closely blended lines of events, that the most genial influences should surround the cradle of one for whom he designed eminent service and peculiar honor. the mother of eleazar wheelock having died in , for a second wife his father married a lady named standish, a descendant of myles standish, whose heroic character she perhaps impressed, in some measure, upon her adopted son. "being an only son," says his biographer,[ ] "and discovering, at an early age, a lively genius, a taste for learning, with a very amiable disposition, he was placed by his father under the best instructors that could then be obtained." at "about the age of sixteen, while qualifying himself for admission to college, it pleased god to impress his mind with serious concern for his salvation. after earnest, prayerful inquiry, he was enlightened and comforted with that hope in the saviour, which afterwards proved the animating spring of his abundant labors to promote the best interests of mankind." at the time of his admission to the windham church, the distinguished thomas clap was its pastor. [ ] memoirs of wheelock, by mcclure and parish. having made the requisite preparation, he entered yale college, of which president williams was then at the head, "with a resolution to devote himself to the work of the gospel ministry." among his college contemporaries were joseph bellamy and president aaron burr. "his proficiency in study, and his exemplary deportment, engaged the notice and esteem of the rector and instructors, and the love of the students. he and his future brother-in-law, the late rev. doctor pomeroy of hebron, in connecticut, were the first who received the interest of the legacy, generously given by the rev. dean berkeley," for excellence in classical scholarship. soon after his graduation, in , he commenced preaching. having declined a call from long island, to settle in the ministry, he accepted a unanimous invitation from the second congregational society in lebanon, connecticut, and was ordained in june, . this town occupies a conspicuous place in american history; for, whoever traces the lineage of some of the most illustrious names that grace its pages, finds his path lying to or through this "valley of cedars," in eastern connecticut. here the patient, heroic huguenot aided in laying foundations for all good institutions. here the learned, indefatigable tisdale taught with distinguished success. here lived those eminent patriots, the trumbulls. by birth or ancestry, the honored names of smalley, ticknor, marsh, and mason, are associated with this venerable town. mr. wheelock's parish was in the northern and most retired part of the town, and the least inviting, perhaps, in its physical aspects and natural resources. the products of a rugged soil furnished the industrious inhabitants with a comfortable subsistence, but left nothing for luxury. it was at that period a quiet agricultural community, living largely within itself. as at the present day, there was but one church within the territorial limits of the parish. the "council of nine," selected from the more discreet of the male members, somewhat in accordance with presbyterian usage, aided in the administration of a careful and thorough discipline. there can be no doubt that mr. wheelock was accounted one of the leading preachers and divines of his day. both as a pastor, and the associate of the eminent men who were prominent in the great revival which marked the middle of the last century, his labors were crowned with large success. rev. dr. burroughs, who knew him intimately, says: "as a preacher, his aim was to reach the conscience. he studied great plainness of speech, and adapted his discourse to every capacity, that he might be understood by all." his pupil, dr. trumbull, the historian, says: "he was a gentleman of a comely figure, of a mild and winning aspect, his voice smooth and harmonious, the best by far that i ever heard. he had the entire command of it. his gesture was natural, but not redundant. his preaching and addresses were close and pungent, and yet winning beyond almost all comparison."[ ] by an intermarriage of their relatives, he was allied to the family of jonathan edwards, whose high regard for him is sufficiently indicated in a letter dated northampton, june , , from which we make brief extracts. "there has been a reviving of religion of late amongst us, but your labors have been much more remarkably blessed than mine. may god send you hither with the like blessing as he has sent you to some other places, and may your coming be a means to humble me for my barrenness and unprofitableness, and a means of my instruction and enlivening. i want an opportunity to concert measures with you, for the advancement of the kingdom and glory of the redeemer." [ ] the venerable prof. stowe states that, when a professor in the college, he was informed by an aged man, living in the vicinity, that president wheelock's earnestness in preaching at times led him to leave the pulpit, and appeal to individuals in his audience. we are fortunate in having the testimony of a member of his own family, in regard to the beginning of mr. wheelock's more practical interest in the unfortunate aborigines. his grandson, rev. william patten, d.d., says,[ ] "one evening after a religious conference with a number of his people at lebanon, he walked out, as he usually did on summer evenings, for meditation and prayer; and in his retirement his attention was led to the neglect [from lack of means] of his people in providing for his support. it occurred to him, with peculiar clearness, that if they furnished him with but half a living, they were entitled to no more than half his labors. and he concluded that they were left to such neglect, to teach him that part of his labors ought to be directed to other objects. he then inquired what objects were most in want of assistance. and it occurred to him, almost instantaneously, that the indians were the most proper objects of the charitable attention of christians. he then determined to devote half of his time to them." [ ] memoirs of wheelock, p. . we will now allow this eminent christian philanthropist to speak for himself. in his "narrative," for the period ending in , after referring to the too general lack of interest in the indian, he says: "it has seemed to me, he must be stupidly indifferent to the redeemer's cause and interest in the world, and criminally deaf and blind to the intimations of the favor and displeasure of god in the dispensations of his providence, who could not perceive plain intimations of god's displeasure against us for this neglect, inscribed in capitals, on the very front of divine dispensations, from year to year, in permitting the savages to be such a sore scourge to our land, and make such depredations on our frontiers, inhumanly butchering and captivating our people, not only in a time of war, but when we had good reason to think (if ever we had) that we dwelt safely by them. and there is good reason to think that if one half which has been expended for so many years past in building forts, manning, and supporting them, had been prudently laid out in supporting faithful missionaries and schoolmasters among them, the instructed and civilized party would have been a far better defence than all our expensive fortresses, and prevented the laying waste so many towns and villages; witness the consequence of sending mr. sergeant to stockbridge, which was in the very road by which they most usually came upon our people, and by which there has never been one attack made upon us since his going there." after referring to the ordinary obligations of humanity, patriotism, and religion, he says: "as there were few or none who seemed to lay the necessity and importance of christianizing the natives so much to heart as to exert themselves in earnest and lead the way therein, i was naturally put upon consideration and inquiry what methods might have the greatest probability of success; and upon the whole was fully persuaded that this, which i have been pursuing, had by far the greatest probability of any that had been proposed, viz.: by the mission of their own [educated] sons in conjunction with the english; and that a number of girls should also be instructed in whatever should be necessary to render them fit to perform the female part, as house-wives, school-mistresses, and tailoresses. the influence of their own sons among them will likely be much greater than of any englishmen whatsoever. there is no such thing as sending english missionaries, or setting up english schools among them, to any good purpose, in most places, as their temper, state, and condition have been and still are." in illustration of his theory, he refers to the education, by the assistance of the "honorable london commissioners,"[ ] of mr. samson occom, "one of the mohegan tribe, who has several years been a useful school-master and successful preacher of the gospel."[ ] [ ] agents of the corporation in london referred to on page , of which robert boyle was governor. [ ] see appendix. "after seeing the success of this attempt," he continues, "i was more encouraged to hope that such a method might be very successful, and above eight years ago i wrote to rev. john brainerd [brother of the distinguished david brainerd], missionary in new jersey, desiring him to send me two likely boys for this purpose, of the delaware tribe. he accordingly sent me john pumpshire in the fourteenth, and jacob woolley in the eleventh years of their age. they arrived december , . "sometime after these boys came, the affair appearing with an agreeable aspect, i represented it to col. elisha williams, late rector of yale college, and rev. messrs. samuel moseley, of windham, and benjamin pomeroy, of hebron, and invited them to join me. they readily accepted the invitation. and mr. joshua moor,[ ] late of mansfield, deceased, appeared, to give a small tenement in this place [lebanon], for the foundation, use and support of a charity school, for the education of indian youth, etc." mr. more's grant contained "about two acres of pasturing, and a small house and shop," near mr. wheelock's residence. [ ] mr. m.'s own orthography is more. this gentleman was one of the more prominent of the early settlers at mansfield. he owned and resided upon a large estate on the willimantic river, a few miles north of the present site of the village bearing that name. there is sufficient evidence to warrant the belief, that the first husband of mr. more's mother was mr. thomas howard (or harwood), of norwich, who was slain in the memorable fight at narragansett fort, in december, , and that her maiden name was mary wellman. from the church records, he appears to have been of a professedly religious character, as early as . as his residence was in the neighborhood of mr. wheelock's early home, and but little farther removed from lebanon "crank," as the north parish in that town was styled, mr. more had ample opportunities for a thorough acquaintance with the person to whom he now generously extended a helping hand. it is not known that this worthy man left any posterity, to perpetuate a name which will be cherished with tender regard, so long as the institution to which he furnished a home, in its infancy, shall have an existence. in a summary of his work for the eight years, mr. wheelock says: "i have had two upon my hands since , four since april, , five since april, , seven since november, , and eleven since august, . and for some time i have had twenty-five, three of the number english youth. one of the indian lads, jacob woolley, is now in his last year at new jersey college." there is reason to believe that occom would have taken a collegiate course, but for the partial failure of his health. on the whole, we are fully warranted in the opinion that, from the outset, mr. wheelock designed to have all his missionaries, whether indian or english, "thoroughly furnished" for their work. before closing the "narrative," he gives an interesting account of material resources. "the honorable london commissioners, hearing of the design, inquired into it, and encouraged it by an allowance of £ lawful money, by their vote november , . and again in the year they allowed me £ ; and in november , , granted me an annual allowance of £ for my assistance; and in october , , they granted me £ towards the support of isaiah uncas, son of the sachem of mohegan, and £ more for his support the following year. in october, , i received a legacy of fifty-nine dollars of mrs. ann bingham, of windham. in july, , i received a generous donation of fifty pounds sterling from the right hon. william, marquis of lothian; and in november, , a donation of £ sterling from mr. hardy, of london; and in may, , a second donation of £ sterling from that most honorable and noble lord, the marquis of lothian; and, at the same time, £ sterling from mr. samuel savage, merchant in london; and a collection of ten guineas from the rev. dr. a. gifford, in london; and £ sterling more from a lady in london, unknown, which is still in the hands of a friend, and to be remitted with some additional advantage, and to be accounted for when received. and, also, for seven years past, i have, one year with another, received about £ lawful money, annually, interest of subscriptions. and in my journey to portsmouth last june, i received, in private donations, £ _s._ - / _d._, lawful money. i also received, for the use of this school, a bell of about lb. weight, from a gentleman in london. the honorable scotch commissioners,[ ] in and near boston, understanding and approving of the design of sending for indian children of remote tribes to be educated here, were the first body, or society, who have led the way in making an attempt for that purpose. while i was in boston they passed a vote, may , , 'that the reverend mr. wheelock, of lebanon, be desired to fit out david fowler, an indian youth, to accompany mr. samson occom, going on a mission to the oneidas; that said david be supported on said mission for a term not exceeding four months; and that he endeavor, on his return, to bring with him a number of indian boys, not exceeding three, to be put under mr. wheelock's care and instruction, and that £ be put into mr. wheelock's hands to carry this design into execution.' in november, , the great and general court or assembly of the province of massachusetts bay, voted that i should be allowed to take under my care six children of the six nations, for education, clothing, and boarding, and be allowed for that purpose, for each of said children, £ per annum for one year."[ ] [ ] agents of the scotch "society for propagating christian knowledge." [ ] for tribes represented in the school, and other donors to the school and college, see appendix. chapter iii. education in new hampshire.--action in regard to a college.--testimonial of connecticut clergymen.--legislative grant to mr. wheelock. the importance of education to the welfare of any community, has been duly appreciated by the people of new hampshire from the earliest periods of her history. such an item as the following is worthy of notice: "at a publique town meeting held the : mo. [ ,] it is agreed that twenty pounds per annum shall be yearly rayzed for the mayntenance of a school-master in the town of dover."[ ] harvard college being in need of a new building in , the inhabitants of portsmouth "subscribed sixty pounds, which sum they agreed to pay annually for seven years to the overseers of harvard college. dover gave thirty-two pounds, and exeter ten pounds for the same purpose."[ ] very few towns at the present day are as liberal, in proportion to their ability. [ ] dover town records. [ ] adams's annals of portsmouth, p. . classical schools were established in all the more populous towns, and these were furnished with competent teachers, who were graduates of harvard college, or european universities. in , in the midst of the din and tumult of the french war, we find the clergy--ever among the foremost in laudable enterprise--making an earnest effort for increased facilities for liberal education. we give official records: "the convention of the congregational ministers in the province of new hampshire, being held at the house of the rev. mr. pike in somersworth on the th day of sept. : the rev. joseph adams was chosen moderator." after the sermon and transaction of some business: "the convention then taking into consideration the great advantages which may arise, both to the churches and state from the erecting [an] academy or college in this province, unanimously voted that the following petition shall be preferred to the governor, desiring him to grant a charter for said purpose: "to his excellency, benning wentworth, esq., capt.-general and governor-in-chief in and over his majesty's province of new hampshire in new england. may it please your excellency,-- "we, the ministers of the congregational churches in this province of new hampshire under your excellency's government now assembled in an annual convention in somersworth, as has been our custom for several years past, the design of which is to pray together for his majesty and government, and to consult the interests of religion and virtue, for our mutual assistance and encouragement in our proper business: beg leave to present a request to your excellency in behalf of literature, which proceeds, not from any private or party views in us, but our desire to serve the government and religion by laying a foundation for the best instruction of youth. we doubt not your excellency is sensible of the great advantages of learning, and the difficulties which attend the education of youth in this province, by reason of our distance from any of the seats of learning, the discredit of our medium, etc. we have reason to hope that by an interest among our people, and some favor from the government, we may be able in a little time to raise a sufficient fund for erecting and carrying on an academy or college within this province, without prejudice to any other such seminary in neighboring colonies, provided your excellency will be pleased to grant to us, a number of us, or any other trustees, whom your excellency shall think proper to appoint, a good and sufficient charter, by which they may be empowered to choose a president, professors, tutors, or other officers, and regulate all matters belonging to such a society. we therefore now humbly petition your excellency to grant such a charter as may, in the best manner, answer such a design and intrust it with our committee, viz.: messrs. joseph adams, james pike, john moody, ward cotton, nathaniel gookin, woodbridge odlin, samuel langdon, and samuel haven, our brethren, whom we have now chosen to wait upon your excellency with this our petition, that we may use our influence with our people to promote so good a design, by generous subscriptions, and that we may farther petition the general court for such assistance, as they shall think necessary. we are persuaded, if your excellency will first of all favor us with such a charter, we shall be able soon to make use of it for the public benefit; and that your excellency's name will forever be remembered with honor. if, after trial, we cannot accomplish it, we promise to return the charter with all thankfulness for your excellency's good disposition. it is our constant prayer that god would prosper your excellency's administration, and we beg leave to subscribe ourselves your excellency's most obedient servants. joseph adams, moderator. "proceedings attested by samuel haven, clerk." "the convention of congregational ministers in the province of new hampshire being held at the house of the rev. mr. joseph adams in newington on the th of september, , the rev. mr. adams was chosen moderator. we then went to the house of god. after prayer and a sermon: "a draught of a charter for a college in this province being read: voted, that the said charter is for substance agreeable to the mind of the convention. whereas a committee chosen last year to prefer a petition to his excellency the governor for a charter of a college in this province have given a verbal account to this convention of their proceedings and conversation with the governor upon said affair, by which, notwithstanding the governor manifests some unwillingness, at present, to grant a charter agreeable to the convention, yet there remains some hope, that after maturer consideration and advice of council, his excellency will grant such a charter as will be agreeable to us and our people, therefore, voted, that rev. messrs. joseph adams, james pike, ward cotton, samuel parsons, nathaniel gookin, samuel langdon, and samuel haven, or a major part of them, be and hereby are a committee of this convention, to do everything which to them shall appear necessary, in the aforesaid affair, in behalf of this convention; and, moreover, to consult upon any other measures for promoting the education of youth, and advancing good literature in the province, and make report to the next convention. attested by samuel haven, clerk." the convention was holden at portsmouth, september , , and at the same place in september, , but nothing appears in the proceedings of those years concerning the charter. but at the convention held at portsmouth, september , , the rev. mr. john rogers having been chosen moderator, after prayer and sermon, the following testimonial was laid before the convention: "chelsea, norwich, july , . "we ministers of the gospel and pastors of churches hereafter mentioned with our names, having, for a number of years past, heard of or seen with pleasure the zeal, courage, and firm resolution of the rev. eleazar wheelock of lebanon, to prosecute to effect a design of spreading the gospel among the natives in the wilds of our america, and especially his perseverance in it, amidst the many peculiar discouragements he had to encounter during the late years of the war here, and upon a plan which appears to us to have the greatest probability of success, namely, by a mission of their own sons; and as we are verily persuaded that the smiles of divine providence upon his school, and the success of his endeavors hitherto justly may, and ought, to encourage him and all to believe it to be of god, and that which he will own and succeed for the glory of his great name in the enlargement of the kingdom of our divine redeemer, as well as for the great benefit of the crown of great britain, and especially of his majesty's dominions in america; so we apprehend the present openings in providence ought to invite christians of every denomination to unite their endeavors and to lend a helping hand in carrying on so charitable a design; and we are heartily sorry if party spirit and party differences shall at all obstruct the progress of it; or the old leaven of this land ferment upon this occasion, and give a watchful adversary opportunity so to turn the course of endeavors into another channel as to defeat the design of spreading the gospel among the heathen. to prevent which, and encourage unanimity and zeal in prosecuting the design, we look upon it our duty as christians, and especially as ministers of the gospel, to give our testimony that, as we verily believe, a disinterested regard to the advancement of the redeemer's kingdom and the good will of his majesty's dominions in america, were the governing motives which at first induced the rev. mr. wheelock to enter upon the great affair, and to risk his own private interest, as he has done since, in carrying it on; so we esteem his plan to be good, his measures to be prudently and well concerted, his endowments peculiar, his zeal fervent, his endeavors indefatigable, for the accomplishing this design, and we know no man, like minded, who will naturally care for their state. may god prolong his life, and make him extensively useful in the kingdom of christ. we have also, some of us, at his desire examined his accounts, and we find that, besides giving in all his own labour and trouble in the affair, he has charged for the support, schooling, etc., of the youth, at the lowest rate it could be done for, as the price of things have been and still are among us; and we apprehend the generous donations already made have been and we are confident will be laid out in the most prudent manner, and with the best advice for the furtherance of the important design: and we pray god abundantly to reward the liberality of many upon this occasion. and we hope the generosity, especially of persons of distinction and note, will be a happy lead and inducement to still greater liberalities, and that in consequence thereof the wide-extended wilderness of america will blossom as the rose, habitations of cruelty become dwelling places of righteousness and the blessing of thousands ready to perish come upon all those whose love to christ and charity to them has been shown upon this occasion. which is the hearty prayer of your most sincere friends and humble servants: ebenezer rosetter pastor of ye ^st chh: in stonington. joseph fish pastor of ye ^d chh: in stonington. nath^l whitaker pastor of ye chh: in chelsea in norwich. benj^a pomeroy pastor of ye ^st chh: in hebron. elijah lothrop pastor of ye chh: of gilead in hebron. nath^l eells pastor of a chh: in stonington. mather byles pastor of ye first chh: in new london. jona. barber pastor of a chh: in groton. matt. graves missionary in new london. peter powers pastor of the chh: at newent in norwich. daniel kirtland former pastor of ye chh: in newent norwich. asher rosetter pastor of ye ^st chh: in preston. jabez wight pastor of ye chh: in norwich. david jewett pastor of a chh: in new london. benj^a throop pastor of a chh: in norwich. sam^l moseley pastor of a chh: in windham. stephen white pastor of a chh: in windham. richard salter pastor of a chh: in mansfield. timothy allen pastor of ye chh: in ashford. ephraim little pastor of ye ^st chh: in colchester. hobart estabrook pastor of a chh: in east haddam. joseph fowler pastor of a chh: in east haddam. benj^a boardman pastor of a chh: in middletown. john norton pastor of a chh: of christ in middletown. benj^a dunning pastor of a chh: of christ in marlborough." "voted, the rev. messrs. moody, langdon, haven, and foster be a committee of this convention to consider and report on the above. said committee laid the following draft before the convention, which was unanimously voted and signed by the moderator: "we, a convention of congregational ministers assembled at portsmouth, september , , having read and considered the foregoing attestation from a number of reverend gentlemen in connecticut, taking into consideration the many obligations the supreme ruler has laid upon christian churches to promote his cause and enlarge the borders of his kingdom in this land, the signal victories he has granted to our troops, the entire reduction of all canada, so that a way is now open for the spreading of the light and purity of the gospel among distant savage tribes, and a large field, white unto the harvest, is presented before us; considering the infinite worth of the souls of men, the importance of the gospel to their present and everlasting happiness, and the hopeful prospect that the aboriginal natives will now listen to christian instruction; considering also the great expense which must unavoidably attend the prosecution of this great design, think ourselves obliged to recommend, in the warmest manner, this subject to the serious consideration of our christian brethren and the public. it is with gratitude to the great head of the church, who has the hearts of all in his hands, that we observe some hopeful steps taken by the societies founded for the gospelizing the indians, and the hearts of such numbers, both at home and in this land, have been disposed to bestow their liberalities to enable such useful societies to effect the great ends for which they are founded. but as we wish to see every probable method taken to forward so benevolent and christian a design, we, therefore, rejoice to find that the rev. mr. wheelock has such a number of indian youths under his care and tuition; and in that abundant testimony which his brethren in the ministry have borne to his abilities for, and zeal and faithfulness in, this important undertaking. and we do hereby declare our hearty approbation of it, as far as we are capable of judging of an affair carried on at such a distance; and think it our duty to encourage and exhort all christians to lend a helping hand towards so great and generous an undertaking. we would not, indeed, absolutely dictate this, or any other particular scheme, for civilizing and spreading the gospel among the indians; but we are persuaded that god demands of the inhabitants of these colonies some returns of gratitude, in this way, for the remarkable success of our arms against canada, and that peace and security which he has now given us; we must, therefore, rely on the wisdom and prudence of the civil authority to think of it as a matter in which our political interests as well as the glory of god are deeply concerned; and we refer to our churches and all private christians as peculiarly called to promote the redeemer's kingdom everywhere, to determine what will be the most effectual methods of forwarding so noble and pious a design, and to contribute, to the utmost of their power, either towards the execution of the plan which the rev. mr. wheelock is pursuing, or that of the corporation erected in the province of massachusetts bay, or any other which may be thought of here or elsewhere, for the same laudable purpose. john rogers, moderator." the first legislative action in new hampshire relative to mr. wheelock's work is also worthy of notice. the following is from the journal of the house of representatives: "june , , voted, that the hon. henry sherburne and mishech weare, esquires, peter gilman, clement march, esq., capt. thomas w. waldron, and capt. john wentworth be a committee to consider of the subject-matter of rev. mr. eleazar wheelock's memorial for aid for his school." this committee made a favorable report, saying: "we think it incumbent on this province to do something towards promoting so good an undertaking," and recommending a grant of fifty pounds sterling per annum for five years. the action of the legislature was in accordance with this report. later records, however, indicate that the grant was not continued after the first, or possibly the second, year. gov. benning wentworth, after careful investigation, gave his official sanction to the action of his associates, in aid of mr. wheelock. chapter iv. a college contemplated by mr. wheelock.--lord dartmouth.--occom and whitaker in great britain. mr. wheelock held relations more or less intimate with the leading educational institutions of the country. but his favorite college was at princeton, new jersey, far removed from his own residence. a warm friendship subsisted between him and many of its officers, and thither he sent most of his students for a considerable period. the inconvenience of doing this, may have suggested the idea of a college in connection with his school. however this may have been, nothing short of a college could satisfy him. the following letter, written in april, , needs no further preface: "to his excellency general jeffrey amherst, baronet. "may it please your excellency,--the narrative herewith inclosed, gives your excellency some short account of the success of my feeble endeavors, through the blessing of god upon them, in the affair there related. "your excellency will easily see, that if the number of youth in this school continues to increase, as it has done, and as our prospects are that it will do, we shall soon be obliged to build to accommodate them and accordingly to determine upon the place where to fix it, and i would humbly submit to your excellency's consideration the following proposal, viz.: that a tract of land, about fifteen or twenty miles square, or so much as shall be sufficient for four townships, on the west side of susquehannah river, or in some other place more convenient in the heart of the indian country, be granted in favor of this school: that said townships be peopled with a chosen number of inhabitants of known honesty, integrity, and such as love and will be kind to, and honest in their dealings with indians. that a thousand acres of, and within said grant, be given to this school, and that the school be an academy for all parts of useful learning; part of it to be a college for the education of missionaries, interpreters, schoolmasters, etc.; and part of it a school to teach reading, writing, etc., and that there be manufactures for the instruction both of males and females, in whatever shall be necessary in life, and proper tutors, masters, and mistresses be provided for the same. that those towns be furnished with ministers of the best characters, and such as are of ability, when incorporated with a number of the most understanding of the inhabitants, to conduct the affairs of the school, and of such missions as they shall have occasion and ability for, from time to time. that there be a sufficient number of laborers upon the lands belonging to the school; and that the students be obliged to labor with them, and under their direction and conduct, so much as shall be necessary for their health, and to give them an understanding of husbandry; and those who are designed for farmers, after they have got a sufficient degree of school learning, to labor constantly, and the school to have all the benefit of their labor, and they the benefit of being instructed therein, till they are of an age and understanding sufficient to set up for themselves, and introduce husbandry among their respective tribes; and that there be a moderate tax upon all the granted lands, after the first ten or fifteen years, and also some duty upon mills, etc., which shall not be burdensome to the inhabitants, for the support of the school, or missionaries among the indians, etc. by this means much expense, and many inconveniences occasioned by our great distance from them, would be prevented, our missionaries be much better supported and provided for, especially in case of sickness, etc. parents and children would be more contented, being nearer to one another, and likely many would be persuaded to send their children for an education, who are now dissuaded from it only on account of the great distance of the school from them. "the bearer, mr. c. j. s.,[ ] is able, if your excellency desires it, to give you a more full and particular account of the present state of this school, having been for some time the master and instructor of it, and is now designed, with the leave of providence, the ensuing summer, to make an excursion as a missionary among the indians, with an interpreter from this school. "and by him your excellency may favor me with your thoughts on what i have proposed. "i am, with sincerest duty and esteem, may it please your excellency, your excellency's most obedient and humble servant, eleazar wheelock." [ ] charles j. smith. in , the scotch society, already referred to, manifested increasing interest in mr. wheelock's work, by appointing a board of correspondents, selected from gentlemen of high standing, in connecticut, to coöperate with him. we here insert entire, mr. wheelock's first letter to lord dartmouth: "to the right hon. the earl of dartmouth. "lebanon, connecticut, new england, march , . "may it please your lordship,-- "it must be counted amongst the greatest favors of god to a wretched world, and that which gives abundant joy to the friends of zion, that among earthly dignities there are those who cheerfully espouse the sinking cause of the great redeemer, and whose hearts and hands are open to minister supplies for the support and enlargement of his kingdom in the world. "as your lordship has been frequently mentioned with pleasure by the lovers of christ in this wilderness, and having fresh assurance of the truth of that fame of yours, by the rev. mr. whitefield, from his own acquaintance with your person and character, and being encouraged and moved thereto by him, i am now emboldened, without any other apology for myself than that which the nature of the case itself carries in its very front, to solicit your lordship's favorable notice of, and friendship towards, a feeble attempt to save the swarms of indian natives in this land from final and eternal ruin, which must unavoidably be the issue of those poor, miserable creatures, unless god shall mercifully interpose with his blessing upon endeavors to prevent it. "the indian charity school, under my care (a narrative of which, herewith transmitted, humbly begs your lordship's acceptance), has met with such approbation and encouragement from gentlemen of character and ability, at home and abroad, and such has been the success of endeavors hitherto used therein, as persuade us more and more that it is of god, and a device and plan which, under his blessing, has a greater probability of success than any that has yet been attempted. by the blessing and continual care of heaven, it has lived, and does still live and flourish, without any other fund appropriated to its support than that great one, in the hands of him, whose the earth is, and the fullness thereof. "and i trust there is no need to mention any other considerations to prove your lordship's compassions, or invite your liberality on this occasion, than those which their piteous and perishing case does of itself suggest, when once your lordship shall be well satisfied of a proper and probable way to manifest and express the same with success. which i do with the utmost cheerfulness submit to your lordship, believing your determination therein to be under the direction of him who does all things well. and, if the nature and importance of the case be not esteemed sufficient excuse for the freedom and boldness i have assumed, i must rely upon your lordship's innate goodness to pardon him who is, with the greatest duty and esteem, my lord, "your lordship's most obedient, "and most humble servant, "eleazar wheelock." it is interesting to observe here the agency of mr. wheelock's old and intimate friend, whitefield. as early as , after alluding to efforts in his behalf in great britain, he wrote to mr. wheelock: "had i a converted indian scholar, that could preach and pray in english, something might be done to purpose." after much deliberation, mr. wheelock determined to send mr. occom and rev. nathaniel whitaker of norwich, who was deeply interested in his work, to solicit the charities of british christians, with a purpose of more extended operations. they left this country late in , carrying testimonials from a large number of eminent civilians and divines. the following letter indicates that they were cordially welcomed in england: "london, february , . my dear mr. wheelock,--this day three weeks i had the pleasure of seeing mr. whitaker and mr. occom. on their account, i have deferred my intended journey into the country all next week. they have been introduced to, and dined with the daniel of the age, viz., the truly noble lord dartmouth. mr. occom is also to be introduced by him to his majesty, who intends to favor their design with his bounty. a short memorial for the public is drawn, which is to be followed with a small pamphlet. all denominations are to be applied to, and therefore no mention is made of any particular commissioners or corresponding committees whatsoever. it would damp the thing entirely. cashiers are to be named, and the moneys collected are to be deposited with them till drawn for by yourself. mr. occom hath preached for me with acceptance, and also mr. whitaker. they are to go round the other denominations in a proper rotation. as yet everything looks with a promising aspect. i have procured them suitable lodgings. i shall continue to do everything that lies in my power. mr. s.[ ] is providentially here,--a fast friend to your plan and his dear country. "i wish you joy of the long wished for, long prayed for repeal, and am, my dear mr. wheelock, "yours, etc., in our glorious head, "george whitefield." [ ] mr. john smith, of boston. we are now introduced to mr. wheelock's most valuable coadjutor, the son of mark hunking wentworth,--another active and earnest friend: "bristol, [england,] th dec., . "the rev. mr. whitaker having requested my testimony of an institution forming in america, under the name of an indian school, for which purpose many persons on that continent and in europe have liberally contributed, and he is now soliciting the further aid of all denominations of people in this kingdom to complete the proposed plan, i do therefore certify, whomsoever it may concern, that the said indian school appears to me to be formed upon principles of extensive benevolence and unfeigned piety; that the moneys already collected have been justly applied to this and no other use. from repeated information of many principal gentlemen in america, and from my own particular knowledge of local circumstances, i am well convinced that the charitable contributions afforded to this design will be honestly and successfully applied to civilize and recover the savages of america from their present barbarous paganism. "j. wentworth, "governor of new hampshire." the annals of philanthropy unfold few things bolder or more romantic in conception, or grander in execution, or sublimer in results than this most memorable, most successful pilgrimage. the unique, but magnetic, marvelous eloquence of this regenerated son of the forest, as he passed from town to town, and city to city, over england and scotland, engaged the attention and opened the hearts of all classes--the clergy, the nobility, and the peasantry. the names of the men and women and children, who gave of their abundance or their poverty, primarily and apparently to civilize and evangelize their wild and savage brethren across the sea, but ultimately and really to found one of the most solid and beautiful temples of christian and secular learning, in the western hemisphere, deserve affectionate and perpetual remembrance, along with those of their kindred, who in a preceding century dedicated their whole treasure upon plymouth rock. with sincere regret that we have not the name of every donor, yet with devout gratitude for the preservation of so full a record, we append the original list of donors in england, as prepared and published at the time, by lord dartmouth and his associates.[ ] [ ] see appendix. never was more timely aid given to a worthy cause. when mr. wheelock's agents went abroad he had a school of about thirty, and an empty treasury. these funds gave him present comfort, and enabled him to effect the long-desired removal. chapter v. sir william johnson.--explorations for a location. advice of english trustees. mr. wheelock was in friendly correspondence, for several years, with sir william johnson, the distinguished indian agent and superintendent, who resided in the province of new york, near the six nations. through his agency, the famous mohawk, joseph brant, was sent to mr. wheelock's school. after enjoying some opportunities for an estimate of his abilities and character, mr. wheelock speaks of him in highly complimentary terms, as a gentleman, "whose understanding and influence in indian affairs, is, i suppose, greater than any other man's, and to whose indefatigable and successful labors to settle and secure a peace with the several tribes, who have been at war with us, our land and nation are under god chiefly indebted." in september, , mr. wheelock writes to sir william: "i understand that some of our people are about to settle on a new purchase on susquehannah river. it may be a door may open for my design on that purchase." he also intimates that he desires to set up the school in his neighborhood. this plan does not meet sir william's approval, but in january, , mr. wheelock addresses him again, saying: "gov. wentworth has offered a tract of land in the western part of the province of new hampshire which he is now settling, for the use of the school if we will fix it there, and there has been some talk of fixing it in one of the new townships in the province of the massachusetts which lie upon new york line near albany. i much want to consult your honor in the affair." mr. wheelock's confidence in his friend having been strengthened by the receipt of several cordial letters, and other circumstances, he writes to him, july , : "i apprehend you are able above any man in this land to serve the grand design in view," desiring to "act in every step" agreeable to his mind, and informing him that he has sent his son, with dr. pomeroy, to confer with him about a location for the school. he also refers to "arguments offered to carry it into the southern governments." but mr. johnson did not see fit to invite the settlement of the school in the neighborhood of the six nations, deeming it unwise, apparently, to encourage a movement which might be regarded by them as an invasion of their territory, especially if they were asked to give lands to the school. this decision virtually determined the location. if mr. wheelock could not follow his old neighbors and friends to the westward, and plant himself beside the great indian confederacy, he must turn his attention to the northward, where other neighbors and friends were settling within easy reach of the far-extended indian tribes of canada. other localities, as we shall see hereafter, presented some inducements, but they were all of minor importance. hence, when his agents returned from great britain placing the long-desired funds for the accomplishment of his purposes in his hands, we may well imagine that mr. wheelock gladly turned toward that worthy magistrate, who had already shown "a willing heart," for more aid. in the meantime, mr. wheelock was giving the matter of a location his most earnest and careful attention. in a letter to mr. whitefield, dated september , , he says: "we cannot get land enough on hudson river." nor has he any more hope of success on the mohawk. "large offers have been made in the new settlements on connecticut river. it is likely that near twenty thousand acres would be given in their several towns." after stating that "col. willard" has made generous offers of lands, "on sugar river," he says: "that location would be the most inviting of any part of that country. samuel stevens, esq., offers two thousand acres to have it at no. . col. chandler offers two thousand acres in the centre of the town of chester, opposite to no. , nine miles from the river. the situation of wyoming, on susquehannah river, is very convenient."[ ] a few months later, general schuyler earnestly advocated the claims of albany as a favorable location. [ ] see appendix. but mr. wheelock's friends were very unwilling that he should leave connecticut. windham and hebron[ ] made earnest efforts to obtain the school. we quote from lebanon parish records: [ ] see appendix. "at a legal and full meeting of the inhabitants, legal voters of the second society in lebanon [now columbia], in connecticut, held in said society on the th day of june, anno domini , we made choice of mr. james pinneo to be moderator of said meeting, and passed the following votes, _nemine contradicente_: " . that we desire the indian charity school now under the care of the rev. mr. eleazar wheelock, may be fixed to continue in this society: provided it may consist with the interest and prosperity of said school. " . that as we have a large and convenient house for public and divine worship, we will accommodate the members of said school with such convenient seats in said house as we shall be able. " . that the following letter be presented to the rev. mr. eleazar wheelock, by messrs. israel woodward, james pinneo, and asahel clark, jun., in the name and behalf of this society; and that they desire him to transmit a copy of the same, with the votes foregoing, to the right honorable the earl of dartmouth, and the rest of those honorable and worthy gentlemen in england who have condescended to patronize said school; and to whom the establishment of the same is committed. "the inhabitants of the second society in lebanon in connecticut to the rev. mr. eleazar wheelock, pastor of said society. "rev. and ever dear pastor,--as you are witness to our past care and concern for the success of your most pious and charitable undertaking in favor of the poor perishing indians on this continent, we are confident you will not be displeased at our addressing you on this occasion; but that you would rather think it strange if we should altogether hold our peace at such a time as this; when we understand it is still in doubt both with yourself and friends where to fix your school; whether at albany or more remote among the indian tribes, in this society where it was first planted, or in some other part of this colony proposed for its accommodation. "we have some of us heard most of the arguments offered for its removal, and however plausible they appear we are not at all convinced of their force, or that it is expedient, everything considered, it should be removed, nor do we think we have great reason to fear the event, only we would not be wanting as to our duty in giving such hints in favor of its continuance here as naturally and easily occur to our minds, for we have that confidence in you and the friends of the design, that you will not be easily carried away with appearances: but will critically observe the secret springs of those generous offers, made in one place and another, (some of which are beyond what we can pretend to,) whether some prospect of private emolument be not at the bottom; or whether they will finally prove more kind to your pious institution as such considered, (whatever their pretenses may be,) than they have been or at present appear to be to the redeemer's kingdom in general. we trust this institution, so well calculated to the advancement of its interest, will flourish best among the redeemer's friends; and although with respect to ourselves we have little to boast as to friendship to our divine redeemer or his interest, yet this we are sure of, that he has been very kind to us, in times past, and we trust has made you the instrument of much good to us, and to lay a foundation for it to succeeding generations; we humbly hope god has been preparing an habitation for himself here, and has said of it, this is my resting place, here will i dwell forever, (not because they deserved it,) but because i have desired it, and where god is pleased to dwell, under his influence your institution (which we trust is of him) may expect to live and thrive. we desire it may be considered that this is its birth place, here it was kindly received, and nourished when no other door was set open to it--here it found friends when almost friendless, yea when despised and contemned abroad--its friends are now increased here as well as elsewhere, and although by reason of our poverty and the hardness of the times, our subscriptions are small compared with what some others may boast, being at present but about £ lawful money, yet there are here some other privileges which we think very valuable and serviceable to the design, viz. acres of very fertile and good land, about forty acres of which are under improvement, and the remainder well set with choice timber and fuel, and is suitably proportioned for the various branches of husbandry which will much accommodate the design as said land is situated within about half a mile of our meeting house, and may be purchased for fifty shillings lawful money per acre. there is also several other small parcels of land suitably situate for building places for the use of the school to be sold at a reasonable rate. we have also a beautiful building place for said school within a few rods of said meeting house, adjacent to which is a large and pleasant green: and we are confident that wood, provisions, and clothing, etc., which will be necessary for the school, may be had here not only now, but in future years, at as low a rate as in any place in the colony, or in any other place where it has been proposed to settle your school. these privileges, we think, are valuable and worthy your consideration, and also of those honourable and worthy gentlemen in england to whom you have committed the decision of the affair, and from the friendly disposition which has so many years past and does still reign in our breasts towards it, we think it may be presumed we shall from time to time be ready to minister to its support as occasion shall require and our circumstances permit. we take the liberty further to observe that such has hitherto been the peace and good order (greatly through your instrumentality), obtaining among us that the members of your school have all along been as free from temptations to any vicious courses or danger of fatal error as perhaps might be expected they would be on any spot of this universally polluted globe. "here, dear sir, your school has flourished remarkably. it has grown apace; from small beginnings how very considerable has it become; an evidence that the soil and climate suit the institution--if you transplant it you run a risk of stinting its growth, perhaps of destroying its very life, or at least of changing its nature and missing the pious aim you have all along had in view; a danger which scarce needs to be hinted, as you are sensible it has been the common fate of institutions of this kind that charitable donations have been misapplied and perverted to serve purposes very far from or contrary to those the pious donors had in view; such is the subtilty of the old serpent that he will turn all our weapons against ourselves if possible. aware of this, you have all along appeared to decline and even detest all such alliances and proposals as were calculated for, or seemed to promise any private emolument to your self or your friends. this, we trust, is still your prevailing temper, and rejoice to hear that your friends and those who are intrusted with the affair in england are exactly in the same sentiments, happy presage not only of the continuance of the institution itself but we hope of its immutability as to place. one thing more we beg leave to mention (not to tire your patience with the many that occur), viz. if you remove the school from us, you, at the same time, take away our minister, the light of our eyes and joy of our hearts, under whose ministrations we have sat with great delight; whose labors have been so acceptable, and we trust profitable, for a long time; must, then, our dear and worthy pastor and his pious institution go from us together? alas, shall we be deprived of both in one day? we are sensible that we have abused such privileges and have forfeited them; and at god's bar we plead guilty--we pray him to give us repentance and reformation, and to lengthen out our happy state; we own the justice of god in so heavy losses, if they must be inflicted; and even in the removal of our candlestick out of its place, but we can't bear the thought that you our dear pastor and the dear friends to your pious institution should become the executioners of such a vengeance. however, we leave the matter with you, and are with much duty and filial regard, dear sir, your very humble servants or rather obedient children. "by order of said society, israel woodward, james pinneo, asahel clark, jr." "june , ." this interesting document bears the same date with mr. wheelock's doctorate in divinity, from the university of edinburgh. dr. wheelock, appreciating the importance of a better knowledge of the comparative advantages of the various proposed locations, finally determined to commission trustworthy agents, to make thorough explorations. we give his language, in substance: "lebanon, connecticut, july , . "whereas the number in my indian charity school is now, by the blessing of god, become so large as that it is necessary the place where to fix it should be speedily determined, and so many and generous have been the offers made for that purpose by gentlemen of character and distinction in several neighboring governments, i do, therefore, hereby authorize and appoint the rev. mr. ebenezer cleaveland, of gloucester, in the province of the massachusetts bay, and my son, ralph wheelock (while the rev. dr. whitaker is performing the like part in pennsylvania) in my name and stead, to wait upon his excellency john wentworth, esq., governor of new hampshire, and his associates in office, to know what countenance and encouragement they will give to accommodate and endow said school, in case it should be fixed in the western part of that province." deep interest in dr. wheelock's work being manifested by rev. thomas allen and others, at pittsfield; timothy woodbridge and others, at stockbridge;[ ] and abraham j. lansing, the founder of lansingburg,[ ] and many others in that province, they were also instructed to extend their explorations to western massachusetts and to new york. [ ] see appendix. [ ] see appendix. the following is the material portion of mr. cleaveland's report: "i waited upon his excellency john wentworth, esq., governor of new hampshire. he appeared very friendly to the design--promised to grant a township, six miles square, to the use of the school, provided it should be fixed in that province, and that he would use his influence that his majesty should give the quit-rents to the school, to be free from charge of fees except for surveying. esquire whiting, the deputy surveyor, being present, offered his assistance to look out the township and survey it, and give the service to the school. his excellency the governor recommended him to me for that purpose (since which, we found landaff, a good township, to have forfeited the charter, of which we advised the governor, and were informed [that] he promised to reserve it for the school). after spending a few days on our way with gentlemen of the lower towns, who appeared universally desirous that the school should come into that province, and were generous in their offers to encourage the same, but proposed their donations, generally, where their interests in land lay we proceeded to plymouth, romney, and compton, where mr. whiting left me. five thousand acres of land were proposed to be given, on condition the school be fixed in either of these towns. seventy-five pounds sterling and twenty thousand feet of boards (besides land) are offered on condition it should be fixed in compton. the arguments used for fixing the school here are--'t is the centre of that province; good and easy portage by land and water to portsmouth and newbury; but twenty-seven miles further than connecticut river from the indians. "from thence i travelled to cohos, on connecticut river; the inhabitants of that new country were universally much engaged to have the school fixed there, both from a respect to dr. wheelock's person and a regard to the general design; it would be too lengthy to mention the particular offers that were generously made. besides what has been already mentioned, upwards of sixteen thousand acres are already subscribed, chiefly by gentlemen of the most noted and public characters in the province of new hampshire; and more is subscribing to have it fixed in the country of cohos. besides which, large subscriptions have been made and are still making which centre in particular towns, the principal of which and those where i was advised, and thought proper to take the most particular view, were haverhill and orford. these places are about equally distant from portsmouth, ninety-two miles, thirty of which is good water carriage, the rest may be made a good wagon road. in this new country there are more than two hundred towns chartered, settled, and about to settle, and generally of a religious people, which do, and soon will, want ministers; and they have no college or public seminary of learning for that purpose in that province, which want they apprehend may be supplied by this school without any disadvantage to, or interfering in the least, with the general design of it. these places are situate about forty miles nearer to the six nations than the place where the school now is; they are about one hundred miles from mount royal and about sixty from crown point; and, perhaps, about sixty from the indians at st. francis, to whom there is water portage by connecticut and st. francis rivers, except a mile or two; there is also water carriage from hence by the lakes and st. lawrence river, etc., by the six nations and the tribes many hundred miles west, except very small land carriages. population in this new country is very rapid, and will doubtless be much more so if the doctor should remove there with his school, and their lands will soon bear a great price. from hence i went with mr. john wright (whom the doctor sent to accompany me in my further inquiry) to hatfield, in the province of the massachusetts; and found gentlemen there universally desirous to have the school fixed in berkshire county in the western part of that province." this region was visited by them, as well as new york. during the autumn of , by commission of dr. wheelock, mr. cleaveland, in company with mr. allen mather, also attended a large "congress" of several indian tribes, at fort stanwix. in his report, after referring to friendly conference with other chiefs, he says: "i also saw one from caghnawaga near montreal, who desired to know if he could get his son into dr. wheelock's school, and manifested a great desire to send him. i told him there was talk of the school's going to cohos. he said if it should be fixed there, he believed that many of that tribe would send their children to it."[ ] this canadian chief's statement was considered, most carefully, by dr. wheelock. the proper documents were forwarded with the least practicable delay to the english trustees, and elicited the following response: [ ] see appendix. "london, d april, . "reverend sir:--last week we received your letters of the d and d december, , and th of january, ; and being convinced how necessary it is for the prosperity of your pious institution, as well as for the peace of your own mind, that a place should be fixed upon for the future establishment of your school as soon as possible, we have attentively considered the report of mr. ebenezer cleaveland, whom you employed to take a view of the several spots proposed for that purpose, together with the other papers which have now and heretofore been transmitted to us relative to that matter; and, upon weighing the several generous offers and proposals that have been made to you by gentlemen of different governments for the benevolent purpose of promoting the important design of your institution, and the reasons that have been offered or have occurred to us in support of each, we are unanimously of opinion that the most advantageous situation for carrying on the great purposes of your school, will be in one of the townships belonging to the district of cowas, in the government of new hampshire, agreeable to the proposal of governor wentworth and the gentlemen who have generously expressed their intention of contributing to that design; but whether haverhill or orford may be the most eligible for this purpose, we must leave to your judgment to determine. according to the best information we can procure of the state of those towns, we think you may possibly give the preference to the former, especially if the farm which you mention as very convenient for an immediate supply of provisions, can be procured upon reasonable terms. "we found our opinion, principally, upon this reason, that it appears to us that cowas is the most central of the situations that have been proposed between the indians of the six nations, on the one hand, and those of st. francis and of the other tribes to the eastward, on the other; and that it is not inferior to any of the rest in other respects. for this reason, we cannot but recommend to you to accept the offers of governor wentworth and the gentlemen in new hampshire. and we heartily pray that the same good providence which has so remarkably blessed your undertaking hitherto, may continue to protect and prosper it in its farther progress, and may prolong your life, that you may have the satisfaction to see it fixed upon such a plan as may afford a reasonable hope of answering all the good purposes you have in view. "we are, reverend sir, "your most obedient servants, dartmouth, s. s. smythe, samuel roffey, john thornton, daniel west, charles hardy, samuel savage, jos. robarts, robert keen." "received august , ." chapter vi. a college charter. the long-protracted efforts of mr. wheelock,[ ] to provide legal safeguards for donations in aid of his great work, now demand careful attention. [ ] it will be observed that the appropriate title, at the period under consideration, is given to the founder of the college here as elsewhere in this work. the deed of mr. joshua more, conveying two acres of land with buildings attached, was dated july , , a short time previous to his death. mr. wheelock now placed himself in confidential relations with two eminent lawyers in new york, william smith, and his son william smith, jr., the latter of whom, perhaps, may be said to have left his impress upon the constitution of the united states, through his distinguished pupil, gouverneur morris. the correspondence, at first, seems to have been chiefly with mr. smith, senior. august , , he writes to mr. wheelock: "the means for the accomplishment of so charitable a design seem at present very imperfect." he suggests, that there is "no incorporation" of mr. wheelock and the other gentlemen to whom mr. more conveyed the property; that the deed contains "no consideration;" and that the estate is at most only "for life." he advises mr. wheelock, at least, to procure a better deed, which was afterwards executed by mrs. more. the death of mr. wheelock's most influential and valuable associate trustee, ex-president williams, only a few days after the conveyance by mr. more, was a severe loss, and a temporary embarrassment to his associates. but mr. wheelock determined to proceed in his efforts for an incorporation, relying mainly upon the dictates of his own judgment for direction. after the lapse of some five years, in february, , he gives the results to mr. smith, in language of which the following is the substance: "we sent home some years ago for the royal favor of a charter. lord halifax approved the design, but [to save expense] advised, instead of a charter, the establishment of the school by a law of connecticut colony, and promised that when sent there it should be ratified in council, which he supposed would be as sufficient as any act there. hereupon i attended our assembly, in may, , with a memorial, the prayer of which was granted by the house of representatives; the governor and council negatived it, upon the ground that their action would not be valid, if ratified in england, beyond this colony, and that a corporation within a corporation might be troublesome, as yale college had sometimes been. i am since informed that the earl of dartmouth has promised, if the matter shall be put into a proper channel, to undertake and go through with it at his own expense." thus it appears that lord dartmouth was desirous of aiding mr. wheelock by his influence, and otherwise, long before being asked by him for pecuniary aid. in explanation of the governor's objections, it should be stated, that mr. wheelock desired such an incorporation as would enable him to locate his school in any of the american colonies, and that there was just at that period an earnest contest between the corporation of yale college, led by president clap, and the colonial government, in regard to the control of that institution. nothing having been accomplished in the meantime, mr. wheelock writes in july, , to his friend, dr. erskine, as follows: "governor fitch privately proposes my removing my prayer for an incorporation from this government [connecticut]. it is likely we shall delay, it till we see the success of our suit for the royal favor." in september following, he writes to his friend, mr. de berdt, in london, that he has sent to him "materials, by general lyman[ ] and colonel dyer,"[ ] to enable him to "make application for an incorporation." unsuccessful as before in england, for reasons which will become more apparent hereafter, in may, , we find mr. wheelock petitioning the connecticut assembly "to incorporate" six gentlemen of the colony, including george wyllis, of hartford, and himself, as legal guardians of his school. but he did not procure the long-desired incorporation. [ ] the distinguished gen. phineas lyman. [ ] hon. eliphalet dyer, of windham. in , being about to send solicitors of charity on a larger scale to england, mr. wheelock decided to make yet one more effort there for an act of incorporation. a letter from mr. smith, written evidently about this time, no date being attached, contains advice to mr. wheelock in which we trace one of the most prominent features of the charter. he proposes, in substance: "an application to the king for a short charter incorporating. first, a sett of gentlemen in the colonies near mr. wheelock, who shall have all the power of a corporation, as to managing estates, supplying vacancies, etc. second, another sett in england and elsewhere in europe, who, shall be correspondents of the first sett, and only have the general power of securing donations to be transferred to them." lord dartmouth and the other gentlemen in england who were constituted, by mr. wheelock, a board of trust for the moneys collected in that country, by messrs. occom and whitaker, seem to have thought this private incorporation amply sufficient for the security of these funds. in writing to mr. keen, in november, , mr. (now dr.) wheelock alludes to the fact that this gentleman had expressed an opinion that his successor should be "in all respects accountable to the present trust." although dissenting from this opinion, dr. wheelock seems to have been prudent and conciliatory in his intercourse with his worthy benefactors, wisely deeming it an object of primary importance to raise the requisite funds for his operations. messrs. occom and whitaker having fulfilled their mission abroad, and generous promises of aid having been made by governor wentworth, we find dr. wheelock, in october, , writing to him as follows: "as soon as the place to fix the school shall have been determined to be in your province, i will appoint your excellency, or the governor for the time being, to be a trustee on this side the water till a legal incorporation may be obtained." this shows that dr. wheelock was not averse to a judicious admixture of the clerical and lay elements in the board of trust, although the trustees named in his will, the germ of the charter, were clergymen. the suggestion seems to have been most kindly received by governor wentworth. dr. wheelock now determined to avail himself of the aid of his firm and valuable friend, rev. dr. langdon, of portsmouth. a letter from him to this gentleman is as follows: "lebanon, april , . "reverend and dear sir,--yours by captain cushman is safe arrived, and i have considered the contents. and for several reasons i am of opinion that it will be best that the trustees be the same for the present, as i have already appointed in my will, which i have made at the desire of the trust in england, whose names were, with the will, some time ago transmitted to them. the affair is very delicate, and as such must be conducted, or it will disgust those worthy gentlemen, and overset all. their sentiments of an incorporation have been differing from mine. they have insisted that i should conduct the whole affair without one, and that my successor should be nominated and appointed by my will. experience, they think, has fully taught them that, by means of an incorporation, such designs become jobs, and are soon ruined thereby. they choose to hold the moneys collected there in their own hands for this purpose, and accordingly have publicly declared their trust of the same under their hands and seals, and have disposed of it, as their wisdom directed, for the benefit of the school. i have, therefore, after much study and consultation in the affair, appointed two setts of trustees, namely, those in england who have voluntarily condescended to make themselves so, to take care of whatever concerns the object in view on that side the water; and a sett in this vicinity, to take care of and perform whatever shall concern it on this side. i have appointed a successor, to take care of the school, etc., only till he shall be approved and confirmed by the concurrence of both setts of trustees, or till they all agree in another, nominated by either and approved by both, each sett to have power to supply vacancies in their trust, made by death or resignation, by the major vote of the survivors; something like this i conceive will be most agreeable to the right honorable, honorable, and generous benefactors who have accepted the trust in england, and i apprehend it will make the design popular and respectable. "the trustees here will hold and have the disposal of lands given in america for this use; and i apprehend it will be proper for his majesty's governor of the province for the time being to be a trustee, but at present i have not light enough to determine a propriety in making his majesty himself one on this side the water. "i have several reasons, which appear to me weighty, for having the body of the trustees first incorporated in this vicinity. " . they will be at hand to conduct the affairs of the school, missionaries, schoolmasters, etc., till i can get settled in the wilderness, which will be impracticable, if they are at the distance of portsmouth. " . several of the trustees talk of removing with me to settle in that vicinity; and if so, they may for a time act as a committee, till a sufficient number suitable for that trust shall be settled (as you will observe will be expedient) near to the school. " . till this be done, my connections will likely be such as will oblige me to make frequent visits to these parts, where we may have a full meeting of the board without any expense. " . gentlemen here have been so much concerned in indian affairs, that i suppose it not to be immodest to say _ceteris paribus_, they are at present better qualified to act therein than those who will have to encounter a thousand dangers and difficulties before unthought of. " . by having the body corporate here, i can claim a valuable subscription of £ or £ for the use and support of the school, payable as soon as it becomes a body corporate, besides a tenement in this place, given for the same purpose. "if the school should once be settled in those parts, it is likely population will proceed with much greater rapidity than ever, and the whole will be soon effected. "i design to consult some gentlemen of the law relative to an incorporation, and get a rough draught made, with a view to save time if the school should be fixed in your province. please to discourse his excellency of thoughts i have here suggested, and transmit such remarks as he shall please to make thereon. please to commend my respects suitably to him, and accept the same yourself from, reverend and dear sir, your friend and brother, etc., "eleazar wheelock." "colonel wyllis and esquire ledyard," of hartford, were among dr. wheelock's legal advisers in , and probably at this period. june , , we find dr. wheelock addressing governor wentworth as follows: "i have been making some attempt to form a charter, in which some proper respect may be shown to those generous benefactors in england who have condescended to patronize this school, and i want to be informed whether you think it consistent to make the trust in england a distinct corporation, with power to hold real estate, etc., for the uses and purposes of this school." but the impress of governor wentworth does not appear till a somewhat later period. august , , dr. wheelock informs him that he is about to present him a "rough draught" of a charter, for an "academy," adding this somewhat significant postscript: "sir, if you think proper to use the word college instead of academy in the charter, i shall be well pleased with it." dr. wheelock's son-in-law, mr. alexander phelps, and rev. dr. whitaker seem to have been the principal agents to confer with governor wentworth in regard to the charter. october , , he gives his views at length, in a letter to dr. wheelock, advising some amendments. proposing some additions to the board of trust, he says: "the nomination of the provincial officers i strongly recommend, though i do not insist upon. it was indeed resolved on my side that the governor should be one" of the board. "that i did not mention any other than the governor can by no means be preclusive. neither did i so intend it. the three provincial officers will be a natural defense, honor and security to the institution." the following letter indicates that governor wentworth had eminent legal counsel: "rev. sir: i have had an opportunity of conferring with colonel phelps on the affair of the college proposed to be erected here. you'll find some alterations in the scheme and draft of the charter; they are supposed to be amendments, and i think they, to say the least, will not be impediments. i cannot stay to enumerate them; the charter will show them and the colonel will be able to explain the grounds and reasons of them. i have spent some considerable time with the governor to form the plan in such a manner as will make it most beneficial, and to prevail on him to make such concessions as would suit the gentlemen with you. i am apt to think the plan will be more serviceable as it now stands than as it was before. i shall be glad to serve the cause, and have persuaded colonel phelps to communicate it before the finishing stroke, though it will cost him another journey. i have only to add that i am, with great esteem, "your most obedient humble servant, "william parker. "portsmouth, october , ." six connecticut clergymen, selected by dr. wheelock, with one member of the connecticut colonial government, governor wentworth, with three of his council, and the speaker of the new hampshire house of representatives, were constituted the first board of trust. this arrangement, the result of friendly negotiation, appears to have been satisfactory to both parties. october , , dr. wheelock writes to governor wentworth, expressing much satisfaction with his "catholic views," and warm friendship, as indicated by his letter of the th, and says: "if your excellency shall see fit in your wisdom and goodness to complete the charter desired, and it will be the least satisfaction to you to christen the house to be built after your own name, it will be exceedingly grateful to me, and i believe to all concerned." he deems it important that the public should understand, "that the benevolent charities are not designed to be applied merely and exclusively to the advancement of sectaries, with a fixed view to discourage the established church of england." it should here be remarked that three of the original trustees of the college were nominally episcopalians, and the remaining nine were, most or all, nominally congregationalists, although some had presbyterian tendencies. in writing to lord dartmouth, march , , after referring to the "enclosed copy of incorporation," which was dated december , , president wheelock says: "governor wentworth thought best to reject that clause in my draught of the charter which gave the honorable trust in england equal power with the trustees here to nominate and appoint the president, from time to time, apprehending it would make the body too unwieldy, but he cheerfully consented that i should express my gratitude and duty to your lordship, by christening after your name; and as there seemed to be danger of many embarrassments, in many ways, in the present ruffled and distempered state of the kingdom, i thought prudent to embrace the first opportunity to accomplish it." the letter indicates that dr. wheelock determined what should be the name of the institution without conferring with his distinguished benefactor on that point. that the english trustees were somewhat dissatisfied, temporarily, with the measure of responsibility assumed by dr. wheelock, there is no doubt. but nearly perfect harmony was restored, by the prudence of that excellent diplomatist. in writing to these gentlemen, june , ; he says: "i am confident that, had you been upon the spot, you would have approved every step i have taken, unless it was my attempt to effect so great an affair as settling in this wilderness in so short a time, which the event has fully justified, although my trials have been very great." he also expresses the opinion, that, if they will compare his plan proposed in his former letters with his procedure since, they will find that he has "invariably kept the same object in view." later records indicate that president wheelock still numbered lord dartmouth and others of the english board among his faithful friends. although not officially connected with the college, they evidently cherished an abiding interest in its welfare. the charter, so remarkable in its history, is a valuable and an enduring monument to the genius, skill, and learning of its distinguished framers.[ ] like the charters of harvard and yale, it indicates that the clergy were regarded, generally, as the best depositaries of educational trusts. in the former case, the "teaching elders" of the "six next adjoining towns" were ex-officio, "overseers;" in the latter, the original trustees were all clergymen. it may safely be asserted that, of the large number of eminent gentlemen, who, as trustees, have administered the affairs of dartmouth college, none have been more eminent for their wisdom or fidelity than the reverend clergy. [ ] see appendix. [illustration: handwritten letter] chapter vii. president wheelock's personal explorations in new hampshire.--location at hanover. in his "narrative" for , president wheelock tells the story of dartmouth's location in the granite state so plainly and satisfactorily, that we can do no better than to give his own recapitulation and condensation of the leading facts. "the smiles of heaven upon this school were such that it appeared quite necessary to build to accommodate it; and the plan which i laid for this purpose was to secure a sufficient tract of good land for the only use and benefit of the school, and that the english charity scholars should be led to turn their exercises for the relaxation of their minds from their studies, and for the preservation of health, from such exercises as have been frequently used by students for these purposes, to such manual labor as might be subservient to the support of the school, thereby effectually removing the deep prejudices, so universal in the minds of the indians, against going into the business of husbandry." "the necessity of building, and also that i proposed to fix it at any distance where the design might be best served by it, became publicly known, whereupon great numbers in connecticut and in neighboring provinces made generous offers to invite the settlement of it in their respective places. in which affair i employed proper agents to view the several situations proposed, and hear the several arguments and reasons that might be offered by the solicitors for it, and make a faithful report of the same. "the magistracy of the city of albany offered an interest estimated at £ , sterling, besides private donations, which it was supposed would be large, to fix it in that city. several other generous offers were made to fix it in that vicinity. his excellency, sir francis bernard, governor of the province of the massachusetts bay, in company with two others, offered , acres of good land in a central town[ ] in the county of berkshire in said province. to which were added several other donations, amounting in the whole to , acres of land, and a subscription said to be about £ sterling. also generous offers were made to it in stockbridge and other towns in that province. several generous offers were made by particular towns and parishes in the colony of connecticut, and particularly to continue it where it had its rise. but the country being so filled up with inhabitants, it was not practicable to get so large a tract of lands as was thought to be most convenient and useful for it in those old settlements. the honorable trust in england gave the preference to the western part of the province of new hampshire, on connecticut river, as the site of the school." [ ] pittsfield. before this period he "began to be convinced by many weighty reasons that a greater proportion of english youth must be prepared for missionaries to take entirely the lead of the affairs in the wilderness." he also was deeply impressed with the want of ministers in a large number of towns, nearly two hundred in all, just then newly settling in the connecticut valley. in view of all the circumstances, and especially the fact that there was a disposition on the part of many young men who had the ministry in view to seek preparation for it elsewhere, than at yale or harvard, he felt it his duty to adhere to his plan of extension. "as neither the honorable trust in england nor the charter had fixed upon the particular town or spot on which the buildings should be erected, wherefore to complete the matter, as soon as the ways and streams would allow, i took the rev. mr. pomeroy, and esq. [samuel] gilbert (a gentleman of known ability for such a purpose) with me to examine thoroughly, and compare the several places proposed, within the limits prescribed for fifty or sixty miles on or near said river; and to hear all the reasons and arguments that could be offered in favor of each of them, in which service we faithfully spent eight weeks. and in consequence of our report and representation of facts, the trustees unanimously agreed that the southwesterly corner of hanover adjoining upon lebanon was the place above any to fix it in; and that for many reasons, namely, it is most central on the river, and most convenient for transportation up and down the river; as near as any to the indians; convenient for communication with crown point on lake champlain, and with canada. the situation is on a beautiful plain, the soil fertile and easy of cultivation. the tract on which the college is fixed, lying mostly in one body, and convenient for improvement, in the towns of hanover and lebanon, contains upwards of , acres." we quote from official records: "portsmouth, new hampshire, july , . "we, the subscribers nominated trustees of dartmouth college, in the charter of said college, and being duly qualified as directed by said charter, have taken into consideration the places whereon said college might be situated; and do hereby certify that it is our advice, opinion and vote that said dartmouth college be situated and erected upon lands in the township of hanover upon connecticut river in the province aforesaid, provided the lands, moneys, and other aids subscribed for the use of said dartmouth college, if placed in hanover aforesaid, be firmly and securely conveyed to the trustees of and for the use of said college. and also that the said town of hanover, and lebanon, previously consent and petition to the legislature that a contiguous parish of at least three miles square, in and adjoining to these aforesaid towns of hanover and lebanon, be set off and incorporated into a separate and distinct parish under the immediate jurisdiction of the aforesaid dartmouth college. "in witness whereof we have hereunto signed this instrument for placing buildings and establishing the said college in hanover aforesaid, upon the aforesaid conditions. "j. wentworth. "theodore atkinson. "eleazar wheelock. "george jaffrey. "d. pierce. "p. gilman. "benj. pomeroy." "hartford, th july, . "we, the subscribers, being nominated trustees of dartmouth college, and being duly qualified according to the charter of such college, do hereby agree to the situation of said college as determined by the trustees as above signed; provided (in addition to the conditions they have specified), that dr. wheelock may be accommodated with a suitable farm, at or near the college; apprehending that his past labors and expenses, and his present connection with said institution, justly merit such consideration. "wm. pitkin, "james lockwood, "timothy pitkin, "john smalley." the "coos" region now demands our more careful attention. while southern new england was largely occupied by emigrants from the mother country, and their descendants, in the seventeenth century, much of its northern portions, and especially the rich valley of the upper connecticut, was still covered with the virgin forests. as early as , theodore atkinson (whose name will become more familiar to us) and others in eastern new hampshire, had formed a plan for acquiring and colonizing the best portion of this unoccupied, but fertile and inviting, basin. but the proud and lordly indian disputed their right to invade this ancient and charming hunting-ground, whose meadows almost spontaneously produced the choicest corn, and they desisted from their purpose. the immediate occasion of the settlement of this part of the connecticut valley was the french war. in the progress of that war, the new england troops had cut a road from the older settlements in the south part of the province through charlestown, then called no. , to crown point. the soldiers in passing through this valley became acquainted with its fertility and value. the soil of eastern connecticut being exhausted in some measure, her hardy and enterprising yeomanry now gladly turned toward a region where honest industry would find a surer and better reward. many of them knew the value of religion by a vital experience, and all knew the value of sound learning by experience or close observation. the leading founders of hanover were of the highly respectable freeman family, of mansfield, conn. the early history of this family in america connects it with the bradford and prince families. the pioneer settler at hanover was edmund freeman. of this worthy and enterprising man, sincere christian, earnest patriot, and valuable coadjutor of president wheelock, it is said: "of distinguished uprightness and integrity, he commanded universal respect and esteem." hon. jonathan freeman was his brother. another family to whom hanover is largely indebted for its solid foundations bears the no less distinguished name of storrs, also of mansfield, the old ancestral home of all, or nearly all, of that name, who in various ways have been conspicuous in giving "strength and beauty" to american institutions. of joseph storrs, an early donor to dartmouth, it is said: "he was the younger son of samuel storrs the second, and grandson of samuel storrs the elder, from whom all of the name in america are descended, excepting one family near richmond, va. he was a member of the first board of selectmen of the town of hanover." the town contained about twenty families at the period of which we are writing. the relations of some other early settlers with president wheelock deserve equally careful notice. john wright, from lebanon, conn., was a man of marked ability and decided religious character. he was deeply interested in the new college, and as pioneer explorer and artisan rendered its founder invaluable aid. his name also heads the list of the hanover donors of lands. david woodward, formerly a parishioner of president wheelock, and afterward widely known for his strong mind, his public spirit, and patriotism, also coöperated earnestly with him while he was laying foundations. his house appears to have furnished the venerable president his first headquarters, while planning future operations. nathaniel wright, from coventry, conn., was a relation of john wright. his descendants have honored the college, as some of them still honor the memory of an ancestor, whose name is inseparably and prominently connected with the civil and religious history of the town. his heart and hand were with president wheelock, and his log cabin was a welcome resting-place. james murch, one of the more enterprising among the early settlers, was also from connecticut, where he had formed some acquaintance with president wheelock and his plans. upon him it seems to have devolved, in some measure at least, to set forth in homely but vigorous language the leading attractions of this locality. reverting to the "narrative," we give president wheelock's own graphic account of labor and privation, which, in view of all the circumstances, has few parallels in history: "after i had finished this tour [of exploration] and made a short stay at home, to settle some affairs, i returned again into the wilderness, to make provision for the removal and settlement of my family and school there before winter. i arrived in august [ ], and found matters in such a situation as at once convinced me of the necessity of being myself upon the spot. and as there was no house conveniently near, i made a hutt of logs about eighteen feet square, without stone, brick, glass, or nail, and with thirty, forty, and sometimes fifty laborers appointed to their respective departments, i betook myself to a campaign. i set some to build a house for myself and family, of forty by thirty-two feet, and one story high, and others to build a house for my students of eighty by thirty-two, and two stories high." his family and about twenty or thirty students arriving before the completion of his house, difficulty in locating having arisen, he says: "i housed my stuff with my wife and the females of my family in my hutt. my sons and students made booths and beds of hemlock boughs, and in this situation we continued about a month, till the th day of october, when i removed with my family to my house." a few last words to one who for a long period had regarded his work with more than fraternal interest, and himself with more than fraternal affection, fitly portray the state of president wheelock's mind and heart in those days of toil and trial and hope: "from my hutt in hanover woods in the province of new hampshire, august , . "my dear sir:--i long to see you and spend one day with you on the affairs of the redeemer's kingdom. it would be vain to attempt to tell you of the many and great affairs i am at present involved in, in all which i have had much of the loving-kindness, faithfulness, and goodness of god. i am this day sending for my family and expect the house will be made comfortable for their reception by the time they arrive. my prospects are, by the goodness of god, vastly encouraging. a series of merciful occurrences has persuaded me that god designs great good to his church among english as well as indians by this institution. i was informed at boston, in my late journey, that the commissioners have plenty of their constituents' money which lies useless for want of missionaries, and for many weighty reasons i have thought that the redeemer's cause might be much served by mr. kirtland's[ ] going to their pay. this was an important point i wished to consult you in. likely your own thoughts may suggest some reasons and such as you shall think sufficient without my disclosing many that are not public. if you think favorably of it, please to propose it to them, as you will likely have an opportunity for before you leave the continent. i have a number fitted and fitting for missions more than the fund already collected will support, and if that may be saved, and at the same time uniformity and good agreement between the boards is promoted, it will be well. i wrote you from dedham on my late journey from boston. i rejoice to hear that your bow yet abides in strength; that god has once more made you useful in america. i am chained here; there is no probability that the buildings will be seasonably and well accomplished if i should leave them. i don't expect to see you till we meet in the general convention on the other shore. please to favor me with a line, and your thoughts on the question proposed. you may send from boston by the northfield post, directed to me at hanover in this province. oh, how glad should i be to see you in this wilderness! [ ] the modern orthography is kirkland. "my dear sir, farewell. "i am yours in the dear jesus. "eleazar wheelock. "rev. george whitefield." there appears to have been no subsequent meeting, on earth, of these eminent coadjutors in all good works. the one was called to his reward above, just as the other was beginning to enjoy the fruition of his labors on earth. few names deserve more honor, in connection with the founding of dartmouth college, than that of george whitefield.[ ] [ ] many things, which cannot be specified, illustrating the history of this period and others, are necessarily placed in the appendix. [illustration: ground plan of the first college edifice: erected in , near what is now the southeast corner of the common.] chapter viii. commencement of operations.--course of study.--policy of administration. instruction at dartmouth appears to have commenced in december following the removal, with four classes in attendance. in writing to dr. erskine, december , , president wheelock says: "i am now removed into the wilderness with my family, and about thirty students, english and indians, who are all designed for the indian service." after referring to the erection of a house for his family, and "another" for his students, he says: "i have also built a school-house, which is convenient. my nearest neighbor in the town is two and one half miles from me. i can see nothing but the lofty pines about me. my family and students are in good health, and well pleased with a solitude so favorable to their studies." in president wheelock's account-book, david huntington, thomas kendall, ebenezer gurley, augustine hibbard, james dean, and joseph grover, are charged with tuition from various dates, ranging from december th to december th. the rate is _ s. d._ per week, "deducting abscences." in connecticut, the tuition, for classical instruction in the school, had been _ s. d._ per week. the following, from president wheelock to a distant correspondent, indicates sufficient patronage of the new institution: "hanover, december , . "dear sir,--your son, with companion, are safely arrived. i've sent back part of my students to connecticut. i've just got studies fitted, and made provision for the support of the rest of them. the great difficulty in taking your son is the want of provisions in this starved country. i send to northfield and montague for my bread, and expect supply chiefly from thence." the facilities for acquiring classical and scientific education appear to have been substantially the same at dartmouth, at the outset, as in other american colleges of that period. the discoveries of newton and franklin had a marked, if not controlling, influence upon the thought of the eighteenth century. no american college, perhaps, felt this influence more than president wheelock's alma mater, in which franklin took a deep interest. at the period of the founding of dartmouth, we find that, in yale college, the faculty consisted of dr. daggett, who was president, and professor of divinity; rev. nehemiah strong, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, and two or three tutors. president wheelock doubtless had his alma mater especially in mind, in planning the curriculum of dartmouth. he was himself professor of divinity, as well as president. his first associate in instruction, who acted in the capacity of tutor, was mr. bezaleel woodward, who had graduated at yale college in , during the presidency of rev. thomas clap, of whom his associate in the faculty, the future president stiles, says: "in mathematics and natural philosophy i have reason to think he was not equaled by more than one man in america." the fact that mr. woodward was subsequently, for many years, a highly esteemed professor of mathematics in the college, indicates that he was a worthy pupil of his distinguished teacher. there can be no doubt that the college was highly favored, in its beginnings, in having a president who had been, while at college, distinguished as a classical scholar, and in later life as an able and a learned divine, aided by a younger teacher, whose scientific attainments well qualified him for the duties of his position. the first preceptor of the charity school, at hanover, was david mcclure, who had recently graduated at yale college. he was an able and a successful teacher. the various relations of the school and college were so intimate at this period, that it is nearly impossible to dissociate them. the word "school," as used by president wheelock, frequently includes the college. three of dartmouth's first class were prepared for college at the "indian charity school" in lebanon, and passed their first three years at yale. the following letter from an eminent teacher, referred to in a previous chapter, addressed to president wheelock, introduces their only new classmate: "lebanon, august , . "rev. sir: the bearer, samuel gray, entered my school about two years ago, and in that time has been about four months absent. he was well fitted for college when he was first under my care, and having applied himself with proper diligence to his studies, and being favored with a genius somewhat better than common, has made a progress in his learning answerable to his industry. he will be found upon examination to be pretty well acquainted with virgil, tully, and horace. he is likewise able to construe any part of the greek testament. he parses and makes latin rather better than common. he has been through the twelve first books of homer, but, as 't is more than a year since he recited that author, am afraid he has lost the greater part of what he then understood pretty well. in arithmetic, vulgar and decimal, he is well versed. i have likewise taught him trigonometry, altimetry, longimetry, navigation, surveying, dialing, and gauging. he has been through martin's 'philosophical grammar' twice,--the greater part of which he understands very well. he has likewise studied whiston's 'astronomy,' all except the calculations, which he doth not understand. he is likewise pretty well acquainted with geography and the use of the globes. he went through watts' 'logic' last winter, but having no taste for that study, or rather an aversion to it, he is not so well skilled in that as in some other parts of learning. about a year ago he went through so much of rhetoric as is contained in the 'preceptor,' but suppose he has forgot the most of it. upon the whole, though he may not, perhaps, be so well versed in some parts of learning as the class which he proposes to enter, yet if he applies himself to his studies with proper diligence, he will be rather an honor than a disgrace to any college where he shall be graduated. i ought in justice to him to add, that he is an orderly, well-behaved youth, and has conducted so well in my school ever since he has been with me that i have never had the least difference with him on any account whatever. "i am, reverend sir, with much esteem, "your most humble servant, "nathan tisdale. "p. s. i have another pupil whom i shall offer for admission into your college at the end of the vacancy [vacation], if i can fit him by that time." * * * * * a portion of a letter from a somewhat distinguished clergyman and teacher, rev. simeon williams, of windham, n. h., introducing several prominent members of the class of , is worthy of notice here, although written in . in connection with the reply, it throws additional light upon the first prescribed course of study at dartmouth. after expressions indicating confidence that president wheelock will attend, faithfully, to the welfare of the young men, the language is as follows: "when they first came to my school they had read enough of virgil and the lower latin classics, together with a sufficient knowledge of the greek testament, to enable them to pass into any of the colleges as freshmen. but when their fathers informed me that they intended their residence only for two years, and that they expected, if they were under my care, i would qualify them in all the parts of the freshman and sophomore years, so as they might with honor and ability enter the junior class, with mature deliberation, i undertook the arduous task. the first year i confined their studies to virgil, cicero's 'orations,' together with their improvement in geography, rhetoric, and occasional declamations, etc. this second year they have been reading homer and horace, cicero de oratore, and a part of xenophon. i have also carefully instructed them in all the four parts of logic from doctor finlay's 'latin compend,' expounding the same by familiar lectures, for the most part extracted from mr. locke and doctor watts. there is one kind of study which this last year they have been much employed in,--i mean double translation,--their improvement therein will appear to you by casting your eye on their various manuscripts. i would observe to you that i have not introduced them to the knowledge of mathematical learning, knowing it is most usual in colleges to put them to those studies in the junior year." in reply president wheelock says: "we have examined the youth you sent, and find them deficient in several parts of learning which the [junior] class have made some proficiency in, viz., mathematics, geography, and parsing greek. they have studied tullie de oratore, and xenophon, and some in homer, more than that class have done. on the whole i have concluded to take them into that class, only with this condition, that they recite those things in which they are deficient with the sophomore class while their own class recite other parts in which they exceed them." the studies of the senior year do not appear to have differed materially from those of other colleges, of that period. jonathan edwards was a favorite author in metaphysics and theology. president wheelock in his "narrative," for , gives the following lucid statement of the policy and aims of the school and college: "it is earnestly recommended to the students both in college and school, " . that all the english students in the college and school treat the indian children with care, tenderness and kindness, as younger brethren, and as may be most conducive to the great ends proposed. " . that they turn the course of their diversions and exercises for their health to the practice of some manual arts, or cultivation of gardens, and other lands, at the proper hours of leisure and intermission from study and vacancies in the college and school. " . that no english scholar, whether supported by charity or otherwise, shall, at any time, speak diminutively of the practice of labor, or by any means cast contempt upon it, or by word or action endeavor to discredit or discourage the same, on penalty of his being obliged, at the discretion of the president or tutor, to perform the same or the equivalent to that which he attempted to discredit; or else (if he be not a charity scholar) to hire the same done by others, or, in case of refusal and obstinacy in this offense, that he be dismissed from college, and denied all the privileges and honors of it. " . that no scholar shall be employed in labor in the hours of study, or so as to interrupt him in his studies, unless upon special emergencies, and with liberty from the president or a tutor. " . that accounts be faithfully kept of all the labor so done by them, either for the procuring provisions for the support of the college and school, or that which shall be for real and lasting advantage to this institution; and such accounts shall be properly audited, and a record kept of the same for the benefit of such scholars, if they should be called by the providence of god to withdraw from their purpose of serving as missionaries in the wilderness, or to leave the service before they have reasonably compensated the expense of their education. " . that such as are not charity scholars, but pay for their education, may have liberty to labor for the benefit of the institution at such times as are assigned to charity scholars, and the just value of their labor be accounted towards the expense of their support. " . that no freshman shall be taken off, or prevented labor, by any errand for an under-graduate, without liberty obtained from the president or a tutor. "_n. b._ occasional errands and services for the college and school are not designed to be accounted, nor their procuring fuel for their fires, and things equivalent for their own and their chamber's use in particular, nor anything which shall not be of real or lasting benefit for the whole, unless in cases where they are incapacitated for labor, and yet are able to perform such errands for or in the room of those who can and do labor in their stead. "lastly. that this indian charity school, connected with dartmouth college, be constantly hereafter and forever called and known by the name of 'moor's school.' "moreover poor youth, who shall seek an education here, at their own expense, may not only have the advantage of paying any part of that by turning their necessary diversions to manual labor, but also, as all that will be paid by such as support themselves will be disposed of for the support of the indian, or other charity scholars, therefore, whatever clothing or provisions shall be necessary for the school will be good pay at a reasonable price. "his excellency governor wentworth, among many other expressions of his care and zeal to preserve the purity and secure the well-being of this seminary against such evils as have been the ruin of, or at least have a very threatening aspect upon others which have come within his knowledge, has insisted upon it as a condition of location, to which all the trustees have cheerfully subscribed, that wherever it should be fixed, there should be a society of at least three miles square, which should be under the jurisdiction of the college, that thereby unwholesome inhabitants may be prevented settling, and all hurtful or dangerous connections with them, or practices among them may be seasonably discovered and prevented in a legal way.[ ] [ ] the town of hanover, at three different times within the next twenty-five years, by their vote sanctioned this incorporation of the "college district." but the plan was never favorably regarded, apparently, by the new hampshire legislature. "as this institution is primarily designed to christianize the heathen, that is, to form the minds and manners of their children to the rules of religion and virtue; and to educate pious youth of the english to bear the redeemer's name among them in the wilderness; and secondarily to educate meet persons for the sacred work of the ministry, in the churches of christ among the english; so it is of the last and very special importance, that all who shall be admitted here in any capacity, and especially for an education, be of sober, blameless and religious behavior, that neither indian children nor others may be in danger of infection by examples which are not suitable for their imitation. and accordingly i think it proper to let the world know there is no encouragement given that such as are vain, idle, trifling, flesh-pleasing, or such as are on any account vicious or immoral, will be admitted here; or, if such should by disguising themselves obtain admittance, that they will not be allowed to continue members after they are known to be such; nor will it be well taken, if, on any pretense whatever, any shall attempt to introduce or impose any youth upon this seminary, whose character shall be incongruous to, and militates against, the highest, chiefest, and dearest interests of the first objects of it. "and it is my purpose, by the grace of god, to leave nothing undone, within my power, which is suitable to be done, that this school of the prophets may be and long continue to be a pure fountain. "and i do with all my heart will this my purpose to all my successors in the presidency of this seminary, to the latest posterity; and it is my last will never to be revoked, and to god i commit it, and my only hope and confidence for the execution of it is in him alone, who has already done great things for it and does still own it as his cause; and blessed be his name that every present member of it, as well as great numbers abroad, i trust, do join their hearty amen with me." chapter ix. progress to the death of president wheelock.--prominent features of his character. the foundations being completed, the superstructure now claims our attention. we give somewhat full details of affairs during the opening years. the following is an extract from a letter from mr. m'clare to his early friend, general knox, dated at hanover, march , : "the winter has been very moderate and the heavens clear and serene. the situation is much more agreeable than i imagined it would be last fall, before i set out from connecticut. the number of the students in the college and school is about thirty. i have at present the care of the grammar school, and i find no small pleasure in 'teaching the young idea how to shoot.' heaven has remarkably smiled upon the generous and pious design of the reverend doctor, and supported it amidst numberless difficulties and embarrassments, and it affords a prospect of being in time a great and extensive blessing to this part of the world and to the tawny inhabitants of our continent." the first commencement, in august, , attracted a large audience, including many from a distance, among them governor wentworth. dr. langdon had previously manifested his deep interest in the college by a personal visit. in his "narrative," for the period from may, , to september, , president wheelock says: "i have now finished (so far as to render comfortable and decent) the building to accommodate my students, of eighty by thirty-two feet, and have done it in the plainest and cheapest manner, which furnishes sixteen comfortable rooms, besides a kitchen, hall, and store-room. i have also built a saw-mill and grist-mill, which appear to be well done, and are the property of the school, and will likely afford a pretty annual income to it. i have also built two barns, one of twenty-eight by thirty-two feet, the other of fifty-five by forty, and fifteen feet post. i have also raised, and expect to finish, within a few days, a malt-house of thirty feet square, and several other lesser buildings which were found necessary. i have cleared, and in a good measure fitted for improvement, about seventy or eighty acres of land, and seeded with english grain about twenty acres, from which i have taken at the late harvest, what was esteemed a good crop, considering the land was so lately laid open to the sun. i have cut what is judged to be equal to fourteen or fifteen tons of good hay, which i stacked, by which the expense of supporting a team and cows the ensuing winter may be considerably lessened. i have also about eighteen acres of indian corn now on the ground, which promises a good crop. my laborers are preparing more lands for improvement; some to sow with english grain this fall, and others for pasturing, which sad experience has taught me the necessity of, as i have suffered much by being disappointed of this benefit, through the negligence of a number, who subscribed labor to encourage the settlement of the school in this place, and, in excuse for their not being as punctual in performing as they appeared liberal in subscribing, plead their poverty and the necessities of their families in their new beginnings in this wilderness. "i hope through the blessing of god, even the ensuing year, we shall find that near sufficient has been raised on these lands to supply the school with bread, which will be a great relief not only as to the expense, but as to care and fatigue in procuring it; as the greatest and cheapest part of the support of my family has been transported above an hundred, and much of it near two hundred miles through new and bad roads; which has made the expense of some articles equal to the first cost, and many of them much more. the cheapest fodder i had the last winter to support my team and a few cows was brought forty miles on sleds by oxen. "it is not easy for one who is not acquainted with the affair of building and settling in such a wilderness to conceive of the many difficulties, fatigues, and extraordinary expenses attending it; nor does it make the burden at all less, if there are numbers settling within a few miles, who are poor and needy, and so far from having ability to contribute their assistance to others, as to stand in constant need of help themselves. "the number of my students belonging to the college and school has been from forty to fifty, of which from five to nine have been indians. the english youth on charity are all fitting for missionaries, if god in his providence shall open a door for their serving him in that capacity, and they have been about twenty. "my students have been universally well engaged in their studies, and a number of independent as well as charity scholars, have only by turning a necessary diversion to agreeable manual labor, done much to lessen the expense of their education the last year." in an appendix to this "narrative," dated september , , after referring to a prospect of obtaining sons of some of the caghnawaga chiefs, president wheelock says: "one was a descendant from the rev. mr. williams, who was captivated from deerfield in . another was a descendant from mr. tarbell, who was captivated from groton [in ], who is now a hearty and active man, and the eldest chief, and chief speaker of the tribe. the other was son to mr. stacey, who was captivated from ipswich, and is a good interpreter for that tribe." in view of all the facts within our knowledge, it seems more than possible that the influence of these and other captives, now venerable with age, upon their red brethren, on the one hand, and dim but precious memories of their own childhood, on the other, had aided materially in determining the location of the college. the patronage of the canadian tribes was president wheelock's main reliance for indian students after his removal to hanover. in regard to the missionaries sent out by president wheelock at this period, his biographer says: "some went into the mohawk and oneida country, others to the indians upon the muskingum, and several to the tribes within the bounds of canada. they found the indians, the oneidas excepted, universally opposed to them."[ ] [ ] memoirs of wheelock, p. . perhaps it will be safe to make a slight abatement from the somewhat sweeping statement which closes this quotation. in his "narrative" for the period between september, , and september, , president wheelock says: "my crops were considerably shortened the last year, by an uncommon rain at the beginning of harvest, and by an untimely frost, yet the benefit of that which is saved is very sensible. i have this year cut about double the quantity of hay which i cut last year, namely, about thirty tons. i have reaped about twenty acres of english grain, which crop appeared to be very heavy before harvest, and proved too much so, as a considerable part of it fell down of its own weight before maturity; however, though it be much less than the prospect was, it is a very considerable relief. i have about twenty acres of indian corn on the ground, which, considering the newness and imperfect tillage of the land, promises a considerable crop. "i have cleared sufficient for pasturing, _i. e._ have cut and girdled all the growth upon five hundred acres, and a part of it have sowed with hay-seed; the rest i expect will be ready to receive the seed as soon as it shall be dry enough to burn the trash upon it in the spring. the soil is generally good, and i hope the school will experience the benefit of it in due time. i have inclosed with a fence about two thousand acres of this wilderness, that i might be able to restrain oxen, cows, horses, etc., from rambling beyond my reach. "i have seven yoke of oxen and about twenty cows, all the property and employed in the service of the school. the number of my laborers for six months past has generally been from thirty to forty, besides those employed at the mills, in the kitchen, wash-house, etc. the number of my students, dependent and independent, the last year was about eighty. a little more than three years ago there was nothing to be seen here but a horrid wilderness; now there are eleven comfortable dwelling-houses (beside the large one i built for my students), built by tradesmen and such as have settled in some connection with, and have been admitted for the benefit of, this school, and all within sixty rods of the college. by this means the necessities of this school have been relieved in part as to room for my students. yet the present necessity of another and larger building appears to be such that the growth of this seminary must necessarily be stinted without it. "when i think of the great weight of present expense for the support of sixteen or seventeen indian boys, which has been my number all the last year, and as many english youth on charity, eight in the wilderness who depend upon their support wholly from this quarter, which has been the case a considerable part of this year, such a number of laborers, and under necessity to build a house for myself (as the house i have lived in was planned for a store-house, and must be used for that purpose) and expense for three and sometimes four tutors, which has been the least number that would suffice for well instructing my students, i have sometimes found faintness of heart. but i have always made it my practice not to exceed what my own private interest [property] will pay, in case i should be brought to that necessity to do my creditors justice." in his "narrative" for the period between september, , and february, , president wheelock says: "the number of indians in this school since my last 'narrative,' has been from sixteen to twenty-one, and the whole number of charity or dependent scholars about thirty." the whole number of students was now about one hundred. "the progress of husbandry on this farm, the last year, has not been equal in every respect to my hope, the season proving so wet as not to favor some branches of it. however, the progress of it and the benefit by it, have been very considerable. i have raised and reaped upon the school land, the last year, about three hundred bushels of choice wheat, but the crop of indian corn fell much short of my expectations, being but about two hundred and fifty bushels. i have cut sixty tons of hay the last season, and have a prospect of a very considerable addition to that quantity the next, if providence shall favor it. "i have begun to prepare and have a prospect that i shall be able to fit about sixty acres of new land to sow with wheat the next season. i have improved about twelve or fourteen oxen, and about twenty cows, the property of the school, and have a prospect of plenty for their support for summer and winter, and i find already the great benefit of having wherewith to do it this winter without the fatigue and expense of going forty miles for it, as i have been forced to do till this year." he also refers to important agricultural operations, and the erection of buildings at landaff--governor wentworth's first choice as a location for the college--and preparations for a new college edifice. to messrs. savage and keen, he writes, october , : "the progress of the great design under my hand has been as rapid since resources from your side the water have been suspended as ever. every day turns out some new wonder of divine favor towards it. i have this day been out to see my laborers who have near finished sowing one hundred and ten acres of wheat and rye, but mostly of wheat, one hundred acres of it on new land. no providences, however calamitous to others, not even our present public distresses, but seem as though they were calculated to favor this design. god gives me all i ask for, and he is a prayer-hearing god." we are indebted to the present librarian of the college[ ] for the following interesting facts relating to this period: [ ] professor c. w. scott. "the library of dartmouth college may be considered as older than the college itself, as it had its origin in the 'indian charity school,' and existed as a handful of books before the granting of the college charter. these books are found principally among the theological works, in folio volumes, with latin texts or notes, and uninviting type. received as they were more than a hundred years ago, they were then publications of the preceding century; and they would hardly find their way into the library to-day, if admitted upon the demand of readers, yet in their bindings and worn leaves they show that by some one they were thoroughly used. a copy of 'lightfoot's harmony of the new testament,' under date of june, , has written across a leaf: 'received from the rev. dr. gifford, of london, sundry second-hand books given by poor persons to the indian charity school in lebanon, of which this is one.' marks on other volumes show that dr. gifford was a contributor as well as a collector. edinburgh, too [through dr. erskine], sent its offering of books, and as the struggling school came to be better known in england, through the commissioners sent to solicit aid, and through other sources, such gifts probably became not infrequent. the early history and intentions of the college were such as to particularly interest clergymen, and in proportion to their means they were doubtless the most generous givers of books. their names written across fly-leaves show that many volumes, in different parts of new england, did service in their studies before finding a place in the college library. one of the most noteworthy of such benefactors was rev. diodate johnson, of millington, conn., who, besides other gifts, in bestowed his entire library." nearly at the same period with mr. johnson's donation, hon. john phillips, of exeter, made a handsome donation, for a philosophical apparatus. the subsequent appropriation of the money, for another purpose, compelled the college to dispense with this useful furniture for a considerable period. the commencement of the revolutionary struggle soon proved a serious embarrassment to president wheelock: "the din of war drowned the feeble voice of science; men turned away from this 'school of the prophets' to hear tidings from the camp." but the heroic founder stood manfully at his post, faithfully performing his duty, with only brief interruptions, until, in the midst of that great conflict which made us a nation, he was called to his reward. he died, after a lingering illness, at hanover, on the th of april, . his first wife, mrs. sarah (davenport) maltby wheelock, of the distinguished john davenport family, died in connecticut. his second wife, mrs. mary (brinsmead) wheelock, was spared to minister to the last earthly wants of her revered companion. president wheelock lived to see his earnest efforts to promote sound learning crowned with a good measure of success. the graduates of this period attained such eminence, in nearly all the paths of professional usefulness, as to indicate most plainly that they had laid good foundations in college. they were honored as teachers, as divines, and as legislators. the condition of the college and the country gave them abundant opportunities for appreciating the inscription on the armor of the dartmouth family: "gaudet tentamine virtus." instead of burning the "midnight oil" of the modern student, they kept the midnight watch against savage foes, at least at certain periods. to us, this all looks like romance. to them, it was stern reality. in a fitting tribute to president wheelock,[ ] rev. dr. allen says: [ ] sprague's annals of the american pulpit. "if it should be asked what success attended the efforts of dr. wheelock to communicate the gospel to the indian nations, it may be replied that he accomplished something for their benefit, and that great and insuperable obstacles in the providence of god prevented him from accomplishing more. it was soon after he sent out missionaries into the wilderness, that the controversy with great britain blighted his fair and encouraging prospects. during the last four years of his life there was actual war, in which many of the indian tribes acted with the enemy. yet the oneidas, to whom mr. kirkland was sent as a missionary, kept the hatchet buried during the whole revolutionary struggle, and by means of this mission, probably, were a multitude of frontier settlements saved from the tomahawk and the scalping-knife. but even if nothing had been accomplished for the benefit of the indians, yet the zeal which chiefly sought their good, reared up a venerable institution of science, in which many strong minds have been disciplined and made to grow stronger, and nerved for professional toils and public labors, and in which hundreds of ministers have been nurtured for the church of christ. "for enlarged views and indomitable energy, and persevering and most arduous toils, and for the great results of his labors in the cause of religion and learning, dr. wheelock must ever be held in high honor. he early placed one great object before him, and that object held his undivided attention for nearly half a century. it is not easy to describe the variety of his cares and the extent of his toils. when he removed to hanover his labors were doubled. the two institutions--the school and the college--were ever kept distinct; in both he was a teacher; of both he was the chief governor. he was also the preacher of the college and village. in the government of his school and college, dr. wheelock combined great patience and kindness with the energy of proper and indispensable discipline. he was of a cheerful and pleasant temper and manifested much urbanity in his deportment." this clear and forcible language has additional weight when we consider, that, during nearly the whole period of his administration, he had only the aid of tutors, with no other professor. president wheelock's usefulness in the great field of education was not confined to the sons of the forest, during his residence in connecticut. he sought out john smalley, the son of one of his parishioners, in his humble home, prepared him for college, and thereby gave him the primary impulse and aid, without which one of new england's ablest theologians, and the teacher of others of widely extended influence, might have remained in life-long retirement. he took samuel kirkland, the son of a worthy but indigent brother in the ministry, and, to use his own language, "carried him" in his arms, till he had completed a thorough preparation for the ministry, and finally furnished him a wife from his own kindred and his own household. his distinguished beneficiary, beside all his other labors, laid the foundation of hamilton college, and gave to harvard the president of its "augustan age," his son, john thornton kirkland. he left the impress of his intellectual and religious character upon his pupil, benjamin trumbull, the records of whose life give him a conspicuous place among the earnest preachers and careful historians of his day. the valuable influence of others of his early pupils will be felt in ever extending circles, down to "the last syllable of recorded time." there was no need that eleazar wheelock should found a college at that advanced period of life when men naturally seek a measure of repose, in order to secure for his name an honorable position in the long and brilliant catalogue of american educators. the crowning act of his life, in the mellowed maturity of age, was scarcely more or less than the logical, inevitable result of what preceded it. the scope of our work does not permit any extended eulogy of president wheelock, nor any thorough analysis of his character. with a brief reference to some leading points, we must close the record. he was eminent as a scholar. the constantly recurring and ever pressing duties of earnest and varied professional life, left him little leisure for indulging in the luxuries of mere æsthetic culture; but his active mind ranged widely through the realms of ancient and modern thought, and freely appropriated of the richest of their treasures. he was eminent as an orator. his eloquence was not graced with the well-rounded periods of a burke, or a webster; but in many a village and hamlet, the burning words which fell from his lips stirred the hearts of men to their profoundest depths. he was eminent as a teacher. through life he gladly embraced every opportunity of opening the treasuries of knowledge to his fellow-men; and many who sat under his instruction were thereby laid under large obligations, although, in the rude halls of the infant college, he was always more or less embarrassed by the cares of business and the infirmities of advancing years. he was eminent in affairs. he raised funds; procured corporate franchises and safeguards; leveled forests, and reared edifices in the face of apathy, opposition, and rivalry, with a fertility of resources in planning, and an energy in executing, which won the admiration of contemporaries in both hemispheres. he was eminent as a patriot. when his faithful friend, the last royal governor of new hampshire, upon whom through years of toil and trial he had leaned as upon a strong staff, abandoned his office, and resolutely adhered to his sovereign, and many others to whom he was strongly attached, arrayed themselves on the same side, he as resolutely espoused the cause of american independence, and labored to the extent of his ability for its accomplishment. but neither the scholar, nor the orator, nor the teacher, nor the man of affairs, nor the patriot, nor all combined, would have secured to any man that conspicuous position upon the page of history which the leading founder of dartmouth college will occupy, so long as solid worth and successful achievement shall command the attention of the discriminating, thoughtful reader. religion was the mainspring of his entire life, the real source of all his success. without it, he might have been honored of men; with it, he was honored of god. encircling all the separate parts of his character, like a golden chain, it bound them in one grand, beautiful, harmonious whole. in the hallowed seclusion of that thrice-honored valley, where jonathan edwards was born and thomas hooker died,--on the western verge of that modest plain, where his long and fruitful life bore its latest, richest fruit,--his precious dust will slumber "till the heavens be no more," and not till then will the christian scholar, who lingers among the hills of central new england, cease to pay his devotions at the grave of eleazar wheelock. chapter x. progress during the administration of the second president, john wheelock. the first president of the college, availing himself of a provision in the charter, named three persons in his will, some one of whom he desired should be his successor in the office. these were his son, mr. john wheelock, rev. joseph huntington, of coventry, conn., and prof. sylvanus ripley. mr. wheelock, although a young man, in response to the somewhat earnest solicitation of the trustees, after mature deliberation decided to accept the position. his son-in-law, rev. dr. allen, gives the leading points in his earlier life in the following language: "he was born [a son by the father's second marriage] at lebanon, conn., january , , and graduated in dartmouth's first class, in . in , he was appointed a tutor, and was devoted to the business of instruction until the beginning of the revolution. in , he was a member of the [n. h.] assembly. in the spring of , he was appointed a major in the service of new york, and in november, a lieutenant-colonel in the continental army under colonel bedel. in he marched a detachment from coos to albany. by direction of stark he conducted an expedition into the indian country. at the request of general gates, he entered his family, and continued with him, until he was recalled to hanover by the death of his father, in ." the following pages, extracted from the "sketches of the history of dartmouth college and moor's charity school," prepared and published under president wheelock's sanction, are deemed worthy of insertion in this connection. "the founder and first president spent nine years in planting and raising up a new society, in converting forests into fields,--supporting many youths on charity. persevering through difficulties, without any stipend for his labors, the seminary grew in vital strength;--but destitute of patronage in america, its resources in europe mostly expended, and the residue wholly obstructed, beset with calamities by the troubles and disasters of the revolutionary war, it was reduced, in childhood, to nakedness and want, in the year . soon after the treasurer, making an estimate of the demands upon it, pronounced that all the property of the corporation, if sold at vendue, would not be sufficient to cancel its debts. under these clouds, the successor of the founder came into office, with a humble sense of his duty, and a belief that god, who had protected and sustained the seminary in floods of trouble, would relieve and build it up. he solicited benefactions abroad for support of the charity youths of the school in , , and . "in the latter part of that year dr. wheelock, the president, set off for europe. the institution and his design were known, and sanctioned by very ample recommendations, unnecessary to be inserted here, issuing from the highest sources in america--from the president and a great majority of the members of congress, in their official characters;--it ought to be recorded--from the father of his country, george washington, who well knew dr. wheelock, while an officer in the revolutionary war, and honored him with his particular notice and friendship; from many of the most celebrated generals of the army, and governors of the different states, with introductory letters from the chevalier de luzerne, minister plenipotentiary from the court of versailles, to count de vergennes, prime minister of france, from the secretary of the united states, and other eminent characters to different parts of europe. "after some weeks spent in france, dr. wheelock, receiving introductory and friendly letters to mr. dumas, the american _chargé d'affaires_, and others in holland, from dr. franklin, and john adams, proceeded to the netherlands. a considerable sum was obtained in the netherlands; but we omit a particular account of the respectful treatment and generous benefactions he received from the prince of orange and others high in office. "thence he embarked for great britain, partly with a view, much lessened by the public feelings from the revolution in america, to obtain some new aids; but chiefly to reclaim and negotiate for the fund in scotland, belonging to the school. it had been barred from before the death of his predecessor, whose bills were protested, and still lay with their charges unredeemed, besides large accounts for the support of indian youths, without the means of payment, unless by exhausting the residue of the property of the college. he traveled from poole to london, where he paid his first and grateful respects to the earl of dartmouth, mr. john thornton and others, who, being formerly of the board of trust, had been in friendly relations with the founder, and patronized and cherished the seminary, in the jeopardies of its infancy. with his eyes invariably on the object, by an introductory letter from dr. macclion, to ralph griffith, esq., ll. d., he obtained friendly access to mr. straghn, member of parliament and the king's printer, and became acquainted with his son-in-law, mr. spotswood. this respected gentleman, largely connected, and concerned in the agencies of scotland, took a benevolent and decisive part in consulting, and adopting measures to restore the fund, at edinburgh, in the care of the society, to its primitive channel. communications were opened--the bills were paid; and the way prepared for future negotiations, till the society were convinced of the justice of the claim. the money has since been applied to the support of the school in its original design; and arrearages of interest remitted to the president to cancel the debts overwhelming the seminary. he, also, while in england, as on the continent, procured some coins and articles appreciated by the _virtuosi_. by the benevolence of paul wentworth, esq., doctor rose, and other friends to the college, some valuable philosophical instruments were obtained, and others promised, the making of which the two former kindly engaged to superintend, and forward the whole, so soon as completed, to america. a way, besides, was preparing to provide natural curiosities for a museum. those instruments, with their additions, well constructed, forming an apparatus sufficient for all the more important experiments and observations in natural philosophy, afterwards arrived; and at the same time a curious and valuable collection of stones and fossils from india, and different parts of europe, for the museums from the beneficent mr. forsythe, keeper of the king's gardens, at kensington. all these with costs of transportation, were gifts received at the college, by the trustees. only a word more; a large and elegant gold medal was presented by mr. clyde of london, to dr. wheelock, in his official character. it is wholly irrelevant to our purpose, and needless to speak of the personal civilities and friendly notices of lord rawden, by whose goodness he was introduced at the house of lords, of sir john wentworth, sir j. blois, dr. price, and others, besides those before mentioned. "within three months after the president's return (in ) the board of trustees convened and resolved, if sufficient means could be obtained, to erect an edifice of about one hundred and fifty by fifty feet, three stories in height, for the college, with convenient accommodations for the members. the president, professors, and some of the trustees in the vicinity, were requested by the board to solicit subscriptions for the purpose. they depended on dr. wheelock's exertions, he cheerfully undertook. by his arrangement and exertions, in that and the following year , and by his agents, near fifteen thousand dollars were given but mostly subscribed to be paid, and chiefly by responsible men in different places. the subscriptions and payments were all put into the hands of the contractor. he commenced and carried on the building. but in he was unable to procure supplies and nothing but an immediate cessation of the business appeared. dr. wheelock afforded relief, by furnishing the joiners, about twenty in number, with sustenance through the season, and aiding in the collection of materials. in the succeeding years, the subscriptions and means in the hands of the contractor being exhausted, he procured by bills on mrs. wheelock's agent in the west indies, and by a residue remitted from holland and in other ways by his friends abroad, and his own donation of $ . , all the glass, the nails, the vane and spire and other articles and some pay towards the labor. a bell he had by solicitation obtained before. by the seventh year from the beginning of its foundation, the edifice [dartmouth hall] was finished, and well prepared for the reception of the students. we will now return to trace another chain of operation. "dr. wheelock, though not at the particular request of the board, attended the legislature of vermont, june , . he solicited; and they made a grant of a township [wheelock], , acres, one half to the college and the other half to the school, to be free from all public taxes forever. as soon as practical he procured a survey, obtained a charter, and made calculations for its settlement. families rapidly moved in, till near the number of one hundred. he disposed of a large part of the tract in small portions on long leases. a few years rent free, the annual product has been to the college and school, each, six hundred dollars. "we now turn to the state of new hampshire. dr. wheelock had applied, by the desire of the board, to the general court for a lottery, and obtained it; but from unexpected events not answering the purpose, they requested him in to present a memorial to the legislature for another lottery under different modifications. professor woodward attended as agent--the design was effected, and the avails received by the board. "the pressure of demands on the college induced him to apply and attend the legislature, in the month of january, , for the charter of a tract of land on connecticut river and near the northern confine of the state. a committee was appointed; occasional discussions arose for several days; the matter was finally brought before the house. the senate and house of representatives passed an act granting to the trustees of dartmouth college a valuable tract of eight miles square, about , acres adjoining north of stewarts town. [ebenezer webster was the chairman of the legislative committee recommending this grant.] the forcible and energetic eloquence of general sullivan, that eminent commander in the revolutionary war, in the debate on this subject cannot be forgotten. it drew him from his bed, amidst the first attacks of fatal disease--and it was the last speech which he ever made in public. this interesting grant scattered the clouds just bursting on the institution. it was now harrassed with heavy debts of an early standing in its losses at landaff, which amounted to $ , . "at the time of obtaining the above grant, dr. wheelock also negotiated to recover the donation of $ , made by dr. john phillips, in [for a philosophical apparatus], to the college, and deposited in the hands of governor wentworth, which, after he left the country was considered, from his circumstances, as wholly lost. but dr. wheelock adopted measures and secured an account of the same and interest out of confiscated property $ , , in notes and certificates, which he received of the treasurer of the state, for the trustees. he also received, about that period, $ , committed to his agency by the same great benefactor, in a particular conference to transact with the board, said sum to be given in his name to them; only on the express condition, that they would agree to sequester with it his gift of about , acres of land by deed to them in , as an accumulating fund for the express purpose of supporting a professor of theology. they accepted the gift and sequestered the property on the terms of the donor. "the president had taken into his own hands, at the desire of the board, the management of the finances and external interest of the college, and continued to conduct, and regulate them, for five years, through its difficult and trying scenes. having, besides what has been mentioned, among other arrangements, leased a number of lots permanently productive, secured the appropriation of several valuable tracts, in the vicinity of the college, to the use of professorships, and provided relief by obtaining the means to free the seminary from its weight of debts, he resigned to the board, in august following, the particular charge of the finances, except retaining in trust the disposal of the college moiety of the township in vermont till a few years after, when he had completed the proposed object of settling and leasing the same. "the next year, , there being no proper place for the public religious and literary exercises of the members of the seminary, the apartment of the old building falling into decay and ruin, he undertook, made arrangements, provided the means, and erected by contract, in five months, a chapel, near the new college edifice. it is fifty feet by thirty-six, of two stories height, arched within and completely finished, and painted without--convenient, and well adapted to the objects proposed. "he caused a new building [for moor's school] to be erected and finished, with a yard, in --two stories high, the lower apartment convenient to accommodate near a hundred youths. the school was improved in the order and regulation of its members under the distinguished talents and fidelity of their instructor mr. [josiah] dunham, the present secretary of vermont. at the request of the society three years after it was visited by a committee of their boston commissioners charged with the solution of a number of queries in regard to its state, relations, and property. their favorable report was transmitted to scotland. "of the large debts accumulated for the support of the school, in the latter years of the first president, to discharge the most pressing part, the trustees had consented to the disposal of lands and property in their hands, hoping that the amount would be replaced. the advances, thus made, the president considered himself as holden in justice to refund; and accordingly paid them for the college, in the year , $ , , besides some items of small amount before. [lands also appear to have been sold to aid in building dartmouth hall.] "the rev. israel evans [of concord] at that time was a member of the board. he had expressed more than once, in intimate conversation to dr. wheelock, their friendship having been long cemented in scenes of war and peace, his desire to do something for the good of mankind and the institution. he finally remarked, that he had made up his mind to sequester a portion of his property as the foundation for a professorship of eloquence; which he knew would also be agreeable to mrs. evans. confined by sickness the succeeding year, at his earnest request, by a special message, the doctor paid him a visit. the latter expressed in his family, his views and design; and receiving from the former an assent to his wishes to insert his name as one of the executors, proceeded in the full exercise of his mental faculties, to complete his will. besides his bequests otherwise, he gave of money in the funds, and real estate, the amount of about $ , , or upwards, in reversion to the trustees of dartmouth college, after the death of his wife, as a permanent fund for a professor of eloquence. "about the same time, dr. wheelock attended the general court, to open the way for their favorable attention to the important objects of the institution. matters were in suspense till the next session in june , when he again personally appeared before the legislature. his memorial was considered, committed, and after report an act was made, granting to the trustees of the college a township of the contents of six miles square, to be laid out on the border of the district of maine, to the approbation of the governor and council. the land was surveyed: mostly an excellent tract, watered by a branch of the river androscoggin running central through the whole, and near the northern turnpike road--he waited on them with the plan, and obtained their ratification in ." the grant of landaff to the college had great weight with president wheelock, in deciding upon a location. but after he had expended several thousand dollars in improvements there, the title was found to be defective, and prior grantees secured the whole. in view of this loss, the state with commendable liberality made the above grants. there seems to have been no material change in the policy of the college, or the course of study, in the earlier years of this administration. the following items from the official records of the trustees are worthy of notice, the first bearing date, august, : "voted that those freshmen who wish to be excused from going errands for other students be not obliged to go, and that those who do not go such errands have not afterwards the privilege of sending freshmen. "adjourned meeting, february, . no person shall be admitted into the freshman class unless he be versed in virgil, cicero's select orations, the greek testament, be able accurately to translate english into latin, and also understands the fundamental rules of arithmetic."[ ] [ ] memoirs of wheelock. the following statement was published in : "the immediate instruction and government of the students is with the president, who is also professor of civil and ecclesiastical history, a professor of the latin, greek, hebrew and oriental languages, a professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, a professor of divinity, and two tutors. the qualifications for admission into the freshman class are, a good moral character, a good acquaintance with virgil, cicero's select orations, the greek testament, knowledge to translate english into latin, and an acquaintance with the fundamental rules of arithmetic. the members of the classes, in rotation, declaim before the officers in the chapel every wednesday, at two o'clock, p. m. "the senior, junior, and sophomore classes, successively pronounce such orations and other compositions, written by themselves, as the president and professors shall direct, on the last wednesday of november, the second wednesday of march, and the third wednesday of may. tragedies, plays, and all irreligious expressions and sentiments are sacredly prohibited. "the languages, the arts, and sciences are studied in the following order: the freshman class study the latin and greek classics, arithmetic, english grammar and rhetoric. the sophomore class study the latin and greek classics, logic, geography, arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, algebra, conic sections, surveying, belles-lettres and criticism. the junior class study the latin and greek classics, geometry, natural and moral philosophy, and astronomy. the senior class read metaphysics, theology, and natural and political law." chemistry was introduced at about this period. "the study of the hebrew and the other oriental languages, as also the french language, is recommended to the students. every week some part of the classes exhibits composition according to the direction of the authority. all the classes are publicly examined at stated periods; those who are found deficient lose their standing in the class. it is a fixed rule that the idle and vicious shall not receive the honors of college. "the punishments inflicted on offenders are admonition, suspension and expulsion. the president attends morning and evening prayers with the students in the chapel, and often delivers lectures to them on ecclesiastical history, on the doctrines of the christian religion, or other important subjects. he hears the recitations of the senior class; his fund of general science renders this an interesting part of collegiate life." the librarian continues his statements as follows: "while the library of the college was slowly increasing in numbers and more slowly in value as measured by the wants of the students, there were begun two other libraries, designed in the beginning as supplements, but by their rapid increase and utility soon taking the leading place. in , was formed the society of under-graduates known under the title of 'social friends' and the collection of a library was begun. three years later, by the secession of a part of the members, the rival society of the 'united fraternity' came into existence. the aim of the societies was to furnish literary culture, and their exercises and constitutions differed but little, while each attempted to obtain more and better men, and collect a larger library, than the other. it was provided in the constitution of the last formed society, that each member should advance for the use of the library twelve shillings lawful money. "at a meeting during the next year the society voted to register its books, which consisted of twenty-three volumes of magazines and thirty-four other books, making with a few presented at the meeting a library of sixty-three volumes. in , the two societies subscribed to what they termed 'articles of confederation,' in which it was agreed that a case should be procured to contain their books, and that each society should aid in the increase of the common library. for this purpose each society was to advance from one to two dollars for every member, the sum being largest for the lowest class and least for the senior class, and a committee was constituted with power to settle all differences. but however strong the agreement between the two parties it could not eliminate jealousy; neither were the societies entirely free from internal dissensions. the records contain accounts of 'conspiracies,' and attempts to destroy the societies, accompanied by reports of committees, treating the subject with the dignity of a danger to the state. one of these 'conspiracies' in , terminated in the destruction of nearly all the records of the 'social friends' and almost caused the dissolution of the society. much of the strife between the societies was caused by the mode of securing members, and though there were amendments intended to lessen this, nothing like a settlement was made until , when an order from the officers of the college limited the membership of each society to one half of the number in the different classes. it was probably this question of membership that caused, in , the division of the 'federal library'; the 'united fraternity' that year demanding a separation, and the 'social friends' replying that they cheerfully concurred. with the strong rivalry existing, the libraries could but increase more rapidly under separate management, especially as the students for many years taxed themselves severely, and contributed generously by subscriptions and donations to fill up their few shelves. nearly all the books were contributed by under-graduates, and the value placed upon them forms a marked contrast with the present use of library books. it was upon these libraries that the students more generally depended, and while their additions were larger they also had larger losses and suffered more from the wear of usage. they obtained from time to time the books that were needed, the college library such as were given, and that was doubtless true during all of the time which was said of it fifty years later: 'the library contains some rare and valuable works, but is deficient in new books.' the society libraries from the beginning had regular and frequent hours for drawing books, while the college library during a great part of its history has been from various reasons hardly accessible, or open only at long intervals. in , the college began the yearly assessment of eight shillings on each student, one fourth for the salary of the librarian, and the remainder for the purchase of new books. "the first printed catalogue of any of the libraries was of that of the college, and was merely a list printed in . it mentioned , volumes, but as there were many duplicates the number of books of any practical value was less than , . the number of books in each of the society libraries at this time may be estimated as slightly over , , so that the number of volumes to which access could be had was not much over , ." we quote an item worthy of notice from official records on this subject: "annual meeting of trustees, september, a. d. . this board being informed that mr. daniel oliver, a student in the junior class at this college, has made a donation to library of the following books [ volumes; different works], voted, that the vice-president be requested to return him the thanks of this board and request his acceptance of the use of the college library free of charge during the term he shall continue a student at this college." chapter xi. lack of harmony between president wheelock and other trustees.--removal of the president from office.--estimate of his character. the administration of president john wheelock is remarkable for two things; its great length, and its unhappy close. the great "dartmouth controversy" is one of the most impressive chapters in the annals of american colleges. in discussing this subject it is necessary to consider some of the influences which had aided in moulding president wheelock's character. his residence at yale college was at an important period in the history of that institution, commencing soon after the resignation of president clap, who had been driven from his position, virtually, for opposing any interference in the affairs of the college, by the legislature. the friends of education were divided in sentiment, as to the wisdom of his course, and the institution was in some sense under a cloud till the accession of president stiles--a friend of the wheelock family--who effected an arrangement by which the state was admitted to a share in the management of the college. the following letter from a prominent trustee of dartmouth to the president, written just at this period, shows that the animated contest in connecticut was only the natural and logical precursor of one more animated and much more important, in new hampshire. "charlestown, november , . "hon. sir: i have set my name to the petition, etc., although, i confess not without some hesitation and reluctance. i like the plan well in general,--but there is one exception. i cannot form any idea of what is intended by the proposal, that the council, or senate, or both, be admitted to some cern in the government of the university [college]. "this appears to me to be a proposal of too much or nothing at all, and of something not in the power of this board to confer, who i think cannot admit any foreign jurisdiction, any man, or number of men to any share in government of the university, properly so termed, otherwise than what the constitution specifies. "i have, however, subscribed under the influence of this consideration: that in the event it may subject us to no other inconvenience, but the imputation of inconsistence in conduct in hereafter rejecting a compliance with our own proposal, if we shall find that more is performed by others than was intended, or can be admitted by us, though fairly enough proffered. "i think some precautionary injunctions to the agent in this matter would be wise and prudent. "in haste-- "i am, sir, with much esteem and sincere affection, "your sincere friend and humble servant, "bulkley olcott." "president wheelock." * * * * * mr. wheelock's experiences also as a legislator and military commander, in early life, doubtless gave him a larger confidence in his own abilities on the one hand, and on the other a more profound conviction that everything in the state should, be subordinate to the state. the religious aspects of president wheelock's character, are worthy of special notice. he was the dutiful, in some sense the favorite son of an honored father. the former president, although sound in the faith, had more catholic views and broader sympathies than many of the leading divines of his day. the son was no less liberal than the father. this liberality was doubtless the real cause of difference between the second president and his associates in office. his first decided opponent was nathaniel niles, who entered the board in , a man of rare ability, and in early life a pupil of dr. bellamy, whose religious views on some points were materially different from those of his contemporary and neighbor, the first president. the first important point gained by mr. niles was the election of his friend, mr. shurtleff, to the chair of divinity, in . for ten years the breach was constantly widening between the president and his opponents. we now find the following official records: "at a meeting of the trustees, november , , the following preamble and resolutions, introduced by charles marsh, esq., were adopted. "whereas, the duties of the president of this university have become very multiplied and arduous; and, whereas, it is necessary that he should continue to attend to the concerns of this institution, and the various officers and departments thereof, and should have time to prepare and lay before this board the business to which its attention should be directed; therefore, resolved, that, in order to relieve the president from some portion of the burdens which unavoidably devolve on him, he be excused in future from hearing the recitations of the senior class, in locke, edwards, and stewart. "resolved, that the professors, shurtleff and moore, jointly supply the pulpit, in such manner as may be agreed between them. that professor shurtleff hear the recitation of the senior class in edwards on the will; that professor adams hear the recitation of the senior class in locke on the human understanding, and that professor moore hear the recitation of the senior class in stewart's philosophy of the mind, and that he hear them in both volumes of that work." this action of the board was followed by the publication of the "sketches," and, in june, , the presentation of the following petition to the new hampshire legislature: * * * * * "honorable legislators,--the citizens of new hampshire enjoy security and peace under your wise laws; prosperity in productive labors by means which you have adopted; and, by your counsels, increasing knowledge in the establishment of literature through the state. but, for none of these, can so much be ascribed to your attention as for dartmouth college. by your patronage and munificence it was flourishing in former years; and so it still would have continued had the management of its concerns been adapted to answer the designs of your wisdom, and the hopes of its most enlightened and virtuous friends. "to your honorable body, whose guardian care encircles the institutions of the state, it becomes incumbent on the citizens to make known any change in their condition and relations interesting to the public good. to you alone, whose power extends to correcting or reforming their abuses, ought he to apply when they cease to promote the end of their establishment, the social order and happiness. "gladly would the offerer of this humble address, avoiding to trouble your counsels, have locked up his voice in perpetual silence, while the evils are rolling on and accumulating, were he not otherwise compelled by a sense of duty to your legislature, and to the best interests of mankind, in the present and future times. "will you permit him to suggest there is reason to fear that those who hold in trust the concerns of this seminary have forsaken its original principles and left the path of their predecessors. it is unnecessary to relate how the evil commenced in its embryo state; by what means and practices, they, thus deviating, have in recent years, with the same object in view, increased their number to a majority controlling the measures of the board; but more important is it to lay before you that there are serious grounds to excite apprehensions of the great impropriety and dangerous tendency of their proceedings; reasons to believe that they have applied property to purposes wholly alien from the intentions of the donors, and under peculiar circumstances to excite regret; that they have in the series of their movements, to promote party views, transformed the moral and religions order of the institution, by depriving many of their innocent enjoyment of rights and privileges for which they had confided in their faith; that they have broken down the barriers and violated the charter, by prostrating the rights with which it expressly invests the presidential office; that, to subserve their purposes, they have adopted improper methods in their appointments of executive officers, naturally tending to embarrass and obstruct the harmonious government and instruction of the seminary; that they have extended their powers, which the charter confines to the college, to form connection with an academy[ ] in exclusion of the other academies in the state, cementing an alliance with its overseers, and furnishing aid from the college treasury for its students; that they have perverted the power, which by the incorporation they ought to exercise over a branch of moor's charity school, and have obstructed the application of its fund according to the nature of the establishment and the design of the donors; and that their measures have been oppressive to your memorialist in the discharge of his office. [ ] kimball union academy. "such are the impressions as now related, arising from the acts and operations of those who have of late commanded the decisions of the board. "your memorialist does not pretend to exhibit their motives, whether they have been actuated by erroneous conceptions, or mistaken zeal, or some other cause, in attending to the concerns of the institution. but with great deference he submits the question, unless men in trust preserve inviolable faith, whether pledged by words, or action, or usage, to individuals, unless they continuously keep within the limits assigned to them by law; if they do not sacredly apply the fruits of benevolence committed to their charge, to the destined purpose; if the public affairs in their trust are not conducted with openness, impartiality, and candor, instead of designed and secret management; if they become pointedly hostile to those who discern their course, and honestly oppose their measures which are esteemed destructive; if they bear down their inoffensive servants, who are faithful to the cause of truth, how can an establishment under these circumstances, be profitable to mankind? how can there be a gleam of prospective joy to any except to those who are converting its interest into their own channel, to serve a favorite design? what motive, then, will remain to benefactors to lay foundations, or to bestow their charities on such an object? "there is also ground for increasing, fearful apprehension, by adding to the immediate, what may be the ultimate effect of the measures which have been described. in a collective view they appear to the best acquainted and discerning to be, in all their adaptations, tending to one end, to complete the destruction of the original principles of the college and school, and to establish a new modified system, to strengthen the interests of a party or sect, which, by extending its influence under the fairest professions, will eventually affect the political independence of the people, and move the springs of their government. "to you, revered legislators! the writer submits the foregoing important considerations. he beholds, in your honorable body, the sovereign of the state, holding, by the constitution, and the very nature of sovereignty in all countries, the sacred right, with your duty and responsibility to god, to visit and oversee the literary establishments, where the manners and feelings of the young are formed, and grow up in the citizen in after life; to restrain from injustice, and rectify abuses in their management, and, if necessary, to reduce them to their primitive principles, or so modify their powers as to make them subservient to the public welfare. to your protection, and wise arrangements, he submits whatever he holds in official rights by the charter of the seminary; and to you his invaluable rights as a subject and citizen. "he entreats your honorable body to take into consideration the state and concerns of the college and school, as laid before you. "and as the legislature have never before found occasion to provide, by any tribunal, against the evils of the foregoing nature, and their ultimate dangers, he prays that you would please, by a committee invested with competent powers, or otherwise, to look into the affairs and management of the institution, internal and external, already referred to, and, if judged expedient in your wisdom, that you would make such organic improvements and model reforms in its system and movements, as, under divine providence, will guard against the disorders and their apprehended consequences. "he begs only to add the contemplated joys of the friends of man and virtue, in the result of your great wisdom and goodness, which may secure this seat of science, so that it may become an increasing source of blessings to the state, and to mankind of the present and succeeding ages, instead of a theatre for the purpose of a few, terminating in public calamity. "whatever disposal your honorable body may please to make of the subject now presented, the subscriber will never cease to maintain the most humble deference and dutiful respect. john wheelock." * * * * * it would not be profitable, at the present time, to re-open the discussion of the subject matter of the various charges contained in the above document, which were so fully elaborated in the "sketches," and so carefully considered in the subsequent "vindication" by the trustees. the prayer of the memorial was granted by the legislature, by the appointment of a committee of investigation. the following letter is worthy of careful attention in this connection: "exeter, august , . "my dear sir,--in common with many others i have felt considerable anxiety for the issue of the matter so much in public discussion relative to dartmouth college. i do not feel either inclined or competent to give any opinion as to the course which ought finally to be adopted by the board of trustees for the benefit of that institution. i am entirely willing to leave that to the determination of those much better informed on the subject and better able to judge. from certain intimations which i have lately had, i am led to believe an intention is entertained by some members of the board of ending all difficulty with the president by removing him from office. i greatly fear such a measure adopted under present circumstances, and at the present time, would have a very unhappy effect on the public mind. an inquiry is now pending, instituted after considerable discussion, by the legislature of this state, apparently for the purpose of granting relief for the subject matter of complaint. the trustees acquiesce in this inquiry; whether they appear before the committee appointed to make it formally as a body, or informally as individuals, the public will not deem of much importance. the legislature, i think, for certain purposes, have a right to inquire into an alleged mismanagement of such an institution, a visitorial power rests in the state, and i do not deem it important for my present view to determine in what department or how to be exercised. the legislature may, on proper occasion, call it into operation. i have never seen the president's memorial to the legislature, but am told it is an abstract from the 'pamphlet of sketches.' from the statements in that i take the burthen of his complaint to be, that the trustees have not given him a due and proper share of power and influence in the concerns of the college, and that they have improperly used their own power and influence in patronizing and propagating in the college particular theological opinions. the alleged misapplication of funds [paid for preaching] is stated as an instance of such misconduct. these opinions, it would seem, are particularly disagreeable to the president. the whole dispute is made to have a bearing on the president personally. should the trustees, during the pendency of the inquiry in a cause in which they are supposed to be a party, take the judgment into their own hands, and summarily end the dispute by destroying the other party, they will offend and irritate at least all those who were in favor of making the inquiry. such will not be satisfied with the answer that the trustees have the power and feel it to be their duty to exercise it. it will be said that the reasons which justify a removal (if there be any) have existed for a long time. a removal after so long forbearance, at the present time, will be attributed to recent irritations. "that part of the president's complaint which relates to his religious grievances, addresses itself pretty strongly to the prejudices and feelings of all those opposed to the sect called orthodox. this comprises all the professed friends of liberal religion, most of the baptists and methodist, and all the nothingarians. the democrats will be against you, of course. all these combined would compose in this state a numerous and powerful body. any measure adopted by the trustees with the appearance of anger, or haste, will be eagerly seized on. if the statements of the president are as incorrect as i have heard it confidently asserted, an exposure of that incorrectness will put the public opinion right. it may require time, but the result must be certain. if it can be shown that his complaints are nothing but defamatory clamor, he will be reduced to that low condition that it will be the interest of no sect or party to attempt to hold him up. i see no danger in delay, but fear much in too great haste. perhaps there is no occasion at present to determine how long the trustees should delay adopting their final course. circumstances may render that expedient at a future time which is not now. i feel much confidence that a very decisive course against the president by the trustees at the present time would create an unpleasant sensation in the public mind, and would, i fear, be attended with unpleasant consequences. "i am sensible i have expressed my opinion very strongly on a subject in which i have only a common interest. i frankly confess i have been somewhat influenced by fears that some of the trustees will find it difficult to free themselves entirely from the effects of the severe irritation they must have lately experienced. "i am, dear sir, with esteem, "sincerely yours. "jeremiah mason." "c. marsh, esq." * * * * * president wheelock was removed from office on the th of august, , by the vote of a decided majority of the board, upon grounds of which the following is the substance: " st. he has had an agency in publishing and circulating a certain anonymous pamphlet, entitled 'sketches of the history of dartmouth college and moor's charity school,' and espoused the charges therein contained before a committee of the legislature. the trustees consider this publication a libel on the institution. " d. he claims a right to exercise the whole executive authority of the college, which the charter has expressly committed to the trustees, with the president, professors, and tutors by them appointed. he also claims a right to control the corporation in the appointment of executive officers. " d. he has caused an impression to be made on the minds of students under censure for transgression of the laws of the institution, that if he could have had his will they would not have suffered disgrace or punishment. " th. he has taken a youth who was not an indian, but adopted by an indian tribe, and supported him in moor's school, on the scotch fund, which is granted for the sole purpose of instructing and civilizing indians. " th. he has, without sufficient ground for such a course, reported that the real cause of the dissatisfaction of the trustees with him was a diversity of religious opinions between him and them." in taking leave of the second president, we have only to remark, as we introduce his eulogist, mr. samuel clesson allen, that both parties to the contest apparently overrated their grievances. "president wheelock was distinguished for the extent and variety of his learning. with a lively curiosity he pushed his inquiries into every department of knowledge, and made himself conversant with the various branches of science. but of all the subjects which presented themselves to his inquisitive mind those which relate to man in his intellectual constitution and social relations engaged and fixed his attention. his favorite branches were intellectual philosophy, ethics, and politics. possessing in an eminent degree the spirit of his station, he fulfilled with singular felicity the offices of instructor and governor in the college. animated and ardent himself, he could transfuse the same holy ardor into the minds of his pupils. what youth ever visited him in his study, but returned to his pursuits with a renovated spirit, and a loftier sentiment of glory? "he had formed the noblest conceptions of the powers of the human mind, and of its ultimate progress in knowledge and refinement. this sentiment called forth the energies of his mind, and gave direction and character to his inquiries. it pervaded all his instructions, and imparted to science and to letters their just preëminence among the objects of human pursuit. "he never sought to preoccupy the minds of his pupils with his own peculiar notions, or to impose upon them any favorite system of opinions. he endeavored to make them proficients in science, and not the proselytes of a sect. "in government he commanded more by example than by authority, and the admiration of his talents ensured a better obedience than the force of laws. his elevation of mind placed him above personal prejudices and resentments, and jealousies of wounded dignity. he practiced no espionage upon his pupils, but reposed for the maintenance of order on their sense of propriety, and his own powers of command. he conciliated their attachment while he inspired their reverence; and he secured their attention to the stated exercises and reconciled them to the severest studies by the example he exhibited, and the enthusiasm he inspired. he knew how to adapt his discipline to the various dispositions and characters, and could discriminate between the accidental impulse of a youthful emotion and deliberate acts of intentional vice. "he was an interesting and powerful speaker. his erect attitude and dignified action inspired reverence, and commanded attention. but the wonderful force of his eloquence arose from the strength and sublimity of his conceptions. such were his originality of thought, and rich variety of expression, that he could present the most common subjects in new and interesting lights. his public discourses evinced the strength of the reasoning faculty, the powers of the imagination, and the resources of genius. "he would sometimes conduct the mind with painful subtility through the multiplied steps of a long demonstration. at other times he would glance upon the main topics of his argument, and seize on his conclusion by a sort of intuitive penetration. he frequently embellished his subject with the higher ornaments of style, and diffused around the severer sciences the graces and elegancies of taste. for force of expression he might be compared to chatham, and in splendid imagery he sometimes rivaled burke. he would, at pleasure, spread a sudden blaze around his subject or diffuse about it a milder radiance. "to the interpretation of the scriptures he carried all the lights which geography, history, and criticism could supply, and poured their full effulgence upon the sacred page. his daily prayers always presenting new views of the works and perfections of the deity, exhibited whatever was vast in conception, glowing in expression and devout in feeling. "he was probably formed not less for the higher offices of active life than for the speculations of science. distinguished for the boldness of his enterprise and the decisive energy of his character, he set no limits to what individual exertion and effort could accomplish. he attempted great things with means which other men would have esteemed wholly inadequate, and the vigor of his mind increased in proportion to the difficulties he met in the execution of his enterprises. he was disheartened by no difficulties, he was intimidated by no dangers, he was shaken by no sufferings. the glory which he sought was not the temporary applause of this party or that sect, but it was the glory which results from unwearied efforts for the improvement and happiness of man. he was not less distinguished by the object and character of his enterprises than by the great qualities he exhibited in their accomplishment. his was a high and holy ambition, which, while it preserved its vigor, identified its objects with those of the purest charity." dartmouth conferred the degree of ll. d. upon president wheelock in . he died at hanover, april , , his wife, mrs. maria (suhm) wheelock, daughter of governor christian suhm, of st. thomas, w. i., surviving him. chapter xii. administration of president brown.--contest between the college and the state.--triumph of the college. rev. francis brown of north yarmouth, maine, was elected the successor of president wheelock. his character will be the subject of a later chapter. he was inaugurated in september, , and entered at once with vigor and earnestness upon the performance of his official duties. the committee of the new hampshire legislature of , rev. ephraim p. bradford, nathaniel a. haven, and daniel a. white, appointed to investigate the affairs of the college, reported in substance, that there was no ground for interference by the state. the deep interest in the college question produced a political revolution in the state. in his message to the legislature at the opening of the session in june, , governor plumer says: "permit me to invite your consideration to the state and condition of dartmouth college, the head of our learned institutions. as the state has contributed liberally to the establishment of its funds, and as our constituents have a deep interest in its prosperity, it has a strong claim to our attention. the charter of that college was granted december th, , by john wentworth, who was then governor of new hampshire, under the authority of the british king. as it emanated from royalty, it contained, as was natural it should, principles congenial to monarchy; among others, it established trustees, made seven a quorum, and authorized a majority of those present to remove any of its members which they might consider unfit or incapable, and the survivors to perpetuate the board by themselves, electing others to supply vacancies. this last principle is hostile to the spirit and genius of a free government. sound policy therefore requires that the mode of election should be changed, and that trusties, in future, should be elected by some other body of men. "the college was founded for the public good, not for the benefit or emolument of its trustees; and the right to amend and improve acts of incorporation of this nature has been exercised by all governments, both monarchical and republican. in the charter of dartmouth college it is expressly provided that the president, trustees, professors, tutors and other officers, shall take the oath of allegiance to the british king; but if the laws of the united states, as well as those of new hampshire, abolished by implication that part of the charter, much more might they have done it directly and by express words. these facts show the authority of the legislature to interfere upon this subject." governor plumer communicated this message to jefferson, who replied in his letter of july , : "it is replete with sound principles, and truly republican. some articles, too, are worthy of notice. the idea that institutions established for the use of the nation cannot be touched nor modified, even to make them answer their end, because of rights gratuitously supposed in those employed to manage them in trust for the public, may, perhaps, be a salutary provision against the abuses of a monarch, but it is most absurd against the nation itself. yet our lawyers and priests generally inculcate this doctrine, and suppose that preceding generations held the earth more freely than we do; had a right to impose laws on us, unalterable by ourselves; and that we, in like manner, can make laws and impose burdens on future generations, which they will have no right to alter; in fine, that the earth belongs to the dead, and not to the living." the following action shows the result: "the undersigned, three of the members of the board of trustees of dartmouth college, having this morning seen a printed copy of a bill before the honorable house [of the new hampshire legislature], the provisions of which, should they go into effect would set aside the charter of the college, and wholly change the administration of its concerns, beg leave respectfully to remonstrate against its passage. the provisions of the bill referred to change the name of the corporation; enlarge the number of trustees; alter the number to constitute a quorum; render persons living out of the state, who are now eligible, hereafter ineligible; vacate the seats of those members who are not inhabitants of the state; deprive the trustees of the right of electing members to supply vacancies; and give to the new board of trustees an arbitrary power of annulling everything heretofore transacted by the trustees; and this last without the concurrence of the proposed board of overseers. the consent of the present board of trustees is in no instance contemplated as necessary to give validity to the new act of incorporation. "in the opinion of the undersigned, these changes, modifications, and alterations effectually destroy the present charter of the college and constitute a new one. "should the bill become a law, it will be obvious to our fellow citizens that the trustees of dartmouth college will have been deprived of their charter rights without having been summoned or notified of any such proceeding against them. it will be equally obvious to our fellow citizens that the facts reported by the committee of investigation [of the last legislature] did not form the ground and basis of the new act of incorporation; and that no evidence of facts of any sort, relating to the official conduct of the trustees, other than the report of the committee of investigation, was submitted to your honorable bodies. "to deprive a board of trustees of their charter rights, after they have been accused of gross misconduct in office, without requiring any proof whatever of such misconduct, appears to your remonstrants unjust, and not conformable to the spirit of the free and happy government under which we live. if the property has been misapplied, if there has been any abuse of power upon the part of the trustees, they are fully sensible of their high responsibility; but they have always believed, and still believe, that a sound construction of the powers granted to the legislature, gives them, in this case, only the right to order, for good cause, a prosecution in the judicial courts. "a different course effectually blends judicial and legislative powers, and constitutes the legislature a judicial tribunal. "the undersigned also beg leave to remonstrate against the passage of the bill, on the ground of inexpediency. a corporation is a creature of the law, to which certain powers, rights, and privileges are granted; and amongst others that of holding property. destroy this creature, this body politic, and all its property immediately reverts to its former owners. this doctrine has long been recognized and established in all governments of law. any material alteration of the corporation, without its consent, and certainly such essential alterations as the bill under consideration is intended to make, will be followed with the same effect. the funds belonging to the college, although not great, are highly important to the institution; and a considerable proportion of them were granted by, and lie in, the state of vermont. the undersigned most earnestly entreat the honorable legislature not to put the funds of the college in jeopardy; not to put at hazard substantial income, under expectations which may or may not be realized." after alluding to lack of precedent for the proposed action, and the necessary increase of expenditures which would result from its consummation, they proceed to say: "if the provisions of this bill should take effect, we greatly fear that the concerns of the college will be drawn into the vortex of political controversy. we refer particularly to that section of the bill which gives the appointment of trustees and overseers to the governor and council. the whole history of the united states for the last twenty years teaches us a lesson which ought not to be kept out of view. our literary institutions hitherto have been preserved from the influence of party. the tendency of this bill, unless we greatly mistake, is to convert the peaceful retreat of our college into a field for party warfare. "whilst the undersigned deem it their indispensable duty to remonstrate in the most respectful terms against the passage of the bill referred to, they have no objection, and they have no reason to believe their fellow trustees have any objection, to the passage of a law connecting the government of the state with that of the college, and creating every salutary check and restraint upon the official conduct of the trustees and their successors that can be reasonably required, and with respectful deference they would propose the following outlines of a plan for that purpose. "the councillors and senators of new hampshire together with the speaker of the house of representatives for the time being, shall constitute a board of overseers of dartmouth college, any ten of whom shall be a quorum for transacting business. the overseers shall meet annually at the college, on the day preceding commencement. they shall have an independent right to organize their own body, and to form their own rules; but as soon as they shall have organized themselves they shall give information thereof to the trustees. whenever any vote shall have been passed by the trustees it shall be communicated to the overseers, and shall not have effect until it shall have the concurrence of the overseers. provided, nevertheless, that if at any meeting a quorum of the overseers shall not be formed, the trustees shall have full power to confer degrees, in the same manner as though there were no overseers; and also to appoint trustees or other officers (not a president or professor), and to enact such laws as the interests of the institution shall indispensably require; but no law passed by the trustees shall in such case have force longer than until the next annual meeting of the boards, unless it shall then be approved by the overseers. neither of the boards shall adjourn, except from day to day, without the consent of the other. it shall be the duty of the president of the college, whenever in his opinion the interests of the institution shall require it, or whenever requested thereto by three trustees, or three overseers, to call special meetings of both boards, causing notice to be given in writing to each trustee and overseer, of the time and place; but no meeting of one board shall ever be called except at the same time and place with the other. it shall be the duty of the president of the college annually, in the month of may, to transmit to his excellency, the governor, a full and particular account of the state of the funds, the number of students and their progress, and generally the state and condition of the college. "if the plan above suggested should meet the approbation of the honorable legislature, and good men of all parties give it their sanction, we may all anticipate, with high satisfaction, the future prosperity of the college, and its incalculable usefulness to the state; but if a union of the friends of literature and science, of all parties and sects, cannot be attained; if the triumph of one party over the other be absolutely indispensable; fearful apprehensions must fill the mind of every considerate man, every dispassionate friend of dartmouth college. thos. w. thompson, elijah paine, asa m'farland. "june , ." * * * * * the effect of this proposed compromise was a modification of the bill in some of its important features. against the amended bill, which was passed a few days afterward, there was a farther protest, from which we make brief extracts. "the undersigned would not trouble the honorable legislature with any remarks in addition to those contained in their remonstrance of the th inst. did they not believe it was a duty not to be omitted." referring to the amended bill, they continue: "they have not been able to obtain a sight of it, but have heard it contains provisions for an increase of the board of trustees to the number of twenty-one, a majority of whom to constitute a quorum, and that the additional number are to be appointed by his excellency the governor and the honorable the council. to many of the topics of argument, suggested in their former remonstrance (which are equally applicable against the passage of the bill in its present shape) they respectfully ask leave to add, that the bill in its present shape destroys the identity of the corporation, known in the law by the name of the trustees of dartmouth college, without the consent of the corporation, and consequently the corporation to be created by the present bill must and will be deemed by courts of law altogether diverse and distinct from the corporation to which all the grants of property have hitherto been made; and therefore the new corporation cannot hold the property granted to the corporation created by the charter of . "by the charter of dartmouth college a contract was made by the then supreme power of the state with the twelve persons therein named, by which, when accepted by the persons therein named, certain rights and privileges were vested in them and their successors, for the guarantee of which the faith of government was pledged by necessary implication. in the same instrument the faith of government was pledged that the corporation should consist of twelve persons and no more. the change in the government of the state, since taken place, does not in the least possible degree impair the validity of this contract,--otherwise nearly all the titles to real estate, held by our fellow citizens, must be deemed invalid. "the passage of the bill now before the honorable house will, in the deliberate opinion of the undersigned, violate the plighted faith of the government. if the undersigned are correct in considering the charter of in the nature of a contract, and if the bill, in its present shape, becomes a law, we think it necessarily follows that it will also violate an important clause in the th section of the st article in the constitution of the united states, which provides, that no state shall pass any law impairing the obligation of contracts. "the honorable legislature will permit us to add, that as it is well known that the trustees have, as a board, been divided on certain important subjects, although the minority has been very small, should the legislature now provide for nine new trustees, to be appointed by his excellency the governor and the honorable the council, and that without any facts being proved to the legislature, or any legislative report having been made, showing that the state of things at the college rendered the measure necessary, it must be seen by our fellow citizens that the majority of the trustees have been by the legislature, for some unacknowledged cause, condemned unheard. thomas w. thompson, asa m'farland. "june , ." * * * * * the recommendations of the governor in substance, became a law; the name of the college was changed to "university;" the number of the trustees was increased to twenty-one; a board of overseers was created, to be appointed by the governor and council; the president and professors of the university were required to take an oath to support the constitution of the united states, and of the state of new hampshire; and the act provided that "perfect freedom of religious opinion should be enjoyed by all the students and officers of the university." the committee to whom the message, etc., relating to this subject, were referred, it should be remarked, did not undertake to decide in favor of either party to the controversy, but alleged that the troubles arose from certain defects in the charter, and that they would recur again in some form, unless those defects were remedied. the debates upon the historical and constitutional questions involved were able. the minority were ably led, both inside and outside the legislature, but parliamentary tactics availed them nothing. many of them joined in a written protest against the passage of the bill, the substance of which has already appeared in the action of the trustees. directly after the passage of this bill mr. marsh prepared an elaborate argument, never published, setting forth the essence of the leading points of the case, as viewed by the majority of the old trustees. the following letter, addressed to mr. timothy bigelow, boston, is worthy of notice in this connection: "concord, july , . "dear sir: dr. mcfarland will do himself the pleasure to hand you this. in him you will recognize an old acquaintance. we wish to get the opinions of as many legal friends as we can upon the question of legitimate power in the new hampshire legislature, to pass the act relating to dartmouth college, and with regard to the course the old trustees ought to pursue. it is an interest, we think, common to all well wishers to new england. "the old trustees, i am confident, are willing to take just that course that their wisest and best friends recommend. "very cordially yours, thomas w. thompson." august , , a majority of the old trustees formally refused to accept the provisions of the act. a meeting of the trustees of the university, under the act of june , , was called, but through the illness of a single member, failed for want of a quorum. the judges of the superior court, on december , , in answer to the governor and council, gave their opinion that the executive department had no authority to fill the vacancies which had occurred. to remedy this, the legislature, on december , , passed an additional act providing for filling the vacancies, the calling of meetings and fixing a quorum; and on december , , passed another act imposing the penalty of five hundred dollars upon any person who should assume any office in the university except by virtue of the preceding acts. in view of this action president brown writes to mr. timothy farrar, of portsmouth, january , : "now, what shall we do? one of these four courses must be taken. we must either keep possession and go on to teach as usual, without any regard to the law, or, withdrawing from the college edifice and all the college property, continue to instruct as the officers of dartmouth college; or, relinquishing this name for the present, collect as many students as will join us, and instruct them as private but associated individuals; or else we must give all up and disperse. will you give us your opinion, what may be duty or what expedient, as soon as convenient? particularly, will you give us your opinion whether, supposing this oppressive act to be judged constitutional, we should be liable to the fine, if we instruct as the officers of dartmouth college, relinquishing, however, the college buildings, the library, apparatus, etc." the faculty of the college issued the following: "address of the executive officers of dartmouth college to the public. "as the undersigned, after the most serious and mature consideration, have determined to retain the offices which they received by the appointment of the trustees of dartmouth college, and not voluntarily to surrender, at present, any property committed to them, nor to relinquish any privileges pertaining to their offices, they believe it to be a duty, which they owe to the public no less than to themselves, to make an explicit declaration of the principles by which they are governed. "they begin by stating the two following positions, as maxims of political morality, which they deem incontrovertible: " . it is wrong, under any form of government, for a citizen or subject to refuse compliance with the will of the sovereign power, when that will is fully expressed, except in cases where the rights of conscience are invaded, or where oppression is practiced to such an extreme degree that the great ends of civil government are defeated or highly endangered. " . under a free government, where the sovereignty is exercised by several distinct branches, whose respective powers are created and defined by written constitutions, cases may arise in which it will be the duty of the citizen to delay conforming to the ordinances of one branch until the other branches shall have had opportunity to act. if, for example, the legislative branch should transcend its legitimate power, and assume to perform certain acts which the constitution had assigned to the province of the judicial branch, a citizen, injuriously affected by those acts, might be bound, not indeed forcibly to resist them, but, in the manner pointed out by law, to make an appeal to the judiciary and to await its decision. "the undersigned deem it unnecessary, in this place, to detail the provisions of the acts of the honorable legislature, passed in june and december, a. d. , relating to this institution. those acts are before the public and are generally understood. "the board of trustees, as constituted by the charter of , at their annual meeting in august last, took into consideration the act of june, and adopted a resolution, 'not to accept its provisions.' in the preamble to this resolution, we find a paragraph in the words following: 'they (the trustees) find the law fully settled and recognized in almost every case which has arisen, wherein a corporation or any member or officer is a party, that no man or body of men is bound to accept, or act under, any grant or gift of corporate powers and privileges; and that no existing corporation is bound to accept, but may decline or refuse to accept any act or grant conferring additional powers or privileges, or making any restriction or limitation of those they already possess; and in case a grant is made to individuals or to a corporation without application, it is to be regarded not as an act obligatory or binding upon them, but as an offer or proposition to confer such powers and privileges, or the expression of a desire to have them accept such restrictions, which they are at liberty to accept or reject.' "if the doctrine contained in this paragraph be correct, and of its correctness the undersigned, after ascertaining the opinion of eminent jurists in most of the new england states, entertain no doubt, the act of june, and of course the acts of december, have become inoperative, in consequence of the nonacceptance of them by the charter trustees, and the provisions of these acts are not binding upon the corporation or its officers. we take the liberty to add, that, in our opinion, the reasons assigned by the trustees in the preamble before mentioned for not accepting the act of june, are very important and amply sufficient. indeed, it has ever appeared to us, that the changes proposed to be introduced into the charter by the acts in question, would have proved highly inauspicious to the welfare of this institution, and ultimately injurious to the interests of literature throughout our country. "the trustees appointed agreeably to the provisions of the act of june have, however, thought proper to organize, without the concurrence of the charter trustees, and to perform numerous decisive acts. "at a meeting in concord on the fourth instant, they brought several specifications of charges against the undersigned; and at an adjourned meeting, holden on the twenty-second instant, they proceeded to displace, discharge, and remove them from their respective offices in dartmouth university. a similar procedure was adopted against four of the trustees acting under the charter. "unless we greatly mistake, in the view already expressed of the act of june, the votes of the university trustees, removing us from office, are wholly unauthorized and destitute of any legal effect; and we are still, as we have uniformly claimed to be, officers of dartmouth college under the charter of . "the charter trustees having resolved to assert their corporate rights, and having, for this purpose, recently commenced a suit against their late secretary and treasurer, in the issue of which it is expected the question between them and their competitors will be finally settled, the undersigned, being united with them in opinion, in principle, and in feeling, cannot consent to abandon them, or to perform any act which may prejudice their claims, while this suit is pending. they must therefore proceed, as officers of dartmouth college, to discharge their prescribed duties. they are sensible of their obligation to render submission to the laws, and their first inquiry, in the case before them, has been, what is law? the result is a full conviction in their own minds, that the course they have concluded to adopt is strictly legal, and that no other course would be consistent with their duty. if they err, their error will shortly be corrected by the decision of our highest judicial tribunals; and with this decision they will readily comply. in the meantime, while the appeal is made to the laws of their country, and to the constitutions of this state and of the united states, which are the supreme law, they trust that none of their fellow-citizens will have the unkindness to charge them with a want of respect to the government under which they live. as soon as the will of the government shall be fairly expressed, they will render to it a prompt obedience. "the undersigned are placed in a situation singularly difficult and highly responsible. to them it seems to be allotted in divine providence, to perform a part which, in its consequences, may deeply affect the interests not only of this institution, but of all similar institutions in this country. and although they are fully conscious of their own inability to perform this part in a manner worthy of its importance, yet they are firmly resolved, relying on divine assistance, not to shrink from any duty, or any danger, which it may involve. "the penal act of december they cannot but regard as unnecessarily severe; nor do they see what purpose it was calculated to answer, except to influence them, by the prospect of embarrassing suits, to an abandonment of their trust. they are aware that men may be found disposed to multiply prosecutions against them, and to despoil them of the little property they possess; but they believe themselves called in providence not to shun this hazard, as they cannot reconcile it with their obligation to the institution under their care, to relinquish the places they occupy, until it shall be ascertained that they cannot rightfully retain them. "as the university trustees have expressed a great regard for the laws, the undersigned have a right to expect that neither they, or any agents appointed by them, will resort to illegal measures to seize on the college buildings and property. should such measures unhappily be adopted, the undersigned will make no forcible resistance, it not being a part of their policy to repel violence by violence. they will quietly withdraw where they cannot peaceably retain possession, and, with the best accommodations they can procure, will continue to instruct the classes committed to them, until the prevalence of other counsels shall procure a repeal of the injurious acts, or until the decision of the law shall convince them of their error, or restore them to their rights. "francis brown, "ebenezer adams, "roswell shurtleff. "february , ." * * * * * the above gentlemen constituted the permanent faculty at this period. in view of all the circumstances they determined to surrender the college buildings and library to their opponents, and the trustees determined to test their rights before the courts, the action being brought against the former treasurer, who adhered to the "university" party. "the action: 'the trustees of dartmouth college _v._ william h. woodward,' was commenced in the court of common pleas, grafton county, state of new hampshire, february term, . the declaration was trover for the books of record, original charter, common seal, and other corporate property of the college. the conversion was alleged to have been made on the th day of october, . the proper pleas were filed, and by consent the cause was carried directly to the superior court of new hampshire, by appeal, and entered at the may term, . the general issue was pleaded by the defendant, and joined by the plaintiffs. the facts in the case were then agreed upon by the parties, and drawn up in the form of a special verdict, reciting the charter of the college and the acts of the legislature of the state, passed june and december, , by which the said corporation of dartmouth college was enlarged and improved, and the said charter amended. "the question made in the case was, whether those acts of the legislature were valid and binding upon the corporation, without their acceptance or assent, and not repugnant to the constitution of the united states. if so, the verdict found for the defendants; otherwise it found for the plaintiffs. "the cause was continued to the september term of the court in rockingham county, where it was argued; and at the november term of the same year, in grafton county, the opinion of the court was delivered by chief justice richardson, sustaining the validity and constitutionality of the acts of the legislature; and judgment was accordingly entered for the defendant on the special verdict. "thereupon a writ of error was sued out by the original plaintiffs, to remove the cause to the supreme court of the united states, where it was entered at the term of the court holden at washington on the first monday of february, . "the cause came on for argument on the th day of march , before all the judges. it was argued by mr. webster and mr. hopkinson, for the plaintiffs in error, and by mr. holmes and the attorney-general (wirt), for the defendant in error. "at the term of the court holden in february, , the opinion of the judges was delivered by chief justice marshall, declaring the acts of the legislature unconstitutional and invalid, and reversing the judgment of the state court. the court, with the exception of mr. justice duvall, were unanimous." the arguments in the new hampshire court by messrs. mason, smith, and webster for the college, and messrs. sullivan and bartlett for mr. woodward; the decision of that court, and the cause in the supreme court of the united states, are an important part of our country's judicial history. the result was logically based upon prior decisions of the supreme court. we invite special attention to one point in mr. webster's argument. if, in the lapse of time, under the strong light of careful research or elaborate criticism, all the other brilliant colors of this remarkable fabric shall fade or vanish, this central figure will remain forever, to illustrate the relations of the college to the state. "the state of vermont is a principal donor to dartmouth college. the lands given lie in that state. this appears in the special verdict. is vermont to be considered as having intended a gift to the state of new hampshire in this case, as, it has been said, is to be the reasonable construction of all donations to the college? the legislature of new hampshire affects to represent the public, and therefore claims a right to control all property destined to public use. what hinders vermont from considering herself equally the representative of the public, and from resuming her grants, at her own pleasure? her right to do so is less doubtful than the power of new hampshire to pass the laws in question." thus closed one of the most important contests in the history of american jurisprudence. law, politics, literature, and religion combined to make it a subject of national concern. the decision gave to a large class of chartered institutions a security never enjoyed before. the lapse of more than half a century enables us to consider the question calmly and candidly, uninfluenced by interest, prejudice, or passion. the case was attended with serious embarrassments. neither counsel nor court had thorough knowledge of the history of the school and the college, and the relations of each to the other. had they possessed this knowledge, the line of argument in some respects would have been very different, although perhaps with the same general results. more than this, there were no precedents. indeed, at that early day questions of constitutional law had occupied very little of the attention of the american courts. there would have been embarrassment had the british parliament, before our revolution, assumed the right to alter materially the charter of the college. changes in chartered institutions in america, especially, by that body, although within the scope of its power, were usually met with the sternest protests. after the revolution, there were wide differences of opinion as to who had power over charters granted antecedent to that event. in the case of dartmouth's charter any one of several opinions might have found plausible support. to determine whether it was a fit matter for state or national legislation, or judicial control, we must revert to the history of the charter. there we find that it was the unvarying purpose of the founder, adhered to through a long period of severe and persistent effort, to obtain a charter which would enable him to locate his school or schools in any of the american colonies. he was determined to be as free as possible from local obligations and local control. there can be no doubt that in securing the charter of the college he believed that he had accomplished a similar purpose. the charter appointed as a majority of the first board of trustees residents in connecticut,--making it for the time being, by design of the founder, for good and sufficient reasons, in a sense, a connecticut institution,--with a provision that after the lapse of a brief period a majority of the board should be residents in new hampshire. in writing upon this subject to a business correspondent, in june, , president wheelock says, referring to a third party: "let him see how amply this incorporation is endowed, and how independent it is made of this government or any other incorporation," and adds that "a matter of controversy" relating to the township granted by the king to the college nearly at the same time with the charter, "can be decided by no judicatory but supreme, or one equal to that which incorporated it, _i. e._, the continental congress." the views of no one person will be received by all, as conclusive on a subject of so much importance. but certainly, eleazar wheelock had a right to construe the provisions of an instrument which in almost every line bore his impress, never possessed by any other individual. had john wheelock presented his grievances to the national legislature,--only in a limited sense, it is true, if at all, the successor of that king, whose grant of landaff, in addition to the college charter, made him, in a sense, according to coke, the founder of the college,--he might, in all probability, have obtained what he desired in a peaceful manner, although an important judicial decision might never have occupied its present place in american law. chapter xiii. character of president brown.--tributes by professor haddock and rufus choate. in sprague's "annals of the american pulpit," we find, in substance, the following notice of president brown: francis brown was the son of benjamin and prudence (kelley) brown, and was born at chester, rockingham county, n. h., january , . his father was a merchant, and had a highly respectable standing in society. his mother was a person of superior intellect and heart, and, though she died when he had only reached his tenth year, she had impressed upon him some of the most striking of her own characteristics; particularly her uncommon love of order and propriety, even in the most minute concerns, and her uncompromising adherence to her own convictions of truth and right. in his early boyhood he evinced the utmost eagerness in the pursuit of knowledge, and never suffered any opportunity for intellectual improvement to escape him. at the age of fourteen, he ventured to ask his father to furnish him with the means of a collegiate education; but, in consideration of his somewhat straitened circumstances, he felt constrained to deny the request. by a subsequent marriage, however, his circumstances were improved; and the new mother of young brown, with most commendable generosity, assumed the pecuniary responsibility of his going to college. he always cherished the most grateful recollection of her kindness; and, but a few days before his death, he said to her with the deepest filial sensibility, "my dear mother, whatever good i have done in the world, and whatever honor i have received, i owe it all to you." in his sixteenth year he became a member of atkinson academy, then under the care of the hon. john vose, and among the most respectable institutions of the kind in new england. his instructor has rendered the following testimony concerning him at that period: "though he made no pretensions to piety during his residence at the academy, he was exceedingly amiable in his affections and moral in his deportment. it is very rare we find an individual in whom so many excellencies centre. to a sweet disposition was united a strong mind; to an accuracy which examined the minutiæ of everything a depth of investigation which penetrated the most profound. i recollect that when i wrote recommending him to college, i informed dr. wheelock i had sent him an addison." of the formation of his religious character little more is known than that it was of silent, yet steady growth. it was not till the year that he became a tutor in college that he made a public profession of his faith, by connecting himself with the church in his native place. in the spring of he joined the freshman class of dartmouth college, and, during the whole period of his collegiate course, was a model of persevering diligence, of gentle and winning manners, and pure and elevated morality. from college he carried with him the respect and love of both teachers and students. having spent the year succeeding his graduation as a private tutor in the family of the venerable judge paine, of williamstown, vt., he was appointed to a tutorship in the college at which he had graduated. this office he accepted, and for three years discharged its duties with great ability and fidelity, while, at the same time, he was pursuing theological studies with reference to his future profession. having received license to preach from the grafton association, he resigned his tutorship at the commencement in , with a view to give himself solely to the work of the ministry. after declining several flattering applications for his services, he accepted an invitation from the congregational church in north yarmouth, me., to become their pastor; and he was accordingly ordained there on his birthday, january , . within a few months from this time, he was chosen professor of languages at dartmouth college; but this appointment he was pleased, greatly to the joy of his parishioners, to decline. for the succeeding five years he labored with great zeal and success among his people, while his influence was sensibly felt in sustaining and advancing the interests of learning and religion throughout the state. he was the intimate friend of the lamented president appleton; and no one, perhaps, coöperated with the president more vigrously than he, in increasing the resources and extending the influence of bowdoin college. he was inaugurated president of dartmouth college, on the th of september, . during the period when the college controversy was at its height, and it seemed difficult to predict its issue, mr. brown was invited to the presidency of hamilton college,--a respectable and flourishing institution in the state of new york. he did not, however, feel at liberty to accept the invitation, considering himself so identified with the college with which he was then connected that he must share either its sinking or rising fortunes. president brown's labors were too severe for his constitution. he was not only almost constantly engaged during the week in the instruction and general supervision of the college, but most of his sabbaths were spent in preaching to destitute congregations in the neighborhood; and, during his vacations, he was generally traveling with a view to increase the college funds. soon after the commencement in , he began to show some symptoms of pulmonary disease, and these symptoms continued, and assumed a more aggravated form, under the best medical prescriptions. his last effort in the pulpit was at thetford, vt., october , . in the hope of recovering from his disease, he traveled into the western part of new york, but no substantial relief was obtained. in the fall of , with a view to try the effect of a milder climate, he journeyed as far south as south carolina and georgia, where he spent the following winter and spring. he returned in the month of june, and, though he was greeted by his friends and pupils with the most affectionate welcome, they all saw, from his pallid countenance and emaciated form, that he had only come home to die. as he was unable to appear in public, he invited the senior class, who were about to leave college at the commencement of their last vacation, to visit him in his chamber; and there he addressed to them, with the solemnity of a spirit just ready to take its flight, the most pertinent and affectionate farewell counsels, which they received with every expression of gratitude, veneration, and love. in his last days and hours he evinced the most humble, trusting, child-like spirit, willing to live as long as god was pleased to detain him, but evidently considering it far better to depart and be with christ. his last words were, "glorious redeemer, take my spirit." he died july , . his wife elisabeth, daughter of the rev. tristram gilman, a lady whose fine intellectual, moral, and christian qualities adorned every station in which she was placed, survived him many years, and died on the th of september, . they had three children, one of whom, samuel gilman [now president brown], is a professor in dartmouth college. the degree of doctor of divinity was conferred upon president brown by both hamilton and williams colleges, in . the following is a list of president brown's published works: "an address on music," delivered before the handel society of dartmouth college, . "the faithful steward:" a sermon delivered at the ordination of allen greeley, . "a sermon delivered before the maine missionary society, ." "calvin and calvinism;" defended against certain injurious representations contained in a pamphlet entitled "a sketch of the life and doctrine of the celebrated john calvin;" of which rev. martin ruter claims to be the author, . "a reply to the rev. martin ruter's letter relating to calvin and calvinism, ." "a sermon delivered at concord before the convention of congregational and presbyterian ministers of new hampshire, ." the following is from prof. charles b. haddock, d.d.: "my acquaintance with the president was, for the most part, that of a pupil with his teacher; an undergraduate with the head of the college. and yet it was somewhat more than this; for it was my happiness, during my senior year, to have lodgings in the same house with him, and to eat at the same table, in the family of one of the professors, and as one of a small circle, all connected with college, and a good deal remarkable for the freedom and vivacity of their conversation. after graduating, i saw him only occasionally, until the last few months of his life, which he passed here, near the close of my first year's residence at the college as a teacher,--months in which the greatness of his character was still more signally manifest than in any other circumstances in which i had seen him. "in recording my youthful impressions of so uncommon a personage, i may, therefore, hope to be thought to speak not altogether without knowledge, though it should be with enthusiasm. "dr. brown came to preside over the college at the age of less than thirty-two, and in circumstances to attract unusual attention to his administration. it was during a violent contest of opposing parties for the control of its affairs, and immediately after the removal of his predecessor from office. his qualifications and his official acts were, of course, exposed to severe scrutiny, and could command the respect of the community at large only by approving themselves to the candid judgment even of the adverse party. and i suppose it would be admitted, even in new hampshire, that no man ever commended himself to general favor, i may say to general admiration, by a wiser, more prudent, or more honorable bearing, amid the greatest and most trying difficulties. indeed, such was his conduct of affairs, and such the nobleness of his whole character, as displayed in his intercourse with the government of the state, with a rival institution under the public authority, and with all classes of men, that not a few who began with zeal for the college over which he presided, came at last to act even more from zeal for the man who presided over it. "the mind of dr. brown was of the very highest order,--profound, comprehensive, and discriminating. its action was deliberate, circumspect, and sure. he made no mistakes; he left nothing in doubt where certainty was possible; he never conjectured where there were means of knowledge; he had no obscure glimpses among his ideas of truth and duty. always sound and always luminous, his opinions were never uttered without being understood, and never understood without being regarded. there was a dignity and weight in his judgments which seem to me not unlike what constitutes the patriarchal authority of washington and marshall. "if not already a man of learning, in the larger sense of that term, it was only because the duties of the pastoral relation had so long attracted his attention to the objects of more particular interest in his profession. had his life been spared, however, he would have been learned in the highest and rarest sense. his habits of study were liberal, patient, and eminently philosophical; and within the sphere which his inquiries covered, his knowledge was accurate and choice, and his taste faultless. the entire form of his literary character was beautiful--strong without being dogmatic; delicate without being fastidious. "his heart was large. great objects alone could fill it; and it was full of great objects. there was no littleness of thought, or purpose, or ambition, in him--nothing little. the range of his literary sympathies was as wide as the world of mind; his benevolence as universal as the wants of man. "his person was commanding. gentle in his manners, affable, courteous, he yet, unconsciously, partly by the natural dignity of his figure, and still more by the greatness visibly impressed on his features, exacted from us all a deference, a veneration even, that seemed as natural as it was inevitable. his very presence was a restraint upon everything like levity or frivolity, and diffused a thoughtful and composed, if not always grave, air about him, which, never ceasing to be cheerful and bright, never failed to dignify the objects of pursuit and elevate the intercourse of life. a gentleman in the primitive sense of the word, he was, without seeking to be thought so, always felt to be of a superior order of men. "on the whole, it has been my fortune to know no man whose entire character has appeared to me so near perfection, none, whom it would so satisfy me in all things to resemble. "how much we lost in him it is now impossible to estimate, and it would, perhaps, be useless to know. his early death extinguished great hopes. but his memory is a treasure, which even death cannot take from us." hon. rufus choate writes thus: "it happened that my whole time at college coincided with the period of president brown's administration. he was inducted into office in the autumn of , my freshman year, and he died in the summer of . it is not the want, therefore, but the throng, of recollections of him that creates any difficulty in complying with your request. he was still young at the time of his inauguration--not more than thirty-one--and he had passed those few years, after having been for three of them a tutor in dartmouth college, in the care of a parish in north yarmouth, in maine; but he had already, in an extraordinary degree, dignity of person and sentiment; rare beauty,--almost youthful beauty, of countenance; a sweet, deep, commanding tone of voice; a grave but graceful and attractive demeanor--all the traits and all the qualities, completely ripe, which make up and express weight of character; and all the address and firmness and knowledge of youth, men, and affairs which constitute what we call administrative talent. for that form of talent, and for the greatness which belongs to character, he was doubtless remarkable. he must have been distinguished for this among the eminent. from his first appearance before the students on the day of his inauguration, when he delivered a brief and grave address in latin, prepared we were told, the evening before, until they followed the bier, mourning, to his untimely grave, he governed them perfectly and always, through their love and veneration; the love and veneration of the 'willing soul.' other arts of government were, indeed, just then, scarcely practicable. the college was in a crisis which relaxed discipline, and would have placed a weak instructor, or an instructor unbeloved, or loved with no more than ordinary regard, in the power of classes which would have abused it. it was a crisis which demanded a great man for president, and it found such an one in him. in , the legislature of new hampshire passed the acts which changed the charter of the institution, abolished the old corporation of trustees, created a new one, extinguished the legal identity of the college, and reconstructed it or set up another under a different and more ambitious name and a different government. the old trustees, with president brown at their head, denied the validity of these acts, and resisted their administration. a dominant political party had passed or adopted them; and thereupon a controversy arose between the college and a majority of the state; conducted in part in the courts of law of new hampshire, and of the union; in part by the press; sometimes by the students of the old institution and the new in personal collision, or the menace of personal collision, within the very gardens of the academy; which was not terminated until the supreme court of the united states adjudged the acts unconstitutional and void. this decision was pronounced in ; and then, and not till then, had president brown peace,--a brief peace made happy by letters, by religion, by the consciousness of a great duty performed for law, for literature, and for the constitution,--happy even in prospect of premature death. this contest tried him and the college with extreme and various severity. to induce students to remain in a school disturbed and menaced; to engage and inform public sentiment, the true patron and effective founder, by showing forth that the principles of a sound political morality, as well as of law, prescribed the action of the old trustees; to confer with the counsel of the college, two of whom--mr. mason and mr. webster--have often declared to me their admiration of the intellectual force and practical good sense which he brought to those conferences,--this all, while it withdrew him somewhat from the proper studies and proper cares of his office, created a necessity for the display of the very rarest qualities of temper, discretion, tact, and command, and he met it with consummate ability and fortune. one of his addresses to the students in the chapel at the darkest moment of the struggle, presenting the condition and prospects of the college, and the embarrassments of all kinds which surrounded its instructors, and appealing to the manliness and affection and good principles of the students to help 'by whatsoever things were honest, lovely, or of good report,' occurs to recollection as of extraordinary persuasiveness and influence. "there can be no doubt that he had very eminent intellectual ability, true love of the beautiful in all things, and a taste trained to discover, enjoy, and judge it, and that his acquirements were competent and increasing. it was the 'keenness' of his mind of which mr. mason always spoke to me as remarkable in any man of any profession. he met him only in consultation as a client; but others, students, all nearer his age, and admitted to his fuller intimacy, must have been struck rather with the sobriety and soundness of his thoughts, the solidity and large grasp of his understanding, and the harmonized culture of all its parts. he wrote a pure and clear english style, and he judged of elegant literature with a catholic and appreciative but chastised taste. the recollections of a student of the learning of a beloved and venerated president of a college, whom he sees only as a boy sees a man, and his testimony concerning it, will have little value; but i know that he was esteemed an excellent greek and latin scholar, and our recitations of horace, which the poverty of the college and the small number of its teachers induced him to superintend, though we were sophomores only, were the most agreeable and instructive exercises of the whole college classical course. "of studies more professional he seemed master. locke, stewart, with whose liberality and tolerance and hopeful and rational philanthropy he sympathized warmly, butler, edwards, and the writers on natural law and moral philosophy, he expounded with the ease and freedom of one habitually trained and wholly equal to these larger meditations. "his term of office was short and troubled; but the historian of the college will record of his administration a two-fold honor; first, that it was marked by a noble vindication of its chartered rights; and second, that it was marked also by a real advancement of its learning; by collections of ampler libraries, and by displays of a riper scholarship." chapter xiv. progress from to .--administrations of president dana and president tyler. it was not an easy matter, especially in the impoverished condition of the college, to find a worthy successor of president brown. during the period of president brown's illness, and at different periods after his death, professor ebenezer adams, a gentleman of decided and energetic character, and (in years) the senior professor in the college, was acting president. rev. daniel dana of newburyport, massachusetts, was elected the fourth president of the college in august, . the substance of the next few pages is from the "life of president dana," published in . the following is one of many letters addressed to him, urging his acceptance of the presidency: "dartmouth college, sept. , . "rev. and dear sir:--not having heard from any of our friends what is the prospect in regard to your acceptance of the appointment made by our trustees, i cannot help troubling you with a line. "i need not tell you that our solicitude would rise to extreme distress were we seriously apprehensive that you might decide in the negative. oh, sir, remember the desolations of zion here, and have compassion. the friends of the college look to you, and to you only, to repair the waste places. when you know that the voice of the trustees conspires with that of the clergy and of the public at large, and when this same voice is echoed from the tomb of our late beloved and much lamented president brown, can you hesitate? that good man, in his last days, with almost the confidence and ardor of prophecy, declared his belief in the future prosperity and usefulness of dartmouth college. you have, i hope, been informed of the strong manner in which he, last autumn, expressed himself in relation to a successor; and of the same decided and unwavering opinion which came from his mouth a few days before his death. 'i have,' said he, 'but one candidate, and that is dr. dana. whom do they talk of for a successor? my opinion is exactly the same as when i conversed with you last fall.' "i do pray, my dear sir, that divine providence may not permit you to fail of coming. "i should be grieved if, on making the trial, you should not find yourself pleasantly situated here. i verily believe that you would find a disposition on the part of the people of the village, including all the college faculty, to render your situation comfortable and pleasant. "we shall watch every mail and ask every friend, till we learn the decision, or rather what we may expect the decision to be. with great respect, "your obedient servant, "r. d. m."[ ] [ ] professor r. d. mussey. * * * * * what is here stated as to president brown, was also true of president appleton of bowdoin college. each had desired that dr. dana should be his successor. no stronger proof could be given of the confidence felt in him, than these concurrent last wishes of two such men. each had brought to the office he held not merely intellectual preëminence, but a dignity and elevation of character, and a singleness of purpose, rarely equaled; and to each the future welfare of the institution over which he presided was an object of the deepest solicitude. dr. dana's letter of acceptance is as follows: * * * * * "to the rev. and honorable board of trustees of dartmouth college, "gentlemen:--i have received, with deep sensibility, not unmingled with surprise, the notice of the appointment with which you have honored me, to the presidency of the institution under your care. "the consideration of a subject of such magnitude has been attended with no small degree of perplexity and distress. "the character and objects of dartmouth college; its intimate connection with the great interests of the church and of human society; the important services it has long rendered to both; its recent arduous struggle for existence, with the attending embarrassments, and auspicious issue; the claims it possesses on the community, and especially on its own sons; the unanimity of your suffrages in the present case; these with other affecting circumstances have been carefully considered, and i trust duly appreciated. "considerations of a different kind have likewise presented. my long and intimate connection with a most beloved and affectionate people--a connection rendered interesting not only by its duties and delights but by its very solicitudes and afflictions--a diffidence of my powers to meet the expectations of the trustees, and the demands of the college; the exchange, at my age, of a sphere whose duties, though arduous and exhausting, are yet familiar, for another in which new duties, new responsibilities, new anxieties arise; in which likewise success is uncertain, and failure would be distressing--these considerations, with a variety of others scarcely possible to be detailed have at times come over me with an almost appalling influence. "in these circumstances i have not dared trust my feelings, nor even my judgment, with the decision of the case. "one resource remained,--to seek advice through the regular ecclesiastical channel--and this with a full determination to consider the judgment of the presbytery as the most intelligible expression which i could hope to obtain of the mind and will of heaven, respecting my duty; to this measure my church and people gave their consent. "the presbytery having determined, by nearly a unanimous vote, in favor of the dissolution of my pastoral relation, and my acceptance of the appointment, my duty is of course decided. i now, therefore, declare my compliance with your invitation. "i devote the residue of my life to the interests of the institution committed to your care. "this i do with deep solicitude, yet not without an animating hope that he whose prerogative and glory it is to operate important effects by feeble instruments, may be pleased, even through me, to give a blessing to a seminary which has so signally enjoyed his protecting and fostering care. "providence permitting, i shall be at hanover on the fourth wednesday of the present month, with a view to attend the solemnities of inauguration. it will then be necessary, considering the advanced season, and other circumstances, for me to return without delay, that i may arrange my affairs and remove my family. "gentlemen, my resolution on this great subject has been taken in the full confidence of experiencing, in all future time, what i shall so much need, your liberal candor, and your cordial, energetic support. suffer me, in addition, to request, in my behalf, your devout supplications to him who is the father of lights and the munificent bestower of every blessing. "i am, gentlemen, with every sentiment of esteem and respect, "your devoted friend and servant, "daniel dana. "newburyport, oct. , ." * * * * * "allusion is made in his farewell sermon at newburyport, to his 'recently impaired health.' this was premonitory. scarcely had he removed his family to hanover, and entered on his new duties, before the crisis came to which, doubtless, the wasting cares and anxieties of preceding years and the recent severe pressure upon his sensibilities, had been silently but inevitably tending. his health gave way, and great depression of spirits accompanied his bodily languor. he took more than one long journey in the vain effort to recruit his energies. he writes to a friend of being 'in a state of great and very uncommon debility, undoubtedly to be attributed to the protracted operation of distressing causes, both on mind and frame.' he also states, that, whilst absent from hanover in accordance with the advice of his physician, he still hoped to be able, after his strength was recruited, to accomplish something in the matter of soliciting aid to the funds of the college; a work which, however uncongenial to his tastes, he found would necessarily be devolved on its president. "the winter months passed by, and there was still little or no improvement in his health. when it became known that he was agitating the question of resigning his office, many urgent requests were made to him not to decide hastily. he delayed only till april, and then called a meeting of the trustees, to be held early in may, for the purpose of receiving and acting upon his resignation of his office. he wished it to be considered as 'absolute and final.' the notification to a member of the board with whom he was specially intimate, was accompanied by a letter in which he says: "'you will naturally conclude that the resolution which i have taken has cost me many a struggle, and much severe distress. this is the fact. the last seven months have been with me a scene of suffering indeed. i have fondly hoped that repeated journeyings would give me relief. but their effect has been only partial and temporary. such is my prostration at this moment, that the duties of my office, and not less its cares and its responsibilities, seem a burden quite beyond my power of bearing. had it pleased god to make me an instrument of important good to the college, i should have esteemed myself privileged indeed; but this privilege, though denied to me, awaits, i confidently hope, some more favored instrument of the divine benevolence. i earnestly pray, that, in what pertains to this great concern, the trustees may be favored with much heavenly wisdom and direction.' "he now took a long journey to ohio, visiting at athens the brother who had been the companion of his early years. under these favorable influences, his health began more decidedly to improve. at their meeting, july , the trustees of the college, by unanimous resolution, requested him to withdraw his resignation; but he declined to do so, though 'gratefully acknowledging the kindness expressed in their communication.' "many years after these events, the rev. dr. lord, so long and so honorably the president of dartmouth college, thus referred to dr. dana's connection with the institution: "'he was chosen president for his well-known excellence as a scholar and theologian, and his extraordinary ministerial qualifications. he was honored the country over, in these respects. it was not doubted that he would be equally honorable as president of the college, should his health endure. "'that he would have been, had he been able to retain his place, everybody well understood, as well from his auspicious beginning, as his distinguished qualities. he made a deep impression upon the college during the short period of his actual service. "'but his sensitive nature had received a great shock in the breaking up of his many and most endearing relations at newburyport and the country around. he began here with health seriously impaired, and in great depression of spirit. the change of scene, of society, labor, and responsibility, was too much for his disordered frame. he sought relief by travel. but he gained little or nothing, and was driven to the conclusion that his life could probably be saved only by resignation. he could not consent to make such an office as he held a sinecure, or to see the college labor through its severe adversities without greater vigor of administration than his infirmities admitted. with great conscientiousness and magnanimity, he chose to put himself at a seeming disadvantage, rather than to risk the interests of the college upon what he judged to be the doubtful chances of his recovery. "'he left with the profound respect and sincere regret of the trustees and faculty. their confidence in him was unshaken; and they never doubted, that, had he been more favorable to himself, and borne his new burdens with less solicitude, till he could regain his health, he would have been as distinguished here as elsewhere, and raised the college to a corresponding usefulness and dignity. "'most men judge superficially and unwisely in such cases. so far as i know, the most competent judges of dr. dana's relations to dartmouth see nothing that does not redound to his honor. it is understood that he accepted the presidency with great reluctance, on account of his other responsibilities and attachments, and with distrust of his physical ability to perform its duties; that, while he performed them, it was with characteristic ability and effect; and that, when his best efforts to regain his health failed, and he saw reason to fear, that, even if his life should not be a sacrifice, his increasing infirmities would be to the disadvantage of a struggling institution, he generously, and entirely of his own accord, resigned. to my apprehension, all this is significant of great moral strength under the pressure of bodily disease, and a memorable instance of that christian heroism for which he has always been remarkable. "_maluit esse quam videri bonus._"'" the subsequent labors of president dana in the ministry, and the high esteem of all who best knew him till his death, august , , are matters of permanent record. his first wife, mrs. elizabeth (coombs) dana, and the second, mrs. sarah (emery) dana, had died previous to his residence at hanover. president dana's brief but earnest labors for the college having closed in , the fifth president was rev. bennet tyler, who was called from a pastorate in southbury, conn. we quote in substance some passages relating to this subject from his "memoir," by his son-in-law, rev. nahum gale, d.d. "early in , mr. tyler was appointed president of dartmouth college. it was to him a mystery why he should be selected for that station. located in a retired country parish, he had been devoted to the duties of the ministry, and had paid little attention to science or literature. he was strongly attached to his people and his home, for there had arisen, as 'olive plants,' around his table, three sons and four daughters. "but he was recommended to the trustees of dartmouth by dr. porter, of andover, and others, in whose judgment he had great confidence; his brethren around him in the ministry, and the consociation with which he was connected, believed it to be his duty to accept the appointment. accordingly, he broke away from an endeared people, was inaugurated at dartmouth in march, and entered upon the duties of his office the following june. in the autumn of , the newly-elected president was honored by the degree of d.d., from middlebury college. of his connection with dartmouth college, dr. tyler has left the following record: "'i was among strangers, and engaged in duties to which i was unaccustomed. but i found myself surrounded by able professors, who treated me with great kindness, and rendered me all the assistance in their power. my situation was much more pleasant than i anticipated; and through the assistance of a gracious providence, i was enabled to discharge the duties which devolved upon me with acceptance. i have never had any reason to doubt that i was in the path of duty when i accepted the appointment. my labor in the service of the college, i humbly trust, was not altogether in vain. i had the satisfaction to know that i left it in a more prosperous condition than i found it. it was no part of my duty, as president of the college, to preach on the sabbath; but the health of the professor of divinity failing soon after my inauguration, i found it necessary to supply his place; and during the whole period of my presidency i preached a considerable part of the time. in the year , there was a very interesting revival of religion, both among the students and the inhabitants of the village, which will be remembered by not a few, while "immortality endures." "'i was connected with the college six years; and, although i never felt so much at home as in the duties of the ministry, still i had no serious thoughts of relinquishing my station, till, very unexpectedly, i received a call from the second church in portland. when i received this call, i felt a new desire for the duties and joys of the pastoral life, and believing i could resign my office without putting in jeopardy the interests of the college, i concluded to do so. i parted with the trustees, faculty, and students, with feelings of great cordiality, and i had reason to believe that the feelings were reciprocated.' "the following letter from the venerable professor shurtleff, addressed to rev. john e. tyler, will give the impressions of one associated with dr. tyler during his presidency at hanover. "hanover, n. h., september , . "reverend and very dear friend: permit me thus to address you; for i can truly say that i regarded you with much interest and affection during the whole time of your residence here, and i may also add that your venerated parents had no friends in hanover more sincere and ardent than mrs. shurtleff and myself. "when your dear father was appointed president of dartmouth college, he had been little heard of in new hampshire. his first appearance, however, was very prepossessing, and his preaching was much admired. his popularity was so general in this region, that a gentleman of a neighboring town inquired, 'why, if he is such a man as they say, was he not heard of before?' to which i replied, if you will allow me to quote my own words, that 'the lord had kept him concealed in an obscure parish for a blessing to our college.' the impression which his first appearance made was not lowered by further acquaintance. i do not recollect hearing a complaint of him from any member of the college. all his intercourse with them was tempered with the utmost kindness, while he was punctual and faithful in every official duty. i think he originated the project of raising, by subscription, a fund of ten thousand dollars for the aid of indigent students seeking an education for the ministry. "this object he not only conceived, but completed by his own personal efforts. for this, as well as for other services, he should be gratefully remembered by the college, by the church, and by the public. "but the religious influence of dr. tyler, while president of dartmouth, will never be forgotten. in the summer of , the professor of divinity was arrested by a severe and protracted affection of the lungs. the president at once took the services of the sanctuary; and the following spring term was rendered memorable by a revival of religion, which issued in adding to the lord many students and inhabitants of the village. "during his residence here we had a class of students in their professional studies, who wished to enter the ministry earlier than they could by entering a public seminary. we met with them once in a week, heard their dissertations on subjects that had been assigned, and each of us spoke on the performances, and on the subjects. the young gentlemen were all licensed to preach after about two years, and became useful ministers of the gospel. by these exercises, as well as by long intimacy, i was convinced that dr. tyler had peculiarly clear and discriminating views of the doctrines of the gospel, and an uncommon facility in explaining and defending them; and i have often remarked in years past, that with the exception of my friend, dr. woods, of andover, i would sooner recommend him to young men as a teacher of theology than any other clergyman in the circle of my acquaintance. "with many pleasing reminiscences, i remain your friend and brother in the gospel, roswell shurtleff." dr. asa d. smith writes thus: "new york, december , . "rev. j. e. tyler,-- "my dear sir: you ask for my recollections of your honored father, as president of my alma mater. i regret that i can furnish but little in that relation. he remained at the head of the institution some two years only after i was matriculated. "the two lower classes had, of course, much less intercourse with him than those more advanced. you could doubtless obtain more ample information from those who were seniors under him, and who had more largely the benefit of his instruction. such impressions as i have, however, i am happy to give. "it was when a member of kimball union academy, in preparation for college, if i mistake not, that i first set eyes on his commanding form, and listened to the impressive tones of his voice. that academy, as you know, is about a dozen miles from hanover. not long before the graduation of one of its classes, he visited the place, and preached on the sabbath. it is not impossible that his visit had some reference to the fact that there were among us so many candidates for college life. it was, at all events, well for dartmouth that he came. judging from the influence on my mind, i cannot doubt that not a few were the more inclined, for what they saw of him, to connect themselves with the institution over which he presided. "it was the year before i entered college, i think, that is, in - , that dartmouth was blessed with one of the most remarkable revivals of religion it has ever enjoyed. transformations of character were wrought then which have borne the test of decades of years. some of the finest minds in college were brought under the power of the gospel--minds that have since shone as bright lights in the world. "when i entered the college, i found him dignified, yet affable and fatherly in his bearing. his preaching then, as we often heard him in the village church, was marked by the same simplicity, clearness, and logical force, the same scripturalness, fullness of doctrine, and evangelical earnestness, that characterized his subsequent ministrations. he preached not to the fancy, but to the conscience and the heart. he confined not himself to hortatory appeals, nor did he, in any wise, skim over the surface of things; but, as both my notes and recollections of his college sermons assure me, he was apt to handle, and that vigorously, the high topics of theology. he gave us not milk alone, but strong meat. yet have i seldom known a man so remarkable for making an abstruse subject plain to every hearer." * * * * * rev. george punchard, of boston, and rev. nathaniel folsom, d.d., professor in meadville college, pa., have furnished their recollections respecting the revival in dartmouth college, in the year , to which allusion is made by dr. smith. the former says: "boston, february , . "rev. john e. tyler,-- "my dear sir: your venerable father was president of dartmouth college during my whole collegiate course--from to . my earliest recollections of him are those only which a thoughtless boy of sixteen would be likely to have of a grave and reverend divine, and are of little value. "it was not until near the close of my college life that i began really to know him. at that time the college was visited by a revival of religion of uncommon power, and my reverend president suddenly awoke (at least to my view) in an entirely new character. "he came to the students with a power and unction which were quite irresistible, and manifested a depth of religious feeling for us which made us at once love him and admire him. he seemed to have found his appropriate sphere of labor; to have got into an atmosphere which filled his soul and body with life and energy; to have work to do which was congenial, which he loved, and which he knew how to do as few men did. he was at once a son of thunder and a son of consolation. his discourses, which had always been able and instructive, and characterized by simplicity of arrangement and neatness and purity of style, had now the additional attraction of an animated and energetic delivery. "and yet, perhaps, the conference room and the prayer-meeting were the places in which, at that time, dr. tyler specially excelled. he was naturally rather heavy and lethargic in his manner of speaking, and it required a good deal to excite and warm him thoroughly. but the scenes and duties incident to a powerful revival of religion, in which a hundred or more young men were more or less interested, supplied the necessary stimulus, and the strong man was fully waked up, and in his extemporaneous addresses particularly, poured out streams of christian eloquence which he seldom equaled in his more carefully prepared public discourses, and which few men whom i have ever heard, could excel or equal. "his labors, however, were not confined to the pulpit and the conference meeting. he cheerfully and heartily did the work of a pastor among the students, going from room to room, instructing and exhorting his beloved pupils, and praying with them. he was among us, not as the grave and dignified head of the college, but rather as a loving, anxious father, seeking to instruct and save his children; or, as an elder brother, tenderly solicitous for our spiritual welfare. he was gentle among us, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. and god, i verily believe, gave him spiritual children from among our number, as the reward of his fidelity; children who never ceased to love him while he lived, and who will cherish his memory with gratitude to their dying hours." professor folsom says: "dartmouth college was fortunate in getting mr. tyler to stand in the line of its excellent presidents. each of them was different from the rest in special qualifications, in work performed, in kind and force of influence exerted; but each did what made his administration an important period in the history of the college, and extended its fame and usefulness. dr. tyler was inferior to none of them in the depth and extent to which he affected the character of the students for good, and through them, wherever the divine providence called them to live and labor, promoted the welfare of the country; the enlightenment and moral activity, and power, and happiness of the people. "his splendid physique, in which he surpassed everybody in the region; his noble stature and well-proportioned form; his head finely poised, and around it a halo of parental benignity, its perpetual and unfading crown; these struck every one at first sight, and prepossessed all in his favor. i know of none with whom to compare him in these respects except ezekiel webster. in his whole spirit and mien, in look and word and action, he was a father, and his whole administration was parental in the best sense of the word. this benignity, as we learn from his 'memoir,' marked his subsequent career as president of the east windsor theological school. his biographer, taking notice of the fact that 'the perversities of human nature make their appearance in such institutions as well as elsewhere,' observes that 'the strong affections of the father in him occasionally swayed the firmness of the tutor and governor, and rendered him indulgent and yielding in cases where there was call for the peremptory and authoritative.' in the first two years of our college life, from the fall of to the spring of , two or three instances of wrongdoing passed unnoticed which perhaps deserved such a mode of treatment. there were, moreover, it is to be confessed, irregularities and bad practices among students in all the classes at that period, but they were exceptional, so far as my knowledge of them extended, and would have required a system of espionage to detect them, or informers from the guilty ones themselves. dartmouth however, at its worst, in that period, was not one whit behind any other college in new england, in its general tone of morals, in observance of law, in habits of study and in scholarly attainments. there were not a few whose sense of honor was very high, and as they were popular and influential, they in some degree necessarily gave tone to others. nay, surrounded by such an atmosphere of benignity--of which every student was more or less conscious, feeling it not only in the presence of the president, but also more or less in our connection with every other officer of the college without exception--i think there was far less tendency to excess, far less of the irritation of inclination against prohibition of law; and assuredly there was never apparent a disposition to rebel from hope of impunity through the recognized forbearance of our teachers. "in the spring of the year , a higher influence was brought to bear, reinforcing and extending the moral element throughout the college; recovering not a few from irregularities of conduct and waste of talent; awakening the religious nature; giving birth to new motives, and leading many to noble and useful lives. from that period until our class graduated in , i cannot recall an act deserving special even animadversion, nor remember an instance of a student obnoxious to discipline for indolent of other censurable habits. but i remember several young men of exemplary deportment and distinguished ability, among them salmon p. chase, who though not publicly regarded as 'subjects of the work,' were greatly affected, their future being largely determined by it. they all subsequently exhibited deep moral and religious purpose, and were foremost in philanthropic action. without the preaching of dr. tyler as its great instrument, and without such a man presiding over it, and guiding it, there is no reason to suppose that the revival would have taken place, or would have been so extensive and powerful. "it is by looking at dr. tyler from every point of view that we alone can form a just estimate of his qualities. his greatest power was that of preacher, and he was most at home in this office. he did not seek it, but it providentially came to him in the illness of professor shurtleff, the professor of theology, and he retired from it when in the year , professor george howe succeeded professor shurtleff. he had risen in it to the very height of the duty he attempted to discharge, and was majestic in it. his mode of delivery and gesture were beyond criticism, and at times sublime. i never heard a student speak of him in this capacity without the highest praise; and his power ended not simply in producing admiration, but in influencing his hearers to duty. the great object aimed at in his preaching was to induce his hearers to be willing, unconditionally, to do and submit to the revealed divine will. he who succeeds in persuading his fellow-men to faithfully and perseveringly try to do this, does the highest christian work, and most for the benefit of man. no one who has sat in the presidential chair of dartmouth, or of any other college, during an equal length of time, has done more in this direction than bennet tyler." the librarian says: "in , isaiah thomas of worcester, massachusetts, presented the college library volumes, which were perhaps an equivalent for the books recently lost, as professor haddock makes the statement that there were probably no more books in than in . in the trustees appropriated $ . the three libraries at this time must have numbered not far from , volumes. in , the 'social friends' obtained a charter, and one was granted to the united fraternity' during the following year. these charters gave the societies the right to hold property, and transact business, and made necessary the consent of a majority of the existing members in order to dispose of the libraries. the society libraries had been increasing more rapidly than the college library, and at this time they had reached it in size as well as exceeded it in practical value and in circulation. it is quite noticeable that these three libraries for the twenty-five years following were kept so nearly equal, by additions and losses, that at no time the number of books actually upon their shelves differed by more than a few hundred. "the work and influence of the societies was neither small nor to be lightly estimated, and in that work the libraries had no small share. professor crosby, in speaking of the college life of the class of , says: 'the college library was small, and had been so collected that it contained few books which either the instructors or students wished to read. the chief dependence of the latter was upon the society libraries, in which they took much pride, and to the increase of which they contributed with so great liberality in proportion to their means. during the first years of our course, the library of the "united fraternity" occupied a place in the north entry of the college, corresponding to that of the "social friends" library in the south entry. the libraries were open only on wednesdays and saturdays from to p. m., for the delivery and return of books, and the students at these times gathered around the barred entrances to be waited on in turn by the librarians and their assistants. the rooms were so small that only three or four others were admitted at a time within the bar for the examination of the books upon the shelves. the opening of the philological room and of a reading-room about the same time by the members of the "fraternity" led to the great enlargement of the library rooms, and great increase of library advantages, which took place in the latter part of our course. the ample rooms were now opened daily, instead of twice a week, for the delivery and return of books.' "the college library is spoken of as, at that time, being open once in two weeks, and occupying a narrow room on the second floor of the college." the marked advance in the course of study and general advantages of college life, during this period, are too well known to many living readers to require especial notice in this connection. the leading facts will be developed upon succeeding pages. the following paragraphs from a member of dr. tyler's family are worthy of perusal. "my first recollections of importance regarding dartmouth college were my father's great concern for its financial interests. there was great need of money at this time for new buildings and scientific apparatus, and no one was found willing to assume the responsibility of soliciting funds except president tyler, who in his vacations undertook the matter, and was eminently successful in the work. when he first started upon his mission he called upon the late hon. isaac hill, at that time editor of the new hampshire 'patriot,' which paper had been, as some thought, opposed to the interests of the college. this gentleman had attended a commencement at dartmouth, and had an interview with the new president, and being pleased, had spoken highly of the college and its president in his paper. this emboldened president tyler to ask mr. hill to head the list of subscribers to the college, and to his surprise he did so, pledging himself for one hundred dollars. mr. hill's signature was worth many thousands of dollars to the college. "during one of his winter vacations, president tyler started with his own horse and sleigh on his mission, going through the state of vermont into new york. he returned after six weeks' earnest and arduous labor, having been very successful in his mission. "dr. tyler's invaluable services to the church were continued, in various spheres, till his death may , , his wife, mrs. esther (stone) tyler, surviving him only one week." chapter xv. inauguration of president lord. rev. nathan lord, d.d., of amherst, new hampshire, was elected the sixth president of the college. we insert entire his inaugural address, delivered october , . "the revival of learning, like that of religion, originally effected through the instrumentality of the press, though long hindered by the successive political convulsions and changes of the world, is now evidently in the course of rapid advancement, and is producing a deep and wide impression upon the mass of civilized society. it is pervading all classes, and affecting all interests. its influence penetrates every public and private institution, and is exciting the best energies of the human mind, both to the invention of new methods of intellectual cultivation and the application of knowledge to the practical purposes of life. fostered by the spirit of freedom, which goes before to disenthral the mind from that state of servitude in which its powers had been made to minister to ignorant and wayward ambition, or still more cramping and perverting superstition, it promises to gain an universal ascendancy, and to render all that influence which had been arrayed against it, henceforth subservient only to its triumphs. "but it is characteristic of the human mind, when set at liberty from ancient prejudices, and permitted to range in search of expected good, to become extreme in its calculations and projects of improvement, and to distract itself amidst the variety of its experiments. and more especially when its enterprises are favored by the encouragement of wealth, and sustained by the indiscriminate approval of the multitude. it is then, that overlooking the maxims of sound philosophy, and disregarding the safe lessons of experience, it is beguiled into the adoption of untried theories, and wastes its strength in the prosecution of plans, which are found at length to accord neither with the constitution of our nature nor with the approved usages of society. i will not say, that this is a great evil in comparison with that state of mental vassalage and inaction in which nothing is attempted, nor even conceived, for the true interests of mankind. for, the mind unfettered, will ordinarily be corrected of its mistakes and brought back from its wanderings, when truth is the object of its aspirations, and happiness is the prize only of successful effort. but we may learn from this infirmity of our nature, to be cautious in our estimates of the good before us, and to use that moderation in our endeavors which will leave us nothing to regret, when their end shall have been attained. "it will scarcely be doubted that the impulse which society has received, particularly since the commencement of the passing century, and which has evidently been connected with the growth of freedom in this country, has been attended with many of these excesses, and not the least probably in the department of education. numerous adventurers have set forth upon this field, with different pretensions indeed, and unequal advantages, but all large in their expectations, and confident of success. they have seemed to themselves almost to realize the ideal good, to annihilate the space between barbarism and refinement, to find in relation to intellectual attainment what experimental philosophy had sought in vain, the mysterious agent which should transmute the baser metals into gold. "without denying at all the actual advance of learning, or disparaging the improvements which are taking place in the arrangements and administration both of public and private seminaries, we cannot be so fond (_absit invidia verbo_) as to accredit all the inventions of this restless age. we cannot suppose that paths so various, which have been struck out in the heat of competition, and systems based on principles and conducted by methods so frequently differing from each other, will all conduce to the purposes for which they are intended, except as they may excite more general attention to the interests of education, and furnish materials of which wisdom and experience shall at length avail themselves, to perfect truer and more practicable systems, suited to the intellectual and moral nature of man, and to the various relations and interests of life. in this view, it is evident that the conduct of public literary institutions, at the present time, is attended with no trivial embarrassments. that expansion of the public mind and progress of society, which necessarily take place in a country favored with advantages of elementary instruction and general information, will always be creating just demands upon the higher seats of learning, which will task all their energies, and bring into requisition all their resources. the mass of the community, becoming more enlightened, will call for proportionally higher qualifications in those who are sent out to preside over the public interests, and their progress in influence will produce a yet more powerful reaction. but to meet these demands amidst the conflicting sectional interests and fluctuations of public feeling, which are usually attendant upon a state of freedom, to discriminate rightly between the diverse systems of instruction and discipline, which are set forth with such frequency and such earnestness of commendation; to keep so near the public sentiment as not to lose the confidence of the community, and yet not to follow it so implicitly as to sacrifice the more desirable good of self-approbation; this is a labor which can be estimated by those only who have had the trial of sustaining it. institutions that have become venerable by age, powerful in resources and patronage, may go forward to introduce, not only accredited improvements but doubtful changes; and may bring the systems, which either the wise have devised, or the popular voice has required, to the test of actual experiment. but feebler institutions cannot leave the ground of general principles, which, however it may be safer and ultimately more subservient to their true interests, cannot always be easily ascertained, and frequently fails of being approved amidst the varying circumstances, relations, and interests of society. "the principle which has generally obtained in regard to the colleges of this country, of making them merely introductory to a professional education, is one too important in its connections and results to be hastily relinquished. the correspondence which usually exists between the genius of civil governments, and the arrangement of literary institutions, has been very happily exemplified in our system of schools, rising in regular gradation from the primary to the professional, and wisely accommodated to the public convenience and necessity. this system, whatever defects may have existed in some of its practical operations, has been found, on the whole, admirably suited to the condition of society. its parts having kept their fair proportions, each one performing its peculiar office, and all acting and reacting upon each other, it is out of question that the results of the whole, in the general diffusion of knowledge and elevation of the public character, have been salutary to a degree unprecedented in the history of the world; and its general adoption, with modifications according to the different circumstances of society, may be contemplated as one of the surest pledges of our national prosperity. apart from the multiplied facilities of instruction, which upon this system are afforded at the cheapest rate to all who would enjoy the benefits of education, that spirit of fair and honorable competition, which is necessarily excited between so many kindred institutions, would seem to insure improvements proportioned to the means which are afforded them, and prove a check upon those abuses which have usually attended establishments of more extended influence and less responsibility. "but it would seem important to the continued success of this system, that its several parts should still be kept distinct and subordinate. i will not say that they may not subsist harmoniously, and be conducted usefully upon the same ground. i will not say that an university, sectional or national, that shall, in its separate colleges and halls, prepare our youth for the various departments of life, may not consist with the spirit of our civil governments, and be guarded against the evils which have generally attended establishments so complicate, and of such numerous resort. however this may be judged, it will be found, i apprehend, the wisdom of our scattered institutions, to preserve their individuality, and remain true, as to their general regulations, to the purpose of their foundation. with respect, particularly, to the arrangements of a college, it would seem not less true than in regard to the efforts of an individual mind, or the operations of a machine, that however numerous and various these arrangements may be in detail, the most beneficial results cannot be expected without unity of design. between that kind of cultivation and discipline necessary as a foundation for professional eminence, and that which is required for success in mercantile, mechanical, or agricultural occupation, there is a very natural and obvious distinction. and not only is it desirable that they who will be successful mainly as they shall be conversant with books, who require to be learned men, and they whose concern lies principally in the active business of life, in skill or labor, should have in some respects a different course of study, but be subjected to the influence of different minds, and examples, and rules, and scenes, and associations, corresponding to the different relations which they will sustain. 'non omnia possumus omnes,' is a proverb applicable both to teachers and to pupils, and it would forbid the supposition, that minds which act upon others for widely different purposes, should do it always with the best effect, or that they who are so acted upon, should not sometimes suffer injury from the inadequate or ill appropriated influence that is exerted over them. "but the evils of commingling within the walls of college, and subjecting to the same general influence, persons or classes, requiring a different preparatory training, would not, probably, be greater than those which would result from an attempt to carry collegial instruction above the simple groundwork of the professions, and to accommodate the course of study and discipline to the future intended course of life. to whatever extent improvement should be carried in the preparatory schools, of whatever qualifications young men should be possessed, at the usual time of admission to college, their term of residence here cannot reasonably be thought too long, nor their facilities too ample, for general elementary cultivation. it were not the worst of the evil of providing for professional education at college, that the time which should be devoted to mental preparation would be lost, and young men would go forth into life unfurnished; but many minds uncertain and vacillating soon wearied with the dry elements of one department, would presently attempt another and a third, and disgusted, at length, with all, would resign themselves to a stupefying indolence, or a consuming licentiousness. the examples of other times, when the learning of universities all had respect to the future political and ecclesiastical relations of the student, and these institutions became little better than panders to allied despotism and superstition, may teach us to cultivate our youth in the elements of general knowledge, and impart vigor and force and freeness to their minds, in the course of sound fundamental study, before they are permitted to engage in any merely professional acquisitions; to practice them well on the broad threshold of science, before they are exposed to be blasted or bewildered by the premature unfolding of its mysteries. they will then go forward, prepared, not merely to acquire the technicalities of a profession, but to investigate its essential principles; to avoid those _ignes fatui_, which so often, with the appearance of truth, mislead and destroy, and draw out from the depths, the living form of truth itself; and thus contribute to the destined emancipation of the world from ignorance, and prejudice, and misrule, and the worse influence of false philosophy. i would not be extreme; but when we consider the controlling influence of mind of those who are accredited as the teachers and guides of other men, and how important that this should be an influence of reason, of knowledge, and of truth, and how slowly and carefully its foundation requires to be laid in the youthful mind, we may well dread to embarrass the process, either by any accidental impressions and associations, or by prematurely trusting to its completion. nor should an exception be claimed even in favor of the christian ministry. however desirable that they who contemplate this office should be early qualified for the service of god, and of their fellow men, yet they may not safely trespass upon college hours, by anticipating those higher studies, which await them on other grounds. "i shall be obliged to trespass further upon the time of this assembly, while i glance at a few particulars connected with the attainment of the single end of a collegial education. it has been alleged, that the preparatory schools have frequently failed in qualifying the mind for successful application to the exercises of college. and it has been answered, that college has sent out into the schools inadequate instructors. the evil which is admitted is probably on both sides, and an obvious remedy will be found, in stating and rigidly exacting such terms of matriculation as shall at once bring into requisition the most thorough preparatory instruction, and provide that such instruction may always be obtained. "it is evident that, other things being equal, those who, by reason of superior early advantages, are prepared to enter upon the prescribed exercises of college with more readiness and effect than others, will ordinarily prosecute and finish their course with proportionably higher reputation. indeed, to the want of a thorough initiation into the rudiments of learning may be traced much of that indolence and fickleness and easy yielding to temptation, by which the mind, untaught in the labor of successful occupation, and discouraged by the failure of its imprudent efforts, is presently paralyzed, and lost to every honorable and useful purpose. if then it may be provided that early instruction shall be more adequate, and the mind of the student shall be prepared to enter with readiness and effect upon the studies of college, we shall inspire him with that confidence in his own ability and endeavors which is one of the strongest inducements to exertion, and shall insure a degree of improvement limited only by his capacity and application. it may be true, that some of our colleges, by reason of the temptations of poverty, and the zeal of competition, accommodating themselves to the convenience of youth, have not increased in their demands in proportion to the advances which have been already made in elementary instruction. such have doubtless mistaken their true interests. it is believed, that those institutions which shall lead in exacting the most extensive and thorough preparation, will have a distinction and a patronage proportioned to the benefits which they shall thus render to society. "it is of equal importance, that our colleges should be furnished with the materials of study. it was a significant maxim, i think of juvenal, that it is a great part of learning to know where learning may be found. for, after ascertaining the place of treasure, it is usual to feel the kindling desire of acquisition, and the mind at once receives a corresponding impulse to exertion. the man who has wasted his best days in mental inaction, may feel himself so humbled amidst the productions of genius and learning, which have not instructed him, and instruments, of which he knows not the use, and specimens and models whose properties and beauties he cannot distinguish, that he will wish rather to retreat and forget his poverty, in the gratifications of inferior appetite. but, on these same scenes, the fires of youthful unprostituted ambition glow with a new intensity, and the mind, here waking to the consciousness of its own energies, aspires to the elevation and dignity for which it is designed. the well stored library and philosophical room and cabinet, create an atmosphere, in which it acts with an unwonted freedom and force, and strengthens itself for the high and laborious service to which it is devoted. "but, apart from the influence of such scenes and their associations, there are more palpable reasons, which especially at this day, call for a great increase of books and apparatus in our literary institutions. "the time has been, when a few worn out text books, descending from one generation of students to another, were thought sufficient for the purposes of a liberal education. but, in that wider range of investigation, to which the mind is now directed, in all departments of study, every source of information requires to be laid open. it is not the lesson from a single author, that is alone sufficient to be committed, but the _subject_, of which possibly a score have treated, that requires to be examined and understood. and neither can the teacher nor the student feel himself adequate to the services before him while any valuable authority, on the broad field of his inquiries, is not accessible, or any means of illustration are unattempted. but these facilities are clearly beyond the resources of individuals, and however voluntary associations of students may, to some extent, compensate for private inability, there is a point beyond which public sentiment declares this to be a burden; and it demands that the institutions themselves, which proffer the benefits of education, should supply the means by which this end is to be attained. the question between different places of education, is coming to be decided, more frequently, by reference to the comparative advantages which they afford in this respect; and, however it may be necessary that a college should hold out some show of other accommodation, yet neither the convenience of its situation, nor the splendor of its edifices, nor the number and variety of its departments and instructors, will be held in estimation, without corresponding advantages for an extended course of study. "in regard to a course of study, it were almost adventurous for one without the advantages of experience on this subject, to remark beyond what is already obvious, that it should be simply accommodated to the most perfect discipline and instruction of the mind. and yet, perhaps, it were more presumptuous to suppose, that improvement in this respect has already reached its limits. the changes which have taken place, and are still occurring in the methods of instruction, at the preparatory schools, may be hoped so far to hasten the development and strengthening of the intellectual powers as that the student may come, at an earlier period of his college course, to that class of studies which call more immediately for the use of reason, and give it direction in its inquiries after truth. the impulse which the mind receives from an acquaintance with its own powers, and their application to some branches of intellectual philosophy, is a matter of general experience. every one recollects the pleasure of his first acquisitions in this department of study, and the ardor with which he thenceforth aspired to higher attainments. he breathed a free air, he went forward with a new confidence, and his application to all the duties before him became more easy and more successful. if, then, we might, almost on the threshold of a public education, habituate the mind to itself, and aid it in some of the more simple essays of its own powers, it would seem, that we should prepare it for the readier perception of classic beauties, and for mastering more effectually the elements of mathematical, political, and moral science. study in every department ceases to be a mechanical process, when the mind is thus accustomed, and then we have assurance that study will be a pleasure, and that what becomes a pleasure will be gain and glory. "if it were asked, whether any branch of college study might be spared, few, probably, would be ready to affirm. however, in the zeal of innovation, the utility of classical learning has been decried, it is not probable that the name of scholar will ever be awarded to one who has not loved to spend his days and nights upon the pages of antiquity, nor drunk deep from these original sources of taste, and genius, and philosophy. we believe it has rarely, if ever happened, that one has attained to a symmetry and finished excellency of character, in the varieties of any one department of learning, who has not, at least in the early stages of education, received inspiration from the oratory and poetry of other times, when language was an index to the passions and emotions of the soul, and conveyed, not the names only, but the properties of things, the qualities of mind. the very vigor of thought and power of eloquence with which many, with a parricidal spirit, have assailed the literature of antiquity, were borrowed from its stores; and should their schemes of reform prevail we might fear that other generations, inheriting only their prejudices, without their refinement, would degenerate into comparative barbarism, and with that of learning, that the light also of religion would be extinguished. it is the _worst_ of this spirit that it would seal up the treasures of heavenly wisdom, and take away the armor in which we trust for assailing the enemies of god. and however it may be with other interests, we will hope that in this respect, as well as ordinarily in all others, the pulpit will prove a defence of the true interests of man. but, it may be questioned whether, if the field of labor were narrowed, and instead of gleaning as is usually done, from many writers, the student should be more thorough in his application to a few of the most approved, the end of this branch of study would not be as fully answered, and opportunity be afforded for greater acquisitions in the literature of modern times. it has been said, particularly in regard to our own language and country, that the style of writing, of conversation, and of public speaking, among educated men, generally fails of that accuracy, propriety, and refinement which might reasonably be expected from their course of preparatory and professional study. the college is undoubtedly the place where the evil, if it be admitted to exist, should be corrected. and its correction would be found in the greater progress of the student, beyond the task of composition, to the examination of the most approved vernacular writings. it is not so much by his own imperfect attempts as by familiarity with the nature and finished productions of other minds, that he may expect to facilitate his conceptions, to extend the circle of his thoughts, to correct his judgment and his taste, and thus increase the readiness, propriety, and effect of his future efforts. a course of thorough reading and comparison of accredited authors, in connection with occasional researches into the history of english literature and essays at higher criticism, will probably do more towards the accomplishment of polite scholarship than all the principles of grammar and rhetoric, however perfectly understood, without opportunity for such an application. "the actual instruction of college, and its general economy and administration, are subjects, doubtless, of yet higher consideration. but, in view of the recent measures of the trustees of this institution, to advance its interests in these particulars, remarks in this place, and on this occasion, might be judged unseasonable. i shall be permitted, however, just to allude to these measures, as an evidence of the deep solicitude with which the institution is cherished by its constituted guardians, and as a pledge, that in all things which relate to its modes of government, discipline, and instruction, they will not be backward to provide that it shall answer the great purposes of its foundation. and in view of the success which already appears to have attended the application of these measures, through the zeal of the faculty of the college, and the commendable spirit of the students, the hope may well be encouraged, that this venerable seat of learning, which has been the care of almighty god, will not fail of his blessing, nor want the confidence, affection, and patronage of an intelligent community. "but, what is more necessary than any other means and advantages, and without which the growth of any literary institution were to be deprecated as one of the greatest of evils, is the pervading influence of moral and religious principle. the moral dangers of a college life have probably been sometimes enhanced in the representation. when the arrangement of duties is such as to require of the student as much use of time, and a habit of application as constant and persevering, as are ordinarily expected in the employments of active life, he would seem, so far, in respect to his principles and his habits, to have an advantage over others, inasmuch as intellectual labor is, in itself, better suited to refine and elevate the affections, and removes one farther from the scenes and objects of temptation. if we add to this, that the student is usually under a more uniform superintendence, and comes more frequently and habitually under the influence of moral precept and religious observances, and that the fact of his supposed dangers makes him more a subject of parental solicitude and counsel and prayer, his advantage is still proportionably increased. and in respect to those institutions where these benefits are in the highest degree enjoined, it is believed that the amount of injury to the youth who frequent them is less than that which is suffered by any equal number, in any other sphere of occupation. "it must, nevertheless, be admitted, that there are dangers to the student in some respects peculiar, affecting deeply the principles of action, and which require a greater care to be prevented, because of the influence which he is destined to exert in future life. the very cultivation of mind has frequently a tendency to impair the moral sensibilities, to induce that pride of conscious ability and variety of attainments, which, as they are most of all affections offensive to god, so they become, surely, though insensibly, most pernicious in their influence upon the individuals themselves who cherish them, and contribute to poison those streams which ought only to carry abroad health and blessing to the world. that spirit of emulation, also, which is naturally excited among so many aspirants for an honorable distinction, too often leads, on the one hand, in those who excel, to an overweening selfishness and an insatiable ambition, which, in the course of life, sacrifice all principle and the highest interests of society to private gratification; and, on the other, in those whose hopes are disappointed, to a destroying negligence and sensuality. nor is it to be denied, that the unsanctified literature of antiquity, and many of the productions of our own times, which have the greatest power of attraction over the minds of youth, cannot be assiduously cultivated without danger of corrupting the moral sentiments, and ministering strength to the wrong affections of the mind. against these evils, and others, more immediately pernicious, which are incident to numerous associations of youth, a moral influence, pure, constraining and habitual, requires to be exerted. it is now more than ever demanded, and the fact is most creditable to the spirit of the times, that a literary institution should be a safe resort, and no other advantages will, in the common estimation, compensate for defect and failure in this particular. the relations which every individual student sustains to god and to eternity, call imperiously and aloud, that the great principles of moral obligation, the everlasting distinctions between right and wrong, the methods of the divine administration, and the solemnities of eternal retribution, should be kept before him, in all their significancy, and enforced by the constraining motives of the gospel of jesus christ, without which all secondary authority and influence will be comparatively vain. the relations also of the whole body of students to their country and the world demand, and the admonition is sounded out from every corner of our land, from the city, and the field, and even from the desert, that here should be laid the foundation of those virtuous habits, of that reverence for god, and practical regard for his ordinances, without which the influence of our educated men will gradually undermine the fair fabric of our national freedom, and the ruins of our country will be heaped up for an everlasting memorial, that neither liberty, nor learning, nor wealth, nor arts, nor arms, can stay the decline of that people among whom the redeeming spirit of christianity has no permanent abode. i know, indeed, that college is no place for infusing or fostering sectarian prejudices, nor for preferring the weapons of sectarian warfare. no spirit of party should walk abroad on this common ground. no distinctive privileges of a denomination should here be ever claimed or allowed. but, as none are exempted from their obligations to god, and none are safe without his blessing, it is most evident that this should be the first and last of our labor with those who are themselves immortal, and whose influence is so connected with the highest interests of their fellow men, to encourage a spirit of inwrought piety, and instill the lessons of practical obedience. that is the noblest of all efforts which has respect to the preparation of mind for the service of its creator among its kindred intelligences, and for the joys of an immortal life. and that will be a glorious consummation (may it be ours to hasten it) when the destined alliance between religion and learning shall be perfected, and their united influence shall be employed, and shall prevail, to raise a world from ignorance and sin and wretchedness, to the dignity and the privilege of the sons of god. and let us hope, both in regard to this college, whose interests we now cherish, and all other kindred institutions, that amidst the changes of society by which they are occasionally affected, and the adversities by which they are depressed, we shall see the vindication of that rule of providence by which good is always educed from evil. let us believe that those prejudices and mistakes and errors and abuses, which are wont, in undisturbed prosperity, to become inveterate, shall be done away; that those improvements which may be expected to flow from the influence of free governments and a free christianity shall prevail, and shall contribute to make the reign of liberty and knowledge and truth not only universal in extent, but perpetual in duration." chapter xvi. the policy of the college, its progress, and enlargement under president lord's administration, from to . president lord's official course was marked by a judicious conservatism. in nothing was this more conspicuous than in his treatment of the matter of "college honors." near the close of his administration, the occasion requiring, he published a statement, in which we find the following language: "it will be recollected that about a quarter of a century ago there arose a simultaneous questioning among the students at most of the new england colleges, in regard to college appointments in general. it was a spontaneous movement of the young men, consequent upon an unusual religious awakening among them, and seemed a common reaction of conscience against a common injurious custom. the students of this college were excited more than others. at least, they were more demonstrative. by memorial, they unanimously requested the trustees to abolish the existing system. "the trustees gave great attention to the request. having ascertained that the faculty would readily try the experiment of a change, although but two of them were convinced of its utility, they set aside the existing system of exhibitions, prizes, assignments, etc., and ordained the present system, which fully and consistently excludes the principle of the old. this action of the trustees was thorough, consistent, and decisive, and was far in advance of what had taken place in any other institution. it gave great content to the students. it was followed by many tokens of public approbation. the faculty at once found their administration relieved, simplified, and greatly facilitated in general. the college rapidly attained to a degree of patronage and prosperity unprecedented in its history. "after a few years, a severe outside pressure produced a degree of anxiety in regard to the prudence, if not the principle, of the change. some distinguished alumni of the college, and other gentlemen, remonstrated against it as an innovation not soundly moral and conservative, but radical and disorganizing. they feared that the college would lose its tone and dignity among learned institutions. the trustees, though not convinced, were stirred, and again asked the judgment of the faculty. "the faculty replied, that, although they had not, as a body, recommended the adoption of the new system, they had given it, as duty required, a fair experiment, and were constrained to say, that it had turned out better than their expectations. notwithstanding some inconvenience, it had obviated serious evils, had secured unquestionable benefits, and had given a decided impulse to the college. they were not prepared to advise its discontinuance. whereupon the trustees resolved to adhere. "yet, after another short term of years, changes having occurred both in the trustees and faculty, and the outside pressure still continuing, the subject again came under the discussion of the board. in that instance it was formally proposed by a majority of the faculty. some new members had been added to that body, who had had no experience, as college officers, of the old system. others had left it, and some had seen reasons to change their opinions. a large majority requested that the old _régime_, or something analogous to it, should be restored. "the minority confidently protested. they had had experience on both sides, and were satisfied that the new system had greatly the advantage of the old, both in respect to principle and practical results. "the trustees gave the subject their attentive consideration, canvassed conflicting reasons, and still adhered. they enjoined it upon the faculty to abide by the new system, and to keep its principle inviolate in the college discipline. "since that time the question has been at rest. whatever differences of opinion may have existed in the board or in the faculty, they have not interfered with the regular and faithful administration of affairs upon the prescribed basis. the college has not suffered. it has not ceased to flourish, in respect to sound instruction, easy and effective discipline, a righteous order, thorough scholarship, a liberal patronage, and an honorable position. it is believed to be not behind any of its sister colleges in the proper characteristics of a learned institution, even though measured not by its best, but its average scholarship, as determined by lot, in the exercises of the commencement. its order has become so well settled and understood in this respect, that any reversal of it, principle apart, might be attended with inconveniences and hazards more than sufficient to counterbalance any supposed possible or probable advantages. "but it is eminently due to the learned memorialists [alumni], and to other friends and patrons of the college, to explain more fully the theory on which the trustees have acted, and which applies equally to the questions now in hand. wherefore your committee go on to observe, as first principles: " . that a college is a public institution, designed and incorporated to qualify young men for leaders of the church and the state. " . that the requisite qualifications for such leadership are knowledge, wisdom, and virtue. accidental accomplishments are important in giving prominence and effect to more substantial qualities; but these are fundamental and indispensable. without them the public interests, so far as connected with college, have no security. " . that these qualifications are valueless in separation from each other; and are then likely to be injurious in proportion to the degree of culture. knowledge without wisdom is insane and mischievous; and both without virtue serve but to give greater energy and efficiency to those naturally destructive elements which are common both to individuals and society. virtue alone, if it could be supposed to exist without knowledge and wisdom, would be but an idea, or an emotion, and practically futile. " . that the organization and discipline of a college constitute what we denominate its order; and the highest responsibility rests on its appointed guardians, to perfect and preserve this necessary order agreeably to the highest standards that are known among men. " . that the ultimate standard, binding on all christian educators, is the scripture; and their ultimate responsibility is to god. great latitude is given them by the state; and they are not held accountable to the civil authorities, in the widest exercise of their discretion, while they infringe not upon the civil statutes. the state leaves them to their own opinions and policy, within the terms of their chartered privileges and the laws in general. the church has no control over them whatever but in respect to patronage, when they are constituted as mere civil corporations; and it may not interfere with them but as individual men; nor then, if they happen to sustain no individual and personal relations to it. but the state and the church are equally ordained of god; and all educators are responsible to him that the comprehensive order of their institutions shall be in agreement with the principles of his word, and thereby subservient to the public good. " . that the order of a college is, first, mechanical, in respect to its forms, arrangements, and observances; and, secondly, moral, in respect to principle. " . that college mechanism in general should have respect to the most perfect development of the powers of students, and be carried on with great exactness and fidelity; that any want of symmetry, proportion, finish, balance, and executive ability, or frequent experimenting and change to meet internal difficulties, or the humors and caprices of society, must tend to failure and dishonor. but that no mechanism, however organically perfect or judiciously administered, that does not embody a righteous moral principle, or that cannot be operated in consistency with it, can be otherwise than injurious in its ultimate results. "whereupon your committee propose, that a system of scholarships and prizes, as such systems have usually obtained, cannot be introduced into college mechanism, or be carried on, consistently with righteous principle, and favorably to virtue in young men, or to true knowledge and wisdom, so far as these presuppose virtue, and depend upon it." in regard to the views here set forth, it is proper to remark, that reasoning which had much force, a score of years since, would possibly have less at the present time. in regard to this period the librarian says: "in , the three libraries must have numbered in volumes between , and , , with slight difference in numbers, the college library being the largest, and the united fraternity's the smallest. the first library catalogue of the latter society was printed previous to , and contained the titles of , volumes. "in , the libraries obtained better accommodations by the erection of reed hall, which was so far completed that the books were shelved just before the commencement. they were given the second floor of the building, an amount of space which then seemed to give ample room for additions, as the three libraries together numbered only , volumes. the college library occupied the east half of the floor, while the west side was divided between the two society libraries. the books were first shelved against the wall, then alcoves and cases were added as long as space remained, while for several years previous to the present time the least valuable books have been removed to make space for additions. "in the college library, borrowers have generally been excluded from the rooms in which books are kept, while the reverse has been true in the society libraries. "in june, , the professors of the college with the assistance of some of the gentlemen of the vicinity formed a society since known as the 'northern academy.' this society, which was afterwards chartered and has been continued in different forms until the present time, early began the formation of a library. while many old books have been collected, its principal value lies in pamphlets and files of newspapers, some of which covering a number of years extend back beyond the revolution. this collection, now swelled to several thousand, has always been in connection with the college library, although for several years a want of shelf room and a greater want of funds to place it in usable condition, have made it of little practical value. in , the three libraries having changed little comparatively, numbered , volumes. the 'northern academy,' exclusive of the unbound, had over , volumes, thus making fully , volumes accessible. a distinction must be made between the figures given under the different dates (which indicate the number that were actually in the libraries), and the number according to catalogues. the latter were made by adding to former lists the books received during different years, when in fact the additions during some of these years did not more than make good the losses. it frequently happened that ten percent of the catalogued number could not be accounted for. while the society libraries have continued with nearly the same annual additions--an average actual yearly increase of over a hundred volumes,--the great growth of the college library has taken place since . since that year have been received the donations of books for the different departments of instruction and the funds upon which the constant growth of the library depends. of these funds the first had its origin in , when edmund parker of nashua, isaac parker of boston, and joel parker of keene, gave $ , . this was subsequently increased by the latter to $ , , and in his will (which founded the law school), provisions were made, that will, when available, place this fund at $ , . in , dr. george c. shattuck, whose name is associated with the observatory, gave $ , for the department of mathematics as applied to mechanics and astronomy. to this during the same year he added $ for natural philosophy and astronomy, and $ for the latin language and literature. at the same time dr. roswell shurtleff, emeritus professor, gave $ , for better providing with books the departments of intellectual and moral philosophy and political economy. these three donations were intended principally for the use of instructors, and were accompanied with restrictions from general circulation. in , by the will of dr. henry bond of philadelphia, several hundred volumes were received, and provisions were made for a library fund which when available will be about $ , . the late hon. samuel appleton established in , a fund which was increased in , and is known as the appleton fund. the income of this has been partially applied to the purchase of books relating to natural philosophy." "the press" in hanover is worthy of notice in this connection. we quote from a published address by professor sanborn: "no man lives in hanover to-day, who can tell when any newspaper was first printed in the town, or when it ceased to be printed. even the papers themselves have perished. here and there, a stray number, or possibly a bound volume, may be found among the useless lumber of an attic. there was a press in hanover, before the close of the last century. it is reported that a newspaper was published there prior to the year . i have been unable to find a copy of it. in , mr. webster delivered a fourth-of-july oration before the citizens of hanover, which was published in that town. a eulogy, by the same orator, on a deceased classmate, was also published the next year. moses davis, a citizen of the place, began the publication of the 'dartmouth gazette,' august , . how long he continued to edit and publish the paper, i cannot certainly ascertain. a paper bearing that name was published for at least twenty years. i have a number of the 'dartmouth gazette' dated june , , being no. xliii., vol. . the whole number to this date of the paper, in this form, is . it was then printed and published by charles spear. it would seem, therefore, that the paper which originated with moses davis, lived for more than twenty years. it was a valuable paper, containing a careful summary of foreign news, sometimes long orations of english statesmen, and an accurate record of local events. the original pieces were quite numerous, written by occasional contributors, many of them students of the college. the editorials were brief; in fact, a majority of the early numbers contain no words which appear as editorial. the political articles were decidedly favorable to the federal party, but moderate in tone. during the first three years of the existence of this paper, daniel webster, then a student, was a frequent contributor; he wrote both prose and poetry, more frequently the latter. the topics were trite, but the thoughts were always serious and elevated. in the issue of december , , mr. webster published a poem on winter; he was then a junior in college. the european wars commanded his attention and saddened his reflections. "mr. webster continued to write for the paper after leaving college. in his published correspondence, there is a letter from the editor importuning him to write the 'newsboy's message' for january, . he says: 'i want a genuinely federal address, and you are the very person to write it. and this solicitation, sir, is not from me alone--some of our most respectable characters join in the request.' "the 'dartmouth gazette' was the champion of the college during the entire period of its controversy with the state. many of the ablest articles written in defence of the college, appeared in its columns. i regret that i cannot give the entire history of this useful paper; it did a good work in its day, and we may now say literally, 'peace to its ashes.' "during a portion of the existence of the 'dartmouth gazette,' while it was edited by charles spear, another paper was printed by moses davis, called 'the literary tablet,' purporting to be edited by nicholas orlando. whether this is a _nomme de plume_ or a real name, i cannot determine. three volumes are known to have been published. it lived for three years at least. the third volume dates from august, , to august, . it was a folio of four pages, three columns to a page, of about fourteen inches by twelve in size. it was printed every other wednesday for the editor. "a new paper appeared in hanover, june, . the prospectus was as follows: "'a new weekly paper in hanover, n. h., to be entitled the "dartmouth herald." the "dartmouth gazette" having been discontinued, the subscribers, at the solicitation of a number of literary gentlemen, propose to publish a paper under the above title. besides advertisements, the "herald" will embrace accounts of our national and state legislatures, and the most interesting articles of news, foreign and domestic; notices of improvements in the arts and sciences, especially agriculture and the mechanical arts most practiced in our own country; and essays, original and selected, upon the mechanical and liberal arts, literature, politics, morals and religion. "'the original articles will be furnished by a society of gentlemen; and it is confidently expected will not be unworthy of the interesting subjects, to which a considerable space will be allotted in this paper. "'bannister & thurston. "'hanover, april , .' "it was a small folio of four pages, twenty by twelve inches in size. it was well filled with news and original contributions. its life was brief. unfortunately, no record was made either on the printed page or the faithful memory, of the date of its decease, so far as i can learn. "for several years no periodical was published in hanover. 'the magnet,' an octavo of sixteen pages, edited by students and published by thomas mann, appeared in . the first number bears date october , . there seems to have been a rival paper contemporary with this, called 'the independent chronicle.' in the november number of the 'magnet,' we find this allusion to it: 'the second number of the "independent chronicle" is below criticism.' in the december number, the 'magnet' chronicles the demise of its despised rival, with evident satisfaction. in , another student's periodical appeared, called 'the scrap book.' i am unable to write its history; it was probably of brief duration. in , the students of dartmouth college originated a literary periodical called 'the dartmouth.' it was published, i think, for five years. the editors were chosen from the undergraduates by the senior class. among the editors of - , were j. e. hood and james o. adams, both of whom have since gained honorable distinction in a wider field of editorial labor. a few months ago, i received as a present from b. p. shillaber, the witty and genial author of the 'life and sayings of mrs. partington,' and other humorous works, a volume of 'the dartmouth,' which he received from mr. hood. it was handsomely bound, and labelled 'brains' on the back. mr. shillaber says of it in a letter, dated july , , 'i find, that the volume comprises but a half year ending with hood's editorship and graduation. it nevertheless will prove interesting; and it gives me pleasure to present it, with a delightful memory of dartmouth to commend the trifle. i thought it might gratify you personally, as several of your effusions are contained in it. poor hood has crossed the dark stream: he died in colorado last winter. he held you in enduring regard. the title is a boyish suggestion; but there is more evidence of "_brains_" in it than is to be found in many far more pretentious publications.' "these remarks will apply with equal justice to the entire ten volumes of 'the dartmouth.' it was highly creditable to the students who originated and sustained it. 'the dartmouth' was printed by mr. e. a. allen, who during the continuance of this periodical made several other ventures in the newspaper line. sometime during the year or , he started a paper called 'the experiment,' which was edited by james o. adams, then a student in college. this paper was subsequently issued in quarto form and called 'the amulet.' "in , a periodical called the 'iris and record' was issued in hanover. it was published monthly, in numbers of thirty-two royal octavo pages, making two volumes each year. it was edited by 'an association of gentlemen,' and filled with well selected and original literary articles. it must have had a considerable circulation, if we may credit the assertion of the editor of no. ii., vol. , who says: 'we doubt not there are hundreds of persons, whose names are on our subscription list, who might every month contribute a short article upon some interesting subject.' the 'iris' was also printed by e. a. allen. "during the same year an anti-slavery paper was published in hanover, called 'the people's advocate,' by st. clair and briggs. in july, , j. e. hood became its editor, and continued to publish it for more than a year, when it was removed to concord. 'the advocate' was a spirited paper; and the editor, then a youth, showed himself an able, fearless, and uncompromising foe of slavery, at a time when it required great moral courage and liberal sacrifices of time, talent, and labor, to advocate the principles of the free soil party. in february, , mr. hood established a paper in hanover, called the 'family visitor,' in which he advocated the various reforms of the day; and published a variety of original and selected articles in prose and poetry, for the profit and amusement of his patrons. on looking over some of the back numbers, i find the contents as lively, piquant, and interesting, as the best journals of to-day. mr. hood was born an editor, and to the day of his death he performed well his part; and when his master bade him 'go up higher,' he left few peers behind him in his chosen vocation." rev. h. a. hazen, a reliable authority on any historical point, states that there was a printing-press at dresden, (which included the "college district," in hanover, and a part of lebanon), as early as . mr. abel curtis' grammar was printed there by j. p. and a. spooner, in . other works, still extant, were printed by them at about the same period.[ ] [ ] "the dartmouth" having been revived in , is now issued as a weekly magazine. in tracing the progress of the college during president lord's administration, we cannot more fitly conclude, than by adopting the language of mr. william h. duncan, who in a valuable tribute to his worth and his memory, says: "it was the proud boast of augustus, that he found rome of brick and left it of marble. might not president lord, at the time of his resignation, have said without a shadow of boasting, i found the college, what its great counsel called it in that most touching and pathetic close of his great argument in the college case before the supreme court at washington: i found it truly 'a small college'; it was in an humble condition; its classes were small; its finances embarrassed; its buildings in a dilapidated and ruinous condition. i left it one of the leading institutions of the land!" fuller details on these points will be gathered from subsequent chapters. chapter xvii. character of president lord. the period of president tyler's resignation was a most critical one in the history of the college. its eminent founder passed away in the midst of the revolutionary struggle, leaving the frail bark, in which were centered fond and long-cherished hopes, tossing upon uncertain and dangerous waters. a fearful storm was raging when his immediate successor put off the robes of office, and a little later went "to give account of his stewardship." thirteen years had scarcely been sufficient fully to restore to a healthy condition the discipline of the college, which had been materially weakened by the lack of harmony between the second president and his associates in office. material aid was needed also to provide better accommodations for the students. in common with other colleges, dartmouth needed most of all, in those trying times, a president "rooted and grounded" in the truth. the multiplication of colleges rendered it especially desirable, at this period, that this college should have a man at its head well fitted and furnished for his work. in the little more than half a century of its existence, the number of new england colleges, founded upon the same religious faith, had increased from three to eight, rendering the best leadership necessary to meet the competition. a more judicious selection could not have been made for the sixth president of the college. rev. nathan lord, the son of john and mehitable (perkins) lord, was born at berwick, maine, november , , and belonged to a highly respectable family. at the early age of sixteen, he graduated at bowdoin college, in the class of . very rarely has a student at college the opportunity to sit under the instruction of two such men as joseph mckeen and jesse appleton, each of whom filled the president's chair two years, while young lord was a student. after valuable experience as a teacher in the exeter academy, he pursued a theological course at the andover seminary, graduating in . he had been twelve years pastor of the congregational church at amherst when called to the presidency of dartmouth, having been for some time a trustee. in the intellectual strength and literary attainments of its people, this had been for a long period one of the leading towns in southern new hampshire. being the county seat, it was visited periodically by gentlemen eminent in the law, with whom professional men resident in the place would most naturally have frequent intercourse. at a period when the whole community was profoundly agitated, by the most earnest and important theological controversy in the history of new england, we can readily understand that the youthful preacher would have abundant opportunity to measure swords with skilled warriors, in the field of religious debate. that he wielded his weapons, in the discussions of that period, with a force indicating that he was a man of no ordinary mould, is a matter of history. when he entered upon his great work at dartmouth, those who, as its guardians, had called him to it, cherished confident hope of his success. seldom has there been so full a realization of such hope in the history of american colleges. president lord brought to the accomplishment of his task a fine physique; a countenance serene, yet impressive; a voice rare both for its richness and its power; a pleasing, almost magnetic, dignity of mien; a mind most capacious and discriminating by nature, richly stored by severe application, and thoroughly disciplined by varied professional labor; and a heart always tender, yet always true to the profoundest convictions of duty. a deep, rich, and thorough religious experience well fitted the graceful and earnest man to be a graceful and earnest christian teacher. the question of fitness for the position as an executive was soon settled beyond the possibility of a doubt. it required but a brief acquaintance with president lord to teach any one, that he fully believed in the most literal acceptation of the doctrine, that "the powers that be are ordained of god." a recognition of this fundamental law guided and governed him daily and hourly through all his public life. when early in his administration, he discovered marked symptoms of a spirit of insubordination in the college, he gave all concerned to understand most fully, that it would be his duty to maintain the supremacy of the law. there was never any deviation from this loyalty to duty in administering the discipline of the college. no undue regard for his own dignity, or comfort, or safety, deterred him from visiting, at any hour of day or night, the scene of disorder. when he had been more than forty years an officer of the college he reaffirmed his adherence to this principle, in a most emphatic manner, when those to whom he did not deem himself responsible sought to point out to him the path of duty. as a teacher it was president lord's province, chiefly to unfold the various relations and obligations of man to his maker. in the performance of this duty he gave remarkable prominence to the divine revelation. jealous for the honor of his great master and teacher, he was very suspicious, possibly too suspicious, of any intermixture of "man's wisdom." this habit may have induced occasionally, measurable disparagement of worthy and eminent men. but the genial manner and chastened tone invariably extracted the point from the severest word, and left upon the pupil's mind a profound conviction that his teacher had been "taught of god." it may well be doubted whether, of the large numbers who graduated during president lord's administration, any who were brought in close contact with him, and listened with a "willing mind" to his instructions, failed to receive measurably, yet consciously, the impress of their honored teacher. the following extracts from the official records of the trustees, are deemed worthy of insertion in this connection in order to a full understanding of the circumstances attending president lord's resignation. "annual meeting, july . mr. tuck offered the following, to wit: 'the undersigned has had his attention called to the accompanying resolutions passed by the merrimack county conference of congregational churches, held on the d and th of june last; and he submits the same to the trustees, with a motion that a committee be appointed to report what action thereon ought to be taken. "' . "resolved. that the people of new hampshire have the strongest desire for the prosperity of dartmouth college, and that they rejoice in the wide influence this noble institution has exerted in the cause of education and religion. "' . "resolved. that we cherish a sincere regard for its venerable president; for the rare qualifications he possesses for the high office he has so long and ably filled; but that we deeply regret that its welfare is greatly imperiled by the existence of a popular prejudice against it, arising from the publication and use of some of his peculiar views touching public affairs, tending to embarrass our government in its present fearful struggle, and to encourage and strengthen the resistance of its enemies in arms. "' . "resolved. that in our opinion it is the duty of the trustees of the college to seriously inquire whether its interests do not demand a change in the presidency; and to act according to their judgment in the premises."' "whereupon, messrs. tuck, bouton, and eastman were appointed a committee, to report on the subject aforesaid." "the committee to whom was referred the resolutions of the merrimack county conference, respecting dartmouth college, made the following report: "'the committee have taken into most respectful consideration the action of the conference and the sentiment pervading the churches of which the resolutions of the conference are the expression. we do not forget, but thankfully avow the debt of gratitude which has rested on the college, throughout its history, to the churches of new england, and to the pious teachings and generous patronage of those included within their embrace. we are fully aware of the obligations of science and literature, in all past time, to the clerical profession; that the countenance and support of the clergy and the churches have ever been the chief reliance of this college, and that we can hope for little prosperity or usefulness to the institution in future, without meriting the confidence bestowed upon it in the past. we deplore the present condition of the college in respect to the sentiments entertained towards it, as expressed in said resolutions, and we proffer our readiness to do any act which our intimate knowledge of its affairs and circumstances enable us to judge practicable and beneficial. neither the trustees nor the faculty coincide with the president of the college in the views which he has published, touching slavery and the war; and it has been their hope that the college would not be adjudged a partisan institution, by reason of such publications. it has been our purpose that no act of ours should contribute to such an impression upon the public mind, inviting the public as we do, to contribute to its support, and to partake of its privileges. "'it would be impracticable if it were wise to embody in this report all the reasons which induce us to propose no action by which the removal of the president from the head of the institution should be undertaken by the trustees; and we bespeak with confidence the favorable judgment that we act discreetly, from the members of the conference who have expressed in their resolutions their generous appreciation of the eminent ability and qualifications of the president for the position which he occupies. "'yet the committee do not fail to see that the present crisis in the country is no ordinary conflict between opposing parties, but is a struggle between the government on one side, and its enemies on the other, and that in it are involved vital issues, not only respecting science and learning, virtue and religion, but also respecting all the social and civil blessings growing out of free institutions. "'the committee recommend that the resolutions of the merrimack county conference, this report and the accompanying resolutions, be published in pamphlet forms, and that the treasurer be directed to cause the same to be circulated among the members of said conference, and other persons, according to his discretion. amos tuck. n. bouton." "'resolutions. "'the trustees of dartmouth college, impressed with the magnitude of the crisis now existing in public affairs, and with the vital consequences which the issue of current events will bring to the nation and the world; and, considering that it is the duty of literary institutions and the men who control them to stand in no doubtful position when the government of the country struggles for existence; inscribe upon their records, and promulgate the following resolutions: "'first. we recognize and acknowledge with grateful pride, the heroic sacrifices and valiant deeds of many of the sons of dartmouth, in their endeavors to defend and sustain the government against the present wicked and remorseless rebellion; and we announce to the living now on the battlefields, to the sick and the maimed in the hospitals and among their friends, and to the relatives of such of them as have fallen in defense of their country, that dartmouth college rejoices to do them honor, and will inscribe their names and their brave deeds upon her enduring records. "'second. we commend the cause of our beloved country to all the alumni of this institution; and we invoke from them, and pledge our own most efficient and cordial support, and that of dartmouth college, to the government, which is the only power by which the rebellion can be subdued. we hail with joy and with grateful acknowledgments to the god of our fathers, the cheering hope that the dark cloud which has heretofore obscured the vision and depressed the hearts of patriots and statesmen, in all attempts to scan the future, may in time disappear entirely from our horizon; and that american slavery, with all its sin and shame, and the alienations, jealousies, and hostilities between the people of different sections, of which it has been the fruitful source, may find its merited doom in the consequence of the war which it has evoked. "'third. the trustees bespeak for the college in the future the same cordial support and patronage of the clergy and churches of new england, as well as other friends of sound learning, which they have given to it in time past, reminding them of the obligations which the cause of education, science, and religion seem to lay upon them, to stand by this venerable institution, in evil report and in good report, in view of its past history and great service to the church and the state, entertaining an abiding faith that it will triumph over all obstacles, and go down to posterity with its powers of usefulness unimpaired.' "it was moved by dr. barstow that the foregoing report and resolutions be accepted and adopted. "on the question of adopting the report, two voted in the negative and five in the affirmative. on the adoption of the preamble and second resolution, two voted in the negative and five in the affirmative, for the first and third resolutions the vote was unanimous, so the report and resolutions were adopted. "the president asked leave to withdraw for a short time, and dr. barstow was requested to take the chair. "the president on resuming the chair read to the trustees the following paper, to wit: * * * * * "'dartmouth college, july , . "'to the trustees of dartmouth college: "'in making this communication to the hon. and rev. board of trustees i take the liberty respectfully to protest against their right to impose any religious, ethical, or political test upon any member of their own body or any member of the college faculty, beyond what is recognized by the charter of the institution, or express statutes or stipulations conformed to that instrument, however urged or suggested, directly or indirectly, by individuals or public bodies assuming to be as visitors of the college, or advisers of the trustees. "'the action of the trustees, on certain resolutions of the merrimack county conference of churches, virtually imposes such a test, inasmuch as it implicitly represents and censures me as having become injurious to the college, not on account of any official malfeasance or delinquency, for, on the contrary, its commendations of my personal and official character and conduct during my long term of service, far exceed my merits; but, for my opinions and publications on questions of biblical ethics and interpretations, which are supposed by the trustees to bear unfavorably upon one branch of the policy pursued by the present administration of the government of the country. "'for my opinions and expressions of opinion on such subject, i hold myself responsible only to god, and the constitutional tribunals of my country; inasmuch as they are not touched by the charter of the college, or any express statutes or stipulations. and, while my unswerving loyalty to the government of my fathers, proved and tested by more than seventy years of devotion to its true and fundamental principles, cannot be permanently discredited by excited passions of the hour, i do not feel obliged when its exercise is called in question, to surrender my moral and constitutional right and christian liberty, in this respect, nor to submit to any censure, nor consent to any conditions such as are implied in the aforesaid action of the board; which action is made more impressive upon me, in view of the private communications of some of its members. "'but not choosing to place myself in any unkind relations to a body having the responsible guardianship of the college, a body from which i have received so many tokens of confidence and regard, and believing it to be inconsistent with christian charity and propriety to carry on my administration, while holding and expressing opinions injurious, as they imagine, to the interests of the college, and offensive to that party in the country which they [the majority] professedly represent, i hereby resign my office as president. "'i also resign my office as trustee. in taking leave of the college with which i have been connected, as trustee or president, more than forty years, very happily to myself, and, as the trustees have often given me to understand, not without benefit to the college, i beg leave to assure them that i shall ever entertain a grateful sense of the favorable consideration shown to me by themselves and their predecessors in office; and that i shall never cease to desire the peace and prosperity of the college, and that it may be kept true to the principles of its foundation. i am very respectfully, "'your ob't serv't, "'n. lord.'" "'adjourned meeting, september , . resolved, 'that in accepting the resignation of president lord, we place on record a grateful sense of his services during the long period of his administration; and his kind and courteous treatment of the board in all their intercourse.'" dr. lord continued to reside at hanover, cordially co-operating with his successor in office, till his death, september , . his wife, mrs. elisabeth king (leland) lord, died a few months previous to her husband. chapter xviii. administration of president smith. rev. asa d. smith, d.d., of new york city, of the class of , was elected the seventh president of the college. his thorough understanding of the field upon which he was to enter is indicated by the following extracts from his inaugural address: "there are four chief organic forces, by which, under the providence of god, humanity has its normal development. these, generalizing broadly, are the family, the school, the state, and the church. wherever you find, even in its lowest measure, a true civilization, these exist; and as it rises they rise, sustaining to it the relation both of cause and effect. concerning, as they do, one and the same complex nature, they have, in different degrees and combinations, the same underlying elements of power. in the family, we have, in its rudimental form, both teaching and government. it is a patriarchate--a little commonwealth; and to its head--a priest as well as a patriarch--that scripture should ever be relevant, 'the church that is in thy house.' in the school, the simplest offshoot, perhaps, from a congeries of families, we have, or ought to have, the parental element; we have magistracy also, and a certain statehood; we have, or should have, worship. the state, properly apprehended, is not only governmental but didactic--it is a teaching power; and though not, at this age of the world, theocratic, it should be, in a large view, religious. in the church, having specially and predominantly the last-named characteristic,--being of divine appointment, and as ministering to our imperative needs, the foster-mother of devotion,--we have, also, as essential to its purpose, both rule and instruction. and in the influence they wield, these great moulding agencies are perpetually interpenetrating and modifying each other. "it is of the second of these, the school, that we are now called to speak. the service we essay is connected with an educational institution, using the term in the specific sense; a fact, it may be said at the outset, which of itself dignifies the occasion. not to insist on those affinities and mutual influences just adverted to, and of which there will be further occasion to speak, there is a view of education, a large and comprehensive one, which gives to it the very grandest elevation. it is the end, next to that which the good old catechism makes chief, and subordinate to that, of all the divine provisions and arrangements. god is the great educator of the universe. more glorious in his didactic offices is he than even in creation; nay, creation was for these. earth is our training place--time is our curriculum; eternity will but furnish to the true pupil the higher forms of his limitless advancement. we have our lessons in all providence, in all beings and things, god teaching us in and through all. no mean vocation, then, is that of the earthly educator; no unimportant theme that now in hand. yet even of the school in the more technical sense of the term, we cannot speak at large, except as in touching on any one department we more or less affect every other. our thought may be fitly limited to that class of institutions which these ancient halls of learning and these inauguration solemnities naturally bring before us. the college is my subject, considered in its proper functions and characteristics. "i use the term college in the american sense. this, not for the poor purpose of ministering to national vanity, but because we must needs take things as they are; and for the further reason that there is much to commend in the shape the institution here assumes. it has hardly its prototype either in the fatherland or on the continent. it has but a partial resemblance either to the german gymnasia or to the english preparatory schools, as of eton and rugby. as preliminary to professional study, it is in some respects far in advance of these. it differs materially, at once from the german and english university, and from the college as embraced in the latter. university education in europe was once somewhat rigidly divided into two portions; the one designed to form the mind for whatever sphere of life; the other, the _brodstudium_, as the germans significantly term it, a course of training for some particular profession. long ago, however, this division became mainly obsolete. 'on the continent,' said an eminent english scholar, some years since, 'the preparatory education has been dropped; among ourselves, the professional.' he speaks, of course, comparatively. so far as england is concerned, the same testimony is borne by a well-informed recent observer. this ancient and wise division is by us still maintained; with this peculiarity, that the 'preparatory' education, so-called,--by which is meant the highest form of it,--is the sole work of the colleges. professional culture is remitted to other and often separate schools. the undergraduate course is for general training; it lays the foundation for whatever superstructure. it has no particular reference to any one pursuit; but, like the first part of the old university course, aims to fit the whole man for a man's work in any specific line either of study or of action. "in this conception of the college, there are, it is believed, important advantages. it is better for preparatory education; it is better for professional. it felicitously discriminates. it keeps things in their place. it defines and duly magnifies each of the two great departments of the educational process. it is likelier to dig deep, and build on broad and solid rock; it tends to symmetry and finish in the superincumbent fabric. "the college should be marked by a completeness. rejecting the fragmentary and the unfinished, the well constituted mind ever craves this. modern thought, especially, is passing from an excessive nominalism to a more realistic habit; by many a broad induction, from mere details to a rounded whole: and nowhere more persistently than in relation to institutions. the college should be complete as to its objective scheme. there may be onesidedness here. there may be, for example, an excessive or ill-directed pressing of utilities, as in the speculations of mr. herbert spencer; or there may be an undue exaltation of what he calls 'the decorative element.' the theoretic maybe too exclusively pursued; or there may be a practicalness which has too little of theory, like a cone required to stand firm on its apex. there should be completeness, also, as touching the subjective aim. it should embrace, in a word, the whole man, and that not in his edenic aspects alone, but as a fallen being. you may not overlook even the physical; the casket not merely, holding all the mental and moral treasures--the frame-work rather, to which by subtile ties the invisible machinery is linked, and which upholds it as it works. the world has yet to learn fully how dependent is the inner upon the outer man, and how greatly the highest achievements of scholarship are facilitated by proper hygienic conditions. as you pass to the intellectual, it matters little what classification you adopt, whether with the author of the '_novum organum_,' in his 'advancement of learning,' you resolve all the powers into those of memory, imagination, and reason, or whether the minuter divisions of a more recent philosophy are preferred; only be sure that not a single faculty is overlooked or disparaged. be it presentative, conservative, reproductive, representative, elaborative, regulative, or whatever the fine hamiltonian analysis may suggest, give it its proper place and its proper scope. "the college should be distinctly and eminently christian. not in the narrow, sectarian sense--that be far from us--but in the broadest evangelical view. our course of thought culminates here; and here does all else that has been affirmed find its proper centre and unity. christianity is the great unity. in it, as was intimated at the outset, are all the chief elements of organic influence. it is itself the very acme of completeness, and it tends to all symmetry and finish. it is at once conservative and progressive, balancing perfectly the impelling and restraining forces; by a felicitous adjustment of the centripetal and centrifugal, ensuring to human nature its proper orbit. it is the golden girdle wherewith every institution like this should bind her garments of strength and beauty about her. "were it needful to argue this point, we might put it on the most absolute grounds. all things are christ's; all dominions, dignities, potences; it is especially meet that we say, to-day, all institutions. it is the grossest wrong practically to hold otherwise. it is loss, too, and nowhere more palpably than in the educational sphere. it is no cant saying to affirm, and that in a more than merely spiritual sense, that in christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' at his throne the lines of all science terminate; above all, the science that has man for its subject. of all history, for example, rightly read, how is he the burden and the glory! otherwise taken, it is a more than cretan labyrinth. the christian spirit, besides, raising the soul to the loftiest planes of thought, giving it the highest communions, bringing before it the grandest objects, and securing to all its machinery the most harmonious action, is eminently conducive to intellectual achievement. we have already said something like this as touching moral culture; but that, be it ever remembered, takes its proper form and direction only as it is vitally linked with christianity. what god has joined together let not man put asunder. let the studies which we call moral, have all a christian baptism; and, with all our getting, let us not stop short of the cardinal points of our most holy faith. let the will be still investigated, not as a brute force, or in a merely intellectual light, but in those high spiritual aspects in which our great new england metaphysician delighted to present it. let butler, with his curious trestle-work of analogy, bridge, to the forming mind, the chasm between natural and revealed religion. let the christian evidences be fully unfolded. we can hardly dispense with them in an age, when by means of 'westminster reviews,' and other subtle organs of infidelity, the old mode of assault being abandoned, a sapping and mining process is continually going forward. let ethical science,--embracing in its wide sweep the economy of private life, the philosophy of government, and law, which 'hath its seat in the bosom of god,'--be all bathed in the light of calvary. that light is its life. 'let us with caution indulge the supposition,' said the father of our country, 'that morality can be maintained without religion.' let the bible be included among our text-books as the sun is included in the solar system; and let all the rest revolve in planetary subjection about it. let it be studied, not in a professional, much less in a partisan way; but with the conviction that it is indispensable to the broadest culture; that without theology we have but a straitened anthropology; that we see not nature aright, but as we look up through it to nature's god. be ours, in its largest significance, the sentiment so devoutly uttered by the old hebrew bard: 'in thy light shall we see light.' and let the discipline of college, so intimately connected with its prosperity, be fashioned on the model of the gospel. let it copy, in its way and measure, the wondrous harmonies of the redemptive scheme, in which 'mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.' so shall it bless our halls with some faint reflection of the divine fatherhood, and give to our society some happy resemblance to a christian family." a prominent feature of president smith's administration was a greater utilization of the libraries, and the opening of a reading-room. the librarian says: "the late professor alphæus crosby contributed considerably to the increase of the classical books, and hon. nathan crosby has recently furnished the means for commencing a collection of the works of dartmouth alumni. it is intended to gather all books and pamphlets which have been written by graduates. the collection will also include matter relating to them and to the work of the college. "in reviewing the history of the library their number is so great that it is impossible to mention even a small part of the benefactors; their best record is in the well filled shelves and the large amount of reading done in connection with the studies of the college course. "one of the departments of the library consists of the books given by the late general sylvanus thayer, founder of the school of engineering, numbering , volumes. "early in its history the members of the chandler scientific department founded the 'philotechnic society,' the library of which, together with some books belonging to the department, contains , volumes. "the three society libraries continued under separate management until , although the societies, as far as literary work is concerned, had for some time given way to the secret societies, and the interest in them was so slight that only with great difficulty could a quorum be obtained for ordinary business. during that year an arrangement was made by which the three society libraries were placed under the same management as the library of the college, the latter receiving the society taxes which were slightly reduced, assuming all expenses including the support of the reading-room, and providing for the increase of the library by books to be annually selected by the senior class. under this arrangement the different libraries have been brought together and considered as departments of one, the hours for drawing and consulting books have been increased from three hours per week in the society libraries and six in the college, to twenty-one hours per week, and in many respects the facilities for use have been greatly increased. since , the yearly additions for all the libraries have averaged volumes, and they at present contain exclusive of pamphlets about , volumes, besides nearly , books which are either duplicates or worthless. these figures are independent of the astronomical library located at the observatory, the library of the 'society of inquiry,' and of the libraries of the medical and agricultural departments, which will probably be connected with the main library. the library as it is now constituted is well adapted to the work of the college, and is especially so in some of the departments of instruction, in connection with which a large amount of reading is done. there are in use at present three printed catalogues: one of the college library, printed in ; one of the 'social friends' library, dated ; and one of the 'united fraternity' library, issued in . these are supplemented by a card catalogue arranged under title, author, and subject." the "centennial" celebration of the founding of the college, at the commencement of , was a season of rare interest and profit to the very large number of alumni and friends of the college assembled from nearly every quarter of the globe. the following is the substance of the address of chief justice chase, who presided on the occasion, as given by mr. william h. duncan: "he began by alluding to the fact that the college received its charter from 'our right trusty and well beloved john wentworth, governor of the province of new hampshire,' and said that the venerable name was 'borne, to-day, by an honored citizen of illinois,[ ] who, like his ancestor, towered head and shoulders above his fellow men. he also happily referred to the descendants of the other founders of the college. 'when the college was organized the third george was heir to the british throne. under the great empress catherine, russia was prosecuting that career of aggrandizement then begun which is even now menacing british empire in the east. under the fifteenth louis, in france, that wonderful literary movement was in progress, which prepared a sympathetic enthusiasm for liberty in america, at length overthrowing, for a time, monarchy in france. china and japan were wholly outside the modern community of nations. a hundred years have passed, and what a new order has arisen! great britain has lost an empire, has gained other empires in asia and australia, and extends her dominion around the globe. france, so great in arts and arms, has seen an empire rise and fall and another empire arise, in which a wise and skillful ruler is seeking to reconcile personal supremacy with democratic ideas. russia, our old friend, seems to withdraw, for the present, at least, her eager gaze from constantinople and seeks to establish herself on the pacific ocean and in central asia. china sends one of our own citizens, mr. burlingame, on an embassy throughout the world to establish peaceful, commercial, and industrial relations with all the civilized nations. japan, too, awakes to the necessity of a more liberal policy, and looks toward a partnership in modern civilization. who, seeing this, and reflecting on the manifold agencies at work in the old world and the prodigious movements in the new, which i cannot even glance at, can help exclaiming, in the language of the first telegraphic message which was sent to america, 'what hath god wrought?' how great a part has this college, antedating the republic, played in all the enterprises of america! it has been well said of it that three quarters of the globe know the graduates of dartmouth. every state in the union, certainly, is familiar with their names and their works, and the influence which they exert is the influence of this college. what an insignificant beginning was that which has been described, to-day;--what splendid progress! how great the present, and who can predict the future? ninety-eight classes of young men have already gone forth from this institution. who can measure the religious, the moral, the intellectual, the political influence, which they have exerted? great names like webster and choate rise at once to memory, but i refer more particularly to the mighty influence exerted by the vast numbers, unrecognized upon the theatre of national reputation, which the college has sent into all the spheres of activity and duty. when i think of the vast momentum for good which has originated here, and is now in unchecked progress, and must extend beyond all the limits of conception, i cannot help feeling that it is a great and precious privilege to be in some way identified as a member of this college. it does not diminish my satisfaction that other graduates of other american colleges can say the same thing. it rather increases the satisfaction. glad and thankful that my name is in the list of those who have been educated here, and have endeavored to do something for their country and their kind, i rejoice that, under our beneficent institutions, legions of americans have the same or greater cause for gladness.' [ ] hon. john wentworth, ll. d. "after some remarks to the graduating class, the chief justice said: 'and let me add, my brethren of the alumni, a practical word to you. we celebrate to-day the founding of our college. we come hither to testify our veneration and our affection for our benign alma mater. we can hardly think she is a hundred years old, she looks so fresh and so fair. we are sure that many, many blessed days are before her, but a mother's days are made happy and delightful by the love and faithfulness of her children. much has been done for this institution, recently, much which makes our hearts glad. the names of the benefactors of the institution, mentioned here to-day, dwell freshly in the hearts of every graduate, and will live forever; but let us remember, that while much has been done, much also remains to be done. i do not appeal to you for charity. i wish that every graduate may feel that the college is, in a most true and noble sense, his mother, and to remind you of your filial obligations.'" addresses having been made by hon. ira perley, ll. d., hon. daniel clark, and richard b. kimball, esq., mr. duncan says: "judge chase called upon judge barrett, vice president of the association of the alumni, to read a poem, which had been furnished for the occasion by george kent, esq., of the class of . he had read but a few stanzas when the rumbling of distant thunder was heard. then came a few scattering drops of water pattering upon the roof of the tent, but soon the winds blew, and the rain descended and fell upon the roof, as if the very windows of heaven had been opened. there followed such a scene as no tongue, nor pen, nor pencil can describe,--it baffles all description. judge barrett, with the true pluck of an ethan allen, stood by his colors, and the more the wind blew and the storm raged, the louder he read his poetry. but he was obliged at length to cease, and with his slouched hat and dripping garments left the stage. "but he was not alone in his misery. the manly and stately form of the chief justice, the president of the college, reverend doctors of divinity, were all in the same condition--they all stood drenched and dripping, like fountains, in the rain. even general sherman had to succumb, once in his life, and seek the protection of an umbrella. some huddled under umbrellas, some held benches over their heads, and some crept beneath the platform. "the storm passed over, and judge barrett came forward and finished reading the poem. "hon. james w. patterson, of the class of , was then called upon, and spoke with force and eloquence, receiving the greatest compliment that could be paid him,--the undivided attention of the audience." addresses were also made by dr. jabez b. upham, samuel h. taylor, ll. d., rev. samuel c. bartlett, d.d., and others. we quote some of the closing passages of the "historical address" by president brown, of hamilton college. "there is not much time to speak of the general policy of the college through these hundred years of its life, but i may say in brief, that it has been sound and earnest, conservative and aggressive at the same time. as the motto on its seal,--_vox clamantis in deserto_,--indicated and expressed the religious purpose of its founders, so this purpose has never been lost sight of. through lustrum after lustrum, and generation after generation, while classes have succeeded classes, while one corps of instructors have passed away and others have taken their places, this high purpose of presenting and enforcing the vital and essential truths of the christian religion, has never been forgotten or neglected. the power of christianity in modifying, inspiring, and directing the energies of modern civilization,--its art, its literature, its commerce, its laws, its government, has been profoundly felt. nor has it for a moment been forgotten that education, to be truly and in the largest degree beneficent, must also be religious,--must affect that which is deepest in man,--must lead him, if it can, to the contemplation of truths most personal, central, and essential, must open to him some of those depths where the soul swings almost helplessly in the midst of experiences and powers unfathomable and infinite,--where the intellect falters and hesitates and finds no solution of its perplexities till it yields to faith. within later years there have been those who have advocated the doctrine that education should be entirely secular,--that the college should have nothing to do with religious counsels or advice. now while i do not think that this would be easy, as our colleges are organized, without leaving or even inciting the mind to dangerous skepticism, nor possible but by omitting the most powerful means of moral and intellectual discipline, nor without depriving the soul of that food which it specially craves, and destitute of which it will grow lean, hungry, and unsatisfied,--as a matter of history, no such theory of education has found favorable response among the guardians of dartmouth. at the same time while the general religious character of the college has been well ascertained and widely recognized, while the great truths of our common christianity have been fully and frankly and earnestly brought to the notice of intelligent and inquiring minds, it has not been with a narrow, illiberal, and proselyting spirit, not so as rudely to violate traditionary beliefs, not so as to wound and repel any sincere and truth loving mind. and this is the consistent and sound position for the college to hold. "with respect to its curriculum of studies the position of the college has been equally wise. she has endeavored to make her course as broad, generous, and thorough as possible; equal to the best in the land; so that her students could feel that no privilege has been denied them which any means at her disposal could provide. she has endeavored wisely to apportion the elements of instruction and discipline. she has provided as liberally as possible, by libraries, apparatus, laboratories, and cabinets for increase in positive knowledge. she has equally insisted on those exact studies which compel subtleness and precision of thought, which habituate the mind to long trains of controlled reasoning, which discipline alike the attention and the will, the conservative and the elaborative powers. she has given full honor to the masterpieces of human language and human thought, through which, while we come to a more complete knowledge of peoples and nations, of poetry and eloquence, we feel more profoundly the life of history, and comprehend the changes of custom and thought, while the finer and more subtle powers of fancy and imagination stir within the sensitive mind, and gradually by constant and imperceptible inspiration lift the soul to regions of larger beauty and freedom. "so may she ever hold on her way, undeluded by specious promises of easier methods, inuring her students to toil as the price of success; not rigid and motionless, but plastic and adapting herself to the necessities of different minds; yet never confounding things that differ, nor vainly hoping on a narrow basis of culture to rear the superstructure of the broadest attainment and character, but ever determined to make her instructions the most truly liberal and noble. "with no purpose of personal advantage, but with the deepest filial love and gratitude have we assembled this day. of all professions and callings, from many states, from public business and from engrossing private pursuits,--you, my young friend who have just come, with hesitation and ingenuous fear, to add your name if you may, to the honored rolls of the college, and you sir,[ ] whose memory runs back to the beginning of the century, the oldest or nearly the oldest living alumnus of the college, the contemporary of chapman and harvey, and fletcher, and parris, and weston, and webster,--you who came from beyond the 'father of waters,' and you who have retreated for a moment from the shore of the dark atlantic--you sir,[ ] our brother by hearty and affectionate adoption, who led our armies in that memorable march from the mountain to the sea, which shall be remembered as long as the march of the ten thousand, and repeated in story and song as long as history and romance shall be written, and you, sir, who hold the even scales of justice in that august tribunal, from which marshall proclaimed the law which insured to us our ancient name and rights and privileges, unchanged, untarnished, unharmed,--all of us, my brothers, with one purpose have come up to lay our trophies at the feet of our common mother, to deck her with fresh garlands, to rejoice in her prosperity, and to promise her our perpetual homage and love. let no word of ours ever give her pain or sorrow. loyal to our heart of hearts, may we minister so far as we can, to her wants, may we be jealous of her honor, and solicitous for her prosperity. may no ruthless hand ever hereafter be lifted against her. may no unholy jealousies rend the fair fabric of her seamless garment. may no narrow or unworthy spirit mar the harmony of her wise counsels. may she stand to the end as she ever has stood, for the church and state, a glory and a defense. and above all and in order to all, may the spirit of god in full measure rest upon her; 'the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the lord.'" [ ] job lyman, esq., of the class of . [ ] general sherman received the highest honorary degree of the college in . president smith, whose character was a rare union of energy and gentleness, was preëminently a man of affairs. the results of his untiring efforts to promote the welfare of the college, in various directions, will be more fully developed upon subsequent pages. having performed valuable service for thirteen years, he resigned his office, on account of failing health, march , , and died on the sixteenth of august following, his wife, mrs. sarah ann (adams) smith, surviving him. chapter xix. inauguration of president bartlett. rev. samuel c. bartlett, d.d., of the chicago theological seminary, was elected the eighth president of the college. we insert entire his inaugural address, delivered at the commencement, june, : "certain occasions seem to prescribe their own themes of discourse, and certain themes are endowed with perpetual life. there are problems with which each coming generation and each last man grapples as freshly as the first. "how shall the ripest growth of the ages be imparted to one young soul? twice, at least, in a lifetime, is this great question wont to rise solemnly before each thoughtful man--when he looks forward in youthful hope, and when he looks back in parental solicitude. it is a question of many forms and multiplying answers. shall there be a long, fundamental training, wide and general? or, shall it be closely professional? shall it be predominantly classic, or scientific, or esthetic, or empiric? many, or much? for accomplishment, or for accomplishing? shall it fit for the tour of europe, or for the journey of life? masculine and feminine, or vaguely human? shall it rattle with the drum-beat, bound with gymnastics, court fame by excursive "nines" not known on helicon, and challenge british oxford, alas? with its boat crew? shall the american college student follow his option, or his curriculum? and shall the college itself be a school for schoolmasters, a collection of debating clubs, a reading-room with library attached, an intellectual quarantine for the plague of riches? or, a place of close and protracted drill, of definite methods, of prescribed intellectual work? shall it fulfill the statement of the concord sage,--'you send your son to the schoolmasters, and the schoolboys educate him?' or, shall a strong faculty make and mark the whole tone of the institution? "in these and other forms is the same fundamental question still thrust sharply before us. i do not propose to move directly on such a line of bristling bayonets, but to make my way by a flank movement across this "wilderness" of conflict. it will go far towards determining the methods of a liberal education, if we first ascertain, as i propose to do, the chief elements of a manly culture. "obviously the primal condition of all else must be found in a self-prompted activity or wakefulness of intellect. the time when the drifting faculties begin to feel the helm of will, when the youth passes from being merely receptive to become aggressive, marks the advent of the true human era. as in the history of our planet the first remove from the _tohu va-vohu_ was when the spirit of god brooded on the deep, and, obedient to the command, light shot out from darkness, so in man the microcosm, the brooding spirit and commanding purpose mark the first step from chaos toward cosmos. the mechanical intellect becomes dynamical, and the automatic man becomes autonomic. it may be with a lower or a higher motion. the mind gropes round restlessly by a yearning instinct; it may be driven by the strong impulse of native genius; or, it may rise to the condition of being the facile servant of the forceful will. when the boy at pisa curiously watches the oil lamp swinging by its long chain in the cathedral, a pendulum begins to vibrate in his brain, and falling bodies to count off their intervals; and when afterward he deliberately fits two lenses in a leaden tube, the moon's mountains, jupiter's satellites, and saturn's rings are all waiting to catch his eye. a thoughtful meditation on the spasms of a dead frog's leg in bologna becomes galvanic. the gas breaking on the surface of a brewery vat, well watched by priestley, bursts forth into pneumatic chemistry. a spider's web in the duke of devonshire's garden expands in the mind of my lord's gardener, brown, into a suspension bridge. a sledge hammer, well swung in cromarty, opened those new walks in an old field. the diffraction of light revealed itself to young in the hues of a soap-bubble. as the genie of the oriental tale unfolded his huge height from the bottle stamped with solomon's seal, so the career of davy first evolved itself out of old vials and gallipots. when the boy bowditch was found in all his leisure moments snatching up his slate and pencil, when cobbett grappled resolutely with the grammar, when cuvier dissected the cuttlefish found upon the shore, or scott was seen sitting on a ladder, hour after hour, poring over books, they will be further heard from. "if such instances illustrate the propulsive force of native genius, they also indicate what training must do when the impulsive genius is not there. no idler plea was ever entered for an idler than when he says,--'i have no bent for this, no interest in that, and no genius for the other.' the animal has his _habitat_, and stays fast. a complete man is intellectually and physically a cosmopolite. till he has gained the power to throw his will-force wherever the work summons him, most of all to the weak points of his condition, till he has learned to be his own task-master and overseer, he is but a 'slave of the ring.' "in most lines the highest gift is the gift of toil. indeed, men of genius have often been the most terrible of toilers, and in the regions of highest art. how have the great masters of music first welded the keys of the organ and harpsichord to their fingers' ends and their souls' nerves before they poured forth the creation or the messiah, the symphonies and sonatas! think of meyerbeer and his fifteen hours of daily work; of mozart's incessant study of the masters, and his own eight hundred compositions in his short life; of mendelssohn's nine years elaboration of elijah. or in the sister art, how we track laborious, continuous study in the peruginesque, the florentine, and the roman styles successively of raphael, and in the incredible activity that crowded a life of thirty-seven years with such a vast number of portraits and madonnas, of altar-pieces and frescoes, mythological, historical, and biblical. and that still grander contemporary genius, how he wrought by night with the candle in his pasteboard cap, how he had dissected and studied the human frame like an anatomist or surgeon before he chiseled the david and moses, or painted the sistine chapel, and how the plannings of his busy brain were always in advance of the powers of a hand that, till the age of eighty-eight, was incessantly at work. "the servant is not above his master. the lower intellect can buy at no cheaper price than the higher, and the hour of full intellectual emancipation comes only when the student has learned to serve--to turn the whole freshness and sharpness of his intellect on any needful theme of the hour; it may be the scale of a fossil fish, or the annual movement of a glacier, the disclosures of the spectrum, or the secrets of the arrow-headed tongue. all great explorers have been largely their own teachers, and each young scholar has made the best use of all helps and helpers when he has learned to teach himself. his emancipation, once fairly purchased, confers on him potentially the freedom of the empire of thought; and, as evermore, the freeman toils harder than the slave. the strong stimulus of such a self-moved activity, thoroughly aroused, becomes in choate or gladstone the fountain of perpetual youth, and forms the solid basis of the titanic scholarship of germany. it stood embodied in the life and motto of the aged, matchless artist angelo,--'_ancora imparo_,' i am learning still. "but impulse and activity may move blindly. another cardinal quality of such a culture, therefore, must be precision--the close, clean working of the faculties. a memory trained to clear recollection, what a saving of reiterated labor and of annoying helplessness. a discrimination sharpened to the nicest discernment of things that differ, though always a shining mark for the arrow of the satirist, will outlive all shots with his gray-goose shaft; for it shines with the gleam of tempered steel. an exactness of knowledge that defines all its landmarks, how is it master of the situation. a precision of speech, born of clear thinking, what controversial battlefields of sulphurous smoke and scattering fire might it prevent. he has been called a public benefactor who makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before. he is as great a benefactor, who in an age of verbiage makes one word perform the function of two. wonderful is the precision with which this mental mechanism may be made to work. some men can even think their best on their feet in the presence of a great assembly. there are others whose spontaneous thoughts move by informal syllogisms. emmons sometimes laid off his common utterances like the heads of a discourse. johnson's retorts exploded like a musket, and often struck like a musket-ball. john hunter fairly compared his own mind to a bee-hive, all in a hum, but the hum of industry and order and achievement. it reminds us, by contrast, of other minds formed upon the model of the wasp's nest, with a superabundance of hum and sting without, and no honey within. it was of the voluminous works of a distinguished author that robert hall remarked,--'they are a continent of mud, sir.' nuisances of literature are the men who fill the air with smoke, relieved by no clear blaze of light. there have been schools of thought that were as smoky as pittsburg. we have had 'seers' who made others see nothing, men of 'insight' with no outlook, scientists who in every critical argument jumped the track of true science, and preachers whose hazy thoughts and utterances flickered between truth and error. pity there were not some intellectual sing-sing for the culprit! "how refreshing, on the other hand, to follow the clear unfolding of the silken threads of thought that lie side by side, single and in knots and skeins, but never tangled. what a beautiful process was an investigation by faraday in electro-magnetism, as he combined his apparatus, manipulated his material, narrowed his search, eliminated his sources of error, and drew his careful conclusions. with similar persistent acuteness, in the field of biblical investigation, how does zumpt, by an exhaustive exclusion and combination, at length make the annals of tacitus shake hands with the gospel of luke over the taxing of cyrenius. in metaphysics, how matchless the razor-like acuteness with which hamilton could distinguish, divide, and clear up the questions that lay piled in confused heaps over the subject of perception. what can be more admirable than the workings of the trained legal or rather judicial mind, as it walks firmly through labyrinths of statute and precedent and principle, holding fast its strong but tenuous thread, till it stands forth in the bright light of day;--it may be some sir john jervis, unraveling in a criminal case the web of sophistries with which a clever counsel has bewildered a jury; or it may be marshall or story, in our own college case, shredding away, one by one, its intricacies, entanglements, and accretions, till all is delightfully, restfully clear. "it is a trait all the more to be insisted on in these very times, because there is so strong a drift toward a seeming clearness which is a real confusion. by two opposite methods do men now seek to reach that underlying order and majestic simplicity which more and more appear to mark this universe. the one distinguishes, the other confounds, things that certainly differ. the one system belongs to the reality and grandeur of nature, the other to the pettiness and perverseness of man. not a few seem bent on seeing simplicity and uniformity by the short process of shutting their eyes upon actual diversity. they proceed not by analytical incision, but by summary excision. they work with the cleaver and not with the scalpel. what singular denials of the intuitive facts of universal consciousness, what summary identifications of most palpable diversities, and what kangaroo-leaps beyond the high wall of their facts, mark many of the deliverances of those who loudly warn us off from 'the unknowable!' what shall we say of the steady confusion, in some arguments, of structure and function, and of force with material? when men, however eminent, openly propose to identify the force which screws together two plates of metal with the agency which corrodes or dissolves both in an acid, or to identify the affinity that forms chemical combinations with the vitality that so steadily overrides, suspends, and counteracts those affinities, is this an ascent into the pure ether, or a plunge in the cimmerian dark? when, in opposition to every possible criterion, a man claims that there is but 'one ultimate form of matter out of which successively the more complex forms of matter are built up,' is this the advance march of chemistry, or the retrograde to alchemy? when a writer, in a style however lucid and taking, firmly assumes that there is no essential difference in objects alike in material elements, but separated by that mighty and mysterious thing, _life_, is that the height of wisdom, or the depth of folly? and how such a central paralysis of the mental retina spreads its darkness, as, for example, in the affirmation that as oxygen and hydrogen are reciprocally convertible with water, so are water, ammonia, and carbolic acid convertible into and resolvable from living protoplasm!--a statement said to be as false in chemistry as it certainly is in physiology. an ordinary merchant's accountant will, if need be, work a week to correct in his trial balance the variation of a cent. but when he listens to sir john lubbock calmly reckoning the age of the human implements in the valley of the somme at from one hundred thousand up to two hundred and forty thousand years; when he sees croll, in dating the close of the glacial age, leap down from the height of near eight hundred thousand to eighty thousand years; when he finds darwin and lyell claiming for the period of life on the earth more than three hundred millions of years, while tait and thompson pronounce it 'utterly impossible' to grant more than ten, or, at most, fifteen millions,--this poor, benighted clerk is bound to sit and hearken to his masters in all outward solemnity, but he must be excused for a prolonged inward smile. who are these, he says, that reckon with a lee-way of hundreds of thousands of years, and fling the hundreds of millions of years right and left, like pebbles and straws? "brilliancy, so-called, is no equivalent or substitute for precision. it is often its worst enemy. a man may mould himself to think in curves and zig-zags, and not in right lines. he sends never an arrow, but a boomerang. or he thinks in poetry instead of prose, deals in analogy where it should be analysis, puts rhetoric for logic, scatters and not concentrates, and while he radiates never irradiates. a late divine was suspected of heresy, partly because of his poetic bias; and one of his volumes was unfortunate for him and his readers, in that for his central position he planted himself on a figure of speech, and not on a logical proposition. the well-known story _se non vero e ben trovato_, of that keenest of lawyers, listening to a lecture of which every sentence was a gem and every paragraph rich with the spoils of literature, and replying to the question, "do you understand all that?" "no, but my daughters do." it was as beautiful and iridescent as the staubbach, and as impalpable. "the more is the pity when a vigorous mind, in the outset of some great discussion, heads for a fog-bank or a wind-mill. when a man proposes to chronicle a 'conflict between religion and science,' and makes religion stand indiscriminately for romanism, mohammedanism, superstition, malignant passion, obstinate prejudice, and what not, also confounding christianity with so-called christians, and those often most unrepresentative,--at the same time appropriating to 'science' all intellectual activity whatever, though found in good christian men, and though fostered and made irrepressible by the fire of that very religion, it is easy to see what must be the outcome of such a sweepstakes race. there will be a deification of science, and not even a whited sepulchre erected over the measureless golgothas of its slaughtered theories. there will be, on the other hand, the steady _suppressio veri_ concerning books, systems, men, and events, the occasional though unintended _assertio falsi_, the eager conversion of theories into facts, constructions unfair and uncandid and, throughout, with much that is bright and just, that 'admixture of a lie that doth ever add pleasure' to its author and grief to the judicious. such confusions are no doubt often the outgrowth of the will. but a main end of a true culture is to prevent or expose all such bewilderments, whether helpless or crafty. "the great predominance of the disciplinary process was what once characterized the english university system even more than now. it consisted in the exact and exhaustive mastery of certain limited sections of knowledge and thought, as the gymnastic for all other spheres and toils. at oxford, not long ago, four years were spent in mastering some fourteen books. whatever may be our criticism of the process, we may not deny its singular effect. in its best estate it forged many a trenchant blade. to the man who asks for its monument, it can point to british thought, law, statesmanship. bacon and burke, coke and eldon, hooker and butler, pitt and canning, shall make answer. the whole massive literature of england shall respond. "but to this precision of working must be furnished material with which to work. mental fullness is, therefore, another prime quality of a manly culture. to what degree it should be sought in the curriculum has been in dispute. it is the american theory, and a growing belief of the english nation, that the british universities have been defective here. their men of mark have traveled later over the broader field. "provincialism of intellect is a calamity. all men of great achievements have had to know what others achieved. the highest monuments are always built with the spoils of the past. any single genius, if not an infinitesimal, counts at most but a digit in the vast notation of humanity. the great masters have been the greatest scholars. many a bright mind has struggled alone to beat the air. behold in some national patent-office a grand mummy-pit of ignorant inventors. "those men upon whom so much opprobrium has been heaped, the schoolmen, were unfortunate chiefly in the lack of material on which to expend their singular acuteness. leibnitz was not ashamed to confess his obligations to them, nor south to avail himself of their subtle distinctions. doubtless theology owes them a debt. some of them have been well called, by hallam, men 'of extraordinary powers of discrimination and argument, strengthened in the long meditation of their cloister by the extinction of every other talent and the exclusion of every other pursuit. their age and condition denied them the means of studying polite letters, of observing nature, or of knowing mankind. they were thus driven back upon themselves, cut off from all the material on which the mind could operate, and doomed to employ all their powers in defense of what they must never presume to examine.' 'if these schoolmen,' says bacon, 'to their great thirst of truth and unwearied travel of wit had joined variety of reading and contemplation, they had proved great lights to the advancement of all learning and knowledge.' and so, for lack of other timber, they split hairs. hence the mass of ponderous trifling that has made their name a by-word. a force, sometimes herculean, was spent in building and demolishing castles of moonshine. "a robust mental strength requires various and solid food. the best growth is symmetrical. there is a common bond--_quoddam commune vinculum_--in the circle of knowledge, that cannot be overlooked. men do not know best what they know only in its isolation. even kant offset his metaphysics by lecturing on geography; and niebuhr, the historian, struggled hard and well to keep his equilibrium by throwing himself into the whole circle of natural science and of affairs. such, also, are the interdependencies of scholarship, that ample knowledge without our specialty is needful to save us from blunders within. olshausen was a brilliant commentator, and the slightest tinge of chemistry should have kept him from suggesting that the conversion of water into wine at cana was but the acceleration of a natural process. a smattering of optics would have prevented dr. williams from repeating the old cavil of voltaire, that light could not have been made before the sun. a moderate reflection upon the laws of speech and the method of genesis would have restrained huxley from sneering at the 'marvelous flexibility' of the hebrew tongue in the word 'day,' and a new york audience from laughing at the joke rather than the joker. some tinge of ethical knowledge should have withheld max müller from finding the grand distinctive mark of humanity in the power of speech. the merest theorist needs some range of reality for the framework of his theories, and the man of broad principles must have facts to generalize. indeed, a good memory is the indispensable servant of large thought, and however deficient in certain directions, the great thinkers have had large stores. 'the best heads that have ever existed,' says an idealist,--'pericles, plato, julius cæsar, shakespeare, goethe, milton,--were well read, universally educated men, and quite too wise to undervalue letters. their opinion has weight, because they had the means of knowing the opposite opinion.' "while every year increases the impossibility of what used to be called universal knowledge, it also emphasizes the necessity of a scholarship that has its outlook toward all the vast provinces of reading and thought. it cannot conquer them, but it can be on treaty relations with them. the tendency of modern science is, of necessity, steadily toward sectional lines and division of labor. it is a tendency whose cramping influence is as steadily to be resisted, even in later life, much more in early training. we are to form ourselves on the model of the integer rather than the fraction of humanity. the metaphysician cannot afford to be ignorant of the 'chemistry of a candle' or the 'history of a piece of chalk,' nor the chemist of the laws of language, the theologian of astronomy and geology, nor the lawyer of the most ancient code and its history. mill himself made complaint of comte's 'great aberration' in ignoring psychology and logic. "intellectual fetichism is born of isolation, and dies hard. while in the great modern uprising we may boast that the heathen idols have been swept away from three hundred dark islands of polynesia, new 'idols of the cave' stalk forth upon the world of civilized thought. we are just now much bewildered with brightness in streaks, which falls on us like the sunlight from a boy's bit of glass, and blinds our eyes instead of showing our path. half-educated persons seize fragments of principles and snatch at half-truths. crotchets infest the brains, and hobbies career through the fields of thought. polyphemus is after us, a burly wretch with one eye. better if _that_ were out. "the remedy is, to correct our narrowness by a clear view of the wide expanse. we must come out of our cave. we must link our pursuits to those of humanity. breadth and robustness given to the mental constitution in its early training shall go far through life to save us from partial paralysis or monstrosity. "to insure this result, however, we must add to that fullness of material the quality of mental equipoise or mastery, the power of grasping and managing it all. a man is to possess, and not to be 'possessed with,' his acquisitions. he wants an intellect decisive, incisive, and, if i might coin a word, concisive. "the power to unify and organize must go with all right acquisition. knowledges must be changed to knowledge. it takes force to handle weight. some men seem to know more than is healthy for them. it does not make muscle, but becomes plethoric, dropsical, adipose, or adipocere. better to have thought more and acquired less. frederick w. robertson, in his prime, wrote,--'i will answer for it that there are few girls of eighteen who have not read more books than i have;' and mrs. browning confessed,--'i should be wiser if i had not read half as much;' while old hobbes, of malmesbury, caustically remarked,--'if i had read as much as other men i should know as little.' it may serve as a hint to the omnivorous college student. cardinal mezzofanti knew, it is said, more than a hundred languages. what came of it all? a eulogy on one emanuele da ponte. he never said anything in all the languages he spoke! what constitutes the life of an intellectual jelly-fish? even the brilliancy of macaulay was almost overweighted by the immensity of his acquisitions. the vivid glitter of details in his memory may sometimes have dazzled his perception of a _tout ensemble_, and for principles it was his manner to cite precedents. a multitude of lesser lights have been almost smothered by superabundance of fuel. a man knows milton almost by heart, and shakespeare too, can quote pages of homer, has read chrysostom for his recreation, is full of history, runs over with statistics right and left, and withal is strong in mother-wit. but the mother-wit proves not strong enough, perhaps, to push forth and show itself over the ponderous débris above it, the enormousness, or, if you please, the enormity of his knowledge. "it requires a first-class mind to carry a vast load of scientific facts. hence the many eminent observers who have been the most illogical of reasoners. what a contrast between hugh miller and his friend francia; the mind of the latter, as miller describes it, 'a labyrinth without a clew, in whose recesses was a vast amount of book-knowledge that never could be used, and was of no use to himself or any one else;' the former wielding all his stores as he swung his sledge. what is wanted is the comprehensive hand, and not the prehensile tail. "involved in such an equipoise is the decisiveness, the willforce, that not only holds, but holds the balance. common as it may be, it is none the less pitiable to be just acute enough constantly to question, but not to answer--forever to raise difficulties, and never to solve them. wakeful, but the wakefulness of weakliness. fine-strung minds are they often, acquisitive, subtle, and sensitive, able to look all around their labyrinth and see far into darkness, but not out to the light. it is by nature rather a german than an anglo-saxon habit. it is not always fatal even there. de wette, 'the veteran doubter,' rallied at the last, and, like bunyan's feeble-mind, went over almost shouting. in this country, youth often have it somewhat later than the measles and the small-pox, and come through very well, without even a pock-mark. sometimes it becomes epidemic, and assumes a languid or typhoidal cast,--not positivism, but agnosticism. it is rather fashionable to eulogize perplexity and doubt as a mark of strength and genius. but whatever may be the passing fashion, the collective judgment of the ages has settled it that the permanent state of mental hesitancy and indecision, in whatever sphere of thought and action, is and must be a false condition. it indicates the scrofulous diathesis, and calls for more iron in the blood. it is a lower type of manhood. it abdicates the province of a human intelligence, which is to seek and find truth. it abrogates the moral obligation to prove all things, and hold fast that which is good. it revolts from the great problem of life, which calls on us to know, and to know that we may do. out upon this apotheosis of doubt. it is the sick man glorying in his infirmity, the beggar boasting of his intellectual rags. "the comprehensive and decisive tend naturally to the incisive. the power to take a subject by its handle and poise it on its centre is perhaps the consummation of merely intellectual culture. when all its nutriment has been converted into bone and muscle and sinew and nerve, then the mind bounds to its work, lithe and strong, like a hunting leopard on its game. it was exactly the power with which our webster handled his case, till it seemed to the farmer too simple to require a great man to argue. it was the quality that lincoln so toiled at through his early manhood, and so admirably gained,--the power of presenting things clearly to 'plain people.' you may call it 'the art of putting things,' but it is the art of conceiving things. it is no trick of style, but a character of thinking, and it marks the harvest-time of a manly culture. "i will add to this enumeration one other quality, one without which this harvest will not ripen. i speak of mental docility and reverence. a man will have looked forth to little purpose on the universe if he does not see that, even with his expanding circle of light, there is an ever-enlarging circle of darkness around it. he will have compared his achievements with those of the race to little profit, if he does not recognize his relative insignificance, gathering sands on the ocean shore. "the wide range and rapid outburst of modern learning tend undoubtedly to arrogance and conceit. we gleefully traverse our new strip of domain, and ask, were there ever such beings as we? yes, doubtless there were,--clearer, greater, and nobler. wisdom, skill, and strength were not born with us. all the qualities of manly thought, though with ruder implements and cruder materials, have been as conspicuously exhibited down through the ages past as in our day. the power of governing, ability in war, diplomacy in peace, subtle dialectics, clear insight, the art of conversation, persuasive and impressive speech, high art in every form, whatever constitutes the test of good manhood, has been here in full force. it would puzzle us yet to lay the stones of baalbec, or to carve, move, and set up the great statue of rameses. within a generation, euclid of alexandria was teaching geometry in dartmouth college, and heraclides and aristarchus anticipated copernicus by sixteen centuries. no man has surpassed the sculptures of rhodes, or the paintings of the sixteenth century. the cathedral of cologne is the offspring of forgotten brains. such men as anselm were educated on the trivium and quadrivium. five hundred years ago merton college could show such men as geoffrey chaucer, william of occam, and john wickliffe. if the history of science can produce four brighter contemporary names than napier, kepler, descartes, and galileo, let them be forthcoming. but when, still earlier by a century and a half, we behold a man who was not only architect, engineer, and sculptor, and in painting the rival of angelo, but who, as hallam proves, 'anticipated in the compass of a few pages the discoveries which made galileo, kepler, maestlin, maurolycus, and castelli immortal,' it may well 'strike us,' he suggests 'with something like the awe of supernatural knowledge;' and in the presence of leonardo da vinci the modern scientist of highest rank may stand with uncovered head. "if wisdom was not born with us, neither will it die with us. there will be something left to know. our facts will be tested, our theories probed, and our assertions exploded by better minds than ours. if it be true, as bacon says, '_prudens interrogatio dimidium scientiæ_,' it is also true, '_imprudens assertio excidium scientiæ_.' we are in these days treated to 'demonstrations' which scarcely rise to the level of presumptions, but, rather, of presumption. there is an accumulation of popular dogmatism that is very likely doomed within a century to be swept into the same oblivion with the 'christian astrology,' of william lilly and the 'ars magna' of raymond lully--a mass of rubbish that is waiting for another caliph omar and the bath-fires of alexandria. "it will not answer to mistake the despotism of hypothesis for the reign of law, nor physical law for the great 'i am.' true thinkers must respect other thinkers and god. they cannot ignore the primal utterances of consciousness, the laws of logic, nor the truths of history. foregone conclusions are not to bar out the deepest facts of human nature, nor the most stupendous events in the story of the race. hume may not rule out the settled laws of evidence the moment they touch the borders of religion; nor may strauss, by the simple assertion that miracles are impossible, manacle the arm of god. comte may not put his extinguisher upon the great underlying verities of our being, nor tyndall jump the iron track of his own principles to smuggle into matter a 'potency and promise' of all 'life.' huxley cannot play fast and loose with human volition, nor juggle the trustiness of memory into a state of consciousness, to save his system; nor may haeckel lead us at his own sweet creative will through fourteen stages of vertebrate and eight of invertebrate life up to the great imaginary 'monera,' the father and mother of us all. it will be time to believe a million things in a lump when one of them is fully proved in detail. we have no disposition, even with so eminent an authority as st. george mivart, to denominate natural selection 'a puerile hypothesis.' we will promise to pay our respects to our 'early progenitor' of 'arboreal habits' and 'ears pointed and capable of movement,' when he is honestly identified by his ear-marks, and even to worship the original fire-mist when that is properly shown to be our only creator, preserver, and bountiful benefactor. "meantime, as a late king of naples was said to have erected the negation of god into a system of government, not a few eager investigators seem to have assumed it as a basis of science. and so we reach out by worship 'mostly of the silent sort' toward the unknown and unknowable, the 'reservoir of organic force, the single source of power,' ourselves 'conscious automatons' in whom 'mind is the product of the brain,' thought, emotion, and will are but 'the expression of molecular changes,' to whom all speculations in divinity are a 'disregard of the proper economy of time,' and to whom, also, as one of them has declared, 'earth is paradise,' and all beyond is blank. but it was mephistopheles who said,-- "'the little god of this world sticks to the same old way, and is as whimsical as on creation's day; life somewhat better might content him, but for the gleam of heavenly light which thou hast lent him. he calls it reason--thence his power's increased to be far beastlier than any beast. saving thy gracious presence, he to me a long-legged grasshopper seems to be, that springing flies and flying springs, and in the grass the same old ditty sings. would he still lay among the grass he grows in.' "but even the man of theories might grant that the scheme of one great, governing, guiding, loving, and holy god is a theory that works wonders in practice for those that heartily receive it, and is a conception of magnificence beside which even a nebular hypothesis with all its grandeur grows small. and the man of facts may as well recognize what napoleon saw on st. helena,--the one grand fact of the living power of jesus christ in history, and to-day; a force that is mightier than all other forces; a force that all other forces have in vain endeavored to destroy, or counteract, or arrest; a force that has pushed its way against wit and learning and wealth and power, and the stake and the rack and the sword and the cannon, till it has shaped the master forces of the world, inspired its art, formed its social life, subsidized, its great powers, and wields to-day the heavy battalions; a force that this hour beats in millions of hearts, all over this globe, with a living warmth beside which the love of science and art is cold and clammy. surely it would be not much to ask for the docility to recognize such patent facts as these. and i must believe that any mind is fundamentally unhinged that despises the profoundest convictions of the noblest hearts, or speaks lightly of the mighty influence that has moulded human events and has upheaved the world. it has, in its arrogance, cut adrift and swung off from the two grand foci of all truth, the human and the divine. "of the several qualities,--the wakefulness, precision, fullness, equipoise, and docility--that form, in other words, the motion, edge, weight, balance, and direction of the forged and tempered intellect,--i might give many instances. such men as thomas arnold and mr. gladstone instantly rise to the thoughts,--the one by his truth-seeking and truth-finding spirit moulding a generation of english scholars, the other carrying by the sheer force of his clear-cut intellect and magnanimous soul the sympathies of a great nation and the admiration of christendom. but let me rather single out one name from the land of specialties and limitations,--barthold george niebuhr, the statesman and historian. not perfect, indeed, but admirable. see him begin in his early youth by saying,--'i do not ask myself whether i can do a thing; i command myself to do it.' read the singular sketch of his intellectual gymnastics at twenty-one, spurring himself to 'inward deep voluntary thought,' 'guarding against society and dissipation,' devoting an hour each day to clearing up his thoughts on given subjects, and two hours to the round of physical sciences; exacting of himself 'an extensive knowledge of the facts' of science and history; holding himself alike accountable for minute 'description,' 'accurate definitions,' 'general laws,' 'deep reflection,' and 'distinct consciousness of the rules of my moral being,' together with what he calls the holy resolve--'more and more to purify my soul, so that it may be ready at all times to return to the eternal source.' how intensely he toiled to counteract a certain conscious german one-sidedness of mind, visiting england to study all the varied phenomena of its robust life, and yet writing home from london, at twenty-two,--'i positively shrink from associating with the young men on account of their unbounded dissoluteness.' his memory, not inferior to that of macaulay or scaliger, he made strictly the servant of his thinking. amid all the speculative tendencies of germany, he became a man of facts and affairs. overflowing with details, he probed the facts of history to the quick, and felt for its heart. fertile in theory, he preserved the truth of science so pure as 'in the sight of god,' not 'to write the very smallest thing as certain, of which he was not fully convinced,' nor to overstrain the weight of a conjecture, nor even to cite as his own the _verified_ quotation he had gained from another. practicing on his own maxim to 'open the heart to sincere veneration for all excellence' in human act and thought, not even his profound admiration for the surpassing genius of goethe could draw him into sympathy with the heartlessness and colossal egoism of his later career. in the midst of public honors he valued more than all his delightful home and literary life, and his motto was _tecum habita_. surrounded by pyrrhonism, and bent by the nature of his studies toward skeptical habits, how grandly he recovered himself in his maturity, and said,--'i do not know what to do with a metaphysical god, and i will have none but the god of the bible, who is heart to heart with us.' 'my son shall believe in the letter of the old and new testaments, and i shall nurture in him from his infancy a firm faith in all that i have lost or feel uncertain about.' and his last written utterance, signed 'your old niebuhr,' contains a lament that 'depth, sincerity, originality, heart and affection are disappearing,' and that 'shallowness and arrogance are becoming universal.' after all allowances for whatever of defect, one can well point to such a character as an illustrious example of true and manly culture. "shall i say that such a culture as i have endeavored to sketch, it is, and will be, the aim of dartmouth college to stimulate? i cannot, at the close of this discourse, compare in detail its methods with the end in view, and show their fitness. the original and central college is surrounded by its several departments, partly or wholly professional, each having its own specialty and excellence. the central college seeks to give that rounded education commonly called liberal, and to give it in its very best estate. it will aim to engraft on the stock that is approved by the collective wisdom of the past, all such scions of modern origin as mark a real progress. by variety of themes and methods it would stimulate the mental activity, and by the breadth of its range it would encourage fullness of material, both physical and metaphysical, scientific and historic. it initiates into the chief languages of europe. by the close, protracted concentration of the mathematics, by the intuitions, careful distinctions, and fundamental investigations of intellectual and ethical science, and by the broad principles of political economy, constitutional and international law, as well as by a round of original discussions on themes of varied character, it aims to induce precision and mastery. and all along this line runs and mingles harmoniously and felicitously that great branch of study for which, though often severely assailed because unwisely defended or inadequately pursued, the revised and deliberate judgment of the ablest and wisest men can find no fair substitute,--the study of the classic tongues. grant that it may be, and often is, mechanically or pedantically pursued. yet, when rightly prosecuted, its benefits are wide, deep, and continuous, more than can be easily set forth--and they range through the whole scale, rising with the gradual expansion of the mind. it comprises subtle distinctions, close analysis, broad generalization, and that balancing of evidence which is the basis of all moral reasoning; it tracks the countless shadings of human thought, and their incarnation in the growths of speech, and seizes, in comparative philology, the universal affinities of the race: it passes in incessant review the stores of the mother tongue; it furnishes the constant clew to the meaning of the vernacular, a basis for the easy study of modern european languages, and a key to the terminology of science and art; it familiarizes intimately with many of the most remarkable monuments of genius and culture; and it imbues with the history, life, and thought which have prompted, shaped, and permeated all that is notable in the intellectual achievements of two thousand years, and binds together the whole republic of letters. to such a study as this we must do honor. we endeavor to add so much of the esthetic and ethical element throughout as shall give grace and worth. and we crown the whole with some teaching concerning the track of that amazing power that has overmastered all other powers, and stamped its impress on all modern history. the college was given to christ in its infancy, and the message that comes down through a century to our ears, sounds not so much like the voice of a president as of an high-priest and prophet--the 'burden of eleazar:' 'it is my purpose, by the grace of god, to leave nothing undone within my power which is suitable to be done, that this school of the prophets may be, and long continue to be, a pure fountain. and i do, with my whole heart, will this my purpose to my successors in the presidency of the seminary, to the latest posterity; and it is my last will, never to be revoked, and to god i commit it, and my only hope and confidence for the execution of it is in him alone who has already done great things for it, and does still own it as his cause.' god has never yet revoked the 'last will' of wheelock. the college is as confessedly a christian college as in the days of her origin; and in the impending conflict she sails up between the batteries of the enemy with her flag nailed to the mast and her captain lashed to the rigging. "the college stands to-day in its ideal and the intention of its managers, representative of the best possible training for a noble manhood. and i may venture to say, here and now, that if there be anything known to be yet lacking to the full attainment of that conception, if anything needs to be added to make this, in the fullest sense, the peer of the best college in the land, it will be the endeavor of the trustees and the faculty to add that thing. "dartmouth college is fortunate in many particulars. fortunate in its situation, so picturesque and so quiet, fitted for faithful study, and full of healthful influences, physical and moral; fortunate in being the one ancient and honored as well as honoring college of this commonwealth; fortunate in enjoying the full sympathy of the people around and the entire confidence of the christian community of the land; fortunate in the great class of young men who seek her instruction, with their mature characters, simple habits, manly aims, and resolute purposes; fortunate in a laborious faculty, whose well-earned fame from time to time brings honorable and urgent calls to carry their light to other and wealthier seats of learning; fortunate in her magnificent roll of alumni, unsurpassed in its average of good manhood and excellent work, and bright with names of transcendent lustre. the genius of the place bespeaks our reverence and awe. for to the mind's eye this sequestered spot is peopled to overflowing with youthful forms that went forth to all the lands of the earth to do valiantly in the battle of life. across this quiet green there comes moving again invisibly a majestic procession of the faithful and the strong, laden with labors and with honors. in these seats there can almost be seen to sit once more a hoary and venerable array of the great and good whose names are recorded on earth and whose home is in heaven. and over us there seems to hover to-day a great cloud of witnesses--spirits of the just made perfect. it is good to be here. i only pray that the new arm may not prove too weak to bear the banner in this great procession of the ages." chapter xx. prof. john smith.--prof. sylvanus ripley.--prof. bezaleel woodward. having completed our survey of the work of the successive presidents, the deceased professors now claim our attention. the following sketch of the life and labors of prof. john smith, is, in substance, from "sprague's annals of the american pulpit." "john smith, son of joseph and elisabeth (palmer) smith, was born at newbury, (byfield parish,) mass., december , . his mother was a descendant of the sawyer family, which came from england to this country in , and settled in rowley, where she was born. the son was fitted for college at dummer academy, under the instruction of the well known 'master moody.' he early discovered an uncommon taste for the study of the languages, insomuch that his instructor predicted, while he was yet in his preparatory coarse, that he would attain to eminence in that department. "he entered the junior class in dartmouth college, in , at the time of the first commencement in that institution. he went to hanover in company with his preceptor and governor wentworth, and so new and unsettled was a portion of the country through which they passed, that they were obliged to encamp one night in the woods. their arrival at hanover excited great interest, and was celebrated by the roasting of an ox whole, at the governor's expense, on a small cleared spot, near where the college now stands. "he was admitted to the degree of bachelor of arts in ; and immediately after, was appointed preceptor of moor's school at hanover. this appointment he accepted; and, while discharging his duty as a teacher, was also engaged in the study of theology under the direction of president wheelock. in he was appointed tutor in the college, and continued in the office until . about this time he received an invitation to settle in the ministry in west hartford conn., and, in the course of the same year, was elected professor of languages in the college where he had been educated. his strong predilection for classical studies led him to accept the latter appointment; and until he joined to the duties of a professor those of a tutor, receiving for all his services one hundred pounds, lawful money, annually. his professorship he retained till the close of his life. he was college librarian for thirty years,--from to . for two years he delivered lectures on systematic theology, in college, in connection with the public prayers on saturday evening. he was a trustee of the college from to the time of his death. he also officiated for many years as stated preacher in the village of hanover. in , the degree of doctor of divinity was conferred upon him by brown university. "dr. smith's abundant and unceasing labors as a professor, a minister, and an author, proved too much for his constitution, and are supposed to have hastened him out of life. he died in the exercise of a most serene and humble faith, on the th of april, , in the fifty-seventh year of his age. his funeral sermon was preached by the rev. dr. burroughs of hanover. "dr. smith was enthusiastically devoted to the study of languages through life. he prepared a hebrew grammar in his junior year in college, which is dated may , ; and a revised preparation is dated february , . about this time he also prepared a chaldee grammar. the original manuscript of these grammars, as also the greater part of his lectures on theology, is deposited in the library of the northern academy of arts and sciences at dartmouth college. as early as , he prepared a latin grammar, which was first published in , and has gone through three editions. in he published a hebrew grammar; in , an edition of "cicero de oratore," with notes, and a brief memoir of cicero, in english; and in , a greek grammar, which was issued about the time of his decease. he published also a sermon at the dedication of the meeting house at hanover, , and a sermon at the ordination of t. eastman, . "prof. roswell shurtleff, d.d., says of him: 'dr. smith was rather above the middling stature, straight, and well proportioned. his head was well formed, though blanched and bald somewhat in advance of his years. his face, too, as to its lineaments, was very regular and comely. his eyes were of a light-blue color, and tolerably clear. "'as a linguist, he was minutely accurate, and faithful to his pupils, although i used to doubt whether he was familiar with the classic writers much beyond the field of his daily instructions. but in his day, philology, like many other sciences, was comparatively in its cradle, especially in this country. his reputation in his profession depended chiefly on the recitations; and there he was perfect to a proverb. the student never thought of appealing from his decision. "'in his disposition he was very kind and obliging, and remarkably tender of the feelings of his pupils--a civility which was always duly returned. "'in religious sentiment, he was unexceptionably orthodox, though fearful of hopkinsianism, which made some noise in the country at that period. his voice was full and clear, and his articulation very distinct. his sermons were written out with great accuracy, but were perhaps deficient in pungency of application. on the whole, he could hardly be considered a popular preacher. "'professor smith was a man of uncommon industry. this must be apparent from what he accomplished. besides his two recitations daily, he supplied the college and village with preaching for about twenty years, and exchanged pulpits but very seldom; and, in the mean time, was almost constantly engaged in some literary enterprise. i well remember a conversation with the late president brown, then a tutor in college, soon after the professor died,--in which we agreed in the opinion, that we had known no man of the same natural endowments, who had been more useful, or who had occupied his talent to better advantage.'" we give the substance of some leading points of a notice of professor smith, in the "memoirs of wheelock." "in the college experienced an immense loss, in the death of dr. smith. he had devoted his life chiefly to the study of languages. no other professor in any college of the continent, had so long sustained the office of instructor; none had been more happy, useful, or diligent. though indefatigable in his studies, he was always social and pleasant with his friends, entirely free from that reserve and melancholy, not infrequent with men of letters. at an early age he obtained the honors of this seminary, and even while a young man was appointed professor of the oriental languages. these were the smallest moiety of his merit and his fame. without that intuitive genius, which catches the relation of things at a glance, by diligence, by laborious study, by invincible perseverance, which set all difficulties at defiance, he rose in his professorship with unrivaled lustre. he, like a marble pillar, supported this seminary of learning. this fact is worth a thousand volumes of speculation, to prove the happy and noble fruits of well-directed diligence in study. but the best portrait of dr. smith is drawn by president wheelock, in his eulogium on his friend, from which we make the following extract. "'early in life, so soon as his mind was susceptible of rational improvement, his father entered him at dummer school, under the instruction of mr. samuel moody. it is unnecessary to take notice of the development of his juvenile mind, his attention to literature, and especially his delight in the study of the ancient, oriental languages. that distinguished master contemplated the height, to which he would rise in this department; and his remark on him, when leaving the school to enter this institution, was equal to a volume of eulogy. "'his mind was not wholly isolated in one particular branch. philosophy, geography, criticism, and other parts of philology, held respectable rank in his acquirements; but these yielded to a prevailing bias: the investigations of language unceasingly continued his favorite object. the knowledge of the hebrew with his propensity led him to the study of theology. he filled the office of tutor in the college, when an invitation was made to him from connecticut to settle in the ministry. "'at this period, in the year , the way was open to a professorship in the learned languages. on him the public eye was fixed. he undertook the duties, and entered the career of more splendid services in the republic of letters. his solicitude and labors were devoted to the institution, during its infantile state embarrassed by the revolutionary war. he alleviated the burdens of the reverend founder of this establishment; and administered comfort and solace to him in his declining days. "'from that period in , dr. smith continued indefatigable in mental applications; faithful in the discharge of official duties; and active for the interest of the society, through scenes of trouble and adversity. the board of trustees elected him a member of their body. the church at the college, founded by my predecessor, intrusted with him, as pastor, their spiritual concerns, and were prospered under his prudent and pious care. god blessed his labors; a golden harvest reminds us of the last. to the force of his various exertions, under divine providence, justice demands that we ascribe much in the rise and splendor of this establishment. "'while surveying the circle of knowledge, and justly estimating the relative importance of its different branches, still his eye was more fixed on classical science; and his attachment seemed to concentrate the force of genius in developing the nature of language, and the principles of the learned tongues, on which the modern so much depend for their perfection. the latin, the greek, and the hebrew, were almost as familiar to him as his native language. he clearly comprehended the samaritan and chaldaic; and far extended his researches in the arabic. "'the eminent attainments of dr. smith in the knowledge of the languages are attested by multitudes, scattered in the civilized world, who enjoyed his instruction. they will be attested, in future times, by his latin grammar, published about seven years ago; and by his hebrew grammar, which has since appeared. in each of these works, in a masterly manner, he treats of every matter proper for the student to know. each subject is displayed, in a new method, with perspicuity, conciseness, simplicity, and classic taste. his greek grammar, we may suppose, will exhibit the same traits, when it shall meet the public eye. this last labor he had finished, and committed to the printer a few months before his decease.[ ] [ ] it was afterward published and much approved. "'if we turn to take a moral view of this distinguished votary of science, new motives will increase our esteem. what shall i say of the purity of his manners, his integrity and amiable virtues? these are too strongly impressed on the minds of all, who knew him, to need description. he was possessed of great modesty, and a degree of reserve, appearing at times to indicate diffidence, in the view of those less acquainted. but this, itself, was an effusion of his goodness, which led to yielding accomodation in matters of minor concern: yet, however, when the interest of virtue, or society, required him to act, he formed his own opinion, and proceeded with unshaken firmness. those intimately acquainted with him can bear witness; and it is confirmed by invariable traits in his principles and practice, during life. "'the virtues of dr. smith were not compressed within the circle of human relations, which vanish with time. contemplating the first cause, the connections and dependencies in the moral state, his mind was filled with a sense of interminable duties. he was a disciple of jesus. the former president admired and loved him, and taught him theology. an amiable spirit actuated his whole life, and added peculiar splendor to the closing scene. "'his intense pursuit of science affected his constitution, and produced debility, which, more than two years before, began to be observed by his friends. it gradually increased, but not greatly to interrupt his applications till six weeks before his death. while i revive the affliction at his departure, its accompanying circumstances will assuage our sorrow. the thoughts of his resignation to divine providence, through all the stages of a disease, that rapidly preyed upon his vitals, his composure, serenity, and christian confidence, remain for the consolation of his friends, and instruction of all. "'the fame of dr. smith does not arise from wealth, nor descent from titled ancestors. it has no borrowed lustre. he was indebted wholly to his genius, his labors, and his virtues. his monument will exist in the hearts of his acquaintance; and in the future respect of those, who shall derive advantage from his exertions. "'in the immense loss, which his dear family sustain, they have saved a precious legacy; his example, and lessons of social and religious duties. the church, with mournful regret, will retain the tenderest affection for their venerable pastor. what shall i say of this seat of science, now covered with cypress? those who have trod its hallowed walks, will never forget his instructions, nor the benevolent effusions of his heart. where, in the ranges of cultivated society, is one to be found, qualified with those rare endowments, which can supply the chasm made by his death?'" we insert in its appropriate place the contract made with professor smith by president wheelock.[ ] [ ] see appendix. his first wife was mary, daughter of rev. ebenezer cleaveland, of gloucester, mass., his second wife was susan, daughter of david mason, of boston, mass. * * * * * prof. sylvanus ripley, who filled the chair of divinity from to , was the son of jonathan ripley, and was born at halifax, mass., september , . in introducing him to the favorable notice of mr. wheelock, previous to the commencement of his religious life, rev. william patten says: "gracious exercises alone excepted, i know not a more promising young man." some extracts from president wheelock's "narratives," relating to prof. ripley's missionary labors, are worthy of attention. "mr. sylvanus ripley, who finished his course of collegiate studies here last fall, very cheerfully complied with the openings of providence, to undertake a mission to the tribes in canada, and accordingly prepared for that purpose, and set out with lieut. thomas taylor, whom he had made choice of for his companion in that tour, as he had been long a captive with the french and indians in those parts, and was well acquainted with the customs of both, and with their country, and could serve him as an interpreter. he sat out july , well recommended to the lieut.-governor and commander-in-chief, and others of that province, by his excellency governor wentworth, and others. the special design of his journey was to see what door, or doors, was, or might be opened for him, or others, to go as missionaries among them, to open a way for intercourse between them and this school, and obtain a number of suitable youth, if it may be, to receive an education here; in the choice of which, he will have special respect to the children, whose parents were in former wars captivated by the indians, and were naturalized, and married among them." "september , . a delay of sending the foregoing narrative to the press, gives an opportunity to oblige my friends with a short account of the success of mr. ripley's mission to canada. "he returned on the st instant, with his companion and interpreter, lieut. taylor, and brought with them ten youths, eight belonging to the tribe at caughnawaga, near montreal, and two of the tribe at lorette, near quebec. soon after his arrival at the former of these places, he made known to them the errand on which he was sent, and disclosed the proposal of sending a number of their children to this school for an education; and left it to their consideration, till he should go and wait upon the commander-in-chief of that province at quebec. and after he had passed through the small-pox, which he took by inoculation, as it was judged unsafe for him to travel that country without it, he went to quebec. but his honor the governor, as well as other english gentlemen, were apprehensive that the indians were so bigoted to the romish religion, that there was no hope of success, and advised him not to go on that errand to lorette: he accordingly returned without visiting them as he proposed. "but on his coming to caughnawaga he found there two likely young men of the tribe at loretto, who set out with a design to go to sir william johnson, with a single view to find a school in which they might get useful knowledge. they had heard nothing of mr. ripley, nor of any such design as he was upon in their favor, till they came to caughnawaga, which is miles on their way to sir william's, and on hearing of the proposal mr. ripley had made, they waited five weeks at that place for his return, and on his coming complied with his offer of taking them into this school with cheerfulness. the same day a council of the chiefs of that tribe was called to consider of the proposal of sending their children to this school, which mr. ripley had left to their consideration, in which they were to a man agreed in the affirmative, and acknowledged with gratitude the benevolence and kindness of the offer. they continued united and firm to the last in that determination against the most warm and zealous remonstrances of their priest, both in public and private; in consequence of which determination, nine of their boys were made ready to accompany mr. ripley hither; three of which were children or descendants from captives, who had been captivated when they were young, and lived with them till they were naturalized and married among them." a later "narrative" says: "the beginning of may [ ], the rev. mr. ripley and mr. dean sat out on a mission to visit the indians at penobscott, and on the bay of fundy, as they should find encouragement, agreeable to representations heretofore made of a door open for service among them." they had a good measure of success, in some respects, in this mission. the following tribute to professor ripley is from the "memoirs of wheelock." "in the winter of - , the college experienced the loss of an eminent instructor, the rev. sylvanus ripley. he was suddenly called from his labors, in the vigor of life and the midst of extensive usefulness. "after taking his degree in , in the first class which received the honors of the college, he continued with mr. wheelock as a tutor in the college. in , he was appointed master of moor's charity school, and in , upon the decease of dr. wheelock, he succeeded him in the pastoral care of the church in the college, and soon after was elected professor of divinity. professor ripley was a learned man, an orthodox divine, an evangelical and popular preacher. his eloquence had nothing artificial or studied. his sermons were seldom written; his manner was pleasing and winning, his words flowed as promptly and readily in the pulpit as in the social circle." professor ripley died at hanover, february , , of injuries received in a fall from his carriage, while returning from a religious service in a distant part of the town. his wife was abigail, daughter of pres. eleazar wheelock. * * * * * bezaleel woodward, the first professor of mathematics in the college, was the son of israel and mary (sims) woodward, and a descendant of henry woodward of dorchester, mass., , and northampton, mass., , where he was one of the "seven pillars" of the church formed there in . he was born at lebanon, conn., july , , and graduated at yale college in . in , mr. wheelock refers to him as an associate teacher, and "a dear youth, willing to do anything in his power" to aid him. the school is said to have been put on a college basis, in the matter of study, in , with mr. woodward as tutor. the following letter addressed to president wheelock illustrates the versatile nature of his talents: "lebanon sep^r ^th . "rev^d & hon^d sir, "bingham arrived home well last week, and proposes to set out with two teams about the ^th ins^t. we have all of us been endeavouring to expedite the removal ever since he came home--but i fear madam will not be able to set out so soon. she with miss nabby propose to ride in the post chaise as soon as they can possibly be ready. hutchinson is to drive it for them. the scholars will likely the most of them foot it when bingham goes. abraham & daniel seem to resent it that they in particular should be sat to drive the cows the doctor mentioned in his to me & the english scholars be excused from it. i have not procured cows as yet--we have all been doing & shall do every thing in our power. madam is so weak that a little croud overcomes her, that she has her poor turns very often; tho' on the whole i hope she is on the mending hand. i fear the fatigue of preparing & the journey will be too much for her--be sure unless she takes both very leisurely--but god is able to support her. by the tenor of the doctor's letters i apprehend he has forgot my proposed journey to the eastward, which i would neglect, and with vigor pursue the grand object, the removal; for i see need enough that every one who is able to do any thing towards preparing should be doubly active now. i see eno' & more than eno' that is important and necessary to be done, & i never had a greater disposition to exert myself in getting things forward--but i have had such a croud of affairs on my mind, & still have, & must have so long as i continue here, that my health is so much impaired, my constitution become so brittle, & my nerves so weak, that i am rendered entirely unfit for application to any business at present; & therefore that i may be fit for some kind of business the ensuing winter i am advised and think it highly expedient & neccessary that i take my journey soon (before i am rendered unable to do it)--and providence seems to point out my duty to set out to-morrow, tho' it is with the greatest reluctance that i do it, on acco^t of the need of help here, but i am unfit to do anything to purpose if i stay. m^r maccluer will do all in his power, tho' he is obliged (agreeable to the doctor's directions) to attend co[=m]encement next week to collect subscriptions--he'll do all he can before he goes, & after he returns--what _is_ done _must_ be done in a hurry and confusion, & what _cannot_ be done _must remain undone_. we have been examining the scholars this week (& find they make a pretty good appearance) besides which we have done all we could that i might leave affairs in the best manner. my present proposal is to go to boston & settle affairs--thence to salem & visit dear doctor whitaker--thence perhaps to portsmouth--then either return & accompany madam & family to cohos (which i think of doing if i can get back in season)--or go directly from portsmouth to cohos--in either case i hope to be with the doctor within a month. i want much--i long to see you. i want to do more, much more than i am able, to assist in removing--but the wise governor of the universe seems to forbid my doing much. i desire to commit the conduct of affairs to him. i shall endeavour as far as i am able to comply with all the d^r desires in his letters--shall carry the letter to m^r whitefield to boston myself. i shall write to m^r keen a general sketch of affairs. i hope to be able when i see the d^r & the trustees meet to be able to determine what to do the ensuing winter. this parish have m^r potter to preach next sabbath & expect m^r austin after that. m^r austin is now asleep in your house. i expect m^r wheelock will be at home the last of next week or beginning of week after. mary & cloe i expect will ride up in the carts. porter, judson & collins are to set out next monday (at their desire) that they may assist in making preparation. school must (i think) unavoidably break up till they remove. scholars have been much engaged in study (especially in the art of speaking) since the doctor went away. if scholars are engaged instructors must be so too--and if instructors are diligent and faithful, scholars will make improvement. we cannot learn that the duty on tea is taken off; and i expect difficulty in disposing of bills; but shall do the best i can. i have tho'ts of carrying a set to boston. is it not best to desire miss zurviah [sprague] not to engage herself in business 'till the doctor's mind can be known respecting her going to cohos--i know not where one can be had to supply her place (omnibus consideratio)--will the d^r write his mind respecting it in his next? i have many things to say; but it is now between & o'clock in y^e morning, and i find nature flags. i could get no other time to write. i have neither time nor strength to copy, therefore hope the d^r will excuse the scrawl from him who is with much duty & esteem rev^d & hon^d sir, "your obedient and humble serv^t. "beza woodward. "n. b. family are all asleep. please give love to ripley &c. &c. the "memoirs of wheelock" contain the following paragraph relating to professor woodward: "at the anniversary commencement of , the honorable bezaleel woodward, professor of mathematics and philosophy, departed this life. he had fulfilled the duties of a professor and tutor from the foundation of the college. his profound knowledge of the abstruse and useful science of mathematics, the facility of his instructions in natural and experimental philosophy and ethics, his condescending and amiable manners, will be long and gratefully remembered by those who have received the benefit of his instructions." the "monthly anthology and massachusetts magazine" for september, , has the following notice of professor woodward: "died at hanover, new hampshire, august , hon. bezaleel woodward, professor of mathematics and philosophy in dartmouth college. professor woodward was born at lebanon, in the state of connecticut. in the twentieth year of his age he graduated at yale college, . after a few years successfully employed in the ministry, he was elected a tutor in this university. here he soon displayed such talents and improvements, such readiness of thought and ease of communication, that he was appointed to the office of professor in mathematics and philosophy. the dignity with which he discharged the duties of his station is witnessed by all who have shared in his instruction. in the civil department, and as a member of society, he was no less eminent than as an instructor in college. we might also add his usefulness in the church of christ at this place, of which he was long a worthy member, and high in the esteem and affections of his christian brethren. "his remains were interred on tuesday, the th. the rev. doctor smith delivered upon the occasion a well-adapted discourse. the officers, trustees, and members of the college joined as mourners with the afflicted family, and the solemnities were attended by a very numerous collection of friends and acquaintance. "the alumni of dartmouth will join with its present officers and members in deploring the loss of a faithful and able instructor. those who visited him in his late illness have had a specimen of decaying greatness, alleviated by an approving conscience, and sustained by resignation and hope. the friends of science will lament the departure of one of its enlightened patrons. society sympathizes with the bereaved family, retaining a lively sense of his public and domestic virtues; and a numerous acquaintance will mingle their grief in bemoaning the loss of a sincere friend, a valuable citizen, and an exemplary christian." the records of the public life of professor woodward are thoroughly interwoven with the history of northern new england. few pioneers in the valley of the upper connecticut did more to promote the general welfare of the community. his wife was mary, daughter of pres. eleazar wheelock. chapter xxi. prof. john hubbard.--prof. roswell shurtleff. prof. john hubbard succeeded professor woodward. we quote from a published eulogy by rev. elijah parish, d.d., his college classmate. "the hon. john hubbard, the son of john and hannah (johnson) hubbard, late professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in this university, was born in townsend, mass., august , . dark and dismal was the dawn of that life, which has been so fair and luminous. five months before his birth his father died, and this, in his last moments, when his children stood weeping round his dying bed, he made use of as an argument of consolation to them, entreating them not to weep, for god had taken care of him when a fatherless infant. during his minority most of his time was employed in the labors of agriculture. at the age of twenty-one he commenced his studies, and the next year became a member of this institution. in the second year of his residence at college, when many were awakened to a religious sense of divine things, our friend was one of the happy number. his subsequent life and death have proved that his conversion was not imaginary. while this increases our loss, it is the best reason for consolation. "in his college life mr. hubbard was a youthful cedar of lebanon. he gave visible tokens of his approaching eminence. so tenacious was his memory, that his progress in the languages was remarkably rapid. while he lived, the greek and roman writers were his amusement; and with a taste refined, he was charmed with their classic beauties; his memory was stored with numerous favorite passages. "on leaving college, his love of study, his delight in religious inquiries, his devout regard for the best interests of man, led him to the study of theology. becoming a preacher of the gospel, his voice, naturally small and feeble, was found to be ill adapted to such an employment. after a fair experiment his good sense forbade him to persevere. the transition was easy to his 'delightful task to teach the young idea how to shoot,' and form the minds of youth to science and virtue. of the academy in new ipswich he was elected preceptor. under his able instruction that seminary rose to distinction, and became a favorite of the public. some who were his pupils are already eminent in the walks of literature. "after several years, quitting this situation, he was appointed judge of probate for the county of cheshire. this office was peculiarly adapted to that gentle and tender philanthropy for which he was remarkable. it was luxury to him to comfort the widow and the fatherless. the blended resolution and exquisite sensibilities of his heart qualified him, in a singular manner, impartially to weigh the claims of justice and compassion. but this situation was not congenial with his love of study, and his delight in the instruction of youth, which was so pleasant, that he declared he would make it the business of his life. accordingly he accepted the invitation of deerfield academy, massachusetts, where for several years he continued with great reputation. after the death of professor woodward, who had, from its origin, been an able instructor in this university, he was elected his successor in the professorship of mathematics and philosophy. so high was his reputation, that a successor of common attainments could not have satisfied the raised expectations of the public. to supply the place of such a man was the arduous task assigned to mr. hubbard. his success equaled the fond hopes of his friends. here you rejoiced in his light; here he spent his last and his best days; here he had full scope for the various, the versatile powers of his vigorous mind. his amiable virtues, his profound learning, you cheerfully acknowledged. "he had a happy facility in illustrating the practical advantages of every science. he not only explained its principles, but traced its relation to other branches of knowledge. not satisfied by merely ascertaining facts, he explored the cause, the means, the ultimate design of their existence. "though he has been my intimate friend from cheerful youth, yet neither inspired by his genius, nor enriched with his attainments, it is not possible i should do justice to his merits. his person, muscular and vigorous, indicated the energy of his mind. every feature of his face expressed the mildness of his spirit; never did i witness in him the appearance of anger. without that undescribable configuration which constitutes beauty, his countenance was pleasing and commanded respect. without formality or art, his manners were refined and delicate; his address was conciliatory and winning. by his social and compliant temper he was calculated for general society. though instructed 'in the learning of egypt,' and the civilized world, he was too discreet and benevolent to humble others by his superior lustre. his light was mild and clear, like that of the setting sun. he had no ambition to shine, or to court applause. more disposed to make others pleased with themselves than to excite their admiration, it is not strange that he was universally beloved. his heart was impressed with an exquisite sense of moral obligations. in every passing event, in every work of nature, the formation of a lake, a river, a cataract, a mountain, he saw god. when as a philosopher, surrounded with the apparatus of science, extending his researches to the phenomena of the universe, amazed at the minuteness of some objects, astonished at the magnitude and magnificence of others, his mind was transported; when he explored the heavens, and saw worlds balancing worlds, and other suns enlightening other systems, his senses were ravished with the wisdom, the power, the goodness of the almighty architect. on these subjects he often declaimed, with the learning of an astronomer, the simplicity of an apostle, the eloquence of a prophet. he illustrated the moral and religious improvement of the sciences; the views of his students were enlarged; the sciences became brilliant stars to irradiate the hemisphere of christianity. the perfect agreement between sound learning and true religion was a favorite theme of his heart. this remark is confirmed by his conversation, his letters, his lectures. "in theology his researches were not those of a polemic divine, but of a christian, concerned for his own salvation and the salvation of others." professor hubbard published several works, one of them being entitled "rudiments of geography." he died at hanover, august , . his wife was rebecca, daughter of dr. john preston, of new ipswich. * * * * * mr. roswell shurtleff was elected the second professor of divinity in the college. we give some of the more important points in a published "discourse," by professor long: "roswell shurtleff, the son of william and hannah (cady) shurtleff, was born at ellington, then east windsor, ct., august , . he was the youngest of nine children, two of whom died before he was born. from his earliest years he was fond of reading, and at school he was called a good scholar. his religious training was carefully attended to, and to this, and the christian example which accompanied it, he ascribed his conversion, and the views he subsequently embraced of the christian doctrines. "when he was seven or eight years old he had many serious thoughts of god and duty. the requirement that he should give up all for god, as he understood it, filled him with gloom. "during several of the subsequent years, the subject of religion dwelt on his mind, and he was occasionally deeply impressed. one of the difficult things was to comprehend the notion of faith. the promise was: 'he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.' he believed, as he supposed, and he had been baptized, but he could not feel that he was safe. must he believe that he, personally, should be saved? but what if he mistook his own character, and believed what was false; would his opinion of his safety _make_ him safe. he was ashamed to be known as a religious inquirer, and, therefore, remained longer in darkness. finding that he had been observed by his father to have become a more diligent student of the scriptures, he left the practice of reading them before the family. sometimes, assuming a false appearance of indifference, he carried his difficulties to his mother, who was able to furnish a satisfactory solution. she seems to have been a person of unusual intelligence as well as goodness. her memory was ever cherished by him with the most grateful affection, as it regarded his own spiritual progress. he believed that he suffered unspeakable loss from the concealment of his early feelings on the subject of religion, and did not doubt that many failed of conversion from this foolish reserve. it was not till a number of years after this that his religious life commenced. "the only school which young shurtleff had the opportunity of attending, before his eighteenth or nineteenth year, was the common school of the district. he made good proficiency, but nothing worthy of note occurred in relation to his studies till he was about fifteen years of age. he then began to think, as he says. before that time, he had repeated by rote whatever he had been taught. the first impulse to reflection was a new discovery. he had been taught from childhood that accent is a stress of voice laid on some syllable or letter of a word. but this definition had not been illustrated by an example, and the classification of words by their accent, in the spelling-book, he had never understood. the definition had been to him an unmeaning collection of words. he now discovered what it meant. this was in itself a trifling event, but it led to the further discovery that other things, which he had been accustomed, parrot-like, to repeat _memoriter_, had a meaning; that the meaning of things was that which the student should be set to learn, and that his own education had, in this view, been greatly neglected. he says that a new world seemed to be opened to his view; that nothing now appeared so important as an opportunity to reflect on what he had learned, and that he was greatly displeased with the instructors by whom he had been so badly cheated. he resolved that, if ever he should be a teacher, he would propose it to himself, as his leading object, to make his pupils understand whatever they should study. this resolution he afterward had the opportunity of carrying into effect in five or six winter schools; and his attempt was attended with gratifying success. "it was the opinion of dr. shurtleff, grounded on his own experience as learner and teacher, that too much importance is attached to the books used in schools; that the end to be reached is too generally regarded as the learning of the book rather than the mastery of the subject, and that books are too often prepared mainly with a view to abridge the labor of the teacher. he believed that, while the pupil might, through the text-book, possess himself of the knowledge of others, he was in danger of acquiring little which could be called his own. "in consequence of using his eyes too soon, after his recovery from the measles, when he was about seventeen years old, shurtleff was almost wholly cut off from the reading of books for two years, and he never afterward perfectly recovered from the injury resulting from this imprudence. he made some proficiency, however, by listening to the reading of others. about two years after this affliction he entered the academy at chesterfield, n. h., whither his father's family had removed a few years before. he attended first to english studies. the weakness of his eyes continued, and he was considerably embarrassed for a time from the necessity of using the eyes of his friends. at length he commenced the study of latin, going through ross' grammar, the only one then in use, in just two weeks, and then beginning to construe and parse in corderius. "he met, at the academy, one who had been his school-fellow and playmate, and with whom he was intimately associated from that time till the end of his college course,--the late hon. levi jackson, who died at chesterfield in . they got out their lessons together, taking turns in looking out new words; and afterward, at college, where they were classmates and room-mates, continued the practice. dr. shurtleff felt under great obligations to this friend and helper, and said that 'few friendships among men had been more ardent, confiding and permanent.' "shurtleff had supposed, at first, that the greek language was beyond his reach, on account of his infirmity of sight. but some improvement having taken place, he ventured to commence the study. he went through the westminster greek grammar, the book then in use, in one week, and began to read the gospel of john. having completed the new testament, and read several books of homer's iliad, he was reputed in the school as tolerably versed in greek. he and jackson studied from the love of study, and did not think of college till a year before they applied for admission, at commencement, in , and entered the junior class in this institution. "the round of college duties presents few marked events. time has left no record of most of the occurrences which diversified and enlivened the period from to . how the two friends studied, and read, and discussed, and recreated together, has been lost, just as the facts of our daily life will be lost sixty years hence. they made constant and good progress. they were about equally good scholars, neither of them being a dead weight upon the other. each was happy in the other's proficiency. the amount of learning requisite for a degree was less then than now. sciences have been introduced into the course which were then in their infancy. but it may be doubted whether the students of our day have the advantage over those of an earlier period, in respect to thoroughness as well as extent of attainment. they read fewer books, in the first years of the college, but they thought the more. they were as well disciplined and able, and as competent to handle a difficult subject, i imagine, as our students, if they were not as well informed. we know from the esteem in which shurtleff was held by the trustees and faculty, as it appeared not long after his graduation, that he was one of the best scholars of his time. "peculiar interest attaches to the religious experience of shurtleff during his college course. "he had performed some of the duties of a christian before he supposed himself to possess the christian character. the first school he taught he opened daily with prayer, persevering in the practice as a conscientious duty, in spite of many misgivings and much timidity. and this he did in every school he afterward taught. he kept up the habit of secret prayer, at the same time, asking more earnestly than for anything else, that his weak eyes might be cured, and that he might have the means of intellectual improvement. "he seems to have supposed that during his senior winter vacation he became a true christian. "soon after his return to college, he intimated a desire to a classmate, who, as he supposed, was the only professor of religion in the class, to join with others in a private meeting for religious conference and prayer. he had never attended, or even heard of such a meeting. after a little delay he was surprised to learn from his friend that such a meeting as he had proposed had been held for years, and that he was desired to attend. on the saturday evening following, he and five or six other persons assembled, and by the free interchange of thought and feeling, and the apparently humble prayers that were offered, he felt himself greatly refreshed and quickened. on leaving college he regretted the loss of nothing more than of these saturday evening conference meetings. "the time had now come for choosing a profession. his success in teaching led him to seek for a situation in an academy; but no opening of this kind presented itself, and he believed himself thus providentially called to preach the gospel. there were at the time no theological seminaries; the students of the distinguished clergymen who gave instruction in theology were supposed to represent the views of their teacher; and that he might not be thought to go forth as the advocate of some exceptionable _ism_, mr. shurtleff chose to study theology by himself. having pursued this course one year, he was appointed a tutor in the college, and at the same time was licensed to preach. the pressure of a considerable debt hastened the period of obtaining license, but we may be certain, from the opportunities subsequently enjoyed, and from the character of the man, that any deficiency he may have felt at first, from hasty preparation, was abundantly supplied. "mr. shurtleff continued in the tutorship from to , and was also engaged, for the greater part of the time, in preaching in vacant parishes. "after the close of the four years' tutorship, mr. shurtleff was appointed a professor of divinity in the college. it was a part of his duty to preach to the students and the people of the village. the church was at that time presbyterian. the predecessor of professor shurtleff--professor sylvanus ripley--had been the pastor of this church. since his death, in , dr. john smith, professor of languages, previously associate pastor with professor ripley, had been the sole pastor of the church. dr. backus, of conn., dr. worcester, of salem, and dr. alexander, of princeton, had been appointed at different times to the vacant professorship, but all had declined, in consequence, as it was supposed, of the influence of dr. john wheelock, the second president of the college. professor shurtleff accepted the office, expecting that the same causes which had kept it so long vacant would render it an uncomfortable post. the difficulties which he feared, he was called to encounter. the president wished him to become the colleague of professor smith in the pastoral office, but he refused,--agreeing in his decision with the views of the largest part of the church and of the village. in consequence of this disagreement, a controversy ensued which lasted several years, and ended in the law-suit between the college and the state, in - . in july, , twenty-two persons, professors of religion, were constituted 'the congregational church at dartmouth college.' to this church, and the religious society of which it was a part, professor shurtleff was invited to preach, performing pastoral labors so far as his other duties would permit. professor smith was, meanwhile, the pastor of the presbyterian church till the time of his death, in april, . professor shurtleff was ordained as an evangelist, at lyme, n. h., in . he continued in this relation until the year . "the literary labors of his office would have been quite sufficient to occupy all his time. in addition to these, an amount of work nearly equal to that of any pastor of a church was imposed on him--fully equal, perhaps, we shall say, if we consider the character of the congregation to whom he ministered. he was faithful and assiduous, both as a preacher and a pastor. but he performed the many duties of his station with acceptance and success. and he had the satisfaction of seeing that his efforts were crowned with the special blessing of god. in god displayed his saving power among the students and people of the village. as many as forty persons became christians during the revival. but the most extensive and powerful work of grace, probably, which the church ever enjoyed was that of . the revival began in the hearts of god's people. some of the pious students resolved that they would every day talk with some unconverted person respecting the interests of his soul. the effect of this soon appeared in a general religious awakening. in one week forty persons expressed hope in christ, and in four weeks as many as one hundred and twenty persons were supposed to be converted. there were also revivals in , , and ,--that of being the most extensive, and embracing among the converts a greater number of citizens than of students. public religious meetings were less numerous during the revivals than in most of those of a later period. it was before the day of protracted meetings. perhaps there was less reliance then on means, and more on the spirit of god. it was not thought necessary that business should be suspended, and every day converted into a sabbath. but such means as the state of feeling seemed to require were faithfully used. professor shurtleff was never happier than when engaged in conversation with inquirers, or in conducting meetings for conference and prayer. the informality and freedom of these meetings made them attractive. they were probably quite as useful as the more regular ministrations of the pulpit. the speaker can say that he never visited a more solemn place than the old district school-house--which stood where the brick school-house now stands--often was, on a sunday evening during the progress of a conference meeting. a distinguished professor of a neighboring college, who was here in , says that 'the evidence of an increasing seriousness among the students at large, in that revival, was first shown, so far as i can recollect, by the more crowded attendance at these meetings.' not that the more formal services of the sabbath were not also impressive and profitable. the same gentleman says of the preaching of professor shurtleff at this time: 'the general impression made on me by several of his sermons i remember to the present day. i liked to hear him preach, even before i took any especial interest in religion as a personal concern. his sermon on the text, "the harvest is past, the summer is ended," etc., produced a deep effect at the time of its delivery which was not soon forgotten. i remember the stillness and solemnity of the audience. this sermon must have been delivered some little time before the revival.' the same gentleman further states, that 'during the whole of this revival, and the gathering in of the fruits of it into the church, professor shurtleff was the leading instrument of the work, so far as human agency was concerned. he went into it with his whole heart. i have seen him and his excellent wife almost overpowered with joy when told of a new case of conversion among the students. he did a great deal--all that one man could do, as it seemed to me--to promote the good work by his own personal efforts.' it is in the power of the speaker to give similar testimony respecting the revival of . "when professor shurtleff entered upon the duties of his professorship, and for many years afterward, he met with much opposition. but his position was constantly growing stronger, both as it respects the sympathy of his christian brethren and the clergy, and his popularity as an instructor. i have not been able to learn that there was a whisper of discontent with his instructions during the whole of the period from to . the testimony of one of the best students of the class of is, that 'as an instructor, particularly in moral philosophy, he was much thought of; and we were careful never to miss one of his recitations on this subject. his way of putting questions, and answering such as were proposed to himself, showed great judgment and shrewdness.' quite a number of persons in the classes for seven or eight years following the time here referred to, were preëminent as scholars and as men. may not the fact be partly accounted for by the impulse and guidance of the mind of this instructor? he constituted a large portion of the faculty from to , there being at that time only two professors,--professor adams and professor shurtleff. the graduates of the college who had been his pupils were never backward in acknowledging their obligations to him. "in , professor shurtleff was united in marriage with miss anna pope, only daughter of rev. joseph pope of spencer, mass. of her he said, 'she was truly an helpmeet--one who did me good and not evil all the days of her life.' by her vivacity and cheerfulness she was eminently fitted to comfort him in his hours of suffering and depression. but it pleased god to take her from him in march, , after having enjoyed with her, during sixteen years, a degree of domestic happiness which rarely falls to the lot of man. he also lost two children, sons, in , after a brief illness. respecting the oldest, he had already begun to indulge very pleasing anticipations, although he was less than five years old at the time of his decease. little did the speaker then know, when helping to carry to the grave the remains of these children, who, if they had survived, would now have been men of mature age, what hopes he was assisting to bury! but who knows the future? it was better they should die, than that they should live to dishonor him and themselves. the husband and father mourned incessantly, though not without resignation, for these bereavements, till the time of his own death. "in , professor shurtleff was in very feeble health, from the spring till commencement. the trustees adjourned at that time to reassemble in november, supposing it might be necessary then to appoint another professor of divinity. but by the blessing of god on medical advice and careful nursing, he was able to resume instruction before the meeting of the trustees. "in january, , professor shurtleff was transferred from the professorship of divinity to one newly established, of moral philosophy and political economy, which he filled till the year , when, by his own resignation, his active labors in the college ceased. it was understood, when this appointment was made, that professor shurtleff should instruct in all the senior classes, and should also hear the recitations of other classes in particular branches. during the last half of this period, he preached in vacant neighboring parishes. no particular account of the literary labors of these years can be required. any one of them may be regarded as a fair sample of the rest. a member of the class of can testify that that class greatly enjoyed his instructions. we never heard the summons to the recitation-room without pleasure. we were always interested and excited, always profited. the questions were put by the professor in the plainest saxon. they were well adapted to develop the knowledge or the ignorance of the student, as the case might be, but not to give him undue assistance. if there was anything in the text-book which was obscure, the questions made it plain. a clearly wrong opinion advanced by an author was briefly, yet thoroughly, exposed. his own opinions were lucidly stated and sustained, and for the time being, at least, we seldom saw reason to differ from him. the recitation was enlivened with anecdote, illustration, and wit, and never dragged heavily. if our objections were sometimes curtly silenced, it was so effectually and handsomely done that we bore it with perfect good-nature. he ever lent a willing ear to our real difficulties, and assisted in their removal. together with unusual freedom in the mode of conducting the recitations, there was good order and earnest attention to the subject in hand. he knew how to control us, while he had with us all the sympathy of a young man and an equal. i think it was the opinion of the class that professor shurtleff, in his ripe manhood, had few equals as an instructor. "at the time of his retirement, in , dr. shurtleff had been in the service of the college thirty-eight years. after what manner he has lived among us since that time, most of this audience know. he has not been noticeably active in the affairs of the village, but when you have met him in private intercourse, you have known that he retained the fine social qualities--the love of story-telling, and the keen, yet harmless wit--for which he was always remarkable. those whose memory goes back thirty years, must have noticed, i think, that he became more uniformly serene and cheerful in the latter part of his life. the old graduates of the college who revisited the place know how cordially he received them, and with what hearty zest he recalled with them the scenes of their college days. he continued to be deeply interested in the prosperity of the college, and he was the means of eliciting in its behalf the interest and the benevolence of his friends. he continued the habit, commenced at an early period, of assisting students who were in needy circumstances. these were objects of benevolence toward which he was naturally drawn. in his feelings he never grew old, but carried forward the vivacity of youth into old age; and always enjoyed the society of the young. he loved to have young men about him; and he has thus, by his unobtrusive charities and counsels, and his interesting and instructive conversation, been a benefactor to a large number of students. the spiritual welfare of the college was near his heart. he had passed through many revivals of religion, and he longed for the return of such seasons. he devoutly observed the days set apart for prayer for colleges, and, as you remember, often urged the students, assembled on those occasions, to give their hearts to god. "when he left his post as an instructor he was sixty-five years old. after this he had more than twenty-two years of leisure, during which he retained, in a remarkable degree, the vigor of his intellectual powers. but he had good and sufficient reasons, as he judged, for his resignation; and no new and suitable field of labor presenting itself to a man who wanted but a few years of threescore and ten, he could enjoy the offered leisure with a good conscience, occupying it with such pursuits as his taste suggested. even at the time when his labors were the most multiplied, and the church and the college were successively engaged in bitter controversy, he had but little to do with administrative and practical matters. even then a life of reflection appeared to be more attractive than a life of action. and when his public duties were ended, he naturally chose such a life. he was still intellectually active. he could not let his faculties sink into sluggish repose if he would. his temperament would not suffer it. if he was not a hard student, he was, what he had always been, a thinking man to the last." in a published notice of professor shurtleff, by professor (now president) brown, we find the following language: "the life of dr. shurtleff extended over the largest and most important part of that of the institution itself. for nearly twenty years he was college preacher, and at the same time pastor of the church on hanover plain,--during which period more than two hundred persons connected themselves with the church, a large proportion of them by original profession. in the contest of the college with the state, he and the late venerable professor adams, with the president, constituted the permanent faculty for instruction and government. upon the issues then presented he exerted a full measure of influence, though it was comparatively quiet and private. "as a professor, dr. shurtleff had some remarkable qualities. he possessed a mind of extraordinary subtleness and acuteness, ever alert, active and ingenious. whatever he saw, he saw distinctly, and was able, with equal clearness, to express to another. if a student were really perplexed, he knew how to relieve him by a pertinent example or illustration, but it was generally done by a question or a suggestion which demanded the activity of the student's own mind, and disciplined while it, helped him. if a pupil, on the other hand, were captious, or conceited, he was apt to find himself, before he suspected it, inextricably entangled in a web of contradictions, where he was sometimes left till he came to a sense of his weakness, or till he was dismissed with the benign declaration that 'he might sit.' "dr. shurtleff's wit was sharp and pungent, and on any occasion which involved the exercise of it he was quite equal to his part. he sometimes engaged in controversy, and versed as he was in all logical art, those who encountered him once were seldom anxious to provoke a second contest. his opinions, both religious and philosophical, were early settled and firmly held. he was in nothing given to change; his friends were generally the friends of his life, and those who were familiar with his habits of thought could easily tell where, upon any given question, he would probably be found. "his interest in young men was a noticeable trait in dr. shurtleff's character, while preacher to the college; the effect of his private conversations and friendly advice was almost equal to that of his public ministrations. his quiet study was often the scene of meetings for prayer or religious conversation from which were carried away influences for good, never to be forgotten, and for which many were grateful to their dying day. "the efforts of deserving young men to obtain a liberal education always excited his sympathy, and there has seldom been a time for many years when some such one has not been a member of his own family, aided and encouraged by his kindness. the number thus assisted no one can now tell, nor probably could he himself. it was greater than most persons would think possible. "the last twenty years of his life dr. shurtleff spent in dignified retirement, in the enjoyment of a competency, and in full exercise of his faculties. he especially enjoyed the visits of former pupils, no one of whom seemed to be lost from his retentive memory, and the annual commencements were always exhilarating reunions to him. his conversation, at such times especially, abounded in anecdote and reminiscences of earlier days, and his cheerfulness survived to the end. he has seldom, of late years, taken part in any public service, the last time he did so being at the meeting of the alumni of dartmouth in , to initiate measures for properly noticing the death of mr. choate." a volume would be required to set forth adequately the value of the public services of this distinguished educator, who acted a most important part in strengthening the foundations and adorning the superstructure of a leading literary institution. professor shurtleff died at hanover, february , . chapter xxii. professor ebenezer adams.--professor zephaniah s. moore.--professor charles b. haddock. professor ebenezer adams succeeded professor hubbard. from a reliable source we have received, in substance, the following statements: "ebenezer adams, the son of ephraim and rebecca (locke) adams, was born at new ipswich, n. h., october , . his father was a farmer in moderate circumstances, and having a large family of children, nineteen in all, he could not give them many educational advantages, but they shared in such as were commonly enjoyed in those days. the subject of this sketch, however, earnestly desired something more; he had set his heart upon obtaining a higher education, and ultimately succeeded in doing so. after becoming nearly or quite of age, he commenced preparation for dartmouth college, which he entered in , graduating with honor in , and in the following year he became preceptor of leicester academy, where he remained fourteen years, laboring faithfully and very successfully in the instruction of those under his care. while there he married, in , miss alice frink, of rutland, mass., who died early, leaving five young children. in he removed to portland, where he engaged as teacher in the academy, and it was while residing there that he came under the pastoral care of rev. dr. payson, and in a time of general revival he was deeply interested in religious truth and became a subject of renewing grace. he publicly professed his faith in christ and united with dr. payson's church. while there he formed a second marriage with miss beulah minot, of concord, mass., who became the mother of his two youngest children, and the subsequent year he taught in phillips academy, exeter, but he did not long remain there. "in , he was called to dartmouth college, where for one year he was professor of languages, and was then transferred to the professorship of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy, which he held until the appointment of a successor, in . as a teacher he was faithful, patient, laborious, earnestly desiring the best good of his pupils, whose affection he often succeeded in gaining, their esteem always. possessed of much intellectual force, of sound and varied attainments in learning, which he had the happy faculty of imparting to others clearly and distinctly, he was thus eminently fitted for the position of instructor, so many years occupied by him. he was truly devoted to the interests of the college, and ever ready to make efforts and sacrifices for it, and in those dark days, when its fate hung in suspense, he was deeply anxious, and had no small share in aiding and sustaining it through the struggle. during president brown's illness, and after his death, for more than two years in all, he filled the office of president in addition to his own, thus having a great increase of care and responsibility, and the same thing occurred on other occasions, when the college was temporarily without a head. he did not enjoy the situation, for while he truly delighted in teaching, he found the enforcement of discipline very irksome; still he was faithful and energetic in it when it became his duty. "he was interested in every good cause, philanthropic and religious, especially in the bible society, of which he was for many years the presiding officer in new hampshire; in the colonization society, which he then thought the only possible agency for removing the curse of slavery; in foreign missions and in temperance, of which he was an earnest and able advocate. in this connection it should be mentioned that he was trustee and treasurer of kimball union academy, at meriden, almost from its first commencement until nearly the close of his life, and in the success end prosperity of that institution he always felt a deep interest, and labored to promote its welfare. "after his resignation in , he devoted much of his leisure to objects of public interest, to the affairs of the town and village, in which several important trusts were committed to him, and of the church, in which for years he had worthily filled the office of deacon. in these he was actively and usefully employed, even to the last, and thus, in the unfailing resource of reading and study which he enjoyed, in the society of attached friends, and of the dear family circle, those closing years of his life passed away cheerfully, happily, leaving blessed memories behind them. he was quite active in his habits and usually of firm and vigorous health. it almost seemed as if he had been stricken down in his full strength, so sudden and short was his last illness. a heart-disease, of which he had suffered some symptoms a few months before, attacked him with great violence, and after ten days of intense suffering and distress, during which he manifested a true submission to god's will, and a calm reliance in christ, his atoning saviour, he 'fell asleep in jesus,' august , . "the college, the church, the village, mourned his departure, but nowhere was it so deeply felt as in the home which had so long been blest with his presence and affection. for in all family relations he was most truly kind and affectionate, in social life, genial and friendly, especially, even to the last, delighting in little children, and in the society of the young, generous and public-spirited, of spotless integrity in business affairs, faithful, earnest and skillful as a teacher, in all his ways a sincere and humble follower of the lord jesus." his associate, professor stowe, says: "professor adams was one of the stoutest of that noble band of men who upheld dartmouth college in the great crisis through which it passed, and thus established, not only the principles on which that venerable and most useful institution maintained its existence, but gave the foundation for permanency to all other educational institutions in our country, for it was the decision of the supreme court of the united states, in the dartmouth college case, that became the _magna charta_ of all our colleges. "sailors speak of 'men who in a storm can ascend to the mast-head, and hold on with their eyelids' while they use both hands to adjust the rigging. such were the men who saved dartmouth college during that great conflict. "a little girl once said that if god really did make the whole universe in six days, she should like to know what he stood on while he was making it. "such a question has often occurred to me in thinking of that period in the history of dartmouth college. what had the champions of the college to stand on? but they did stand, and did their work completely, and for all time. "professor adams had just the qualities for such an emergency. his was the sturdy self-reliance, the unshrinking courage, the indomitable perseverance, and the unwavering faith in god, which holds what it has and carries what it holds. his was not the coward's courage, which consists in the denying of the danger, but the courage of the brave man, which sees the danger and faces it." a pupil says: "professor adams was 'a manly man,' well-proportioned, broad-shouldered, with a commanding presence and amiable countenance. he was bold, earnest, energetic, persevering; artless, and honest as the day. he said exactly what he meant. his mental vision was clear, strong, and accurate. imagination was never active; oratory was not his forte. demonstrative evidence suited him best. in his religious character he was conscientious, devout, and reverent, never excited nor sentimental." * * * * * in "sprague's annals of the american pulpit" we find this account of prof. zephaniah swift moore. "he was the son of judah and mary (swift) moore, and was born at palmer, mass., november , . his parents were in the middle walks of life, and were much esteemed for their integrity and piety. when he was seven or eight years old, he removed with his father's family to wilmington, vt., where he worked upon a farm till he was about eighteen. from his early childhood he evinced great inquisitiveness of mind, and an uncommon thirst for knowledge; in consequence of which, his parents consented to aid him in acquiring a collegiate education. having prosecuted his preparatory studies at an academy in bennington, vt., he entered dartmouth college, when he was in his nineteenth year. he graduated in , and delivered on the occasion a philosophical oration on the 'causes and general phenomena of earthquakes,' which was received with marked approbation. "on leaving college, he took charge of an academy at londonderry, n. h., where he gained the reputation of an able and faithful teacher. having occupied this post for a year, he repaired to somers, conn., and commenced the study of theology under the direction of the rev. dr. charles backus; and, having gone through the usual course of preparation for the ministry, was licensed to preach by a committee of the association of tolland county, february , . after preaching to good acceptance in various places, and receiving several invitations to a permanent settlement in the ministry, he finally accepted a call from the congregational church and congregation in leicester, mass. here his labors proved alike acceptable and useful. very considerable additions were made to the church, and the spirit and power of religion became increasingly visible under his ministrations. during a part of the time that he resided at leicester, he joined to his duties as a minister those of principal of the leicester academy; and here, also, he acquitted himself with much honor. "in october, , he accepted the chair of professor of languages in dartmouth college. here he was greatly respected as a man, a teacher, and a preacher; and if his attainments in his department were not of the very highest order, they were at least such as to secure both his respectability and usefulness. "in , he was elected to the presidency of williams college, then vacant by the resignation of dr. fitch. he accepted the appointment, and was regularly inducted into office at the annual commencement in september of that year. shortly after his removal to williamstown, dartmouth college, which he had just left, conferred upon him the degree of doctor of divinity. he adorned this new station, as he had done those which he had previously occupied. his connection with the college was attended by some circumstances of peculiar embarrassment, in consequence of an effort on the part of the trustees to remove the college to northampton or some other town in hampshire county. the measure failed in consequence of the refusal of the legislature to sanction it. dr. moore, however, decidedly favored it from the beginning, but in a manner that reflected not in the least upon his christian integrity and honor. "in the spring of , the collegiate institution at amherst, mass., having been founded, he was invited to become its president, and was inaugurated as such in september following. the institution, then in its infancy, and contending with a powerful public opinion, and even with the legislature itself, for its very existence, put in requisition all his energies; and the ultimate success of the enterprise was no doubt to be referred, in no small degree, to his discreet, earnest, and untiring efforts. in addition to his appropriate duties as president and as chairman of the board of trustees, he heard the recitations of the senior class, and part of the recitations of the sophomore class, besides taking occasional agencies with a view to increase the funds of the institution. his constitution, naturally strong, was over-taxed by the efforts which he felt himself called to make, and had begun perceptibly to yield, before the last violent attack of disease which terminated his life. "on wednesday, the th of june, , he was seized with a bilious colic, which reached a fatal termination on the monday following. during the brief period of his illness, the greatest anxiety prevailed in the college, and unceasing prayer was offered in his behalf. his own mind was perfectly tranquil, and he anticipated the closing scene and passed through it without a word or look that told of apprehension. in the very moment of breathing out his spirit, he uttered in a whisper,--'god is my hope, my shield, my exceeding great reward.' the funeral solemnities were attended on the wednesday following, and an appropriate sermon was delivered on the occasion by the rev. dr. snell, of north brookfield. "dr. moore lived to celebrate the first anniversary of the institution, and to see more than eighty of its students professedly religious, and preparing for extensive usefulness among their fellow men. "shortly after his settlement at leicester, he was married to phebe, daughter of thomas drury, of ward, now auburn, mass., who survived him. they had no children. "dr. moore published an oration at worcester on the th of july, ; massachusetts election sermon, ; an address to the public in respect to amherst college, ; a sermon at the ordination of dorus clark, blandford, ." from the rev. emerson davis, d.d. "westfield, mass., november , . "dear sir: you have requested me to give you my impressions and recollections of president moore. they are all exceedingly pleasant, and yet i must say he was a man of such equanimity of temper and uniformity of life, that i am unable to single out one act or saying of his that produced a deeper impression than others. "my first introduction to him was in the spring of , when i was ushered into his study with a letter of recommendation for admission to williams college. it was to me a fearful moment, but the cordial manner in which i was received, and his kind inquiries after his friend who had furnished me with a letter, made me at once easy in his presence. i found that he had the heart of a man, and through an acquaintance of several years, to the time of his death, he manifested the same kindness and cordiality that he did the first time i saw him. "he was a man of medium stature, rather corpulent, his complexion sallow, the top of his head nearly bald, there being a slight sprinkling of hair between the forehead and crown. his voice, though not loud, was clear and pleasant, and in animated conversation and in the pulpit pitched upon the tenor key. "he was dignified in his appearance, serious in his aspect, instructive and agreeable in his conversation, kind and benevolent in his feelings, modest and unassuming in his manners, deliberate and cautious in coming to a conclusion, but firm and determined when his position was taken. if a student had at any time spoken against him, he would have been regarded as a rebel against law and order. in managing cases of discipline, he was calm and entirely self-possessed. in preaching, he had very little action; and yet there was an impressiveness in his manner that fixed the attention of his hearers. in the more animated parts of his discourse, his utterance became more rapid, and the sound of his voice shrill and tremulous, showing that he felt deeply the force of the sentiments he uttered. in his religious views, i know not that he differed from the great mass of the orthodox clergy of new england, of his day. "such are my recollections of president moore. "yours truly, "emerson davis." the following tribute to one of dartmouth's most eminent and honored teachers is from a "discourse" by professor (now president) brown. "charles bricket haddock was born in that part of salisbury, n. h., which is now franklin, june , . his mother was abigail webster, an older sister of ezekiel and daniel webster. she had two children, charles and william. she was a person of uncommon excellence and loveliness, a favorite with her brothers, who always spoke of her with great affection. she was a religious woman, and on her death-bed manifested great solicitude for her sons, especially dedicating the oldest, charles, to the christian ministry. this expression of feeling was almost the only recollection which mr. haddock had of his mother. "the place of his birth was retired, but full of rural beauty; the rushing merrimac-making sweet music of a summer evening, the broad intervals basking in the summer sun, the granite mountains 'dumbly keeping watch all round,' from whose summits, looking almost to the white hills on one side, and almost to the sea on the other, you would behold a landscape picturesque and lovely beyond the power of description. the quiet scenes of his youth, the simple pleasures, and the common amusements of village life, varied with few excitements, could not have been without their effect upon the mind of a sensitive boy. to what age he was left to these alone, i do not know. "he fitted for college mainly at the academy in salisbury, and entered in . nature had done more for him than his instructors, and he very soon took the position, which he ever maintained, as intellectual leader in a class, which, though small, numbered among its members several young men of distinguished ability. in that little community he was at once the best scholar and the most popular man. 'in looks,' writes one of his class-mates,[ ] 'haddock was decidedly the most striking man in the class. he was tall and well-proportioned. he had an intellectual cast of features, a well-chiseled profile,--and altogether you might pronounce him a man intended for a scholar, and destined, if he lived, to make his mark in the world. i, who entered college a mere boy, singled him out the first day. he was always an industrious student. he never failed of a recitation, so far as i can remember, and he never failed to be prepared for it.' [ ] professor torrey, of burlington. "adding thus to the distinction of attainment and scholarship so much beauty of person, so much modesty, gentleness, and propriety of demeanor, it was natural that he should be regarded as a model young man, nor was there wanting that profounder moral element, without which no character can be complete. "the year was memorable in the religious history of the college. the period immediately preceding had been marked by unusual religious depression. in some classes only one person, and but a few in any of them, made profession of a serious religious purpose. of this small number, there were some, however, whose feelings were deep, and whose lives were exemplary. to them,--not more, perhaps, than eight or ten in all,--was due, under the divine favor, the moral regeneration of the college. first among those who, in that 'great awakening,' avowed his purpose of a new life, was mr. haddock, then in the summer of his junior year. the avowal was open, unreserved, and decisive, and, it is almost unnecessary to add, produced a strong sensation. from that time no one in college exerted a more positive influence in favor of personal religion, and not a few traced their own most serious thoughts to his example and to his faithfulness. "this change in his feelings naturally determined his course in life, and immediately after taking his first degree he entered the seminary at andover as a student in theology. here he pursued the profound and difficult studies of his profession with a more than ordinary breadth of scholarship, mingling classical and literary studies with those of theology, but entering with zeal and a chastened enthusiasm into all the duties and requirements of the place. "he remained at andover about two years, when, on account of a threatened pulmonary complaint, he made a journey to the south, going as far as savannah, and spending the winter in various parts of the southern states. having performed a considerable part of the tour on horseback, he returned, in , invigorated in health, and with a mind enlarged and liberalized by what were then quite unusual opportunities of observation and society, and was at once appointed to the newly established chair of rhetoric, at the early age of twenty-three years. the college had but just gained the victory in its desperate struggle for existence. it was poor, but hopeful, and it moved forward with a policy of enlargement, determined to keep pace with all advancing learning and culture. "before that time, the duties of the new department had been distributed among all the college officers, and necessarily must have lacked something in fullness and method. no other new england college, except harvard and yale, then possessed such an officer, and the first appointment to the post in new haven bears date but two years earlier." "as an instructor, professor haddock was one of the best i ever knew. i never knew a better. it is with unfeigned gratitude that i remember my obligations to him, and i know i speak for thousands. as a critic, he was discriminating and quietly suggestive, guided by a taste that was nearly immaculate. his scholarship was unobtrusive, and his manner without ostentation. he made no pretense of knowledge, but it was always sufficient, always fresh, always sound. the range of his thought was broad. his mind was versatile and active. you could hardly find a subject with which he was not somewhat familiar, or in which he would not readily become interested. his opinions were never fantastic, nor exaggerated, nor disproportioned. he was not, perhaps, so exacting nor so stimulating a teacher as some, but he was careful, clear, distinct, and encouraging. he saw the difficulty in the mind of the pupil, if there was one, adapted himself with admirable facility to his wants, and by a lucid statement, a test question, or a distinct suggestion, would often free a subject from its obscurity, so that the way would all be in clear sunlight. he felt that, in education, the best results are not produced violently, but by influences quiet and protracted, gradually, but potently, moulding the affections and the life, 'finely touching the spirit to fine issues.'" "in , professor haddock published a volume of 'addresses and miscellaneous writings,' gathered from reviews, and from his speeches before the new hampshire legislature, and on various public occasions. these are marked by the peculiar completeness and finish which characterized all his productions. there is in them no superfluous word, no affectation, no straining after effect, but much that is wise and everything that is tasteful. yet, interesting as they are, i hardly feel as if they give an adequate expression of his rich and varied abilities. his more recent writings,--notes of foreign travels, lectures, and discourses,--he had begun to prepare for the press, when he was so suddenly taken from us, and i am glad to hope that some of them may yet see the light. "for many years professor haddock acted as secretary of the new hampshire education society. in discharge of the duties of this office, sometimes little more than a sinecure, he made it an object to bring before the society, in his annual reports, subjects of permanent interest. in looking them over, i perceive such topics as these: 'objections to charitable education,' 'the standard of education for the pulpit,' 'the influence of educated mind,' 'personal qualifications for the pulpit,' 'manual labor institutions,' 'the clergy the natural advisers of young men,' 'personal piety in candidates for the christian ministry,' 'wisdom in clergymen,' 'the eloquence of the pulpit as affected by ministerial character.' these addresses, somewhat brief, never impassioned, are full of excellent suggestions, both to the laity and the clergy. they abound in practical wisdom, and any one may read them with profit. "in all his writings his style was unambitious, unaffected, chaste, pure, and transparent as crystal. it was true to his subject and himself. if not fervid and vehement, it was because of his moderation and self-restraint; if not pungent and dogmatic, it was marked by sustained earnestness and finished beauty. if he had not predominantly that power which is called by the older rhetoricians amplification, he eminently had another, as rarely met with in perfection, the power of exact, unincumbered, logical statement. there was sometimes in him a reticence as admirable as it was unique. you wondered why he did not say more, and yet if he had, it would only have injured the effect. the word exactly fitted the sentiment. the idea was insphered in the expression. there was no excess or extravagance in anything he did or said. his thoughts glided softly and sweetly from his pen, as a rivulet from a silver fountain. "i have sometimes thought that professor haddock's intellectual powers were nowhere displayed to more advantage than in the mingled grave and gay, learned and mirthful intercourse of social life. the very tones of his voice, sympathetic and attractive, the absence of dogmatism, or superciliousness, or self-assertion,--the mingled deference and independence, the clear and sustained thought, the ready insight, the quick apprehension of proprieties, the intelligent, dexterous, but never caustic reply, the sure appreciation of the feelings of others, and the power of making them, even the lowliest, feel that what they said was listened to with interest,--the sense of the droll and ludicrous, the responsive laughter, not boisterous, but hearty, bringing tears into the eyes,--all gave a peculiar charm to this form of intercourse. it was a ministry of beneficence, diffusing kindness, intelligence, and gentleness, enlivening many a dull hour, filling many a vacant mind, and inspiring many a worthy purpose. "'great openness and candor, good sense, the reading of a scholar, the originality of a man who sometimes thought for himself, aspirations after excellence much higher than those of many others,--all these traits came out in his familiar talks, in which he rather unbent than exerted himself; at the same time he was as gentle and attentive a listener as a man could wish, a truly sociable being, with whom you could talk all day, and then all night, and never feel weary.'[ ] [ ] professor torrey. "in , he received from mr. fillmore the appointment of _chargé d'affaires_ at the court of portugal, and in the spring of sailed for lisbon, by way of england. i have the best means of knowing that, while at lisbon, his intercourse and influence with the court, and with the representatives of all the great powers, was most acceptable and most salutary. his residence in portugal was in many ways delightful. the delicious climate, the cultivated and refined society of the diplomatic circle, temporary rest from labor, and change of scene and occupations, were all sources of pleasure. yet here he was touched by one of his deepest sorrows, for at lisbon, november, , 'by the side of philip doddridge, in the english cemetery,' he buried his youngest son, a beautiful boy of eleven years. "he returned from portugal early in , after an absence of nearly four years; and, having previously terminated his connection with the college, spent the remainder of his life at west lebanon." prof. n. s. folsom says: "professor haddock was the 'orator suavi loquenti ore,' and he was much more than this. both by precept and example he raised the standard of speaking and writing among the students, and stimulated them to the pursuit of a manly eloquence. there also prevailed a very general conviction of his sincerity and moral earnestness, and of his interest in our successful career in life. the themes he gave led us to discriminate both intellectually and morally, and if he thought the theme worthily treated, a kind note in the margin of the sheet was sure to tell us so. the spirit in which he met the class was that of the closing paragraph in his phi beta kappa oration of : 'young men of my country, god has given you a noble theatre, and called you into life at the most interesting of all times. forget not that you are descendants of men who solemnly dedicated themselves and their posterity through all coming time to the cause of free and enlightened reason--unrestricted divine reason--the portion inscribed on our hearts of the universal law, 'whose seat is the bosom of god, her voice the harmony of the world.' occasionally he preached in the hanover village church, where the students attended. he never had so much as a scrap of any notes before him; and this was his habit also at white river, where he steadily officiated. i need not add that the students always were greatly delighted when they had the privilege to hear him. every discourse was as complete as though it had been carefully written and committed to memory; but evidently his was no _memoriter_ preaching. one sermon i particularly remember, delivered early in march, , from the words, 'if this counsel or this work be of men it will come to nought, but if it be of god ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found fighting against god.' (acts v. , .) no discourse i had ever heard in my whole life before surpassed this in eloquence and weight of sentiment; none even from dr. tyler was more magnetic, more persuasive to right action on the part of an already awakened conscience, or put the soul more directly in an attitude in which it would be naturally drawn towards what is true and best. my recollection of the feeling of the students toward him is, that he was, on the whole, not inferior in popularity with them to any other member of the faculty. there is no man i could name so absolutely faultless, as he seemed to us young men of that period. i am not sure that his prestige and charm were not increased by the faultlessness of his dress, and by the manifestations of the becoming in personal appearance,--a well-known trait of his great kinsman, daniel webster, whom he not distantly resembled also in features, port, and step, and in distinct, measured utterance. not that he in the least consciously imitated him, but there was the natural growth into the likeness of the object of his admiration; and there was, as in mr. webster, absolutely no affectation, nor sign of overmuch thought about raiment, nor vestige of anything like conscious, personal display." a later pupil says: "as a teacher professor haddock was remarkable for his dignity and refinement. his presence among young men was always sufficient to maintain perfect order and decorum. the true gentleman beamed forth from every feature and spoke in every tone of his voice. with apparent ease, he chained the attention of the most thoughtless to the most abstruse and uninviting topics. the deep things of logic and psychology he handled so adroitly, and presented so tastefully, as to give them a charm, indeed, a fascination. "in the recitation room his words were few, but his statements were so clear and so elegantly expressed, that what the student had been able to learn only partially or obscurely from the book was now fully comprehended and securely treasured by the memory. the students were never willingly absent, for it was always a delight to listen to his instructions, and a failure to be present was counted an irreparable loss, inasmuch as the teacher always seemed greater than the text-book. "it is hardly necessary to say that the influence of such a man was an important factor in the last two years of our college life. his noble bearing, his handsome face, his impressive manner, his uniform kindness and courtesy, and, especially, his manifest appreciation of young men who were struggling against heavy obstacles in their course of study, will never be forgotten by those who were so fortunate as to be under his tuition. nor can it be doubted that the power of his refined intellect and taste has been felt in many places where his name has never been heard." professor haddock married, first, susan saunders, daughter of richard lang, of hanover; second, mrs. caroline (kimball) young, daughter of richard kimball, of lebanon, n. h. he died at west lebanon, n. h., january , . chapter xxiii. professor william chamberlain.--professor daniel oliver.--professor james freeman dana. william chamberlain, the successor of professor moore in the chair of languages, was the son of general william and jane (eastman) chamberlain, and was born at peacham, vt., may , . from a reliable source we have the following account of him: perhaps there is on record no more worthy and comprehensive testimony to his character and his work than the few lines which the late president lord furnished for the inscription on his tombstone. they read: "william chamberlain, jr., a. m., professor of languages in dartmouth college. a man of strong intellect, distinguished literary attainments, and moral worth. "he added respectability to the institution, by prudence, efficiency, and a well-earned reputation; and contributed largely to promote its interests. by disinterested and unwearied labors, with fidelity in all his relations, beloved and honored, he filled up the measure of a short but useful life, and died with humble confidence in the divine mercy, through the atonement of jesus christ, july , , aged ." he gave to the college for ten years the unremitting labor of his life, and we may say his life itself. to his abundant and complete work as a teacher he added the labor of overseeing the material affairs of the college,--a labor devolved upon him, perhaps, on account of his superior executive ability. thus he superintended the building of thornton and wentworth halls, and employed his vacations, and particularly the long winter vacation, in travelling over what was then the wilderness of northern new hampshire and vermont, in care of the wild lands belonging to the college. stricken with pneumonia on one of these journeys,--he would not wait for a complete convalescence before returning to duty,--his malady assumed the chronic form, and terminated his life in about six months after its first invasion. the influences of his early life were such as may well have conduced to a broad and strong character. his mother belonged to a family long identified with the early history of southern new hampshire. his father, general william chamberlain, after serving in the armies of the revolution, became a pioneer settler of northern vermont, where he acquired a handsome estate and a prominent public position. he became lieutenant governor of the state, and represented it in congress for several terms. among his public services may be mentioned his care for the caledonia county grammar school, where his sons were fitted for college. this school was at that time taught by ezra carter, a man greatly respected for his attainments and dignity of character. thus the future professor grew up amid the versatile life of the frontier, surrounded by the contests and traditions of public service. distinguished for scholarship in college, a bold but prudent leader among his classmates in their conflicts with the university,[ ] immediately after graduation he became the preceptor of moors charity school, and a year later entered, as a student of law, the office of daniel webster in boston. thence, in his twenty-fourth year he was recalled to the college as professor of languages, and in the ordinary and extraordinary service of the institution he was intensely occupied for the remainder of his short life. [ ] the rev. daniel lancaster, of the class of , supplies the following recollections of the assault upon the college libraries, made by a band of towns-people, under the guidance of professors carter and dean of the university. they had forced the doors only to find that the books had already been removed, and themselves thus inclosed, the prisoners of the college students, led, among others, by senior chamberlain. mr. lancaster continues: "having stationed three or four of his classmates at the door of the library to prevent ingress or egress, he ascended a few steps on the flight of steps leading to the next floor, and called the excited throng to order. he then spoke in substance as follows: 'fellow students, we are in the midst of a desperate emergency. the door of our library has been demolished. the vandals have entered and taken possession, but we have met the enemy. they are our prisoners and the library is safe. i have come from the president, who wishes me to say to you that he is confident you will conduct yourselves as gentlemen--using no violence or insult--in all the arrangements to be adopted, until order and quiet are restored.' "he then proceeded to marshal them in two files, beginning at the door of the library, and extending down stairs to the lower floor, through which files the university professors were conducted, each under escort of three students, to their homes." general h. k. oliver, of massachusetts, a member of the then senior class, gives substantially the same account. he adds: "having released the roughs on condition of good behavior, we exacted a promise of the learned professors of mathematics and dead languages, 'that they would do so no more.' classmates fox, shirley, and i then escorted professor carter home. dean was escorted by crosby (hon. nathan crosby) and others. he (carter) was very polite to us, invited us in, and treated us with wine and cake." a life so brief and active leaves behind it little but its example. yet i shall venture to extract a few paragraphs from an address delivered by him on the th of july, , the end of the first half century of our national life. remembering that they were written at a period before the great problems which have since controlled our history were recognized or appreciated among the people at large, they will be found to indicate a moral tone and a political prescience quite remarkable in a young man of twenty-eight years. ... "i have already alluded to it as the first of the appropriate duties of this day, to turn to heaven in the exercise of devout gratitude, and render thanksgiving and praise to him who was the god of our fathers in the day of their trial; who gave to them and has continued to us a fairer portion than was ever allotted to any other people. is there one in this consecrated temple of the almighty who would not join in the offering? i know it is unusual to dwell long upon such considerations at a time like this, but surely, if there ever were a call for a nation's gratitude to god, and ever a proper occasion for expressing it, we are the people in whose hearts that emotion should be deep and permanent, and this is a time to give it utterance."... "we must do all in our power to promote liberal feelings among the several communities and sections of our federal republic, so as to preserve inviolate the union of the states. were this union now in danger, it would call forth a more authoritative voice than mine; yet it may be in danger before the close of another half century. i will only speak my own conviction, that the states cannot be separated without the destruction of the country. they lie together on the bosom of this vast continent, a protection and an ornament, each to the other, and all to each, like the gems on the breast-plate of the jewish hierarch, indicative of the union of the tribes, mutually lending and receiving lustre."... "we must root out from among ourselves the institution of domestic slavery, or, before the close of another half century, we may have to abide the consequences of a servile war. in effecting this all-important object, we must indeed proceed gradually, temperately, in the observance of all good faith and good feeling toward the people of that portion of our union on which the curse was entailed by the colonial policy of the mother country. "it is a work which demands the full concurrence of all the states, and, sooner or later, it must be accomplished. common sense will not cease to upbraid us with inconsistency, humanity will not be satisfied, nor heaven fully propitiated, while we hold up boastfully in one hand this declaration, affirming that "all men are created equal," and grasp with the other the manacles and the scourge. "whatever may have been inferred by reason from a difference of physical attributes, and whatever may have been forced by criticism out of the word of god, the traffic in human flesh is _contraband_ by the law of nature written in our hearts, and _forbidden_ by the whole tenor and spirit of the religion revealed in the gospel. "even in the darker and imperfect dispensation of the ancient jews, every fiftieth year, at least, brought freedom to _all_ the inhabitants of the land. it is almost needless to say, that, if he who first procured the slave and brought him hither had no right to do so, then neither could he who bought him acquire a rightful ownership. there is no _property_ to a private man in the life or the natural faculties of another; no right can accrue by purchase, or vest by possession, and no inheritance on either side descend. a title, which by its very nature was void from the beginning, can never be made good; a dominion which heaven never gave, must be perpetuated, if at all, by means which it will never sanction."... surely, the trumpet of this youth gave no "uncertain sound." "one blast upon that bugle horn. were worth ten thousand men." to the recognition of such qualities it was due, probably, that in he was called to new york city to assume the editorship of a journal ("journal of commerce") founded by an association of gentlemen, and which afterwards exerted great influence upon public opinion. he declined the offer, unwilling to leave his alma mater at a critical epoch in her history. he stayed by her to die in her service. his widow, mrs. sarah l. (gilman) chamberlain, daughter of dr. joseph gilman, of wells, me., and niece of mrs. president brown, survived him twenty years, residing at hanover. the memory of her moral, intellectual, and social worth is warmly cherished by all who knew her. mr. lancaster adds: "professor chamberlain was tall, erect, square built, well-proportioned, and of graceful mien and bearing,--such a man as the eye could rest upon with pleasure. his voice was clear, sonorous, yet smooth and agreeable." professor folsom says: "professor chamberlain, the youngest member of the faculty, who was only twenty-three years old when, in , he entered on his professorship of the latin and greek languages and literature, and only thirty-three when he died, was much admired and loved and reverenced by many of us. to myself, whenever i think of dartmouth, his image invariably appears, and he stands out among the objects presenting themselves second only to that of dr. tyler, as the latter appeared when at his best and noblest in the pulpit. it was indeed in that same pulpit, and before i came under his instruction, that i first heard him, when he delivered an oration on the fourth of july in the year . it was to a crowded audience, filling the floor and the galleries. i doubt whether there is one survivor of that number, whether student or townsman, from whose recollection can have faded away the image of the orator, his form and attitude, his voice and action, and some of his thrilling words, especially when he described the nation holding in one hand the declaration of independence which proclaims human equality, and with the other grasping the manacles and scourge to torture millions of human beings bought and sold, and compelled to labor in slavery. professor chamberlain took charge of the class of in latin and greek when they entered on their junior year. as soon as our class met him in the east recitation-room--he being seated at a small table on his left, and the class in lines of a half-parallelogram extending on the right and in front of him--we felt that we had come under a noble teacher. some of us who loved the languages that he taught, and also had become acquainted with the best of the upper classes, carried with us none other than very high anticipations of a most profitable and pleasant term of study. and so it proved. how he used to electrify us at times by repeating something that had just been recited, as at the close of the agricola of tacitus, his strongly marked face all lighted up, new significance and something like inspiration being given us, when with his deliberate, distinct, emphatic, rhythmical, rich utterance, flowed out that prophetic sentence in the world's literature, 'quidquid ex agricola amavimus, quidquid mirati sumus, manet mansurumque in animis hominum, in aeternitate temporum, in fama rerum!' "i remember that while my class were in the oedipus tyrannus of sophocles and the medea of euripides, i was suffering from weak eyes, and went to the recitation-room with no other preparation than that of hearing each lesson twice read to me by two different students, who did me the kindness to perform that service. but with professor chamberlain's luminous explanation and comment, no greek of my whole college course more deeply interested and helped me. "he heard the rehearsal of my commencement oration, and some of his words on that occasion i have not ceased to remember with gratitude. nor was i the only one who received from him words of encouragement that proved of most valuable service in our subsequent career. still it was the _moral_ element that constituted his highest power of influencing young men, and was his distinguishing personality. may i say, for one, that in this moral and spiritual personality he has again and again come to me since his departure, and been a present helper toward whatever of good i have attained in life. "a single anecdote will serve to illustrate the _love_ with which his pupils cherish his memory. i cannot but think that every survivor of my class must have some recollection of the fact, and share all my feelings in regard to it. he had been occasionally late at recitation, and the class, to give him a lesson of promptness, one morning having assembled as usual after service in chapel, and waited some four minutes past the hour, carried the vote to go to our rooms; and so, the professor just turning the corner, and hastening up the slope, and his approach being announced by some on the lookout, we dashed out, through the rear doors, or up the stairways, and not a solitary member of the class remained in the room. the next morning he was already there when we reached the place, made no remark on the occurrence of the previous day, and none of us could discern in him the faintest trace of displeasure. when, two years after we graduated, i heard of his death, i remembered a slight, hacking cough which he had, and that slightly bent, spare, though large and tall frame, and always placid face, and realized for the first time that what we imputed to him as a fault was the hindrance of disease, and possibly of sleepless nights; and i would have given a world for an opportunity to ask his forgiveness."[ ] [ ] the writer did not know until a few years ago that he was related, though somewhat distantly, to the wife of professor chamberlain. he was personally acquainted with her from his sophomore year. he then boarded and roomed at mrs. president brown's (mrs. c.'s aunt). her paternal great-grandfather, rev. nicholas gilman, of durham, n. h., and the writer's paternal great-grandfather (as well as maternal great-great-grandfather), dr. josiah gilman, of exeter, n. h., were brothers. he has felt, ever since he knew this fact, like having a clearer right of inheritance in professor chamberlain. another pupil says of professor chamberlain: "he was well-proportioned, tall, active, and energetic. his expression was dignified and commanding. in his word there was power. integrity marked all his life. his word was as good as his bond. his principles were firmly grasped and implicitly followed. his intellectual powers were of a high order. he impressed every acquaintance with his intellectual greatness. his discourse was lofty but impressive. "his religious life was less marked in public. he united with no church, though he was a man of prayer and from his dying bed sent a religious message to the students." * * * * * from a reliable source we have the following notice of another of dartmouth's eminent and honored teachers: daniel oliver, whose name appears on the list of teachers of past years in both the medical and academical departments of dartmouth college, was born on the th of september, . he was the third son of the rev. thomas fitch oliver, at that time rector of st. michael's, marblehead, and belonged to a family distinguished in the history of massachusetts from the earliest period of the colony. he was a direct descendant of mr. thomas oliver, whom winthrop calls "an experienced and very skilful surgeon," and who acted as one of the ruling elders of the church in boston soon after his arrival in . through his mother he was descended from william pynchon, one of the founders of the massachusetts colony, and the rev. william hubbard, the historian of new england; and, through his paternal grandmother he was a descendant of the rev. john eliot, the noted indian missionary. after the death of his father, which took place at garrison forest, near baltimore, before he had attained his tenth year, he was placed in the care of colonel lloyd rogers, of that city, and almost immediately commenced his preparatory course for college, applying himself to his studies with great diligence, and entered. harvard college in . although fond of study, and possessed of a mind of unusual vigor and brilliancy, the ambitions of college life do not seem to have dimmed the memories of his forest home in the south, and in his letters, while at cambridge, he more than once recalls the pleasant hours when living within its shades, in a strain at once suggestive of a refined and poetic nature. to one of his thoughtful and contemplative mind it is not strange that, suddenly transferred from the quiet of home life to the turmoil of college scenes, he should have found much that was distasteful; and the following extract from a letter to him from the late mr. justice story, at that time betrothed to his eldest sister, and with whom he was on terms of intimacy, would seem to imply no little disquietude on the part of his student friend during the earlier years of his life at cambridge. "you can hardly imagine with what delight i recur to the days which i spent at cambridge. in the delightful seclusion from noisy vulgarity, in the sweet interchange of kind sentiments, and in the mutual competition of classic pursuits, i possessed a unity and tranquillity of purpose far beyond the merits of my later years. my first years there were not marked with this peculiar character. it was in my junior and senior years that, from forming a choice of friends, and participating in the higher views of literature, i felt that happiness resulted in the activity of intellect and possession of friendship. that period will in future be yours; and though you may start with surprise at the thought at this moment, that period will be marked out in the calendar of your years as among the _dies fortunatos_. you and i are not widely distinct in years, and you can therefore readily believe that this attachment is not the moral relation of comparison and experience; no, it was reality which charmed me when present, and reflects a lustre in remembrance. go on, then, my dear fellow, in the academic course with awakened hope. a high destiny awaits you. the joys of youth shall give spirit to the exertions of manhood, and the pursuits of literature yield a permanent felicity attainable only by the votaries of taste. sweet are the attainments which accomplish the wishes of friends. our reliance upon you is founded on a belief that ambition and literature will unite us in as close bonds as sympathy and affinity. "on a subject so interesting to me as my collegiate course i seldom reflect without melancholy; not a harsh and dark brooding, but a soft and tender pensiveness which "'sheds o'er the soul a sympathetic gloom.' "the thousand associations of festivity, pleasantry, study, and recreation live to hallow the whole. the picture, by its distance, loses its defects, and retains only the strong colorings of primitive impression. never do i cast my eyes on that dear seat of letters but i exclaim involuntarily with gray: "'ah! happy fields, ah! pleasing shade, ah! groves beloved in vain, where once my careless childhood strayed, a stranger yet to pain; i feel the gales that round ye blow a momentary bliss bestow.' "by the way, when you are at leisure and feel a little dull, i advise you to take up some of our good-natured writers, such as dr. moore, goldsmith, coleman, cervantes, don quixote, smollett's novels, or the pleasant and airy productions of the muse. these i have always found a powerful anti-splenetic; and, although i am not a professed physician, i will venture to prescribe to you in this instance with all the confidence of hippocrates. the whole system of nostrums from that arch-quack, the old serpent, down to the far-famed stoughton of our own day, does not present so powerful a remedy, amid all its _antis_, as cheerful reading to a heavy spirit. i will venture to say, in the spirit of montesquieu, that an hour of such reading will place one quietly in his elbow chair in all the tranquillity of a platonic lover." it is probable that mr. story's influence was not without its effect in reconciling his young friend to college life, for he was very soon to be found among the foremost in the race for honorable distinction. he was graduated with distinguished honor, in , in a class of remarkable ability, among whom were the late hon. alexander everett, judge william p. preble, professor j. g. cogswell, and the venerable dr. jacob bigelow, its last surviving member. after leaving college he began the study of law under the direction of mr. story, but very soon abandoned it, and entered the office of his uncle, the late dr. b. lynde oliver, of salem, as a student of medicine. in , he entered the university of pennsylvania, at that time distinguished by the names of rush, wistar, and physick, and by his talents and attainments soon attracted the notice of dr. rush, whose favorite pupil and warm friend he afterwards became. on receiving his medical degree, the following letter, written in terms of the highest compliment, was addressed by dr. rush to his uncle and former instructor. "philadelphia, may , . "dear sir: i sit down with great pleasure to answer your letter by your nephew, now dr. oliver, and to inform you at the same time that he has received the honor of a doctor's degree in our university much to his credit and the satisfaction of his teachers. from his singular talents, and from his acquirements and manners, he cannot fail of becoming eminent in his profession. long, very long, may he live to reflect honor upon all who are related to him, or who have been instrumental in opening and directing his acute and capacious mind in the prosecution of his studies! be assured he carries with him my highest respect and sincere affection. "with respectful compliments to the venerable patriarch of medicine, dr. holyoke (if not translated to a better world), "i am, dear sir, very sincerely yours, "benjamin rush. "dr. b. lynde oliver." on his return to salem, dr. oliver commenced the practice of medicine, and in july, , as appears from his diary, he connected himself with dr. r. d. mussey, then a rising young surgeon, and with whom he was afterwards so long associated. from the following entry in the diary referred to, under date of july , , may be learned somewhat of his tastes at this time, and his mode of passing the waiting hours of an early professional life: "this day completed the first year of my connection in the medical profession with dr. r. d. massey. on reviewing this period, i am sensible of a great loss of time, and of a degree of professional and literary improvement altogether inadequate to such an extent of time. some improvement, however, has i hope, been made. with respect to the books which i have read during the past year, the most important are mosheim's 'ecclesiastical history,' which i have not yet quite completed,--a learned and judicious outline of the history of the church, embracing many collateral topics of learning and philosophy ...; homer's 'iliad' in greek, with the exception of the last book; the 'Ã�neid' except the last two; two or three books of livy, and several of juvenal's 'satires.' "the most important literary enterprise which i have undertaken and accomplished has been the delivery of a course of lectures on chemistry in connection with dr. mussey. in anatomy, also, we have executed something. medicine will, in future, claim more of my attention, but not to the neglect of the two important collateral branches above mentioned." in the autumn of , dr. oliver was appointed to deliver a course of chemical lectures before the medical class at dartmouth college. although he had thus far pursued the study of chemistry as a collateral branch of medical science, he felt warranted in accepting the appointment, without, however, proposing to himself a more permanent position in this department. in , he was married to miss mary robinson pulling, the only daughter of edward pulling, esq., an eminent barrister of salem, and almost immediately went again to philadelphia to avail himself of the advantages of that seat of medical learning, returning to salem in the spring of . in the following year he was induced to undertake, in connection with the hon. john pickering, the preparation of a greek lexicon, a work involving much labor and research, and the larger portion of which fell to his lot. although mainly based on the latin of schrevelius, many of the interpretations were new, and there were added more than two thousand new articles. the magnitude of the task and its successful accomplishment at once raised him to a conspicuous rank among the scholars of his day. in the summer of he accepted an appointment to the professorship of the theory and practice of medicine, and of materia medica and therapeutics in dartmouth college, where he delivered his first course of lectures in the following autumn. he was also made professor of botany, and his lectures upon physiology were among his most valuable contributions to medical literature. he took up his permanent residence in hanover, in august, , and from this time to the close of his connection with the college he was most faithful to all its interests. in he was appointed to the chair of intellectual philosophy in the academical department of the college, a position which he filled with the ability that distinguished him elsewhere. the address delivered by him on the occasion of his induction into this professorship, upon the "comparative importance of the study of mental science," was thus far, perhaps, his most successful literary effort. clear, comprehensive, and abounding in passages of remarkable beauty and force, it established the reputation of its author both as a writer and a metaphysician. in was published his "first lines in physiology," a treatise which received the highest commendation both at home and abroad. it passed through three editions, and although the rapid advance in physiological science since its publication has long since led to its disuse, it will still be admired by medical scholars for the purity of its style and the learning it everywhere displays. in the spring of , dr. oliver closed his connection with the college, and returned to cambridge, where he was temporarily residing at the time of his appointment, again to resume the practice of his profession. he, however, delivered a course of lectures at the dartmouth medical school in the autumn of this and the following year. he was also induced, in , after declining professorships both in st. mary's college, baltimore, and in pennsylvania university, to deliver a course of lectures on materia medica at the medical college of ohio, but he resigned the chair at the close of the session, and returned again to cambridge, where he resided to the close of his life. although in declining health at this time, he did not relinquish professional practice until within a few months of his death, which took place on the st of june, . during his comparatively brief career, dr. oliver had become widely known as a medical and general scholar. as a teacher in the various departments of medical science with which he was connected he was also eminently successful. his lectures, always prepared with great care, were written with remarkable clearness and elegance, and were often listened to with attention by many outside the ranks of the profession. "his lectures to the under-graduates of the college," says a contemporary,[ ] "would be thought, i am persuaded, still more remarkable than those upon physiology. they were intended to exhibit the present state of mental philosophy. and the singular clearness with which he discriminated the settled points of absolute knowledge in this comprehensive and yet imperfect science, his happy development of intricate and complicated principles, and the beautiful colors which a true poetic spirit enabled him now and then to throw over the bald peaks and angles of this cold region, entitle him to a rank among metaphysicians as eminent as he maintained in his appropriate profession." [ ] eulogy on daniel oliver, delivered by rev. c. b. haddock, professor of belles lettres. "the intellectual character of dr. oliver," the same writer afterwards adds, in language admirably chosen, "came nearer than it has been my fortune to observe in almost any other instance to the idea of a perfect scholar. he was at once profound, comprehensive, and elegant. upon no subject which he had considered was his knowledge fragmentary or partial. a philosophic, systematic habit of mind led him always to seek for the principles of things, and to be satisfied only with the truth. the compass of his inquiries was as extraordinary as their depth. he had investigated with care a surprising extent of knowledge. a master of his own language, and minutely acquainted with all its principal productions, he was also thoroughly versed in the greek, and familiar with the original works which have given to that tongue the first place among human dialects. the german he read with facility, and had pursued his favorite studies in the masters of its profound learning. of french and italian he was not ignorant. music, both as a science and an art, was his delight and recreation. in the arts of painting and sculpture his information was liberal and his taste said to be excellent. morals and politics he had studied in their theory, and in the history of the world. his acquaintance with civil history was among the most extraordinary of his attainments. the beautiful in nature, in life, or in art or literature, few men have so exquisitely enjoyed or so justly appreciated. "thus, the principal elements of a perfect mind seem to have been singularly united and harmonized in him,--exactness of knowledge, liberal learning, and true taste." bred from infancy in the church of england, dr. oliver continued to the end a faithful member of that communion, and few persons have had a firmer faith in the sublime truths of revealed religion. it was no less to his deeply religious and truthful spirit than to his innate love of right that may be ascribed that regard for things sacred, that singular modesty, that unfailing courtesy, and the high sense of personal honor that distinguished him. it had been his desire, at a late period of his life, to become a candidate for holy orders, a step for which his ripe theological scholarship and his critical knowledge of greek and hebrew had already prepared him, but his age deterred him. dr. oliver had published little. besides the treatise on physiology already mentioned, there are a few pamphlets containing addresses delivered on various occasions, the most important of which are one before the new hampshire historical society in , and that before the college at the time of his induction into the professorship of moral and intellectual philosophy. among his medical manuscripts may be mentioned an unfinished work on general pathology, which, had he lived to complete, would have added to his reputation as a medical author. among his papers were also a few unpublished addresses and a few short and fragmentary poems, the effusions of his earlier years, all characterized by that elegance of style and fine poetic taste and feeling that marked their author. a member of many learned literary and medical societies at home, dr. oliver was honored in with a diploma from the academy of sciences and belles lettres of palermo, and in received the degree of doctor of laws. the following notice of a gentleman of rare eminence in the scientific world, is from a reliable source: james freeman dana, who was connected as a teacher with both the academical and medical departments of dartmouth college, was born at amherst, n. h., september , . he was the eldest son of luther and lucy (giddings) dana, and grandson of rev. and hon. samuel dana. on the father's side he was descended from richard dana, who was among the early settlers in massachusetts; on that of his mother he was a descendant in the seventh generation from rev. john robinson, the pastor of the noble band of pilgrims who founded plymouth, mass. dana was fitted for college at phillips academy, exeter, n. h., entered harvard in , and graduated in , his name standing on the catalogue as jonathan freeman dana; the first name, by which, however, he had never been known, was changed to james, by act of legislature. immediately after entering harvard, dana showed a decided partiality for scientific pursuits. to natural philosophy, natural history, and chemistry, he mainly devoted his attention, making excursions into the surrounding country for the purpose of examining its geological structure, and collecting mineralogical and other specimens. the result of these rambles was embodied in a small volume, published in conjunction with his brother dr. s. l. dana, in , entitled "mineralogy and geology of boston and its environs." while in college he formed, together with his brother and several classmates, a society for the cultivation of natural science and philosophy, named at first for two distinguished french chemists, but afterward known as the hermetic society. towards the close of his collegiate course he was appointed to assist dr. gorham, the professor of chemistry, in preparing his experiments. that eminent physician and chemist soon became so much interested in the pupil who displayed such assiduity in scientific researches, that finding he intended to pursue the study of medicine, he kindly invited him to do so under his tuition. in , mr. dana commenced his studies with dr. gorham, attending lectures at the medical college, but though he became well acquainted with the principles and practice of the profession, he never relinquished his preference for chemistry and mineralogy. he became an active member of the boston linnæan society, and the first paper read before it, entitled "an analysis of the incrustation formed upon the basket of eggs from derbyshire, england" (presented by judge davis), was read by him. in the spring of , the corporation of harvard college employed mr. dana to visit england in order to procure suitable apparatus for its chemical department. during his stay abroad he studied, for a time, under the instruction of the somewhat distinguished frederic accum. in consequence of this absence he did not receive his degree of m.d. till , that of a. m. having been previously conferred. in the autumn of , dr. dana was appointed to deliver a course of chemical lectures to the medical students of dartmouth college. the professors in the medical school were dr. r. d. mussey and dr. cyrus perkins. these lectures were so satisfactory that the appointment was continued, and during the autumns of , , and , he lectured at dartmouth, residing during the intervals at cambridge, where, in january, , he was united in marriage with matilda, third daughter of samuel webber, d.d., late president of harvard college. in , being appointed professor at dartmouth, dr. dana removed to hanover, where, relinquishing the practice of medicine, he devoted his whole attention to his favorite studies, to which was now added botany, upon which he delivered some courses of lectures. dr. perkins, the professor of materia medica, removed to new york after the dissolution of the "university of new hampshire," and the late admired and lamented dr. daniel oliver, of salem, was appointed to the professorship. dr. mussey, celebrated for his surgical knowledge and skill, remained as the head of the medical school, and among these gentlemen, differing widely as they did in many characteristics, the warmest friendship subsisted. during the intervals of leisure from strictly professional duties, dr. dana occupied himself in continuing to write for "silliman's journal," and in frequent excursions to various parts of new hampshire, for the purpose of analyzing the ores and waters of mines and springs. his published analysis of the waters of a spring in burton, n. h., was considered so scientific a production, that he was written to as to accepting a professorship in the university of virginia. not wishing the appointment, he declined becoming a candidate. in the latter part of , professor dana published "an epitome of chemical philosophy," designed as a text-book for his own classes, but which was afterwards adopted as such in two other institutions. in , he was appointed one of the visitors of west point military academy, and soon after his return was chosen to the chair of chemistry, in the college of physicians and surgeons in the university of new york, to which city he then removed. he was elected member of the linnæan society of new york, and accepted an invitation to deliver a course of lectures before the athenæeum. during his residence at hanover, professor dana had been much interested in electro-magnetism, then a new science, and in preparing apparatus for exhibiting its wonders, freely stating his conviction that it would produce more astonishing results than any power previously known. when surprise was expressed at his selecting for his athenæeum lectures this subject, so little known even in europe, and in which so few in this country would feel any interest, dr. dana replied that he had chosen it for those reasons; that he thought it time for public attention to be directed to it, as he was certain it would lead to most valuable results, and that he should endeavor to render it popular. how far he succeeded, the delighted audiences that crowded to hear him bore evidence. of the truth of his prediction as to the results to be wrought out by the science, the marvels of the electro-magnetic telegraph bear witness to the world. samuel f. b. morse was then following his profession as a painter in new york, and lectured upon art before the athenæeum. an intimacy sprang up between him and dr. dana, whose lectures he attended, and whom he used to visit in his laboratory, thus becoming familiar with his views on scientific subjects. morse's published statements as to the origin of his knowledge of electro-magnetism are as follows: "i learned from professor dana, in , the rationale of the electro-magnet, which' latter was exhibited in action. i witnessed the effects of the conjunctive wires in the different forms described in his lectures, and exhibited to his audience. the electro-magnet was put in action by an intensity battery; it was made to sustain the weight of its armature, when the conjunctive wire was connected with the poles of the battery or the circuit was closed; and it was made to 'drop its load' upon opening the circuit. these, with many other principles of electro-magnetism were all illustrated experimentally to his audience. these being the facts, to whom do i owe the first knowledge which i obtained of the science of electro-magnetism bearing upon the practical development of the telegraph? professor dana had publicly demonstrated in my hearing and to my sight all the facts necessary to be known respecting the electro-magnet.... the volute modification of the helix to show the concentration of magnetism at its centre, adapted to the electric magnet, the modification since universally adopted in the construction of the electro-magnet, is justly due, i think, to the inventive mind of prof. james freeman dana. death, in striking him down at the threshold of his fame, not only extinguished a brilliant light in science--one which gave the highest promise of future distinction--but the suddenness of the stroke put to peril the just credit due him for discoveries he had already made. dana had not only mastered all of the science of electro-magnetism then given to the world, a science in which he was an enthusiast, but, standing on the confines that separate the known from the unknown, was at the time of his decease preparing for new explorations and new discoveries. i could not mention his name in this connection without at least rendering this slight but inadequate homage to one of the most liberal of men and amiable of friends, as well as promising philosophers of his age." the delivery of these lectures was amongst dr. dana's last public efforts. a severe cold, resulting in an attack of erysipelas affecting the brain, terminated his brief life of thirty-three years, on the th of april, . in the various relations of private life he had won the warm attachment of all who knew him. to the charm of a buoyant and affectionate disposition he added christian principle and character. during his student life at harvard, he had become a communicant of the episcopal church, and continued a devout worshipper according to her liturgy. her burial service was read over his remains, by his friend dr. wainwright, the funeral rites being performed at grace church, on the th of april. when it was proposed, in , by the national telegraph monument association to erect a monument to professor morse, at washington, the family of dr. dana furnished, at its request, a portrait of him from which a likeness was to be cast for one of the faces at the base of the monument. since the death of professor morse, no progress seems to have been made in the effort to erect this memorial of scientific progress. chapter xxiv. prof. benjamin hale.--prof. alpheus crosby.--prof. ira young. from reliable sources we have the following account of another gentleman of distinguished worth, who was an instructor also both in the academical and medical departments of the college. benjamin hale was born on the d of november, , in newbury, mass., now a part of the city of newburyport. he was the eldest son of thomas hale, who was the grandson of the fifth thomas, in that series of hales, whose first representative came to newbury in about . his mother was alice little, a daughter of the hon. josiah little of newbury, and grand-daughter of col. moses little, an officer in the continental army. on both sides of the house benjamin hale came of a race of vigorous, industrious, and useful men, held in honor by their fellow citizens, and invariably distinguished for their exemplary habits, their domestic virtues, their sterling goodness, and their faithfulness in the discharge of trusts and duties. in childhood he was studious, quiet, kind, and genial; fond of books, the favorite of his youthful companions, and the cheerful companion of the aged. in the autumn of , he went to atkinson academy; and in september, , entered dartmouth college; but his health becoming impaired, he went to dummer academy, byfield, in the autumn of , to pursue his studies under the direction of its principal, the rev. mr. abbott. in february, , he entered the sophomore class at bowdoin college, then under the presidency of the venerable dr. appleton, whose grave kindness soon won his reverent love. he at once secured an honorable position in his class, which was the largest that had then been in that college. in september, , he received the degree of b. a.; his part at commencement being the salutatory oration. having been previously offered the academy at saco, and recollecting a remark of his old pastor, dr. spring, that "one who meant to be a minister would do well to try his hand at being a schoolmaster," he took charge of the academy for one year. in the autumn of , he became a member of the theological seminary at andover, mass. here his college classmate, rufus anderson, afterwards the distinguished secretary of the american board of commissioners for foreign missions, was his class-mate and room-mate. dr. anderson thus writes of him: "our friendship was founded in mutual knowledge and esteem, and continued during his life. the operations of his mind were effective, equally so in nearly every branch of learning. he was quick and accurate in the mathematics, in the languages, and in music. i know not in what one branch he was best fitted to excel. while perfect in all his recitations, he was social, always ready for conversation when i desired it. he had, and through his whole life retained, my entire confidence as a man of god, nor was i surprised at the eminent position he afterwards attained in the church of christ. pleasant is his memory, and pleasant is the thought of meeting him in a better world." while at andover he had leisure for reading, and that part of it which he devoted to ecclesiastical history had an important influence as it turned out, in deciding his future ecclesiastical connection. at the commencement of bowdoin college, in , he was appointed tutor. he taught the junior class in natural philosophy, and locke's essay on the human understanding, and the sophomore class in geometry and some other parts of mathematics, and in logic. at the same time he continued to pursue his theological studies, and in january, , was licensed to preach by the york association. in september, , he delivered a latin valedictory oration, and took his degree of a. m. with regard to this period of his life, his fellow tutor, now the venerable prof. packard, thus writes: "mr. hale gave at once the impression of a kind, generous, faithful heart, a clear, acute, and rapid intellect, and a vigorous grasp of any subject to which he gave his thought. he was a diligent student. he loved books. without conceit he had sufficient self-reliance, which was always of service to him as a teacher and governor. he always had the good-will of his pupils, and whether with them or with his colleagues he exerted an influence above rather than below his age and standing. he was a true man, unselfish, of a decidedly social turn, of warm affections, of a genial humor." in the summer of , he received proposals from r. h. gardiner, esq., of gardiner, me., to take charge of a new institution which he had determined to establish for the education of farmers and mechanics in the principles of science. mr. hale accepted, and closed his connection with bowdoin college in , and entering upon his duties january , , opened the lyceum, was inaugurated as its principal, and delivered an address on the occasion. he soon after returned his license, finding it inconvenient to meet the many calls for preaching extended to him, and having become also so settled in his preference for the protestant episcopal church that he determined to take orders therein, should he ever be so situated as to think it his duty to preach again. on the th day of april, , he was married to mary caroline king, the eldest daughter of the hon. cyrus king, m. c. the lyceum soon attracted students and became a flourishing institution. its principal gave lectures in chemistry and taught mathematics and natural philosophy, and in winter had classes in architecture and in agricultural chemistry. for the former of these classes he prepared, in , a work on the "elementary principles of carpentry." in july, , having received an invitation to succeed professor dana in the chair of chemistry at dartmouth college, mr. hale accepted, and delivered his inaugural address on the day after commencement. his esteemed and able colleagues in the medical college were reuben d. mussey, m.d., prof. of anatomy and surgery; and daniel oliver, m.d., prof. of theory and practice of medicine. it should be noted that at that period the importance of physical studies was not fully appreciated at dartmouth. the college had not taken a scientific periodical in half a century. there was no cabinet of minerals. "there was not," writes dr. oliver, "a single modern volume in the college library upon either mineralogy or geology; and scarcely one, if one, upon chemistry, later than the days of fourcroy or vauquelin. the prevailing taste was decidedly anti-physical. it was directed another way, and not only so, but there was among the college faculty a disposition to undervalue the physical sciences." dr. james f. dana, the predecessor of professor hale, writing of the college in reference to physical science, used the following remarkable expression: "it was anchored in the stream, and served only to show its velocity." when professor hale was engaged, his duties comprised a course of daily lectures to the medical class through the lecture term, to which lectures the members of the senior and junior classes were to be admitted; and instruction to the junior class in some chemical text-book by daily recitations for five or six weeks. this was all. professor hale, however, addressed himself to his work with characteristic activity and zeal. he proceeded to give each year to the college classes a separate course of over thirty lectures, and discharged the expenses of them himself. he substituted a larger and more scientific text-book for that in use, and obtained an allowance of forty or more recitations instead of thirty. he laid the foundation of the cabinet of minerals by giving five hundred specimens, classifying and labeling all additions, leaving the collection in respectable condition with , specimens. he gave annually about twenty lectures in geology and mineralogy; and for some years was the regular instructor of the senior class in the philosophy of natural history. for two years, also, he took charge of the recitations in hebrew, and occasionally took part in other recitations; and, with another, served as building committee during the whole process of repairing and erecting the college edifices. december , , professor hale wrote, in a family letter, "i have made out a plan, for the repair of the college building, and the addition of a building for libraries, etc., for the use of trustees at their next session. it takes with the president mightily, and i think they will make it go." and in another family letter, the first after returning from a journey, under date of march , , he wrote: "my arrival at hanover was very opportune. i was looked for for sometime, and letters were about being despatched for me.... i have the honor of being one-half of the building committee, professor chamberlain being the other moiety, and we are commencing operations. the prospects of the college are now so bright, _that the plan i at first proposed, and which was adopted by the trustees_, is abandoned, and we are preparing to erect two brick buildings, three stories in height, and fifty feet by seventy. one for students' rooms, and the other for public rooms.... and what is more comforting, our funds are improving so much that the building will not distress us very much if the $ , should not be realized. a good many old debts have been collected, and are coming in, by which one building could be erected. about $ , have already been subscribed, and subscriptions are daily arriving." all this was voluntary and gratuitous work. it is no wonder that students thus cared for should respond, as they did, with enthusiasm and regard. happily, in this department as well as in all others, dartmouth college is now in motion, and fully up with the foremost in the current of physical study. during his last three years, professor hale was president of the phi beta kappa society. his portrait, presented, it is believed, by the members of that society, now hangs in the college library. while at hanover, professor hale thought it his duty to resume his purpose of preaching, and was accordingly ordained deacon by the rt. rev. dr. griswold, bishop of the eastern diocese, september , , at woodstock, vt.; and priest by the same bishop, in st. paul's, newburyport, january , . in taking this step he violated in no respect the charter of the college, he undertook nothing which conflicted with the duties of his professorship, he acted neither obtrusively nor illiberally; but while he occasionally preached in neighboring churches, he always, in hanover, scrupulously observed the appointment at the village meeting-house. on sunday nights, however, he held a service in his own house, for his own family, and the family of dr. oliver, and such other communicants of the episcopal church, and friends, as might desire to attend. difference in sentiment on religious subjects, between professor hale and the trustees of the college, and action on their part which can hardly be regarded as justifiable, led to the termination of professor hale's connection with the college, in . in , professor hale published two works, "a valedictory letter to the trustees," and "scriptural illustrations of the liturgy." in august of that year he attended the general convention of the protestant episcopal church as a delegate from the diocese of new hampshire. in october, , the degree of d.d. was conferred upon him by columbia college. in december, having had a severe attack of bronchitis, he sailed to st. croix to spend the winter. his published letters under the signature of "valetudinarius" were very pleasant to the reading public. in the course of the next year he entered upon the laborious and high duties of an office which occupied the remaining years of his active life. he was elected, august , , to the presidency of geneva college, n. y., and entered upon his duties in the following october; delivering an inaugural address on the st of december. it is of course impossible here to give the varied and interesting details of his presidential life. to this institution he freely gave the wealth of his well stored and acute mind, his tried experience, and his cheerful, patient resolution. the trials were sometimes great, the laborers few, the support scanty, and there were times when it seemed as if the one man only stood between the life of the college and its death. as one of the trustees wrote, "life was already nearly extinct, and death would have soon followed, had not the president given himself wholly to the work with a faith that never faltered, a perseverance which strengthened with difficulties, and a thorough conviction that his work, if well done, would promote the glory of god and his church through all time." and he was successful, as much so as it was within the power of one man to be, both in correcting the evils which he found existing, and in securing the stability of the college beyond all peradventure. wherever he was, in the recitation room, in the academic circle, in the medical school of which he was _ex officio_ president, in the board of trustees, in the councils of the bishop and the diocese, in the conferences with the vestry of old trinity church, before the board of regents, before the legislature of the state, he was always the learned, sagacious, loyal, and inspiring president; respected and beloved always, by all who entered the circle of his influence; and illustrating daily in his own character, the symmetry, strength, and purity of the principle by which he was governed. dr. hale instructed easily in every department of learning. he was most fond of ethical and metaphysical studies. his class room will never be forgotten by those who delighted to go to it, and regretted to leave it. his courses of lectures for many years included civil and ecclesiastical architecture. he loved music, and read it as easily as the words. his diction was always remarkable for the best english, expressed in the happiest style. his memory and power of association were almost unerring. his temper was held in the nicest balance. in preaching he was a chrysostom in wisdom, truth, and sweetness. we have not space to dwell upon this theme, nor upon the wholesome influence which dr. hale exerted in the diocese in which he was placed, both towards preparing the way for a second diocese in the state of new york, and in ministering in his place to its unity and order, when under the episcopal charge of the noble de lancey. in , he left hobart (once geneva) college, and in he left geneva, with this distinguished record: "the thorough and skillful teacher, the laborious and self-sacrificing president, the sympathizing friend, the genial companion, the judicious adviser, the courteous christian gentleman; in all these relations so bearing himself as to gain the profound respect and tender affection of all who knew him." dr. hale retired to live in newburyport, near his birth-place and by the graves of his forefathers, with his children around him. even then "his influence upon the community distilled like the dews of heaven to gladden the earth." he departed to his rest in paradise on the th of july, . dr. hale had four sons and three daughters, of whom the sons (one has since departed) and one daughter survived him. his published works, beside communications to newspapers on current topics, are: "an address to the public from the trustees of gardiner lyceum," . "an inaugural address at gardiner," . "address to the public in regard to the lyceum," . "introduction to the mechanical principles of carpentry," . "sermon before the convention of new hampshire," . "lecture before the american institute of instruction, on the best method of teaching natural philosophy," . "sermon, on the unity of god, preached before the convention of the eastern diocese," . "scriptural illustrations of the liturgy of the protestant episcopal church," . "valedictory letter to the trustees of dartmouth college," . "inaugural address, geneva college, on the equalizing and practical tendency of colleges," . "a lecture before the young men's association of geneva, on liberty and law," . "baccalaureate: education in its relations to a free government," . "the present state of the question," a pamphlet, in relation to the division of the diocese of new york, . "baccalaureate: the languages," . "baccalaureate: mathematics," . "lecture on the sources and means of education," . "baccalaureate: the position of the college, the state, and the church," . "historical notices of geneva college," . "sermon on the death of major douglass," . * * * * * professor alpheus crosby, who was elected to the chair of greek and latin in the college, in , professor calvin e. stowe having filled the position in the interval after the death of professor chamberlain, was the son of dr. asa and abigail (russell) crosby, and was born at sandwich, n. h., october , . although less than twenty-three years of age, his superior scholarship fully warranted the appointment. after ably filling this chair several years, by a division of labor he was permitted to confine himself exclusively to the greek language and literature. to his refined and sensitive nature the stern old roman was less attractive than the more polished greek. it is quite probable that professor crosby was more largely indebted than he himself was aware to the moulding influence of his amiable and excellent mother, for that particular type of mind and heart which placed him among the foremost grecian scholars of his time. professor crosby's career as a linguist illustrated two distinct forms of success. he excelled both as a _teacher_ and as an _author_. his success as a teacher no one will question who had the privilege of listening to his instructions, if only for a single hour. he questioned the student with a critical eye and ear, but a womanly gentleness. his translations might well be likened to celestial music, long pent-up in foreign caves, but now finding rich and varied and sweet expression, in the mother tongue. his success as an author is sufficiently indicated by the extensive use of his text-books, especially the "greek grammar." his classmate, rev. dr. tenney, says: "it is very pleasant for me to bring back before me your brother as i remember him at the commencement of our college life. he was, as you know, a boy of twelve years, dressed in a boy's jacket with a ruffled shirt, collar coming down over his shoulders, such as boys wore in those days--playful as a kitten, and as innocent as the purest-minded girl. he was probably the best fitted (as the phrase is) for college, of any member of the class. he had, i believe, gone over all the studies of the sophomore year. without any apparent effort he maintained his preëminence through his entire college course, not only in the languages, but also in mathematics and mental philosophy. my recollection is that he had committed to memory all the greek primitives before he left college, yet with all his preëminence as a scholar he never seemed to have the remotest consciousness that there was anything remarkable about himself. we had ambitious men in the class and some bitter rivalries, but no one ever thought of questioning his position. in short he was both the pet and pride of the class; his conscientiousness as a boy was that which characterized him as a man. i do not think he would have done a consciously wrong thing for his right hand. i remember being with him one sabbath, when a letter was handed him from home, and his views of the sacredness of the sabbath were such that he would not open it until the sabbath was passed. i mention this, not to illustrate the earnestness of his conscience, but simply to show its authority over him. "as your brother was the youngest of the class, i was one of the oldest, but from the commencement of our class life our intimacy was constant. i could very readily tell why i was attracted to him, but his friendship for me i could never understand; sure i was that i never loved any other man as i did him; he visited me a number of times; as i was at his home in salem not long before his lamented death, he seemed to me the same at the end as he was at the beginning, one of the most lovable and remarkable men i ever knew, and the world has seemed to be poorer ever since he left it." mr. c. c. chase, principal of the high school in lowell, of the class of , says: "i have had many laborious, faithful teachers, but only one genius, and that was professor alpheus crosby. he was accurate upon a point not because he appeared to have looked it up in the books, but because he instinctively knew it. it was in the greek that i was instructed by him, and i clearly recall, at this day, the expression of his face, as he explained it to us. he seemed to revel in the beautiful thoughts and splendid conceptions of the great dramatists. he did not appear to be so anxious as most teachers, that our recitations should show our critical grammatical knowledge, but rather that we should appreciate and enjoy the wonderful creations of the great minds of antiquity. he loved to teach. it seemed to be his delight to tell others what he had so much enjoyed himself. it was the study of his greek grammar that first gave me a love for the noble language of ancient greece. i know of no grammar that has so few bones and so much meat in it. one can really enjoy reading it in an idle hour! it so clearly reveals the fact that that most beautiful of languages, with all its sweetness and euphony, is but a transcript of the mind of the race of men that knew more of beauty, of taste, and of philosophy than all the ancient world besides. professor crosby entered into the secret chambers of greek thought, and became himself a greek, and seemed to feel a perpetual flow of delight, as he told to others what seemed so charming to himself. others might compel an indolent student to devote more time and study to his lessons, but none could equal him in leading those who loved to follow, into the 'green pastures' and 'sweet fields' of the domain of learning." hon. george stevens, of the class of , says: "my acquaintance with professor crosby began upon my admission to college. my preparation in greek was imperfect, and my knowledge of the language was quite limited. his manner of dealing with and instructing the class soon won my admiration, love, and respect for him, and opened to me a new and unexpected source of pleasure in the beauties of the greek language. the primitive simplicity, the euphony, sweetness, and artistic perfection of the language awakened a response and an appreciation which only those who are like him can feel. this appreciation of the beauties of his favorite language, kindled in him an enthusiastic love for it. his manner of teaching imparted something of this same enthusiasm in the students. the thoroughness of his instruction, his perfect courtesy towards all the students, the extreme kindness with which he always treated them, his constant mildness and equanimity in the presence of the class, in the face even of rude conduct and inexcusable ignorance of the lesson, his great love and supreme devotion to his duties, apparent to all, won the love and respect, and gave him the control of every student under him, which no sternness or severity could ever have secured. i never knew the least disobedience to him or the slightest disrespect shown towards him, either in his presence or absence. the great simplicity, purity, and honesty of his character, was a perfect shield to him against all attacks, in word or act, open or covert. i consider him, after years of reflection and experience, the best teacher i ever had; and of all the impressions of the teachers of my boyhood and youth, those made by him upon me i find are the deepest and most lasting, and now, after the lapse of more than a quarter of a century, are the dearest to me." professor hagar, in the "new england journal of education", says: "professor alpheus crosby, whose death occurred in salem, mass., on the th of april, , was so widely and favorably known as a scholar, and was so much esteemed as a man, that a notice of his life and labors, more extended than has hitherto appeared, is justly due his memory. "professor crosby very early showed remarkable power in the acquisition of knowledge. he learned the rudimentary branches of education almost without a teacher. mathematics, latin, and greek came to him almost by intuition. when engaged in study, he was so deeply absorbed that he seemed wholly unconscious of time, place, or surroundings. when in his tenth year he was taken to hanover, the seat of dartmouth college, and was placed temporarily under professor adams in algebra and euclid, under tutor james marsh in latin, and under tutor rufus choate in greek; and these gentlemen pronounced him fitted for college. he was then returned to gilmanton academy, and, to prevent him from trespassing upon college studies, he was put to the study of hebrew, under the rev. john l. parkhurst, who was well known as a ripe scholar. he was subsequently sent to exeter academy to bridge over, with various studies, the months which his friends thought must be passed before he should enter college. at the fall term of the college, in , in his thirteenth year, he entered; and he passed through the four years' course of study without a rival and far beyond rivalry. his power of acquisition and retention was marvelous. "after his graduation, he was kept at hanover four years; the first, as the preceptor of moor's indian charity school, and the following three as tutor in the college. during this period he joined the college church, and formed his purpose to prepare for the ministry, and spent nearly two years at the theological seminary, in andover, mass. he was appointed to a professorship of latin and greek, in . in he was released from the latin and became professor of greek only, which office he held until , when he resigned; but he remained professor _emeritus_ until his death. "in he married miss abigail grant jones cutler, only child of joseph and abigail cheesboro grant (jones) cutler, of newburyport, mass. mrs. crosby becoming an invalid, professor crosby took her to europe and traveled with her through england, germany, and france, until they reached paris, where mrs. crosby died. on his return he resumed the duties of his professorship. after the death of his father-in-law, mr. cutler, he resigned his professorship, and removed to newburyport to care for mrs. cutler, who was an invalid. his greek grammar, theological disquisitions, and the superintendency of schools in newburyport occupied his attention until mrs. cutler's death in , when he entered into the employment of the board of education in massachusetts as its agent. in this capacity he rendered the state most valuable services by visiting the public schools in various parts of the state, and by his instructive and practical lectures on educational subjects. so efficient were his labors, that in he was appointed by the board of education to the principalship of the state normal school in salem; this important post he occupied eight years. to the interests of this school he zealously devoted his great knowledge and ability, raising it to a high standard of excellence and giving to it a most honorable reputation. he gave the school the largest part of its valuable library, and obtained for its use the most of its considerable cabinet. by his heartfelt kindness and his faithful instructions he secured the love and profound esteem of his pupils, who will ever hold him in affectionate remembrance. in the normal school and elsewhere, as he had opportunity, professor crosby earnestly advocated the liberal education of women, believing that their educational advantages ought to equal those enjoyed by men. "while principal of the school at salem he, for several years, was the editor-in-chief of the 'massachusetts teacher,' performing gratuitous labors which were highly appreciated by the teachers of massachusetts and of other states. "having traveled through the southern states, that he might gain a better knowledge of his own country before he went abroad, he became deeply impressed with the iniquities of slavery, and dropped readily into the ranks of the abolitionists. he was intensely interested in all the discussions and phases of freedom, from adams's 'right of petition' crusade down to the day of his death. his patriotism during the war was full and glowing. the political disquisitions in his 'right way,' which he edited for a year, upon the question of reconstruction, were keen and convincing. he also published a series of elementary lessons for teaching the freed-men of the south to read. "during all these years, after leaving his professorship, he was building other educational books besides his greek grammar--'xenophon's anabasis,' 'eclogæ latinæ,' 'lessons in geometry,' a 'greek lexicon' for his anabasis, and, last, 'explanatory notes to the anabasis,' which he had nearly ready for the press when death closed his labors. "the heart of professor crosby was full of love for everybody and every creature of god. he drank deeply at every spring whence flowed charity, benevolence, freedom, and patriotism. he remained to his death a member of an orthodox church, but, during the last years of his life, he worshipped with christians of other denominations, having softened his early faith by a more liberal trust in the boundless love and mercy of god, his heavenly father. "in his association with teachers of every class, he showed himself a friend to all. his geniality of manner, his pleasant words, his sympathizing spirit, his overflowing desire to make others happy, his seemingly inexhaustible knowledge, and his intelligent and ever-courteous discussion of controverted questions in education, morals, and religion, secured for him the warm affection and deep respect of all who were privileged to know him." mr. collar, of the roxbury latin school, says: "professor crosby belonged not to massachusetts alone, but to all new england--to the whole land. our country is poorer by the loss of an eminent scholar, one of that small band of classical scholars in america who are known and honored at foreign seats of learning. in the latest, freshest, and most original greek grammar that i am acquainted with, that by professor clyde, of edinburgh, the author acknowledges his obligations to four distinguished scholars, three europeans, and one american, and the american is professor crosby." "professor crosby's first marriage has been referred to; his second wife was martha, daughter of joseph kingman, of west bridgewater, mass." * * * * * the following paragraphs, from an authentic source, introduce another eminent teacher. ira young was born at lebanon, n. h., may , . his parents were samuel and rebecca (burnham) young. his early years were chiefly spent in working at his father's trade, that of carpenter, though every winter after he was sixteen, he taught in one of the district schools in the neighborhood. he cherished a strong desire for a collegiate education, but was not at liberty to take any steps in that direction until he became of age. want of means would have been with many int his circumstances an insurmountable obstacle,--not so with him. by the willing labor of his hands, he obtained in eight months the means of fitting for college at meriden academy, where he studied one year, and soon after leaving that institution, where he stood high in scholarship, he entered dartmouth college. neither in this year of preparation, nor during all his college course, did he ever receive pecuniary aid from any individual or society. he paid his way by teaching. while at meriden, he became, with many of his classmates, savingly interested in religion, and made a public profession of his faith in christ in his native place. his religious experience, we have reason to believe, was deep and thorough,--producing an humble, loving faith in christ as the only saviour, and a sincere, benevolent goodwill to all around him--to all mankind. his mind was calm and peaceful--not subject to the agitations felt by so many in their religious life, and his trust and confidence in god were never shaken. he could never bear to hear any questioning of the ways of providence, however dark and mysterious they might appear. "god wills it," was always enough for him. through his college course he passed with honor and success, taking high rank in a class which was exceptionally good, producing a large number of men who were afterwards distinguished in professional and public life. though himself guided in all things by the highest christian principle, he yet knew how to feel for those who were in danger of falling into evil courses; and certainly in one instance, by his tender and watchful care, he was the means of reclaiming and saving a young friend from threatening ruin. he graduated in , and taught afterwards for a year in berwick academy, maine, and subsequently in a large public school in boston, from which, in , he was called to a tutorship in dartmouth college. he held that position for three years, during which he continued his theological studies, which he had commenced with the ministry in view, and in that year he preached regularly in some of the neighboring towns. he gave up this purpose, however, when he received the appointment of professor of mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy, in place of professor adams, who resigned at that time, august, . before the close of that month, he became professor adams' son-in-law by marriage to his youngest daughter, eliza, and seldom were father and son more closely united in affection or more happy in mutual intercourse. in regard to his qualifications for his department and success in the same, it may be well to refer to some remarks contained in an obituary notice of him, written by one who for many years was associated with him in instruction, and who is now placed at the head of a sister institution. "professor young had some qualities which fitted him eminently for this position. he was, in the first place, thoroughly master of the science and literature of his own department. distinguished while in college for mathematical attainments, he never relaxed in careful and constant study of those branches to which he particularly directed his attention. his mind was thoroughly disciplined for truth and not for victory, and thus he was ready to test his attainments by the most thorough methods. as he was thorough with himself, so he was with his pupils, trying them with doubtful questions which the studious could easily answer, but which the ignorant could not evade. yet he was never harsh, nor captious, nor irritating, though quick and ingenious in exposing mistakes and follies. besides his ample knowledge, he possessed remarkably the power of clear and distinct statement. it was the habit of his mind to reduce his facts to principles, and to present them in their simplest forms. few instructors have excelled him in the facility with which he could disentangle and elucidate a complicated problem, whether for the satisfaction of his own mind, or the instruction of another. and he was as patient as he was acute. of a quiet temperament, not easily roused, nor rendered impatient at the dullness or want of perspicuity in another, unless this resulted from a moral rather than an intellectual weakness." in april, , he went to europe and spent five months abroad, for the purpose of procuring books and instruments for the college, especially those which were needed for the equipment of the observatory, whose foundations were laid that year. he had labored successfully in obtaining funds for this object, in which he took a deep interest, and after the completion of the building, it afforded him much pure enjoyment, as it gave him greatly increased facilities both for observing and instructing in his favorite field of science. teaching was to him a real pleasure, and he often said that he would not willingly exchange it for any other employment that could be offered him. he felt a truly affectionate interest in the young minds that successively came under his care, sympathizing with them in their perplexities and troubles, grieving for their errors, and rejoicing in whatever advances they made in scientific attainments and true excellence of character. remembering his own early struggles, he felt much sympathy with young men similarly situated, and often rendered them efficient aid.... nor was his care and interest limited exclusively to the college, but he sought to do good "as he had opportunity," and in the manifold relations he sustained to others, in the family, the church, the neighborhood, the village, his unselfish kindness was ever manifested. he held the office of treasurer of meriden academy for several years after the resignation of his predecessor, and at the time of his death had been a deacon of the church for twenty years. during the summer term of , he was unusually occupied with college labors, being employed most of the day in attending his recitations and lectures, and in preparation for them. he had obtained some new philosophical apparatus, which interested him much, and he never seemed to find more pleasure in his work than then, though it often left him quite weary and exhausted. at that time there was a remarkable degree of religious interest throughout the country, in which the college and the village shared, and it resulted in numerous conversions. he often attended the noon-day prayer meetings of the class he was then instructing, and spoke of them with much pleasure; and his own heart was deeply moved by the heavenly influence. near the close of july he began to suffer much from a malady which, though hidden, must have been long in progress. his sufferings were most acute and severe, but never did he lose that sweet patience and serenity of spirit he had always manifested, nor that calm submission to his heavenly father's will. he died september , . in the words of one of his most esteemed associates: "the village mourns, for it has lost an excellent citizen; the church mourns, for it has lost an efficient officer; the college mourns, for it has lost a revered teacher; the state mourns, for it has lost an exemplary subject,--one who belonged to that class who are justly styled 'the light of the world!'" few men in america have ever been called to teach the abstruse science of mathematics, who combined in such desirable proportions a thorough knowledge of the science with a faculty of presenting it in a pleasing manner in the recitation room. in the happy adjustment of professor young's powers one could but observe a union of quick perception with almost perfect self-control. whatever the deficiencies of the student, a hasty or unguarded or inappropriate or even an unscientific word was seldom found in professor young's vocabulary. his most impressive rebuke was silence. in a commemorative "discourse," president lord says: "during his college course he was an earnest and successful student. he carried his work before him, finished it in its time, and did it well. he studied his lessons and a few related books, and scattered not his mind by light, promiscuous, and aimless reading. he gorged not, but thought and digested, and never had a literary dyspepsia. of course he grew right along. he was resolved, prompt, exact, untiring, and true as steel. everybody knew where to find him. he studied no popular arts. though never rough or crusty, he was curt and sarcastic; but no man ever took offense who knew the kindness of his heart. his fellow-students loved him. his abilities and knowledge commanded their respect; his moral excellence secured their confidence, and his example gave him power over their minds and manners. he hated and reproved vice, frowned upon all disorder, disdained artifice and trick, and stood out manfully in support of virtue. once, in the same entry, a few noisy and vicious young men set up to be disturbers. they particularly insulted a worthy but timid student, who was his neighbor. he took that student to his own room, and gave him countenance and protection. then they committed outrage upon his room, and threatened personal abuse. when his remonstrance availed nothing, he protested that he would not see such evil perpetrated in college, but would report them. they knew him, believed him, desisted, and gave him then the honor of his disinterested virtue, as virtue always receives its meed of honor when it stands erect on its own prerogative, and is not moved by the contradictions of unreasonable and wicked men. yet he was no ascetic. he liked companionship, was not fastidious or exacting, never petulant or vindictive, but gentle and forbearing. he had especial tenderness for those 'good-hearted' young men who can never refuse to do wrong when they are invited. a distinguished officer of one of our professional institutions once said to me,--'i was, at one time, when in college, thoughtless, self-indulgent, fell among bad companions, and was nearly ruined. mr. young pitied me, took hold of me, and saved me.' that excellent man could not now speak of his benefactor without tears of gratitude. "how he stood at college, that is, what rank he held, whether first, second, or a lower figure in his class, i never inquired, and, if i ever heard, i have forgotten. probably he was not equally indifferent, for if there be a more excellent way of judgment, it was not quite evident to his calculating mind. i have often admired how his professional bias led him in his measurement of men, almost as by instinct, to arithmetic, as if figures must, of course, be true, and as if insensible moral and physical causes did not often greatly modify or neutralize numerical computation. but it was a generous prejudice, and i have also admired how, in his practical judgment, he would unconsciously neutralize or modify his professional idea. he wanted nothing but realities. he went for scholarship and not the show of it. he accepted no metal that would not ring. he was accordingly judged by others in reference to his sterling qualities. there might have been men about him who made a greater figure than himself. it is very likely. for, as i remember, strangers sometimes undervalued him. soon after he left college, i was sent to offer him the place of tutor. i had not previously known him, and my first impressions were not agreeable. i hesitated to do my errand. after all it was rather performed than done, more after a roman than a saxon fashion. but it turned out better for his character and the public good, than for my own discernment. so of another commission not only from the trustees, but the venerable professor adams, to assure him that he would, after a while, be wanted to take the chair of that noble old man, one of the princes of the earth. they who knew him best had marked him, even when he took his parchment, for that high position. how well he filled it, and every other office he sustained, everybody who knows the college knows. "professor young was a consummate teacher. during his college course he taught school every successive winter, as he had done for years preceding, and earned nearly enough to pay the expenses of his course, for he had high wages, and never wasted them on his clothes or pleasures. that discipline settled in his mind the elements of knowledge. the principles of all true knowledge were already laid; first, when he was born; and, secondly, when he was born again. he had, of course, tools to work with, and facility to use them for the good of others, enlarging all the while his own fabric till he became the man of science that he was for his successive trusts. he loved, as few men ever love, to teach, and as no man can love who begins not early and makes not teaching his profession. he went to his last recitation when he should have been upon his bed, to find relief from the agonies he suffered, and take off his mind from the greater that he feared. he was never more at home, or more at ease, than with his class. he loved to enrich them out of his own stores, and thereby draw out and sharpen their independent faculties. he was not disconcerted when he sometimes drew to little purpose; though sure, by set remonstrance, or by his peculiar, quaint, dry and caustic humor, to rebuke indifference and neglect, or expose the artifice of a bold, shrewd, or sly pretender. he was sure of what he knew, and never gave way without a reason. i have sometimes thought him too sure before he scanned a question. yet he would never persist when he saw no foothold. he was set but not dogmatic, or no more so than a sincere man must be when he believes what he teaches and is in earnest. he would never defend before his class a theory because it was new, or because it was learned, or because it was his own, or because it was popular, or because he would otherwise be ruled out of the synagogue, till he had made it sure by calculus, or probable by analogy. when convinced that an hypothesis could not be verified in the present state of knowledge, or never in logical consistency with established facts, or moral certainties, he abandoned it like an honest man. but where he had his ground he stood, and would have it understood. of course his teaching was effectual. those who would be made scholars he made sound and good ones. he gave a strong character to his departments, and his departments were an honor to the college. "professor young was a ripe scholar in general. he was conversant with the accredited branches of knowledge, and held an honorable place among learned men. he was modest and retiring, content to know, and unconcerned about the appearance of it. he liked not to open his mouth in the gate, but he had wisdom to deliver the city. nothing crude, partial, superficial, or one-sided, ever came from him. his judgments were clear, comprehensive, and decisive. he was slow, critical, and cautious in forming his opinions, and where he settled there he stayed. no man could cajole or browbeat him out of his convictions. "when our professor lay dead before us, the thought arose that, now, no longer plodding his way to yonder dome, with steps restrained and painful from an unknown disease, no longer weary with watching, through his telescope, the distant orbs, nor with numbers and diagrams to find their measure, he could survey, without a glass, infinitely greater wonders from a higher sphere; for he had profited by his earthly discipline: the heavens had declared to him the glory of god, and the firmament had showed his handiwork. the day had uttered to him speech, and the night had showed to him knowledge. next it occurred how natural religion had been thus reproduced in his mind and illustrated by a higher revelation: 'the law of the lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimonies of the lord are sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.'" chapter xxv. professor stephen chase.--professor david peabody.--professor william cogswell. professor stephen chase, who succeeded professor young in the chair of mathematics, the latter retaining the department of natural philosophy and astronomy, was the son of benjamin pike and mary (chase) chase, and was born at chester, n. h., august , . the following notice of this distinguished mathematician is from a commemorative "discourse" by president lord:-- "in the first class that entered the college, after my connection with it, nearly twenty-three years ago, a young man, spare, tall, as yet unformed in manner, soon engaged the attention of his teachers. we marked his mild, serene, yet quick and penetrating eye, his independent, unaffected, yet modest and regulated movement, his lively, versatile, earnest, and comprehensive mind, his cheerful and honest diligence, his punctual attendance upon the exercises of the college, his respectful, but unstudied and confiding deportment towards his superiors, his frank and generous, but reserved intercourse with his fellow students, his care in selecting his most intimate associates, and his quiet, unpretending, yet exact and intelligent performance of all the studies of the course. an indifferent stranger would not have noticed him, except, perhaps, to criticize his unique exterior; and his fellow students, as is natural to young persons who are most impressed by æsthetical manner and accomplishment, did not dignify him as a leader or an oracle. but a deeper insight convinced his teachers that, whatever partial observers might think wanting in respect to artistic excellence, was well supplied by more substantial and enduring qualities. their eye followed him, while here, as a sound-minded, true-hearted young man, and a thorough scholar; and, after he had graduated, as a teacher at the south, and in two of the oldest academies of new england. in these different relations he fully justified the good name which he had left behind him at the college, till, the proper occasions serving, he was called back to be first a tutor, and then professor of the mathematics. the subsequent course of mr. chase proved that his instructors had not miscalculated his powers, nor over-estimated his qualifications for one of the most difficult and trying positions in a learned institution. "professor chase performed the duties of his office without interruption till the close of the last term, during a period of about thirteen years; and died, after a short illness, in vacation, while yet a young man. he was scarcely thirty-eight years of age. yet he was old, if we measure time, as scholars should, not by the motion of the heavenly bodies, but the succession of ideas. he had made great proficiency in knowledge. well he might; for he had great susceptibilities. his temperament was ardent, his instincts were lively, his perceptions keen, his thoughts rapid, his reasoning faculties sharp, his imagination fiery, and his will determined. no man has all his active powers proportioned; for that would constitute perfection, which exists not in this world any more in physical than in moral natures. but his balance was less disturbed than most, and, consequently, he was capable of various and large attainments. what he could he did, for his spirit was earnest, and his industry untiring. he had become well founded and extensively versed in most departments of liberal study, and it would be difficult to say in what branch of knowledge he would have been most competent to excel. he was not a genius; that is, no one power of the mind absorbed the others, and his culture was not unequal. therefore he would not have glared for a while, like a meteor, and then exploded, but he would have stood one of the pillars of learning, and a true conservator of society. "a man of excellent constitutional faculties, like mr. chase, must use them, if providence gives him opportunity. he has a self-moving power. he cannot be still. use of the faculties increases their facility and productiveness; and the increase of products increases the love of acquisition. his gains, and his consequent love of gain, will be according to the providential direction which he takes, whether to a trade, an art, a profession, to the pursuit of wealth, or power, or general knowledge. mr. chase's direction was to knowledge. he acquired it easily, his stores rapidly increased, and the love of it became a passion. he loved knowledge as some men love pleasure, and others gold, for its own sake. yet not exclusively, for he was genial, warm-hearted, and humane. he appreciated the enjoyments of personal, domestic, and social life. no man could be more affectionate, kind, generous, or public-spirited. he was never a recluse or an ascetic. he was ready to take anything in hand, and liked to have his hands full. he desired an estate, he studied a profession, he amused himself with useful arts, he loved a farm, a garden, an orchard, a fruitery, an apiary; and occasionally, to do the work proper to them all himself; and he did it well. but knowledge, science, in the largest sense, was his _beau ideal_. "professor chase, as might be expected, had great excellence as a teacher and governor of college. his ideal of education may be inferred from his personal culture. this had always been general and liberal. he omitted no branch of important knowledge. he accepted nothing partial. he believed in none of the romantic expedients which are often hastily adopted, and successively abandoned, for making scholars without materials, and forcing public institutions of learning, for a present popular effect, off from the methods which nature has prescribed, and experience has sanctioned. he regarded a college as a place not so much of learning, as of preparation for learning,--a school of discipline, to bring the student up to manhood with ability to perform thenceforth the hard work of a man in his particular profession. to that end no part of fundamental study could be spared. he would as soon have judged that young men could be trained to excellence in the mechanic arts, while they disused any important organ of the body; or a sculptor elaborate a perfect model by chiseling only the limbs. he would not expect such a mechanic, or artist, or educators of the same school, to find either honorable or lucrative employment, when society, though temporarily blinded by ingenious but visionary projects of improvement, should learn the practical difference between the whole of anything and its parts. he would not have consented that any other department of college study should be sacrificed even to the mathematics. "but he would have the mathematics lie, physically, where god has placed it, at the foundation. he would have the student early settled and accustomed to the most approved methods and varieties of demonstrative science. he would discipline the mind among the certainties of numbers, that it might better search for truth among the probabilities of things; just as we learn to swim where we can touch bottom before it is safe to plunge into the deep. he judged soundly that one must learn to use his reason before he can wisely apply it to the purposes of life; and that without this preliminary training nothing else can be learned well; and that whatever otherwise seem to be accomplishments, turn out, at length, to be fantasies that vanish in the turmoil and struggle of life, or mislead men into a false and fickle management of affairs. wherefore he felt the peculiar responsibility of his position with all the intenseness of his earnest and far-reaching mind. he knew that his department, though most difficult to be commended to young men in general, was most indispensable to their success, and he sought accordingly to magnify his office. that he was a complete master of it is out of question. of this he has left enduring monuments; and not the least, i am happy to say, in minds which he had trained. "his own perception of relations was like intuition, and hence he was sometimes uneasy at the embarrassments of students, even when involuntary, and much more, when the result of indifference or neglect, even though they might at times be increased by the rapidity of his own illustrations. i should have dreaded to be taken by professor chase to the blackboard, unless i had a good lesson, or a good conscience; and i could not have been sure that the latter would avail me without the former. but though i should have shrunk from the criticism, i should have respected the man. if i feared him in the lecture-room, i should honor him in his study; for there his warm heart would open to the story of my mental trials, and he would lead me, and help me to bear my burdens, with the kindness of an elder brother. he was exacting, but he was humane; he was impatient, but full of generous sympathies. these qualities might not always be tempered in the hurry of an occasion, but found their balance in the leisure and quiet intercourse of retirement. he was just and faithful. he had strong likes, but he would yield a favorite when he must; and strong dislikes, but he was incapable of hate. he stopped short of all extremes. you could move him easily either way on the current of the sympathies; but you could not tempt him to do wrong. as with the judgment, so with the sensibilities; they were led by conscience. as with the love of knowledge, so with the passions; they were subject to the love of truth. whatever the occasional excitement of the intellect or the feelings, there was that in his mind which made it impossible for him to be an enemy of god or man. the soul had been harmonized by grace. "mr. chase had a pious ancestry, and was brought up by christian parents in the fear of god. an excellent mother, an invalid in his childhood, sat much in her arm-chair with the bible on her knee. she used it with her little boy as she would a primer. before he was four years old he had learned to read it, and read through the new testament; and that particular volume now remains the best part of his estate. he was ever afterwards a diligent student of the bible, and never ceased to honor the father and mother who had led him in this way of life. filial reverence was one of his most beautiful and characteristic traits. it was a natural step to the fear of god; and the early fear of god is likely to be succeeded, according to the covenant, by that love of god which, when perfected, casteth out fear. during his third year at college he became, as he hoped, regenerate, and professed his faith in christ. it is said that his religious awakening at that time was unusually deep; his awe of the divine government and his sense of sin profound; his acknowledgment of god's justice and general sovereignty unreserved; and his trust in christ for justification free and unqualified. that sheet-anchor saved him. it brought him up, subsequently, in the hour of danger. when the fitful and rough winds of the spirit of the power of the air beat upon him, and the swelling waters went over his soul, it dragged, but it held. it was cast within the veil. that new testament in his childhood, that subjection to his parents, that conversion at college,--they were blessings to him and to us that can be measured only by eternity. "it was a sorrowful day when, in the solitude and stillness of the winter vacation, we laid him in the tomb. it was sorrowful in that house where he had been the joy and hope of loving and trusting hearts, and had found rest from the cares and vexations of official life; where a sincere, unworldly, unartificial hospitality always reigned; whence tokens of kindness went freely round to friends, and compassionate charity to the poor. it was sorrowful to his colleagues, for we trusted him, his knowledge and judgment, his integrity and zeal, his faithfulness and efficiency, his independence and courage. we knew that he was above pretense, artifice, and duplicity; that in his keeping, righteous principle was safe, and over his application of it wisdom, benevolence, and firmness would preside. it was sorrowful to the village, for he was known to be a just man, a kind neighbor, and a good citizen. he was always ready to do what he could for the common welfare, and to bear his proportion of the common burdens. every man in the community felt that he had lost a friend." the scientific world could have no better demonstration of professor chase's rare mathematical talents than his text book on algebra, which is still used in one department of the college. professor chase married sarah thompson, daughter of ichabod goodwin, and granddaughter of general ichabod goodwin, of south berwick, me. he died at hanover, january , . * * * * * in "sprague's annals of the american pulpit," we find the following notice--furnished by the kindness of rev. daniel l. furbur, d.d.--of a gentleman of great worth, whose early death was a serious loss to the college: "david peabody, the youngest son of john and lydia (balch) peabody, was born at topsfield, mass., april , . he was employed more or less upon his father's farm till he was fifteen or sixteen years of age; but as his physical constitution was thought to be not well suited to agricultural life, and as his early tastes were more than ordinarily intellectual, and he had a strong desire for a collegiate education, his father consented to gratify him; and, in the spring of , he commenced the study of latin at dummer academy, byfield. the same year his thoughts were earnestly directed to the great subject of his own salvation, though he did not feel so much confidence in the genuineness of his religious exercises as to make a public profession of his faith until three years afterwards. in , he united with the congregational church in his native place, and in the autumn of the same year joined the freshman class in dartmouth college. "by severe labor during his collegiate course, he overtasked his naturally feeble constitution, and thus prepared the way for much future debility and suffering. he was graduated in , on which occasion he delivered the valedictory oration. "after spending a few weeks in recruiting his health at his father's, he became, for a short time, assistant editor of the 'new hampshire observer,' at portsmouth, but before the close of he entered the theological seminary at andover. in the spring of , he accepted an invitation to take charge of a young ladies' select school at portsmouth; but in the autumn of his declining health obliged him to relinquish it, and to seek a southern residence. he went to prince edward county, virginia, and secured a situation as teacher in an excellent family,--that of dr. morton, and at the same time entered the union theological seminary, of which the rev. dr. john h. rice was the founder and principal professor. he remained in the family of dr. morton till he had completed the prescribed course of study, and was licensed to preach by the west hanover presbytery in april, ; after which he supplied the church at scottsville for six months. so acceptable were his services, that the congregation would gladly have retained him as their pastor; but, as he preferred a northern residence, he declined all overtures for a settlement, and returned to new england, with his health much improved, in . in november of the same year he was ordained pastor of the first church in lynn, mass. in september, , he was married to maria, daughter of lincoln brigham, then of cambridge, but formerly of southborough, mass. in january, , he was attacked with a severe hemorrhage, which greatly reduced his strength, and obliged him for a season to intermit his labors. finding the climate unfavorable, he reluctantly came to the determination to resign his pastoral charge, with a view of seeking an inland home, when his health should be sufficiently recruited to justify him in resuming the stated duties of the ministry. "accordingly, in the spring of , he was dismissed, after which he spent some time in traveling for the benefit of his health, at the same time acting as an agent for the massachusetts sabbath-school society. his health now rapidly improved, and on the th of july succeeding his dismission, he was installed as pastor of the calvinist church in worcester. "the change of climate seemed, for a time, highly beneficial, and had begun to induce the hope that his health might become fully established; but, in the winter of - , he was prostrated by another attack of hemorrhage, which again clouded his prospects of ministerial usefulness. in the spring of , his health had so far improved that he resumed his ministerial labors and continued them through the summer; but in september, his symptoms again became more unfavorable, and he determined, in accordance with medical advice, to try the effect of a sea voyage and a winter in the south. accordingly, he sailed in november for new orleans; and, on arriving there, decided on going to st. francisville, a village on the mississippi. here he remained during the winter, preaching to both the white and colored population, as his strength would allow. in the spring, he returned to his pastoral charge, with his health considerably invigorated. he labored pretty constantly, though not without much debility, until the succeeding spring ( ), when he found it necessary again to desist from his labors, and take a season of rest. in company with a friend, he journeyed through a part of vermont and new hampshire, and on reaching hanover, the day after commencement, was surprised to learn that he had been appointed professor of rhetoric in dartmouth college. conscious of his inability to meet any longer the claims of a pastoral charge, and hoping that his health might be adequate to the lighter duties of a professorship, he could not doubt that the indications of providence were in favor of his accepting the appointment. he did accept it, and shortly after resigned his charge at worcester, amidst many expressions of affection and regret on the part of his people, and, in october following, entered on the duties of his professorship. "the change of labor proved highly beneficial, and during the winter of - , he enjoyed a degree of health which he had not known for many previous years. in march, he was so much encouraged in respect to himself that he remarked to a friend that he thought god would indulge the cherished wish of his heart, and permit him again to labor as a minister. but another cloud quickly appeared in his horizon, which proved ominous of the destruction of all his earthly hopes. in april following, he suffered from an attack of pleurisy, which was followed by lung fever; and, though he so far recovered as to be able to attend to his college duties till the september following, it became manifest to all that his disease was, on the whole, advancing towards a fatal termination. he died at the age of thirty-four years and six months, on the th of october, . his last days were rendered eminently tranquil by the blessed hopes and consolations of the gospel. his funeral sermon was preached by the rev. dr. lord, president of dartmouth college, and was published. he left no children. "mr. peabody's published works are a brief 'memoir of horace bassett morse,' ; a discourse on 'the conduct of men considered in contrast with the law of god,' ; a 'sermon on the sin of covetousness, considered in respect to intemperance, indian oppression, slavery,' etc., ; the 'patriarch of hebron, or the history of abraham' (posthumous), ." from the rev. samuel g. brown, d.d. "dartmouth college, july , . "my dear sir: it gives me great pleasure to send you my impressions of professor peabody, though others could write with more authority. i knew him in college, where he was my senior. he belonged to a class of great excellence, and was honorably distinguished throughout his college course for general scholarship, diligence, fidelity, and great weight of personal influence, in favor of all things 'excellent and of good report.' his character was mature and his mind already well disciplined when he entered the class, and education had perhaps less to accomplish for him in the matter of elegant culture than for almost any one of his associates. hence there was not the same conspicuous progress in him as in some others. yet at the time of graduation he stood among the first, as is indicated by the fact that he was the orator of one of the literary societies, and was selected by the faculty to deliver the valedictory oration at commencement. in every department of study he was a good scholar,--in the classical, moral, and rhetorical departments, preëminent. as a preacher, he was distinguished for a certain fullness and harmony of style, justness in the exposition of doctrine, and weight of exhortation. he was prudent without being timid, and zealous without being rash; eminently practical, though possessing a love of ideal beauty, and a cultivated and sensitive taste, and as far removed from formalism on the one side as from fanaticism on the other. dignified and courteous in manner, he was highly respected by all his acquaintances, and while a pastor, greatly esteemed and beloved by his people. his fine natural qualities were marred by few blemishes, and his religious character was steadily and constantly developed year by year. grave, sincere, earnest, he went about his labors as one mindful of his responsibility, and as seen under his 'great task-master's eye.' indeed his anxieties outran his strength, and he was obliged to leave undone much that was dearest to his hopes. the disease to which he finally yielded had more than once 'weakened his strength in the way,' before he was finally prostrated by it. the consequent uncertainty of life had perhaps imparted to him more than usual seriousness, and a deep solicitude to work while the day lasted. he performed the duties of a professor in college but a single year, and that with some interruptions. no better account of the general impression of his life on those who knew him best can be given than in the language of a sermon preached at his funeral by the rev. dr. lord. "'what his private papers show him to have felt in the presence of his god was made evident, also, in his social and official intercourse. intelligent, grave, dignified; conscientious in all his relations, from the student upwards to the teacher, the pastor, the professor; nothing empty as a scholar, nothing unsettled or inconsistent as a divine, nothing vague or groundless as an instructor; sincere, generous, honorable, devout; keenly sensitive in respect to the proprieties and charities of life; warm in his affections, strong in his attachments, stern in his integrity; above the arts of policy, the jealousies of competition, the subserviency of party spirit, and simply intent upon serving god, in his own house, and in all his official ministrations, he was one of the few who are qualified to be models for the young, ornaments to general society, and pillars in the church of god.' "hoping, dear sir, that this hasty and imperfect sketch may be of some trifling service in commemorating a good man, who deserves something much better, "i am very truly your obedient friend and servant, "s. g. brown." from the rev. john nelson, d.d. "leicester, july , . "my dear sir: my personal acquaintance with the rev. mr. peabody was limited to the period during which he was the pastor of the central church, in worcester. while he held that office, i had, i may say, an intimate,--certainly a most happy, acquaintance with him. i often saw him in his own house, and often received him as a welcome guest in mine. i often met him in the association to which we both belonged and in ecclesiastical councils. "i remember him as having a rather tall and commanding figure, and a benign countenance, beaming with intelligence, especially when engaged in conversation. this appearance, however, was modified by constant ill health. no one could be with him without receiving the impression that he was a scholar, as well as a deep and accurate thinker. "the few sermons which i heard him read, or deliver from the pulpit, were of a high order, distinguished for both accuracy of style and power of thought. they were clear, methodical, and highly eloquent. it was my own impression, and i know it was the impression of some of his most distinguished hearers, that he was among the best preachers of his time. in ecclesiastical councils he was shrewd, discerning, and wise. as a friend, he was always reliable. his moral character was not only high, but well balanced, and marred by no inconsistencies. "it is presumed that no one will dissent from the statement that, during the few years he was in worcester, by his intelligence, his manly virtues, his kindness of heart, his active labors for the advancement of christ's kingdom, and his ability as well as faithfulness as a preacher, he greatly commended himself, not only to the people of his immediate charge, but to the whole community in which he labored. "affectionately yours, "john nelson." we are indebted to "sprague's annals of the american pulpit" for yet another notice--furnished by the kindness of rev. daniel lancaster--of a gentleman widely known to the friends of education and religion. "william cogswell, the son of dr. william and judith (badger) cogswell, was born in atkinson, n. h., june , . he was a descendant from john cogswell, of westbury, wiltshire, england, who, with his family, sailed from bristol in a vessel called the 'angel gabriel,' june , , and was wrecked at pemaquid (now bristol), maine. he settled at chebacco, now essex, then a part of ipswich, mass., where he died november , , about fifty-eight years old. his father was distinguished as a physician and a magistrate, and held the office of hospital surgeon in the army during the war that gave us our independence. his mother was a daughter of the hon. joseph badger, of gilmanton, a gentleman of great respectability and for a long time in public life. "under the influence of good parental instruction, his mind was early formed to a deep sense of the importance of religion; but it was not till he was fitting for college at atkinson, that he received those particular religious impressions which he considered as marking the commencement of his christian life. he did not make a public profession of religion until the close of his junior year, september, ; at that time he, with both his parents, and all his brothers and sisters, nine in number, received baptism, and were admitted to the church on the same day, in his native place, by the rev. stephen peabody. "he became a member of dartmouth college in . having maintained a highly respectable standing in a class that has since numbered an unusual proportion of distinguished men, he graduated in . for two years after leaving college, he was occupied in teaching in the atkinson and hampton academies. but, during this time, having resolved to enter the ministry, he commenced the study of theology under the direction of the rev. mr. webster of hampton, and subsequently continued it under dr. dana of newburyport, and dr. worcester of salem,--chiefly the latter. having received license to preach from the piscataqua association, september , , he performed a tour of missionary service in new hampshire, and at the close of december, , returned to massachusetts, and accepted an invitation to preach as a candidate for settlement, in the south parish in dedham. after laboring there a few weeks, he received a unanimous call, which, in due time, he accepted, and on the th of april, , he was duly set apart to the pastoral office. here he continued laboriously and usefully employed about fourteen years, during which time the church under his care was doubled in numbers, and enjoyed a high degree of spiritual prosperity. "in june, , he was appointed general agent of the american education society, and he accordingly resigned his pastoral charge with a view to an acceptance of the place. he entered upon the duties of his new office in august following, and so acceptable were his services, and so well adapted was he found to be to such a field of labor, that in january, , he was elected secretary and director of the society. his duties now became exceedingly arduous, and his situation one of vast responsibility. in addition to all the other labors incident to his situation, he had an important agency in conducting the 'quarterly journal and register of the american education society,'--a work that required great research, and that has preserved much for the benefit of posterity which would otherwise have been irrecoverably lost. "in , he was honored with the degree of doctor of divinity, by williams college. "it became manifest, after a few years, that dr. cogswell's physical constitution was gradually yielding to the immense pressure to which it was subjected. he accordingly signified to the board of directors of the education society his intention to resign his office as secretary, as soon as a successor could be found. he was induced, however, by their urgent solicitation, to withhold his resignation for a short time; though in april, , his purpose was carried out, and his resignation accepted. the board with which he had been connected, rendered, on his taking leave of them, the most honorable testimony to the ability and fidelity with which he had discharged the duties of his office. "on the same month that he determined on resigning his place in the education society, he was appointed by the trustees of dartmouth college, professor of history and national education. here again his labors were very oppressive, as he was obliged not only to prepare a course of lectures on a subject comparatively new, but to perform much other service, especially in the way of collecting funds to endow his professorship. he was chiefly instrumental, at this time, in establishing the northern academy of arts and sciences, and of gathering for it a library of about two thousand volumes. "but while he was thus actively and usefully engaged, he was invited to the presidency of the theological seminary at gilmanton, in connection also with the professorship of theology, and a general agency in collecting funds. there were many circumstances that led him to think favorably of the proposal, and finally to accept it. he accordingly removed his family to gilmanton, in january, . "his expectations in this last field of labor seem scarcely to have been realized. the removal of one of the professors to another institution, devolved upon him an amount of labor which he had not anticipated, and he found it impossible to attend to the business of instruction, and at the same time to be abroad among the churches soliciting pecuniary aid. at length, finding that the public mind was greatly divided as to the expediency of making any further efforts to sustain the institution, he recommended that its operations should, for the time being, be suspended; though he considered it as only a suspension, and confidently believed that it had yet an important work to perform. he held himself ready after this to give private instruction in theology, whenever it was desired. "in , dr. cogswell suffered a severe domestic affliction in the death of his only son,--a young man of rare promise, at the age of twenty. this seemed to give a shock to his constitution from which he never afterwards fully recovered. he acted as a stated supply to the first church in gilmanton until the early part of january, , when he was suddenly overtaken with a disease of the heart that eventually terminated his life. he preached on the succeeding sabbath (january ), but it was for the last time. he performed some literary labor after this, and read the concluding proof sheet of a work that he was carrying through the press for the new hampshire historical society. when he found that death was approaching, though at first he seemed to wish to live, that he might carry out some of his plans of usefulness, not yet accomplished, he soon became perfectly reconciled to the prospect of his departure. he died in serene triumph,--connecting all his hopes of salvation with the truths he had preached,--april , . his funeral sermon was preached by the rev. daniel lancaster of gilmanton, and was published. "dr. cogswell was a member of the massachusetts historical society, of the american antiquarian society, and of the new england historic and genealogical society. he was also an honorary member of the historical societies of new hampshire, rhode island, connecticut, new york, new jersey, pennsylvania, and georgia, and a corresponding member of the national institution for the promotion of science at washington. "the following is a list of dr. cogswell's publications 'a sermon on the nature and extent of the atonement,' . 'a sermon containing the history of the south parish, dedham,' . 'a sermon on the suppression of intemperance,' . 'a catechism on the doctrines and duties of religion,' . 'a sermon on the nature and evidences of the inspiration of the sacred scriptures,' . 'a sermon before the auxiliary education society of norfolk county,' . 'assistant to family religion,' . 'a sermon on religious liberty,' . 'a valedictory discourse to the south parish, dedham,' . 'theological class book,' . 'harbinger of the millennium,' . 'letters to young men preparing for the ministry,' . in addition to the above, dr. cogswell wrote the 'reports of the american education society' for eight years--from to ; and two 'reports of the northern academy.' he was the principal editor of the 'american quarterly register' for several years; was editor also of the 'new hampshire repository,' published at gilmanton, n. h.; of the first volume of the 'new england, historical and genealogical register;' of a paper in georgetown, mass., called the 'massachusetts observer,' for a short time; and of the sixth volume of the 'new hampshire historical collections.' "dr. cogswell was married on the th of november, , to joanna, daughter of the rev. jonathan strong, d.d., of randolph, mass. they had three children,--one son and two daughters. from the rev. samuel g. brown, d.d., professor in dartmouth college. "hanover, april , . "my dear sir: i had the pleasure of considerable acquaintance with the rev. dr. cogswell, though only during the later years of his life. he was not then accustomed to preach, except occasionally to supply a vacant pulpit, or as a part of his duty as secretary of the education society, or in connection with his professorship in dartmouth college, or the theological seminary at gilmanton. he had formed his style on the model of the older preachers and theologians, and if he had something of their formality, he had much of their scriptural simplicity of statement and devoutness of feeling. his sermons, so far as i remember them, though showing a careful adherence to the doctrinal opinions of the fathers of new england, were not of a polemic character, but were marked by good sense, earnestness, a biblical mode of address, and warm christian sympathies. "from natural kindness of heart, he avoided unnecessary controversy, and was especially solicitous to harmonize and unite by charity, rather than by acuteness to discriminate differences among brethren, or to separate them by severity of judgment. not ambitious, he was yet gratified by the approbation and good opinion of others, and loved a position where he might be prominent in labors of charity. neglect or contumely wounded but did not embitter him. no feeling of ill-nature was suffered to disturb his peace or check his liberality. "among the prominent traits of his character was a sincere and unwearied benevolence. he was interested in young men, and his labors as secretary of the american education society were stimulated even more by love of the work than by a sense of official responsibility. he was thoroughly devoted to the objects which interested him, and though one might differ from him in judgment with respect to measures, none doubted his sincerity or refused him the praise of unsparing fidelity. "his tastes led him to antiquarian pursuits, and he was prominent in founding and conducting several learned societies which have done much to rescue valuable knowledge from oblivion, and thus to secure the materials for future history. "he bore adversity with meekness and patience. what might have crushed a harder spirit, but gave his greater symmetry. the latter years of his life, though darkened with many disappointments, were illustrated by the exhibition of admirable and noble traits of character, such as few, except his most intimate friends, supposed him so fully to possess. the death of an only and very promising son while in college, and the failure of some favorite plans, seemed only to develop a touching and beautiful christian resignation and a high magnanimity. not a murmur was heard from his lips under his irreparable loss, nor an unkind or reproachful word at the disappointment of his expectations; nor did an unsubmissive or harsh thought seem to find a place in his heart. those especially who witnessed his last sickness were deeply impressed with the christian virtues and graces which found a free expression in the hour of trial. "dr. cogswell was portly in appearance, grave and dignified in his bearing, and eminently courteous in manner. he will be remembered with kindness by all who knew him, and by many with a feeling of strong gratitude and affection. "with great regard, your obliged friend and servant, "s. g. brown." chapter xxvi. prof. john newton putnam.--prof. john s. woodman. prof. clement long.--other teachers. the following notice of the eminent scholar who succeeded professor crosby in the chair of greek, is from a commemorative "discourse" by professor brown. john newton putnam was the son of simeon and abigail brigham (fay) putnam, and was born december , , in what was then the north parish of the beautiful town of andover, massachusetts. his father, a graduate of harvard in the class of , was for many years teacher of a classical school of high character in north andover, in which the son received his elementary training and discipline. his mother was a lady of exquisite refinement and beauty of character, of great gentleness and tender grace. soon after the death of his father, in , he entered phillips academy in andover, then under the charge of that excellent scholar, mr. osgood johnson, where he successfully completed the usual course of study preparatory to entering college. being still quite young, and already showing uncommon aptitude for study, he went with his instructor and friend, rev. thatcher thayer, to the town of dennis, upon cape cod, where he spent four years in quiet and delightful application. dr. thayer says of his classical studies: "he recited each day, in review, the whole of the past lesson from memory, without book, first the latin or greek and then the english. at each lesson questions were asked which, if he could not answer, he was required to answer at the next recitation, from various helps furnished him. this often led to long and varied investigations. he wrote as much as he read,--perhaps more. "if those studying with him might smile a little at his want of athletic zeal and vigor, there was no room for smiling when it came to greek, or indeed any mental exercise. besides, his wit, though gentle, could gleam, and then they all respected him for his character, and loved him for his winning spirit." in the autumn of , he entered the sophomore class of this college, ready to make full use of the ample opportunities granted him. with what modesty and beauty he bore himself here, with what fidelity in every relation, with what admirable scholarship, with what generous aims, with what simplicity and purity of motive, with what love of learning, and desire not merely of meeting the claims of the recitation-room, but of perfecting himself in every branch of liberal culture, how constantly this noble desire possessed him from his first day among us down to the closing hour when he discoursed so fitly and with such maturity on "poetry--an instinctive philosophy," those know best who were most familiar with his college life. one testimony to this is so full and generous, and of such weighty authority, that i cannot forbear to give it. it is from the accomplished scholar who filled the chair of greek for many years before professor putnam.[ ] [ ] professor alpheus crosby. "i could not hope," he says, "to express, by any words at my command, the peculiar charm which professor putnam's scholarship and character had for me. i never heard him recite without being impressed with the wonderful perfection of his scholarship. his translation was so faultlessly accurate, and yet in such exquisite taste, his analysis and parsing were so philosophical and minutely exact, and his information upon illustrative points of history, biography, antiquities, and literature, was so full and ready, that i listened with admiration, and to become myself a learner. how often i had the feeling that we ought to change places i and when i had decided to resign my situation in the college, my mind immediately turned to him as a successor, assured that the college would be most fortunate if it could secure his services." it need not be said how fully professor putnam reciprocated this esteem, nor what value he attached to the exact and thorough discipline of his instructor. nor was it in the department of languages alone that he was distinguished, but almost equally in every other, as much in those studies which demand the independent and original action of the mind as those which mainly require close attention, and the faculty of acquisition. his modesty was then, as always, so marked, and his ideal of excellence so high, that it required some sense of duty to bring his powers to a public test. he never thrust himself into a place of responsibility, or sought distinction for distinction's sake. he had in college the desire and purpose which he always retained,--to complete himself in every art and every manly exercise. hence his study of music, not only as a recreation, but as a discipline; not merely to gratify the ear, though exquisitely fond of the art, and receiving from it a refined and exalted pleasure, but also that he might become acquainted with the thoughts and conceptions of men great in musical genius. the handel society, which, from the constant changes of its members, must necessarily fluctuate,--the annual losses not always being met by corresponding gains,--was then in a high state of efficiency. for the sake of study and musical acquisition, it boldly grappled with the difficult works of eminent masters, and with whatever necessary imperfectness of actual performance, it was with sure and lasting results of musical ability and taste and knowledge. it was in this society, i suppose, that professor putnam first became practically acquainted with some of the great works of handel and haydn, beethoven and mozart, and with the lighter but yet substantial excellencies of some of the english masters. here he cultivated and disciplined his nice ear to the instinctive perception of the hidden harmonies of poetry, to the _feeling_ of those finer beauties which hardly admit of expression in anything so clumsy as our actual speech. the desire for physical accomplishment led him to join a military company then existing in college, although he had no love for such things, but rather a native repugnance to them, and there was then no special demand for the discipline. the six years following his graduation were divided between instruction in leicester, massachusetts, and newport, rhode island, and pursuing his professional studies in the theological seminary at andover. during this time he reviewed and consolidated his knowledge. he brought himself into nearer contact with practical and common life. he enlarged his sphere of observation and the circle of his studies, and was looking forward with great satisfaction to the actual performance of the duties of his profession, when he was invited to the chair of greek in this college. it was a position entirely suited to his tastes, his capacities, his studies. he brought to it not only ample learning and tastes delicate and cultivated, but the enlarged and generous spirit of a true scholar, and the aptness of an accomplished instructor. his ideal of attainment and of duty was very high, and he aimed at once to fit himself, by the most generous courses of study, to illustrate the more perfectly to his classes the poetry, the eloquence, the philosophy, of the wisest and most refined people of the whole ancient world. it was with no narrow or exclusive spirit, nor with a merely technical purpose, that professor putnam pursued his studies, or directed those of others. every true book was a nucleus around which all thought and knowledge of similar kind were grouped,--a central point from which his mind radiated in all directions within the sphere of the subject. could he read plato and aristotle without studying the course of ancient philosophy and its influence on the modern? or demosthenes, without an investigation of the virtues and failings of athenian statesmen? or thucydides, without meditation on the causes of the desolation of empires and states? or homer and sophocles, without a quick comparison with dante and milton and shakespeare? it was indeed a characteristic of professor putnam, and one cause why his knowledge was becoming, had indeed become, at once so ample and so serviceable, that it was not an accumulation of facts disconnected or bound together by mere accidental associations, but an organic growth, every fibre of the most distant branch tracing itself back to the one trunk, and the sap from the living root feeding and nourishing the whole. in his special profession, professor putnam would be allowed to hold rank among the very best. the most kind and winning of teachers, he was the most exacting and stimulating. by questions sharp, pertinent, and various, thoroughly testing the knowledge of the student, he at once made him feel his deficiencies, and inspired him to supply them. even the dull and careless felt the singular fascination of his look and tone, caught something of the life of his spirit, and were gradually lifted above themselves. gentle, affable, ready to communicate, dignified, thorough, patient, and learned, never harsh, never repulsive, he was earnest to meet every want of the student. his whole course was marked by unwearied fidelity. to instruct was an occupation and a duty, to which he made everything else yield. he was thoroughly desirous to help those who came under his care, so revealing to them their own deficiencies, and so placing before them the methods and results of a better scholarship, as to incite them to new exertions, and aid them to independent and vigorous activity. no one, unless very groveling and earthy, could be long under his training, without insensibly catching something of the finer spirit of a beautiful discipline. his own philosophic thought imparted its movement to their minds, and many are they who have gone from these halls, within the last fourteen years, who can trace back to him some of their best methods of study. language was, in his view, no dead product, but the finer breath and effluence of the national life, as subtle, as many sided in its aspects, as the national spirit itself,--into the knowledge of which one must grow by slow degrees, bending his pliant mind till it gradually yields to the new channels of thought and expression. "an unfaithful scholar," says one of his pupils, "was gently yet unmistakably reminded of his delinquency, perhaps by assistance being omitted upon a point which he might easily have ascertained for himself. one whom he saw struggling to learn he invariably helped, and this help was given so kindly that many a one would try to make a good recitation if only to gratify one so much beloved. the best scholars were quickened by his most delicately expressed appreciation of their victories, and even sluggish souls felt an unwonted light and warmth stirring in them when they came into his presence. i remember well our last recitation in greek. it was from plato. he started with an idea of the noble philosopher, christianized it, and gave it to us in a few simple, sublime words, with an attitude and _look_ that melted the hearts of all. "it has sometimes occurred to me that he could not seem constantly to others as he did to me, like one who had dropped from a higher sphere, to remain a little while in order to draw the hearts that should love him to a purer, higher, and better life. but conversation with others has shown me that it has long been a general impression that he moved in a realm above the common level of even the best men." there was still another aspect in which professor putnam presented himself, which should not be passed over without at least an allusion. having completed his professional studies, his own tastes and higher aims, no less than the wishes of his friends, induced him occasionally to exercise the functions of the christian ministry. hence he sought and received ordination according to the usages of the congregational churches, and in that relation stood in his lot. with what earnestness and pureness of motive, with what loftiness of purpose and fidelity in his high calling, and acceptance to those who heard him, i need not try to express. but i may say that it was not for want of solicitation that he did not exchange his professorship for places of considerable public importance in the other calling. it was his duty, a belief of his fitness for his post, that kept him from some inviting fields of labor elsewhere. having referred in fitting terms to his call to the andover theological seminary, to the closing scenes in his life, and to his death at sea, professor brown says in conclusion: "few lives were more perfect than his, whose youth gave so fair a promise, whose riper years so fully redeemed the pledge. his presence shall still go with us all, to excite us to new fidelity, to enkindle within us nobler affections, to inspire us with holier purposes." his classmate rev. dr. furber says: "the ripe and rare scholarship of my beloved classmate and friend, john newton putnam, was the fruit of diligence and the love of study in one whose acquisitions were easily and rapidly made. mr. putnam never seemed to be a hard worker, but knowledge was continually flowing to him as by a process of absorption from his early childhood until he became the accomplished and brilliant scholar that he was as professor of greek. his books were his constant companions, their society was his pleasure and pastime, he preferred it, even in his boyhood, to the sports and recreations for which most boys neglect their studies. when in college he sat up at night after other students were in bed to pursue the study of german and other modern languages not then required by the college course. this he did from the pure love of these studies, without the aid of a teacher, and without the social stimulus of any companionship in such pursuits. and he probably for the sake of study neglected needful bodily exercise every year of his life. "in the study of languages he found a fascination. the marvelous greek tongue was of course the richest field for him, the language of a people of the finest and subtlest intellect, and of the highest culture in the art of speech. he seemed at home in that wonderful language as much almost as if it had been his mother tongue. the elegance and vivacity, the felicity and energy of his translations from thucydides or plato showed that he not only comprehended his author and saw the subject as he saw it, but that he had fairly caught the glow of the author's mind from the page which he had written. "so accomplished a student of language could not have been ignorant of his rank among his fellow students; but in all my intimacy with him, boarding at the same table, occupying for a few months the same room, and spending with him more or less time every day either in social intercourse or in the enjoyment of vocal or instrumental music, i never knew him to betray, by word or act or look, a consciousness of his superiority to the poorest scholar in the class. "oblivious as he was, apparently, of the deficiencies of others, he was quick enough to perceive their merits. a fine recitation or an eminently creditable performance of any college exercise, no matter by whom, gave him positive enjoyment, which in his nervous and emphatic way he was very apt to express. it is really not too much to say that he appeared to enjoy the successes of others as much as though they had been his own. "what a help to any college class is the influence of one such man! his connection with the class of , was, no doubt, the presentation to some of its members of an ideal such as they had not formed before; an ideal, not only of enthusiasm for the largest acquisitions and the finest culture, but of that enthusiasm sustained by the love of excellence for its own sake, and not alloyed by any merely selfish ambition to surpass others. "a spirit of scholarship so high, so broad, so generous as this could be no mark for envy. none of us grudged our classmate his position or his honors. he was the beloved associate, and is now the warmly remembered friend of some of us, and no doubt many of us were more indebted to his example than we were aware of at the time for anything that was well and worthily done by us in our college days. "i ought not to close this notice without speaking of mr. putnam's love of music. music was born in him as much as greek was, and he learned one as rapidly as he did the other. when in college he was a valuable member of the handel society, his influence being always in favor of the introduction for practice of the standard and classic authors. haydn's 'creation' and other works of that great composer were an unfailing source of delight to him. their naturalness and spontaneity, their brightness and cheerfulness, their artistic finish and exquisite grace, met precisely the corresponding qualities in his own mind. as we often choose those authors who are most unlike ourselves, so he knew how to enjoy the rugged grandeur of less polished writers. he could listen to a mountain chain of choruses in 'israel in egypt,' or to a dark and mazy labyrinth of mingled harmony and discord in beethoven, and wherever he saw the perfection of art or the power of genius, his soul was like a harp of a thousand strings every one of which was alive with vibration. i well remember with what elevation of feeling and intensity of utterance he used in the handel society to sing 'the hallelujah chorus,' and the concluding chorus of the messiah, 'worthy is the lamb that was slain.' his deeply religious sympathies were touched by the sentiment of these great choruses, and on this account his enjoyment of them was more profound than his enjoyment even of the finished models of haydn. he knew and felt that he was on a grander theme, and that redemption was greater than creation. and it is pleasant to think of him now as saying with a deeper meaning and a more rapturous devotion than he knew on earth, and may we add, a more thrilling musical delight, 'worthy is the lamb.'" we append some of the closing lines of the venerable dr. thayer's most touching and eloquent tribute to the character of his beloved and honored pupil: "he did in quality, more than in quantity, beyond any i ever had to do with. he was under more stimulus than mere quiet pleasure in study. he had a most delicate sense of beauty to be gratified, a fine power of discrimination which sought objects for its exercise. then his love for his mother was a very powerful motive; then too i think he thought of gratifying and honoring his teacher, who loved him and tried to make him a scholar. but better, he loved his saviour and increasingly studied with humble loyalty to him. still we must not put putnam in a wrong place. he was preëminently made for a classical scholar." rev. dr. leeds adds: "i became acquainted with professor putnam in the winter of - , and was on intimate terms with him up to the time of his death, more than two years later.... "of his scholarship, others can speak more fitly than i. all remarked that he was pervaded by that which is beautiful in the wonderful language and literature he taught, as ever a vase by the perfume of its flowers. "but it is his character on which i love to dwell. ever after i had become well acquainted with him, he was a delightful illustration to me of the power of love to foster diverse and even opposite elements of character. he had feminine traits, and yet he was thoroughly manly; the gentleness and tenderness of a true woman were his, and so were the dignity and courage of a true man. he could speak, and was wont to speak, and preferred to speak words of kindness the most winning; but he could administer a rebuke longer to be remembered than most men's; though _more_, perhaps, because it came from him than for any other reason. the union in him of fastidious taste and of uncritical temper was very marked. no man was more sensitive than he to all the proprieties of the occasion; and one might at first fear lest himself should say or do what would jar upon that delicately attuned spirit, for whatever _he_ said or did was perfect in its manner. and yet no one--no one--would listen with more simple enjoyment to the plainest, crudest utterances of others. he had not one word of criticism to offer. he seemed to see--i am confident he did see--only what was good and attractive in them. but one thing could offend him, that which indicated a want of sympathy. "more than any man i ever knew, he saw the good in every person, and the bright in everything. it was wonderful, it was delightful, it rebuked one, and it quickened one, to note the manifestations of this temper. nothing, seemingly, could occur that did not present some occasion for gratitude. after the fearful disaster which hurried his life to its close, his message home was--how characteristic of him all who knew him will at once recognize,--'tell them to thank god for our deliverance!' "i must not say much more. his friends need no reminders of his innocent, sunny playfulness, or his abounding, sparkling--but never trenchant--wit. as one of them has said of another, 'what bright, graceful conceits often fell from his lips, his soft, dark eye smiling at his own unexpected thought!' and yet, such was his gracious nature that he was the delight of the house of prayer as much as of the friendly circle, the one who would be chosen alike to share our hours of gayety, and to extend to us the sacramental cup. in fine, his qualities were refined, blended, and crowned by love--love which often suggested to others the name of st. john. "no notice of him would be adequate that did not at least refer to his wife,--fitting companion to such a man. a daughter of prof. william and mrs. sarah chamberlain, she inherited both the attractive and the sterling traits of her parents. 'lovely and pleasant in their lives, in their death they were not divided.'" esthetic and solid culture have very rarely had a more nearly perfect union in any american scholar than in professor putnam. whether in the privacy of his home, in the recitation room, or before a large audience, his words were always chosen with a marked regard for fitness and beauty. his knowledge of the minutest points of every theme which he discussed was so exhaustive and complete that any attempt to improve would have been almost like carrying light to the sun. the graces of his heart corresponded with those of his person and mind. his earnest piety was marked and felt by all who came within the sphere of his influence. few christian teachers have passed away, at the age of forty, more highly esteemed than professor putnam. he died on the return voyage from europe, near halifax, october , . * * * * * in , the chair of mathematics was rendered vacant by the death of professor chase, and he was succeeded by john smith woodman, a member of the rockingham county bar. he was the son of nathan and abigail h. (chesley) woodman, and was born at durham, n. h., september , . extended experience as a teacher in the south, and foreign travel, had given valuable expansion to professor woodman's naturally capacious mind. he was a careful, patient, laborious teacher of the mathematics. he did not exact excellence from every student, for he fully realized that a lack of native fondness for the studies of this department rendered it impossible for some to appear in the recitation-room, with as full preparation as others. but he strove to have each do the best in his power, and his kindness induced many to put forth earnest effort, who would have been less inclined to do so under a different teacher. one well qualified to appreciate him says: "as an instructor in mathematics, a field proverbially difficult, professor woodman had but few equals. such was his superiority when a student in this department, that there was little difficulty in choosing a successor to the post made vacant by the sudden and untimely death of professor chase. the action of the trustees was most completely justified by the ease and thoroughness with which professor woodman took up and carried forward the work of his honored and lamented predecessor. "in the class-room, however subtle or complicated the subject, or however dull the student lucklessly 'called up,' his demeanor was always evenly calm, without a shade of impatience; he carried a firm, steady hand, master alike of himself and the subject in hand. "under his direction the field of mathematics was not left to mere theoretical cultivation. at an early date, the first class under his care was marshaled in squads under self-chosen captains who were first trained by the professor in practical handling of compass, theodolite, and sextant; and then each led his division to out-door work, taking the various instruments in turn. he was also able to invest even analytical geometry and integral calculus with charms for some of the class. one student came from a private interview in a high state of enthusiasm over the eloquent suggestiveness of formulæ in the vocabulary of calculus. "written examinations, now so common, were among the methods introduced into his department by professor woodman, and that class still remembers the spectacles quietly adjusted, that his near-sightedness might not encourage an illicit use of + and -, and the rigid silence which shut them up to the simple problems written upon the blackboard, notwithstanding adroit questions, ostensibly innocent and necessary. "in the chandler scientific school, to which professor woodman was afterwards assigned, he was specially qualified to do good work, because of his thorough mastery of mathematics by perceptions almost intuitive. thoroughly at home in its principles, loving them, and honestly loving his pupils, he could luminously and patiently teach the application of those principles in practice, however minute and detailed. "mention of professor woodman as an instructor would be incomplete, were there no allusion to the force and influence of his character as a man, transparently honest, and grandly true. he taught well from text-books, but his life, so unaffectedly simple and just, gave better, deeper, and more lasting instruction." an associate in the faculty says: "professor woodman becoming somewhat weary of the continuous and laborious drill of young men in a department not generally appreciated, and feeling a renewed desire to return to the practice of law, resigned his professorship, and removed to boston for that purpose. after a year's experience of the practice, or desire of practice, of law, the professor was ready to return to his field of labor in the college. his former department was no longer open, the place having been filled, on his resignation, by the appointment of professor patterson. he was, therefore, appointed professor of civil engineering in the chandler scientific school. on entering upon his duties, he was made the chief executive officer, under the president, of the department, and continued to hold that relation to the school till his death. professor woodman proved himself a thorough, able, and zealous teacher in his new chair, and by degrees became deeply interested in the scientific department, and devoted his time and energies to building it up and making it a success. he early became sensible of the importance of the free-hand drawing, and gave it a prominent place in the curriculum of the school, which it has continued to hold. the depth of professor woodman's love for the school, and the strength of his desire for its continued prosperity, were made manifest in his will by a generous donation to its funds. those who graduated from the chandler department while it was under the administration of professor woodman, will never cease to love and revere his memory." a classmate, distinguished for his interest in general education, says: "professor woodman was county commissioner of schools, and secretary of the new hampshire board of education, during the year . he was again county commissioner during the years and . in he was commissioner and chairman of the board which was composed of the commissioners of the several counties. in the opinion of the most competent judges, professor woodman was one of the wisest and most efficient state school officers new hampshire has ever had. he was admirably qualified for the work of an educator, not only by the cast of his methodical, organizing mind, but by his varied experience and scholastic attainments. he was eminently practical in all his plans for the improvement of the schools, and he knew well how to adapt means to ends. his reports, both as commissioner and secretary, were of a high order of excellence, and they were highly beneficial in promoting the cause of education in the state." professor woodman married mary ann, daughter of stephen perkins chesley, of durham, and adopted daughter of edward pendexter. he died at durham, n. h., may , . * * * * * in , professor clement long, who was the son of samuel and mary (clement) long, and was born at hopkinton, n. h., december, , , was called to the chair of intellectual philosophy which had been vacated by the resignation of professor haddock. he was a thorough teacher. being himself a most profound thinker, he deemed it his duty to exact a thorough knowledge of every day's lesson by the student. if he had not made himself master of the subject, by learning all that was to be learned from the text-book, any attempt to supply the deficiency, by drawing upon his own resources, would be sure to be followed by the plainest marks of dissatisfaction or merited rebuke on the part of professor long. never indulging in the diffuse or the discursive himself, he never tolerated such a course on the part of the student. a mere glance at the man was sufficient to indicate the richest and most solid type of mind. those who sat under his instruction, and were capable of appreciating it, will ever remember his efforts in their behalf with the liveliest gratitude. in a commemorative "discourse," president lord says: "he was graduated at this college in , a classmate and intimate friend of the late and lamented professor young, and a worthy associate of the many honorable men by whom the class of that year has been distinguished. "it was here, in a time of unusual religious awakening among the students, that he became a christian, and, with several of his classmates, made profession of his faith,--a profession ever afterwards honored by a singular devotedness to his saviour. that he was a regenerate man, and true to his christian calling, no one who knew him ever doubted. it was manifested by the perhaps best of all evidences, as construed by experienced observers,--the uniform prevalence of an unworldly and super-worldly spirit. he affected nothing, he pretended nothing; but whatever he said or did significant of religious character was traceable, and traceable only, to a believing and loving mind. if any thought him severely religious, that may have been the fault of his critics rather than his own. "after leaving college, he was for three years a preceptor, principally at randolph, vt.; then, for two years, a theological student at andover. before completing his term at that institution, he was called, in , to the professorship of intellectual philosophy in western reserve college, at hudson, ohio. after a short term of service he was elected to the professorship of theology, in the same institution, and received ordination as a minister of the gospel. these changes are all significant of early and distinguished worth. "in he received and accepted the appointment of professor of theology in the seminary at auburn, n. y." his classmate professor folsom says: "professor long was like a precious stone kept long in the lapidary's hands before its brilliancy met the public gaze. i had my home under his father's roof, and sat daily at table with him, during my junior year. we were colleagues afterwards, together with our classmate jarvis gregg, in the western reserve college; and they both were members of my family there. we had been handelians at dartmouth (as also peabody), and almost every evening we sang together, at our fireside, from zeuner's "harp." how precious the memory of those hours! how often has the uplifting power of all our intercourse been felt! professor long, like professor young, joined the love of mathematics with that of metaphysics, but the bent of his genius was strongly in the direction of the latter, and not least in theological and moral science. he had the enthusiastic regard both of the faculty and students of the western reserve college. he was also a very suggestive and quickening preacher, often at my request taking my place in the pulpit of the chapel. his great modesty, and not easily satisfied ideal, kept him from publishing much in his lifetime; but i have wondered that some of his writings did not find their way into print after his death. he once told me, when urging him to this step, that he hoped, in the course of ten years or so, to be able to prepare something which the ear of the public might not be careless to hear. he had the same clear-cut features that marked professor peabody, though of a different pattern,--the latter with outward, the former with inward, gaze." "in ," president lord continues, "he was transferred to the position which he held in this college till his death, leaving the honorable office which he had so lately assumed, at auburn, partly out of his great love for his alma mater, and partly, to minister to his revered parents in their advanced years. "in all these relations the qualities which i have suggested laid the foundation of his acknowledged excellence. in all the departments which he successively occupied he was regarded, as among the most learned, able, and effective teachers and preachers of the country. he was competent to every service required of him, and gave to every position dignity and honor. he was distinctively christian in them all, and made them subservient to no school or party, but to the gospel through which he had been saved. "wherein professor long was like other men, he was above the generality, and, though he aspired not to lead, was fitted to precede them. wherein he was unlike them, the difference was more conspicuous. his peculiarities were striking, and in them we perceive his most observable traits, whether of the intellect or the heart. "i know not whether it were most of nature, or habit, that our friend was so distinguished for acuteness, directness, and singleness of the mind,--a mind not especially intuitive and rapid, not noticeably free in its conceptions, wide in its survey, or comprehensive in its generalizations, moving rather on an extended line than an enlarged area, but subtle and clear as light; sharp, piercing and discriminating as electricity; pointed, direct, and exact as the magnet; conclusive, positive, and decisive as the bolt of heaven. his processes were simple, natural, easy, and continuous, not stiffly regulated by scholastic laws, but strictly conformable, and his results inevitable. give him his definitions and his postulates which, though not given, he would, like other resolved reasoners after his method, sometimes take, at his own risk, and he would go round or through the circle, or make his traverses in darkness and storm, and never lose his meridian, or be confused in his reckoning; and he would come back precisely to his starting-point laden with success, his points all proved. it was well said of him by a curious and critical observer of scholars, that, as a logician, he was not exceeded in the country. "our professor had made large attainments in the science to which he was especially devoted,--the metaphysics. he read whatever was worth the reading, of which, however, he chose to be an independent judge, but he thought more, so that his attainments were emphatically his own. he was not like what so many now become in this department of study,--a mere follower, imitator, panegyrist,--but a searching critic and judicious commentator. he had a higher range of speculative inquiry than most of the more ambitious men who have exceeded him in popular effect, and he corrected his inquiries by a better logic, and a more simple faith. but i have sometimes thought him too much of a recluse for his greatest profiting in this respect. he loved best the retirement of his own study, and was rarely seen outside of it, except when required by his official duties. he abjured the artificial forms and fashions of social life, the bustling confusions of trade and commerce, and the whirl and finesse of political agitations. he never would stand on a platform, nor be seen at an anniversary, nor harangue a popular assembly. he was happiest in solitude where, undisturbed, he could solve the abstruse problems of ethics, or be a delighted critic of metaphysical theories, or seek to penetrate the mysteries of theology. he was consequently in danger of contemplating his subjects, like so many others of his time, both in church and state, too much in their refined essence, and too little in their comprehensive practical relations; rather as things, in his judgment, ought to be, than as they are; too much in the light of a fictitious principle, and too little in that of experience, history, and analogy; rather according to god's original constitution than the actual necessities of a fallen state; too much as they may be in the ultimate development of god's moral providence, and too little as they are in its administrative course. hence, but for the greatest care which, in the main, he exercised, he would have been likely to crowd into his definitions and postulates more than they naturally admitted, or to make them less than they naturally required; to mistake, for the basis of his fulcrum, a speculative subtlety instead of a practical reality; and, consequently, to make his inexorable logic draw too much, or to little, for legitimate practical effect. if, occasionally tempted by the excitement of our present types of speculative and conjectural science, he seemed to overstep the limits which god has prescribed to us in our present probationary state, and to make the human a measure of the divine, it was done not presumptuously, from a spirit of conceited and ambitious intermeddling with things forbidden, but unconsciously, from an honest desire for knowledge. when he perceived, as he was not slow to perceive, that many of the objects which now so much allure the learned men of the world, who are falsely so called, were not real, but ideal and conceptional only, not actual knowledge verifiable by a day-light test, but shadows and chimeras chasing one another over the moonlit sky, then he retreated. he chose to stop, reverentially, as taught by scripture, when he must, rather than to be driven back by the cherubim and the flaming sword. not even kant, or coleridge, or any of their living imitators, however congenial their respective tastes for speculative subtleties, could tempt him so to disregard the boundary between reason and faith as to lose sight of calvary, or mistake an _ignis fatuus_ for the sun of righteousness. his college experience, and, i have sometimes thought the _genius collegii_, with a father's and mother's teachings and prayers, all favored by the spirit who only searcheth the deep things of god, kept him near and true to the everlasting word. "but we forgot all his speculative trials and temptations, we forgot almost that he was not perfect but in part, when, in his sacred character, and in this sacred place, he laid aside his weapons of intellectual warfare, and, with his peculiar meekness of wisdom, simplicity of statement, power of argument, and cogency of appeal, testified to us the great things of the kingdom of god, so far as he had learned them out of the holy scripture. very instructive and affecting it was, when, as sometimes, the aspiring philosopher, the uncompromising logician, the astute economist, the grave and learned dogmatist, renounced these and all other accomplishments of nature, or rather made them subservient to the greater accomplishments of grace. then we admired, even to tears of thankfulness, how the wise man, in becoming a fool, becomes truly wise; how he who could be great among his fellows on mars hill,--great after the fashion of the areopagus,--could be greater, after a higher fashion, in declaring the god there unknown; in repeating simply the lessons of that heavenly wisdom which none of the princes of this world knew; and, with a child-like sincerity and earnestness, from his own sense of the sufficiency of redeeming mercy, inviting us to 'the lamb of god who taketh away the sin of the world.' "it might seem that one so abstract and speculative, so contemplative and reserved, would naturally be wanting in those sensibilities and affections which are justly reckoned indispensable to the highest excellence of character, and to the happiness, or the relief, of our present state. but appearances do not necessarily represent, but more frequently conceal, realities. i have been permitted to read some of his most familiar letters, which reveal a sunny and cheery side of his character which i had not learned from personal observation. that he had a susceptible and generous heart no man ever doubted. but one must know what he has written to his friends, out of its unperceived fullness, to appreciate those hidden sympathies of his nature which brought him into harmony as well with the outer as the inner world. few would have a better relish for innocent festivities, or the pleasures of travel, or the grander and finer works of nature or art. few would be more excited by the sparkle or roar of ocean, the magnificent scenery of centre harbor, the sublime panorama of the white mountains, or the quiet beauties of the connecticut valley. true, such objects engaged him but for a time. they were not his chief good. he wanted the higher satisfactions of enlarged knowledge, of speculative insight, of reasoning activity, of professional engagement. they were not his work, but his pastime. yet, when he played, it was with as great enjoyment as any man can have who plays alone, and far greater than they have, or can have, who do naught but play in company, who care for little but sights and sounds, at length sickened and enfeebled by their very tastes, incapable of grave and dignified pursuits, disgusted by their own vanities, remorseful at their own intemperate hilarities, saying, at last, of laughter, 'it is mad, and of mirth, what doth it?' stoical he may have been, for that belongs, almost of course, to natural magnanimity, and familiarity with large and elevated themes; but ascetic and cynical he was not, and could not have been, with his appreciation of christian truth, and experience of a saviour's love. "the scholar, teacher, preacher, learned, profound, effective, venerable in all relations, has passed away; the good man, regenerate by the grace of god, trusting in the righteousness of christ, and hoping for salvation only through redeeming blood; the righteous man, stern and inflexible in his integrity, who never dissembled, never professed what he did not feel, never hated, never spoke evil of his neighbor, and could and did say that he was never angry at his brother; the faithful man, who was true to his engagements, kept his post, and, in weariness and painfulness, performed his appointed work till he was struck with death; the husband, father, friend, of whom, in these relations, it were impertinent to speak particularly, while wounded spirits are already telling, too much, how great his value, and how great their loss. he has passed away, dying as he had lived, and taught, and preached,--in faith; peaceful as a little child, and hopeful of that better state where that which is perfect will come, and that which is in part shall be done away." professor long published a sermon before the w. r. synod in , a discourse on "the literary merits of immoral books," in the same year, "inaugural address at auburn," in , a sermon in dartmouth college church, "jesus exalted yet divine," in , and a memorial sermon on professor roswell shurtleff, in . in , with professor gregg, he assumed the editorship of the "ohio observer" published at hudson. in their first address to their readers is this passage: "in relation to the subject of slavery we shall take the high ground that man is man and cannot therefore be treated and used as property without sin, that immediate emancipation is a duty, and that it is therefore the duty of every man to pray and strive in every virtuous way for the abolition of slavery." the last date of an editorial is june, . professor long married rhoda ensign, daughter of alpha rockwell, of winsted, connecticut. he died at hanover, october , . * * * * * propriety forbids more than the briefest reference to a large number of the worthy living, who have been, or who still are numbered among dartmouth's professors, in the academical department. otherwise we might dwell, with profit, upon the name of the able theologian, george howe; of the eminent linguist, calvin e. stowe; of that strong and graceful master of the english, the latin, and the greek, edwin d. sanborn, who is now just passing the threshold of the "three score and ten," and completing nearly a half century of various and valuable connection with his alma mater; of oliver p. hubbard, who is still patiently and skillfully unfolding the secrets of science in halls which have echoed his voice for more than forty years; of samuel g. brown, the music of whose chaste and charming lectures on rhetoric still lingers in the ears of a long line of pupils; of daniel j. noyes, whose fidelity, courtesy, and kindness in the chairs of theology and philosophy have given him a warm place in the hearts of nearly thirty classes; of james w. patterson, whose pupils have watched the turning of the thoughts of an admired and honored teacher from natural to political science, with unceasing interest, and followed him through the vicissitudes of public service, with undiminished affection; of charles a. aiken, the critical and accomplished linguist, whose loss by the college was deemed almost irreparable; of william a. packard, who, in a kindred department gave early promise of his later success; of charles a. young, whose scientific researches have added to the fame of his family, his college, and his country. nor should the service rendered to the cause of science by henry fairbanks and john r. varney, while professors at dartmouth, escape our notice. a proper estimate of the value of the services of those who are now manfully and successfully bearing "the burden and heat of the day," and bidding fair to do so for years to come, in this important field, with its slender pecuniary rewards, of samuel c. bartlett, henry e. parker, elihu t. quimby, charles h. hitchcock, john c. proctor, charles f. emerson, and john k. lord, must be left to a future historian. the tutor's chair at dartmouth has been filled by many men of high promise, some going to premature graves, others to what they deemed more inviting fields. among them we find such names as calvin crane, moses fiske, asa mcfarland, john noyes, the value of whose instruction was gratefully acknowledged by dartmouth's most illustrious son a quarter of a century after his graduation, thomas a. merrill, frederick hall, josiah noyes, andrew mack, john brown, henry bond, william white, rufus w. bailey, james marsh, nathan welby fiske, rufus choate, oramel s. hinckley, john d. willard, henry wood, ebenezer c. tracy, ira perley, silas aiken, evarts worcester, jarvis gregg, and samuel h. taylor. we cannot dwell upon individual merit, nor give even the names of all who have rendered valuable service in this sphere. the "indian charity school," also has had many teachers of distinguished worth. among them we find such names as benjamin trumbull, the historian, to whom we have referred heretofore; ralph wheelock, the favorite son of the honored founder, who would doubtless have left to him his official mantle, but for the early failure of his health; james dean, whose name is indelibly engraven upon the earlier periods of our national history, jacob fowler, who well illustrated the value of christian civilization to the indian; caleb bingham and elisha ticknor, whose names are closely interwoven with the educational history of new england's metropolis, josiah dunham, judah dana, caleb butler, william a. hayes, the intimate and honored friend of francis brown, joseph perry, john s. emerson, and osgood johnson. chapter xxvii. medical department.--professors nathan smith, reuben d. mussey, dixi crosby, edmund r. peaslee, albert smith, and alpheus b. crosby.--other teachers. in "a contribution to the medical history of new hampshire," by prof. a. b. crosby, we find a condensed history of the medical department of the college. "soon after its formation, the impression became general that the state society, excellent as it was both in design and execution, did not fully answer the medical wants of new hampshire. there were those who felt that the young men of the state should have systematic, didactic instruction, and that this could be accomplished only by the foundation of a regularly chartered medical college. this plan was eventually reduced to a demonstration through the energy and talents of one man. it is with profound veneration that i write the name of nathan smith. himself a member of the society, i know not but he here gained inspiration and encouragement for the enterprise from his associates. at the annual meeting of the board of trustees of dartmouth college, in august, , being then a bachelor of medicine, not having received the degree of m.d., he made an application to the board, asking their encouragement and approbation of a plan he had devised to establish a professorship of the theory and practice of medicine in connection with dartmouth college. after considerable discussion, the board voted to postpone their final action upon the proposition for a year, but in the meantime a resolution was passed complimentary to the character and energy of mr. smith, and promising such encouragement and assistance in the future as the plan might merit and the circumstances of the college admit. "the records of the college are extremely barren of details respecting the preliminary steps towards a medical establishment, and there are no means of knowing what the action of the board was the following year. it is evident, however, that some measures must have been taken in relation to the future welfare of the school, for in the year we find that 'the fee for conferring the degree of bachelor of medicine _pro meritis_ be twenty dollars.' the honorary degree of master of arts was the same year conferred on mr. smith, while it remained for a subsequent board to discover that his professional attainments merited the rank and title of doctor. "later in the same session it was voted 'that a professor be appointed, whose duty it shall be to deliver public lectures upon anatomy, surgery, chemistry, materia medica, and the theory and practice of physic, and that said professor be entitled to receive payment for instruction in those branches, as hereafter mentioned, as compensation for his services in that office.' mr. smith was at once chosen to fulfill the laborious, and to us almost incredible duties of this professorship, while the compensation alluded to was for a long time held in abeyance. we also find that in this year the board adopted the following code of medical statutes: " . lectures shall begin the first of october, annually, and continue ten weeks, during which the professor shall deliver three lectures daily, saturday and sunday excepted. " . in the lectures on the theory and practice of physic, shall be explained the nature of diseases and method of cure. " . the lectures on chemistry and materia medica shall be accompanied by actual experiments, tending to explain and demonstrate the principles of chemistry, and an exhibition shall be made of the principal medicines used in curing disease, with an explanation of their medicinal qualities, and effect on the human body. " . in the lectures on anatomy and surgery, shall be demonstrated the parts of the human body by dissecting a recent subject, _if such subject can be legally obtained_; otherwise, by exhibiting anatomical preparations, which shall be attended by the performance of the principal capital operations in surgery. [the lower animals were used to some extent.] " . the medical professor shall be entitled to the use of the college library and apparatus gratis. " . the medical students shall be entitled to the use of the college library under the discretionary restrictions of the president. " . medical students shall be subject to the same rules of morality and decorum as bachelors in art residing at the college. " . no graduate of any college shall be admitted to an examination for the degree of bachelor of medicine, unless he shall have studied two full years with some respectable physician, or surgeon, and attended two full courses of lectures at some university. " . no person _not_ a graduate shall be admitted to such an examination unless he shall have studied _three_ full years, as above, attended two full courses of lectures, and shall, upon a preparatory examination before the president and professors, be able to parse the english and latin languages, to construe virgil and cicero's orations, and possess a good knowledge of common arithmetic, geometry, geography, and natural and moral philosophy. " . examinations shall be holden in public before the executive authority of the college by the medical professor, and candidates shall read and defend a dissertation, etc. " . every person receiving a degree in medicine shall cause his thesis to be printed, and sixteen copies thereof to be delivered to the president, for the use of the college and trustees. " . the fee for attending a full course of lectures shall be fifty dollars; that is, for anatomy and surgery, twenty-five dollars; for chemistry and materia medica, fifteen dollars, and for theory and practice, ten dollars. " . the members of the two senior classes in college may attend the medical lectures by paying twenty dollars for the full course. "besides these statutes, the trustees voted that mr. smith might employ assistance in any of his departments, at _his own expense_, and that one half part of the fees for conferring the degree of bachelor of medicine be his perquisite, and the other half a perquisite to the president of the college. "the first course of lectures was delivered in the fall of , although mr. smith was not elected to his professorship until after his return from europe, the following year. in the year , two young men were graduated with the degree of bachelor of medicine. the next year the trustees voted to appropriate a room in the northeast corner of dartmouth hall to the use of professor smith, and it was repaired and furnished for that purpose. the room was a small one, scarcely as large as a common parlor, but still it served for a lecture hall, dissecting-room, chemical laboratory and library, for several years, when another room adjoining was appropriated to the same purpose. "in , the degree of doctor of medicine was conferred upon mr. smith, and a committee was appointed to confer with him in relation to a salary. a grant of fifty dollars per annum was voted him, upon which he was to allow a debt he owed the college for money loaned. i presume that this latter was furnished him in order to enable him to visit europe. "the trustees about this time made a change in the term of study required for a degree. the new statute fixed the period of three years for academical graduates, and five years for non-graduates." in the new hampshire legislature granted $ to dr. smith for the purchase of apparatus, and in $ , for "a building of brick or stone for a medical school, sixty-five feet in length, thirty-two feet in width, and two stories in height," dr. smith furnishing land for the purpose. he furnished one acre, on which a brick building seventy-five feet in length, two stories in the middle, with wings of three stories, was erected, at a cost of over $ , , dr. smith becoming responsible for the balance. by the terms of the above grants the building and anatomical and chemical apparatus became the property of the state upon the removal of dr. smith from the institution, which is with propriety styled the "new hampshire medical college." in dr. cyrus perkins (created a doctor upon that occasion) was elected professor of anatomy. some trouble having occurred about this time between the college officers and the medical students, the following articles were added to the laws. * * * * * "' . that each person, previous to becoming a member of the medical institution, shall be required to give satisfactory evidence that he possesses a good moral character. "' . that it be required of medical students that they conduct themselves respectfully towards the executive officers of the college, and if any of them should be guilty of immoral or ungentlemanly conduct the executive may expel them, and no professor shall receive or continue to receive as his private pupil any such expelled person, or recommend him to any other medical man or institution. "' . that the executive officers of the college be, and hereby are authorized to visit the rooms of the medical students whenever they think proper.' * * * * * "in the year , some important changes were made in the economy of the institution. up to this time the degree of bachelor of medicine only was conferred upon recent graduates, while the degree of m.d. was only allowed in course three years after graduation. this was now changed, and the degree of doctor of medicine was conferred upon all medical graduates. the term of study was again changed, and fixed at the present standard. another of the new regulations and perhaps the least agreeable one to the students, compelled candidates to read their theses publicly in the chapel. "the faculty was also strengthened by the appointment of rufus graves, esq., as lecturer on chemistry, making this department, for the first time, a separate branch. colonel graves, although a good lecturer, was an unsuccessful manipulator, which caused his dismission in , three years later. during the same year [ , at dartmouth] we find that mr. reuben d. mussey, a name thoroughly identified with the success of the school, and with medical progress in new hampshire, was created a doctor of medicine. "in , dr. smith having been absent for a year, it was voted that the salary and emoluments pertaining to the chair of medicine, be paid to dr. perkins, and at an adjourned meeting the resignation of dr. smith was received and accepted. the board then proceeded to elect dr. mussey professor of theory and practice and materia medica. in , dr. perkins was excused from lecturing on surgery, and obstetrics was added to his chair, instead, while dr. mussey assumed the department of chemistry, in addition to his other labors. in the meanwhile dr. smith was reëlected professor of surgery, but declining to accept, dr. massey added a course of lectures on this branch to his already laborious duties. the following year he was somewhat relieved by the choice of dr. james f. dana, as lecturer on chemistry, which office he continued to hold until , when he was elected to a full professorship. in august, , dr. perkins resigned his chair. "by vote of the board of trustees, in , they accepted the proffered fraternization of the new hampshire medical society, by sending delegates to attend the annual examinations. the statutes were also altered very materially. by these amendments the medical faculty were allowed the sole control of the discipline, etc., of their department. students coming to attend lectures were not required to give evidence of the possession of a good moral character, as under the old laws. the invidious have alleged that this latter amendment enabled a larger number to avail themselves of the advantages of a medical education than might otherwise do so. the requirements for graduation were at the same time lessened, being now limited to a knowledge of latin and natural and experimental philosophy, while the examinations were to be private, instead of public, as heretofore. "it was determined that the medical faculty should henceforth consist of: " . the president of the college. " . a professor of surgery, obstetrics, and medical jurisprudence. " . a professor of theory and practice and materia medica. " . a professor of chemistry and mineralogy. " . a professor of anatomy and physiology. "dr. mussey was elected to the first of the professorial chairs; dr. daniel oliver, of salem, mass., to the second; dr. james f. dana, to the third, and dr. usher parsons to the fourth. dr. parsons remained but two years, when dr. mussey was appointed professor of anatomy, in addition to his other branches. no further change occurred until , when dr. dana resigned the chair of chemistry, which was filled by the election of professor hale, who continued to lecture until , when his connection with the college ceased. the following year dr. john delamater was chosen professor of the theory and practice of physic, and the present incumbent, dr. o. p. hubbard, professor of chemistry, while in a great change was made in the medical faculty by the resignation of all the lecturers except professor hubbard. by the election of the trustees, the faculty now consisted of elisha bartlett, oliver wendell holmes, john delamater, oliver payson hubbard, dixi crosby, and stephen w. williams. dr. bartlett resigned in , and was succeeded by dr. joseph roby. dr. delamater also left, and dr. holmes tendered his resignation. the next year, , dr. phelps and dr. peaslee commenced their long and useful connection with the school. no farther change was made until , when dr. roby resigned and dr. albert smith was elected. in dixi crosby resigned the chair of surgery, and a. b. crosby, who had served as adjunct professor of surgery since , was elected to fill the vacancy. in , dr. peaslee, having resigned the chair of anatomy and physiology, was transferred to a new chair of the diseases of women, while lyman bartlett how, m.d., was elected to fill the vacancy. and finally dr. dixi crosby has sent in his resignation of the chair of obstetrics, to take effect at the ensuing commencement ( ), thus terminating an active connection of thirty-two years with the school. "nathan smith, the founder of the school, was without dispute a great man. he was born at rehoboth, massachusetts, september , . incited to enter the profession by witnessing an amputation in vermont, he devoted himself to acquiring the best preliminary education his means afforded, and eventually entered his profession full of zeal and ambition, resolved to act no secondary part in his chosen vocation. to found a medical college at dartmouth was the chief desire of his early manhood. regardless of his own pecuniary interests, he borrowed money to buy the necessary apparatus and appliances with which to commence his course of instruction. when the increasing demands of the institution required a building for its accommodation, it was through his personal efforts that it was secured. the means were raised and the project carried out by dr. smith, who, himself, on his own responsibility, furnished a large part of the money. a part, as shown by the records, was also secured by the same gentleman from the legislature of new hampshire. "dr. smith was a man of genius. i hazard nothing in saying that he was fifty years in advance of his profession. he was one of those characters who was not only an observing man, but, rarest of all, he was a _good observer_. nothing escaped him, and when he had seized on all the salient points of a given subject, he astounded his listeners with the full, symmetrical character of his generalizations. "as intances in point, let me briefly advert to one or two illustrations. when dr. smith entered the profession, everything in the way of continued fever in the valley of the connecticut was termed typhus. dr. s. soon became convinced that while true typhus did prevail, there was yet a continued fever essentially different in its character, and so he came to differentiate between typhus and typhoid. noting carefully the symptoms in these cases, making autopsies whenever a chance occurred, and observing the morbid changes thus revealed, he soon found himself master of the situation. then he wrote an unpretending little tract, in which he embodied his observations and his inferences. this brochure was undoubtedly the first comprehensive description of typhoid fever written, and covered in a wonderfully exhaustive way not only the clinical history, but the pathology, of this most interesting disease. this noble record of results, obtained by observations made mainly at norwich, vermont, and cornish, new hampshire, was almost the '_vox clamantis in deserto_.' "many years later, in the great hospitals of paris, louis made and published his own observations in regard to the same disease, and the whole medical world rang with plaudits of admiration at his genius and learning. but in the modest little tract of nathan smith, the gist and germ of all the magnificent discoveries of louis are anticipated. and thus it is again demonstrated that men of genius are confined to no age and to no country, but whether in the wilds of new hampshire or in the world's gayest capital, they form a fraternity as cosmopolitan as useful. "i have recently learned an incident that still further illustrates dr. smith's sagacity. while residing in cornish he had a friend who was a sea-captain, and who, on his return from foreign voyages, was wont to relate to him whatever of interest in a medical way he might have chanced to observe while abroad. on one occasion he told dr. smith that on his previous voyage one of the sailors dislocated his hip; there being no surgeon on board, the captain tried but in vain to reduce it. the man was accordingly placed in a hammock with the dislocation unreduced. during a great storm the sufferer was thrown from the hammock to the floor, striking violently on the knee of the affected side. on examination, it was found that in the fall the hip had somehow been set. this greatly interested dr. smith, and he questioned the narrator again and again as to the exact position of the thigh, the knee and the leg, at the time of the fall. "from this apparently insignificant circumstance, dr. smith eventually educed and reduced to successful practice the method of reducing dislocations by the manoeuvre, a system as useful as it is simple, and as scientific as the principle of flexion and leverage on which it depends. had this incident been related to a stupid man, he would have seen nothing in it, or to a skeptic, he would have discredited the whole account, but to a man of genius it furnished a clue by which another of nature's labyrinths was traced out. this system is by far the best ever devised, symplifying and rendering easy the work of the surgeon, while reducing human suffering to its minimum. "i do not propose to recall to your minds how much he did for medicine and surgery; that were the work of days, not a single hour. "time would fail me to relate the well authenticated traditions of his skill, his benevolence and his practical greatness. but almost from the inception of his professional life until he left for new haven, he was the acknowledged leader of his profession in the state, and his reputation came soon to cover the whole of new england. he was the father of several sons, who have since been distinguished in the same profession. the venerable professor n. r. smith, of baltimore, is the eldest, and perhaps the most celebrated, of the survivors." the venerable dr. a. t. lowe adds the following valuable paragraphs: "in the organization and early history of the medical department of dartmouth college dr. nathan smith occupied a preëminent position. for ten or twelve years he was the actual manager and the only professor in the institution, giving three lectures each day, for five days in the week, through the term of ten to twelve weeks. he lectured with great acceptance in all the branches of the profession then taught in the few kindred institutions existing in the country, and he contributed liberally to the pecuniary support of the institution, frequently to his great personal inconvenience. with these accumulated duties to discharge, he faithfully attended to a large practice in medicine and surgery, which was daily increasing, and severely tasking his physical as well as his intellectual powers, and his fame, in the line of his profession, soon placed him at its head; and his skill and the history of his remarkable success, so frequently announced, and so well attested, was early recognized and acknowledged, not only throughout his state, but was scarcely limited to new england. by a seeming universal consent dr. smith's name stood among the highest in the medical temple of fame. "dr. smith was not what the world would now call a learned man. we may say of him, in this respect, what ben jonson said of shakespeare: 'he knew little latin and less greek,' but he had a mind and a power of intellect which as eminently fitted him for a physician, as shakespeare's genius qualified him to become a dramatist of the highest character; and whatever the occasion, whether it related to the lecturer or teacher, to the surgeon or physician, dr. smith could readily exercise his whole moral force for the enlightenment of his pupil, or the health of his patient. "the writer of these lines became his pupil in ; attending him almost daily in his professional visits, to witness his practice and listen to his clinical instruction." after giving one or two instances of his quick diagnostic ability and his highly successful practice, he continues: "dr. smith was a great and good man. he never appeared to toil for professional fame, but to do good to his fellow-man: and in view of his virtues as a citizen and his justly preëminent skill as a physician, one of his surviving pupils of those early days, who now counts more than four-score years, feels impelled to exclaim,--honored be the memory of nathan smith, the founder, father, and for many years the sustainer of the medical department of dartmouth college; ever recognized by all his friends and acquaintances--and their name was legion--as an honest man and most useful citizen." professor smith married successively, elizabeth and sarah, daughters of gen. jonathan chase, of cornish, n. h. he died at new haven, conn., where he had been some years a professor in the medical department of yale college, january , . * * * * * a commemorative "address," by professor a. b. crosby, contains the following account of professor smith's successor: "reuben dimond mussey was born in pelham, n. h., june , . his father, dr. john mussey, was a respectable physician and an excellent man. "determined to have an education, although too poor to immediately attain it, he labored on a farm in summer and taught a school during the winter. this he continued to do until, at the age of twenty-one, he entered the junior class in dartmouth college, in the year . he continued to teach for his support while in college, and acquitted himself creditably as a scholar, being reckoned in the first third of his class. "he was graduated in august, , and immediately became a pupil of dr. nathan smith, the founder of dartmouth medical college. the following summer young mussey taught an academy at peterborough, and studied with dr. howe of jaffrey. "he completed his studies with dr. smith, sustained a public examination, and read and defended a thesis on dysentery. the degree of bachelor of medicine having been conferred upon him in , he commenced practice in ipswich, now essex, mass. here he practiced successfully for three years, when he settled his business and went to philadelphia, where he engaged in medical study for a period of nine months. while at chebacco, now essex, mass., he married miss mary sewall, who survived the marriage only three years. he subsequently married miss hetty osgood, a daughter of dr. osgood of salem, who served as a surgeon in the army during the revolution. under the instruction of benjamin smith barton, he attended a full course of lectures in the university of pennsylvania, and was graduated as a doctor in medicine in the year . the professors at that time were rush, wistar, physic, dorsey, barton, and woodhouse. "drs. chapman and james gave the course in obstetrics. dr. mussey here distinguished himself by a series of experiments tending to rebut some of the generally received physiological doctrines of the time. "on his return from philadelphia he settled in salem, mass., and soon afterward formed a partnership with dr. daniel oliver, subsequently a professor in the dartmouth medical college. "these gentlemen gave popular courses of lectures on chemistry, in salem, with great acceptance. dr. mussey remained in this field between five and six years, and attained a large practice during the last three years, averaging, it is said, a fraction over three obstetric cases a week. he had already distinguished himself as a surgeon, and in the autumn of he was called to the chair of theory and practice at dartmouth. he gave in addition a course on chemistry, most acceptably to the students, and engaged in an extended and a laborious practice. "in , dr. mussey was appointed professor of anatomy and surgery. until the close of the session of , he held this chair, and also lectured on materia medica and obstetrics, to meet occasional exigencies in the college. "in the summer of he lectured on chemistry in the college at middlebury, vt. in december, , dr. mussey left hanover for paris, where he remained several months. he passed several weeks in london, visited the great hospitals and museums, both there and in the provinces, and became acquainted with many distinguished men. "not far from this time he was invited to fill the chair of anatomy and surgery at bowdoin college, which he did for four years in succession. in and , dr. mussey went to fairfield, new york, and gave lectures on surgery at the medical college in that place. during the year a professorship was tendered him in new york city, cincinnati, and nashville, tennessee. he decided to accept the call to cincinnati, and for fourteen years was the leading man in the ohio medical college. he then founded the miami medical college, labored assiduously for its good six years, and then retired from active professional life, though still retaining all his ardor and enthusiasm for his chosen profession. at the close of his professorial duties in , dr. mussey removed to boston, where he spent the remainder of his life, and died from the infirmities of age, june , . "he had ever been from his youth a consistent, devout christian, and his record is without spot or blemish. "it was as a surgeon that dr. mussey came to be most extensively known. both as an operative and a scientific surgeon he attained a national reputation. "he cared not to make a figure, but to benefit his patient; not to gain _éclat_, but to save human life. he believed much in skilled surgery, something in nature, but most of all in god. so it transpired that on the eve of a great operation he frequently knelt at the bedside, and sought skill and strength and success from the great source of all vitality. we are told that the moral effect upon the patient, and the peaceful composure that followed, were not the least of the agencies that so often rendered his surgery successful. "but he was not content blindly to accept the dictum of those who had gone before. every principle was carefully scrutinized, and whatever he believed to be false he did not hesitate to attack, and so his name came to be associated with surgical progress. as illustrative of this point, some instances may be adduced. "in the year , and before that period, sir astley cooper had taught the doctrine of non-union in cases of intra-capsular fracture, and it was generally accepted as an established principle at that time. dr. mussey carried a specimen to england which he believed showed the possibility of such union taking place. sir astley on first seeing it said, "this was never broken," but on seeing a section of the same specimen remarked, 'this does look a little more like it, to be sure, but i do not think the fracture was entirely within the capsular ligament.' john thompson of edinburgh, on seeing it, declared 'upon his troth and honor' that it had never been broken. this eminent surgeon, like the disputatious massachusetts scotchman, 'always positive and sometimes right,' was in this instance mistaken, as the principle advocated by dr. mussey is now established. "as a surgeon he was bold and fearless, ever willing to assume any legitimate responsibility, even though it took him into the undiscovered country of experiment. he did not do this rashly, but only when the stake was worthy of the risk. there is still living in hanover a monument of dr. mussey's pluck and skill. this man had a large, ulcerated and bleeding nævus on the vertex of his head, which threatened a speedy death. there seemed no way to relieve the patient except by tying both carotids, which was regarded as an operation inevitably fatal. the danger was imminent, and as dr. mussey could see no way to untie the knot, he determined to cut it. he tied one carotid, and in twelve days tied the other, following both operations in a few weeks with a removal of the tumor. the recovery was perfect, and the case was, we believe, the first recorded instance where both carotids were successfully tied. this operation gave him great fame both at home and abroad. "it is not my purpose to attempt an account of the surgery done by this eminent man, only to touch on some of its salient points. thus he successfully removed an ovarian tumor, at a time when the operation had been done only a few times in the world. he removed a boy's tongue which measured eight inches in circumference, and projected five inches beyond the jaws, and the patient recovered. "he removed the scapula and a large part of the clavicle at one operation, from a patient on whom he had amputated previously at the shoulder-joint. dr. mussey supposed that this was the first operation of the kind [as it was in some respects] in the history of surgery. "he several times removed the upper, and portions of the lower, jaw. dr. mussey kept no extended records of his operations, but i subjoin a few statements alike interesting to us and creditable to him. "he performed the operation of lithotomy forty-nine times, and all the patients recovered but four. he operated for strangulated hernia forty times, and with a fatal result in only eight cases. he practiced subcutaneous deligation in forty cases of varicocele, and all were successful. dr. mussey operated four times for perineal fistula, twice for impermeable stricture of the urethra, and did a large number of plastic operations with the best results. he also successfully treated a recto-vaginal fistula. "these are only a fraction of the innumerable operations which he did, yet they show results such as the greatest surgeons in the world would be proud to declare. "but it is not alone as a surgeon that dr. mussey attained excellence. it was as an accurate observer that he early made himself known to the medical world. the habit of his mind was positive; he respected authority, and to the latest period of his life was assiduous in acquiring professional knowledge from books no less than from observation. he delighted to fortify himself in any given position by citing authorities, and always showed that he had informed himself exhaustively in the bibliography of the subject. yet it was his habit to subject every medical statement to the most rigid tests. while pursuing his studies in philadelphia, he joined issue with dr. rush on some of the physiological doctrines which were generally received at that time. this distinguished man had taught the doctrine of non-absorption by the skin. this was supposed to have been proved by an experiment in which a young man, confined in a small room, breathed through a tube running through the wall into the open air, the surface of the skin being rubbed at the same time with turpentine, asparagus, etc. as no odor of these substances was perceptible in the secretions, it was inferred that no absorption had taken place through the skin, and that it was impossible. dr. mussey, believing this doctrine to be fallacious, immersed himself in a strong solution of madder for three hours. he had the satisfaction of getting unmistakable evidence of the presence of madder in the secretions for two days, the addition of an alkali always rendering them red. he repeated this experiment with the same result, and made it the theme of a thesis on his graduation. some of the faculty who differed with dr. rush on the subject were much pleased with these experiments, and predicted even then for our friend a distinguished career." professor mussey died at boston june , . * * * * * we quote from dr. j. w. barstow's obituary notice in the "new york medical journal," november, , of professor mussey's successor. "dr. dixi crosby, for thirty-two years professor of surgery in dartmouth college, died at his residence in hanover, n. h., september , . dr. crosby was born february , , at sandwich, n. h., of pure new england stock,--strong in the best puritan element, where self-reliance, love of justice, and unbending will, formed the basis of character and the mainspring of action. his father's father was a captain in the revolutionary army, and served with two of his sons at the battle of bunker hill. his maternal grandfather (hoit) was one of washington's body-guard, and later in life a judge of some distinction. his father, dr. asa crosby, who married betsey hoit, was a surgeon of eminence in eastern new hampshire. at the age of twenty, he entered upon the study of medicine in the office of his father. "the practice of a country doctor in new hampshire of course embraced every department and variety of professional work. but surgery offered to young crosby a special charm, and the ardor with which he threw himself into this branch of the profession showed early fruits. from the day when he commenced his anatomy, his practice and his study went hand in hand. fearless and original, ready in expedients and ingenious in their use, he observed, he resolved, and he acted. "in the first year of his study he accompanied his father to a consultation in the case of a man whose leg had been frozen, and whose condition was most critical. it was agreed by the older physicians that amputation at an earlier stage might have saved the patient's life, but that it was now too late to attempt it. young crosby urged that the operation be performed, but the elders shook their heads. he even proposed to attempt it himself; but this was received with a storm of disapproval, in which even his father joined, and the thing was pronounced impossible. the doctors then departed, leaving the student to watch with the patient during the few hours which apparently remained of life. during the night young crosby succeeded in reviving the courage of the man to make a last effort for life. the limb was removed, and the man recovered. "his second year of study developed still further the growing resources of the young surgeon. upon one occasion both father and son, while visiting a patient at night, in a distant village, were suddenly called to a case of extensive laceration of the leg, with profuse hemorrhage. the case was urgent, and the patient was sinking. no instruments were at hand. he called for a carving-knife, which he sharpened on a grindstone and finished on a razor-strap, filed a hand-saw, amputated the limb, dressed the stump, left the patient in safety, and drove home with his father to breakfast. the man recovered. "before a nature so fearless, and so fertile in expedients, obstacles speedily vanish, and young crosby found himself in possession of a large and responsible practice, even before taking his medical degree, and at the early age of twenty-three years. the following year ( ) he graduated in medicine at dartmouth (having passed his examination in november preceding), and for ten years remained in gilmanton, in practice with his father. he then removed to meredith bridge, now laconia, n. h., where he practiced for three years; and in was called to the chair of surgery in dartmouth college, then recently made vacant by the resignation of the late dr. mussey. in this field dr. crosby found at once full exercise for all his large resources of head and heart and hand. as an instructor he was clear, direct, and definite,--imparting, to his pupils his own zeal, and teaching them his own self-reliance. 'depend upon yourselves, young gentlemen,' he invariably said. 'take no man's diagnosis, but see with your own eyes, feel with your own fingers, judge with your own judgment, and be the disciple of no man.' "in his class, he was courteous without familiarity, patient with dulness, but quick to punish impertinence; always kind, always dignified, always genial. the practical view of a subject was the view which he delighted to take; and the dry humor with which he never failed to emphasize his point, at once fixed it in the memory of the class, and made it available for future use. with his office-students, dr. crosby was the very soul of geniality and confidence. he saw and measured men at a glance, and was rarely wrong in his estimate of character. strong in his own convictions, he was yet tender of the infirmities and the prejudices of others, and his generous instincts lost no opportunity for their daily exercise. "his love of nature was as instinctive and as thorough as his knowledge of men. he transferred the treasures of the woods to his own garden. he studied the habits of birds and insects, and his parlors were adorned with a cabinet of american birds more complete than is often found in the museum of a professed naturalist. he reveled in the 'pomp of groves and garniture of fields,' and his daily drives through the picturesque scenery of the connecticut valley fed his æsthetic taste, and proved a compensation for fatigue. "dr. crosby, though a surgeon by nature and by preference, was in no modern sense a _specialist_. his professional labors covered the whole range of medicine. his professorship included obstetrics as well as surgery, and his practice in this department was exceptionally large. his surgical diocese extended from lake champlain to boston. distance seemed no bar to his influence, and his professional journeys were often made by night as well as by day. of the special operations of dr. crosby we do not propose here to speak in detail. it is sufficient to mention that, in , he devised a new and ingenious mode of reducing metacarpo-phalangeal dislocation. in he removed the arm, scapula, and three quarters of the clavicle at a single operation, for the first time in the history of surgery. he was the first to open abscess of the hip-joint. he performed his operations, without ever having seen them performed, almost without exception. dr. crosby was not what may be called a _rapid_ operator. 'an operation, gentlemen,' he often said to his clinical students, 'is soon enough done when it is _well_ enough done.' and, with him, it was never done otherwise than _well_. "at the outbreak of the rebellion, dr. crosby served in the provost-marshal's office at a great sacrifice for many months, attending to his practice chiefly at night. as years and honors accumulated, dr. crosby still continued his work, though his constitutional vigor was impaired by the severity of the new hampshire winters, and by his unremitting labor. at length, having reached man's limit of three-score years and ten, he withdrew from active practice, and in resigned his chair in the college, to which his son succeeded. from that time it was plain that dr. crosby's life-work was nearly done. in his well-ordered and delightful home he found that rest to which his long service in behalf of humanity entitled him. his end was perfect dignity and perfect peace. "to those of us who had been most intimately associated with our departed friend, who had enjoyed his teachings, his counsels, and his generous kindness, the news of his death came as a heavy shock. but he still lives in the remembrance of his distinguished services, in the unfading affection and gratitude of his pupils, and in the many hearts whose burdens he has lifted. verily, '_extinctus amabitur idem!_'" professor crosby married mary jane, daughter of stephen moody, of gilmanton, n. h. the following paragraphs relating to one of dartmouth's most eminent professors, the esteemed classmate of president bartlett, who says: "outside of my own family circle, i had no better friend," are from the pen of dr. t. a. emmet, of new york. "edmund randolph peaslee was born at newton, new hampshire, january , . we have no record of his boyhood, or of his life previous to graduating from dartmouth college, with the class of . in this institution he occupied the position of tutor from to , when he entered the medical department of yale college and took his degree in . "the following year he settled in hanover, n. h., and commenced the practice of his profession. without waiting in expectation, he began his busy life by delivering a popular course of lectures on anatomy and physiology. "these lectures indicated so clearly his talents that, in , but two years after entering the profession, he was appointed professor of anatomy and physiology in the medical department of dartmouth college, and retained the office until his death. within a year afterwards, in , he was appointed lecturer, and shortly afterwards professor of anatomy and surgery in the medical school in maine, connected with bowdoin college. he filled those two professorships until , when he gave up anatomy, but continued to lecture on surgery until . dr. peaslee first came to the city of new york in , on receiving the professorship of physiology and general pathology in the new york medical college, then just being established. "this position he held for four years, when he was transferred to the chair of obstetrics, and continued to lecture on this branch until the institution was closed about . he, however, did not settle in new york, to the practice of his profession, until . after , he mainly devoted himself to his practice, lecturing little except during the summer or autumn course in dartmouth college. but to do justice to his subject and compress the whole subject into the space of some six weeks, this being his time of recreation from business, he always delivered at least two lectures a day and frequently more. in , he was elected one of the trustees of his alma mater, which had in conferred on him the degree of doctor of laws. from , he delivered a course of lectures in the medical department on the diseases of women. two years afterwards, the course on obstetrics and the diseases of women in the bellevue hospital medical college was divided, when dr. peaslee was offered and accepted the chair of gynæcology. at about this date he also occupied for a short time a professorship in the albany medical school. on the reorganization of the medical department of the woman's hospital of the state of new york, in , he was made one of the attending surgeons, and held this position, together with his professorship in the bellevue hospital medical college, at the time of his death. "in , he published in philadelphia, 'human histology, in its relations to descriptive anatomy, physiology, and pathology,' in which were given for the first time, by translation, the experiments of robin and verdell on anatomical chemistry. but the one great work which will identify him with his generation is that on 'ovarian tumors, their pathology, diagnosis, and treatment, especially by ovariotomy,' published in new york, . to this work he contributed but little original matter, beyond his personal experience, which had been large at that time. he, however, presented a digest of the whole subject in so thorough and masterly a manner that this work is destined to be a classic and a landmark as it were. it will be the future starting-point for the literature of this subject, as an original patent is in the searching of a title. there will be no need to go beyond his researches on this subject, as they are exhaustive. "for one feature in his work he has often expressed the greatest satisfaction, that he had been able to establish for dr. ephraim mcdowell the credit of being the first ovariotomist. in consequence of his labors, the world has at length given us credit for this great discovery, of no less value than many others which we can claim to have originated in our country, for the prolongation of life and for the mitigation of suffering. "dr. peaslee, at some time in his life, had lectured on every branch of medical science. with the exception of dr. physic, we have not another instance where the lecturer was equally proficient in the practice. but if we compare the extent of professional knowledge in dr. physic's generation and the acquirements of the present day, dr. peaslee will stand alone. notwithstanding the incessant claims of his profession, he kept up through life his collegiate training in the classics, his taste for mathematics, and had acquired the knowledge of one or more modern languages. few men in the profession were more familiar with the literature of our own language." dr. w. m. chamberlain, who had rare opportunities for appreciating the character and worth of dr. peaslee, says: "the call for a sketch of dr. peaslee's professional life and work will be abundantly satisfied by the recorded tributes of his more immediate colleagues and associates, drs. barker, thomas, emmet, flint, and others. these are but a part of the testimony which after his death came from far and near. wherever men were gathered for the study and discussion of medical subjects it was felt that a fountain of knowledge was closed, a leader of opinion was gone, and they made haste to acknowledge their obligations and their loss. he was a member of many such organizations, and almost uniformly advanced to the front rank in position. "president of the new hampshire medical society; of the new york county medical society; the american gynæcological society; the new york academy of medicine; the new york pathological society; the new york obstetrical society; the new york medical journal association, etc., etc., he reaped all the honors. yet no one ever thought of him as a seeker of office. the tribute was always spontaneous, necessary: 'palmam qui meruit ferat!' "and these honors were not awarded for any great effort or success in some partial field. he was decorated for service in each specific line, as physician, surgeon, pathologist, gynæcologist, bibliographer. his attainments were comprehensive and symmetrical. "he had the very great advantage of a liberal general education. this gave him his broad outlook upon all departments of science. he had by nature a mathematical and logical habit of mind. this made him the accurate and complete student that he was, both in original investigations and literary research. at the outset of his career he sought the best schools. just then ( ) reigned a new enthusiasm in the physical and experimental study of the medical sciences at paris. laennec, andral, louis, malgaigne, velpeau, and bernard, were the worthy models and masters of the young american. "thus well-endowed, well-grounded, and well-guided, he entered upon a life of professional study, which he pursued with unremitting ardor and diligence even to the end of life. "it would seem to be a great thing to say of any man that he was never idle, and never unprofitably employed; but it might be more justly said of dr. peaslee than of any other person known to the writer. he wasted no work. his conclusions were not reached by intuition or guess, but slowly and surely elaborated, exactly formulated and classified, so as to be always at his command. "more than any other member of the profession known to the writer did he illustrate each clause of bacon's category, that 'reading maketh the full man; writing the exact man; and conversation the ready man.' "from the first he was an agreeable and satisfactory teacher, year by year, increasingly so; this work he did for thirty-six years; in six medical colleges, in five different departments of the curriculum, before nearly a hundred different classes of students. such training, such practice, made him a teacher in every professional circle. in societies he was wont to be a silent and often apparently an abstracted listener until near the close of the debate; then he would rise and review the whole subject with a memory so comprehensive, a knowledge so complete, and an appreciation so judicial, that nothing more remained to be said. his books and monographs for the time and era of their publication were standard, and will always remain exceptionally valuable. only the lapse of many years may antiquate but never stale his elegant work on 'ovarian tumors,' of which one of his most famous compeers has said that he would 'rather have written it than any other medical work of any time or in any language.' "in his personal relations to the members of the profession, dr. peaslee was genial, charitable, and just. his patients looked to him in perfect confidence and respect, personally as well as professionally. he was as remarkable for the diligent care as for the thorough study of his cases; and at every visit he dispensed with gentle humor the best medicines, faith and hope. "from youth through middle life he passed in the light of growing knowledge; in the serenity of accomplished duty; in the prestige of gathering fame and fortune; and he died before age or decay had limited his scope of life." prof. peaslee married martha thankful, daughter of hon. stephen kendrick, of lebanon, n. h. he died in new york city, january , . * * * * * reliable sources furnish some facts regarding another gentleman long and honorably connected with this department. prof. albert smith, m.d., ll. d., was born in peterborough, n. h. he graduated at dartmouth college, in , and took his medical degree there, in . he was early successful as a practitioner, and before middle age acquired a high reputation as a medical scholar and thinker. in , he was appointed professor of materia medica and therapeutics in the dartmouth medical college, where he continued to lecture till his resignation, in , from which time until his death he was professor emeritus. in , he delivered his course of lectures at the vermont medical college, and also the course at the bowdoin medical school, in . the honorary degree of ll. d. was conferred on him by dartmouth college, in , and also an honorary degree of m.d. by the rush medical college, chicago, in . he was also an honorary member of the new york medical society. as a medical instructor he was included in the first rank of new england professors. his writings also gained him a wide and enviable reputation. among his publications were a lecture on hippocrates; also one on paracelsus, and a commemorative discourse on the death of dr. amos twitchell, besides various articles in the medical journals and in the transactions of the new hampshire medical society. with high professional attainments and distinctions prof. smith united a personal character of the highest purity, integrity, and nobility. he had been for a long time a member and constant attendant upon the unitarian church, and for thirty years a sunday-school teacher. he was a strong advocate of temperance, and took a deep interest in the cause of education. he represented peterborough, his place of residence, in the legislature several times. he devoted the spare hours of his latest years to the preparation of a "history of the town of peterborough," which was published in a large octavo volume in . he married fidelia stearns, february , . prof. smith died at peterborough, february , . * * * * * the following paragraphs relating to one of dartmouth's most largely endowed, highly cultivated, and warmly beloved teachers, prof. alpheus b. crosby, who was born at gilmanton, n. h., february , , and was the son of dr. dixi and mary jane (moody) crosby, are from a memorial "discourse" by dr. j. w. barstow: "seven generations of tough new england fibre, combining sturdy physique, thorough individuality and undiluted common sense, form a groundwork on which no modern youth need hesitate to build, while the mellow background of a virtuous lineage well prepares the canvas for whatever of high aim and noble deed shall fill up the fresher foreground of his own life's picture. "the native temperament of the boy, as i remember him, showed some rare combinations and counterpoises. with an exuberance of animal spirits he had, also, a natural balance of _caution_. he was ardent, but not hasty; he was self reliant and fearless, but never precipitate; frank and affable, though not easily won by a stranger; fond of experiment, but also intensely practical. he was prompt to decide, but always took time for detail, and pursued perseveringly to the end whatever engaged his attention and his effort. "his constant association with his father, and with his father's friends, made the boy perfectly at home in the office and in the society of professional men; and almost from his cradle he was accustomed to assist in minor operations and in the general detail of a student's service. being a discreet lad, he often accompanied the elder crosby in professional visits; and thus the face of the 'parvus iülus,' became, early, as _familiar_ as that of the 'pater Ã�neas,' and grew, later, to be as welcome. "when chloroform in surgery was first introduced, dr. dixi crosby went to boston to study its effects, and was one of the first surgeons in new hampshire to employ it in his practice. young ben was then a school-boy of fifteen. his father, with full confidence in the coolness and self possession of his son, at once commenced training him as an assistant for the administration of the anæsthetic; teaching him to watch the pulse and respiration, and to note all the necessary conditions for its safe employment. and from this time, even long before our friend commenced the systematic study of his profession, he assisted his father, and administered the chloroform in many important operations, sometimes even making long journeys for the purpose. it is interesting to add, also, that in all the years of their practice together, and in all their operations, performed under the use of chloroform, there never occurred a single accident from its administration. "on graduating at dartmouth, in , our young friend pursued his medical studies in the office of his father. he attended lectures both at dartmouth and at the college of physicians in new york city, and served for one year as interne in the u. s. marine hospital at chelsea, massachusetts. with the exception of these necessary absences from home, he gave every day of these preparatory years to the assistance of his father in his wide and laborious practice. to this course he was stimulated no less by filial ardor than by his growing professional zeal. "his medical degree was taken at dartmouth, in , and instead of _beginning_ to practice, we may say that he _continued_ to practice with his father in hanover, going in and out as a favorite, both with patients and in society. "immediately on receiving his medical degree, dr. crosby was appointed demonstrator of pathological anatomy in the dartmouth medical college, an office which he ably filled for five years. "at the outbreak of the rebellion, in , he was appointed surgeon of the first regiment new hampshire volunteers, for three months' service. this being concluded, he was at once commissioned as brigade surgeon of u. s. volunteers, and soon after promoted to the rank of medical director, serving as such on the staffs, successively, of generale stone, casey, sedgwick, and peck. his army service was marked by the same strong individuality, the same resolute activity, the same executive talent, which we have seen stamped upon the boy and the youth. added to all those other qualities, was that same genial humanity which made friends of every one. his brother officers trusted him, depended upon him, and loved him. the private soldiers idolized him, for they saw his quick and constant sympathy for them, and knew that his large and loving heart embraced them all in its tender care. "in the noble record of his army service, let us not forget, that to our lamented friend belongs the credit of having originated and erected the first complete military hospital on the modern 'pavilion plan' that was built during the war of the rebellion. "this hospital was visited and admired by surgeons throughout the army, as a model of complete ventilation and drainage. its plans were extensively copied, and the record of its usefulness is preserved in the archives of the war department. "in all his widening range of work and of social activities says professor parker, 'his large heart seemed as incapable of being overloaded with friendships as it was inexhaustible in its overflowing friendliness. his personal magnetism held fast old friends, while the keen points of his magnetic nature constantly caught new affinities and drew to him fresh intimacies.' "in the autumn of , he was appointed adjunct professor of surgery in dartmouth, and from that time forward his _honors_, literally, outran his _years_. "the number of his appointments to professional chairs in different institutions, is something beyond precedent in the history of any young american practitioner. "in , he was invited to the chair of surgery in the university of vermont, and in the same year to a similar chair in the university of michigan. "both these positions he accepted, and ably filled for several years. "in , on the resignation of his honored father at the age of threescore and ten, dr. ben was at once called to the chair of surgery in dartmouth, and entered upon its duties, still continuing to perform full duty in both his other professorships. he also delivered a course of surgical lectures in bowdoin college, maine, during the same year. "in , he received the appointment of surgical professor in the _long island medical college_, in the city of brooklyn, which he accepted, together with the post of visiting surgeon in the hospital to which the college was attached. his work during this period was extremely arduous, but was performed with the utmost ability and credit. "in , he was invited to a professorship in the new york university, and also to another (that of surgical anatomy) in bellevue hospital medical college in new york city. the former of these he declined, but he accepted the latter and retained it until his death. "in , dr. crosby was invited by the trustees of jefferson medical college, philadelphia, to accept the chair of anatomy, on the resignation of the distinguished dr. pancoast. "this, though not accepted, may be reckoned the crowning honor in his wreath of professional laurels." for all the qualities which distinguish the model physician, surgeon, teacher, and companion, few names, in all the annals of medicine, stand higher than that of alpheus benning crosby. professor crosby married at baltimore, md., mildred glassell, daughter of dr. wm. r. smith. he died at hanover, august , . * * * * * in closing this record the valuable services of parsons, delamater, bartlett, holmes, hubbard, roby, williams, phelps, field, how, and frost should not escape our notice. chapter xxviii. the chandler scientific department.--the agricultural department.--the thayer department of civil engineering. the following account of the chandler scientific department of the college is from the pen of professor ruggles and other authentic sources. the building formerly occupied by moor's charity school is now occupied by this department. extracts from mr. chandler's will give us an idea of the department of instruction which he wished to establish. "i give and devise the sum of fifty thousand dollars ... for the establishment and support of a permanent department or school of instruction in the college, in the practical and useful arts of life, comprised chiefly in the branches of mechanics and civil engineering, the invention and manufacture of machinery, carpentry, masonry, architecture and drawing, the investigation of the properties and uses of the materials employed in the arts, the modern languages and english literature, together with book-keeping, and such other branches of knowledge as may best qualify young persons for the duties and employments of active life; but, first of all and above all, i would enjoin in connection with the above branches, the careful inculcation of the principles of pure morality, piety, and religion, without introducing topics of controversial theology, that the benefits of said department or school may be equally enjoyed by all religious denominations without distinction.... "to the end that my wishes in respect to the foregoing legacy may be observed, i do hereby constitute a perpetual board of visitors, consisting of two persons, who shall, during the term of their respective lives, visit the said department or school as often as they shall deem it necessary and advisable to do so, and at least once in each year one or both of said visitors shall examine the condition of its funds, and the management and disposition of the same, as well as the management of the said department or school generally.... "the said board of visitors shall have full power to determine, interpret, and explain my wishes in respect to this foundation; to redress grievances, both with respect to professors and students; to hear appeals from the decisions of the board of trustees, and to provide remedy upon complaint duly exhibited in behalf of the professors or students; to review and reverse any censure passed by said trustees upon any professor or student on this foundation; to declare void all rules and regulations made by said trustees relative to this foundation, which in their opinion may be inconsistent with my wishes as herein expressed, or improper or injudicious; to take care that the duties of every professor or other officer on this foundation be intelligently and faithfully discharged, and to admonish or remove such professor or officer either for misbehavior, incapacity, or neglect of the duties of his office; to examine into the proficiency of the students, and to admonish, dismiss, or suspend any student for negligence, contumacy or crime, or disobedience to the rules hereafter to be established for the government of said school or department; and to see that my true intentions in regard to this foundation be faithfully executed. "and in order that said board of visitors may not be limited in their powers by the foregoing recital, i further confer upon the said board of visitors all the visitatorial powers and privileges, which, by the law of the land, belong and are intrusted to any visitor of any eleemosynary corporation.... "as i have perfect confidence in the integrity and ability of my two esteemed friends, john j. dixwell and francis b. hayes, both of boston, aforesaid, and as i know their capacity to perform what i desire they should do under this proviso of my will, i constitute and appoint them to be the first board of visitors." the committee appointed to draw up the plan for the organization of the school consisted of rev. dr. nathan lord, hon. joel parker, and edmund parker, esq. no special meeting of the trustees was called, as had been contemplated, and the committee made their report at the regular meeting, july , , and on the next day the following statutes were adopted: "article i. in accordance with the will of the late abiel chandler, esq., "the trustees of dartmouth college by this and the following statutes, constitute and organize a school of instruction in connection with the college and as a department thereof, and the said school is denominated 'the chandler school of science and the arts.' "article ii. the school shall consist of two departments, junior and senior. these departments shall be conducted respectively by such officers and according to such rules and regulations as the trustees shall from time to time appoint and ordain, with the advice and approval of the board of visitors, and in subjection always to the will of the founder. "article iii. in the junior department of the school, instruction shall be given in the english language, in arithmetic and algebra, in book-keeping, physical geography, linear drawing, geometry, physiology, botany, graphics and use of instruments, and in such other elementary studies as may be necessary to qualify students for the senior department. "article iv. the senior department shall comprise the branches of mechanics and civil engineering, the invention and manufacture of machinery, carpentry, masonry, architecture and drawing; the investigation of the properties and uses of the materials employed in the arts, the modern languages and english literature, together with book-keeping and such other branches of knowledge as may best qualify young persons for the duties and employments of active life, according to the will and injunction of the founder. "article vii. the term of study in the junior department shall be one year, and in the senior department two years. "article viii. all students who shall have been admitted to the senior department and sustained a satisfactory examination at the end of the course before a committee of gentlemen from abroad appointed by the faculty, shall be entitled to the degree of bachelor of science." hon. john kelley and samuel fletcher, esq., having been appointed a committee to consider the question of opening the school, made the following report: "the chandler fund appears to be safely invested and productive. it is therefore recommended, the school shall be opened for instruction at the commencement of the next college term, and more fully organized as soon as a sufficient number of students shall offer themselves for admission. but as an experiment is to be made, it is not expedient to appoint professors and other teachers, until experience shall prove what teachers shall be required. in the mean time it is recommended that examination of students presenting themselves for admission to the school be made by some member, or members of the faculty, by the direction of the president, and that the faculty be a committee to make suitable provision for rooms and instruction until further orders of this board." the following resolution was then passed: "_resolved_, that the chandler school be opened at the commencement of the next college term." we give the following extracts from the by-laws which were drawn up by hon. joel parker, and rev. silas aiken, d.d., of rutland, vt.: "vacations.--in the senior department the terms and vacations shall be coincident with the terms and vacations in the academical department of the college. in the junior department there shall be four vacations, one of four weeks, from commencement, one of two weeks in the winter, and one in the spring and autumn of one week each. "tuition.--every student in the senior department shall be charged ten dollars each term, or thirty dollars for the year, including all necessary incidentals. in the junior department the tuition shall be twenty dollars for the year, or five dollars for each term. the bill of every term shall be paid in advance, and no student shall be permitted to go on with his class without an exact compliance with this statute. "government.--in other respects the government of the chandler school shall be administered according to the by-laws of the college, as now established, so far as those laws may be applicable; and until the wants of the school may be more definitely ascertained, the regulation thereof in things not otherwise provided for is submitted to the discretion of the college faculty." in the autumn of , the school was organized, and seventeen students admitted, two to the senior and fifteen to the junior class. james w. patterson, who was a student in the theological school at new haven, was elected tutor, and the new institution placed in his charge. in july, , mr. patterson was elected chandler professor of mathematics, and during the college years - , and - , in addition to the general management, gave nearly all the instruction in the chandler school, at the same time discharged the duties of a tutor of latin in the college proper. in , the first class, consisting of four members, was graduated. on the death of professor stephen chase, in , john s. woodman had succeeded to the chair of mathematics. in , professor woodman resigned, to enter on the practice of law in boston, and mr. patterson was elected in his place. during the next year he continued at the head of the chandler school, and gave the instruction in mathematics, and allied branches, in addition to his duties as professor of mathematics in the academic department. in , professor woodman was appointed professor of civil engineering, and succeeded professor patterson in the care of the chandler school, in which from its opening he had given some instruction. this position he held until , when he was forced to resign on account of failing health, and was succeeded by professor edward r. ruggles, who had occupied the chair of modern languages and english literature since . at the annual meeting of the board of trustees in , it was voted that, "the regular course of study in the chandler school of science and the arts, from the present time, shall comprise a term of four years." in the name chandler school of science and the art was changed to chandler scientific department of dartmouth college. the character and usefulness of the scientific department from its foundation to the present time, may best be learned by studying the career of its graduates in successive classes. it will be observed, that the first class of this school graduated less than twenty-five years since, and yet in that brief period, its sons have made for it an honorable record; a record which should bring to it patronage and impart to its students a spirit of scholarly pride and emulation. it might not be deemed proper to go into a detailed account of the labors and successes of individuals among its living graduates but it is only fair to this comparatively youthful department of the college, to say that as lawyers, teachers, scientists, engineers, architects, and in other spheres of practical science, its sons have made for themselves a wide and enviable reputation. the age demands that its institutions of learning shall impart a scholarship that will bring the forces of nature under the control of man, and render the student more efficient in all the industries and business enterprises of the time. experience has shown that the scientific department of dartmouth is organized to meet this demand, and is in full and intelligent sympathy with the wants of modern society. from the first its teachers have been able and untiring in their devotion to its permanent prosperity and welfare, and its success has justified their efforts and zeal. agricultural department. the new hampshire college of agriculture and the mechanic arts was established by an act of the state legislature in . we give the act as recorded in the revised statutes. "section . a college is established and made a body politic and corporate, by the name of the new hampshire college of agriculture and the mechanic arts, whose leading object is, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in conformity to an act of congress entitled 'an act donating land to the several states and territories, which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, approved july , ;' and by that name may sue and be sued, prosecute and defend to final judgment and execution, and is vested with all the powers and privileges, and subject to all the liabilities, incident to corporations of a similar nature. "sect. . the general government of the college is vested in nine trustees, five of whom shall be appointed, one from each councillor district, and commissioned by the governor, with advice of the council, and four-by the trustees of dartmouth college, so classified and commissioned that the offices of three shall become vacant annually; any vacancy occurring shall be filled by the authority which made the original appointment. "sect. . the trustees shall appoint a secretary, who shall be sworn, and keep a fair and full record of their proceedings; and a treasurer, who shall give bond for the faithful discharge of his duties, in such sum as the trustees may require, and shall receive such compensation for his services as they may deem reasonable. they shall also appoint a faculty of instruction, prescribe their duties, and invest them with such powers for the immediate government and management of the institution as they may deem most conducive to its best interests. "sect. . no trustee shall receive any compensation for his services; but expenses reasonably incurred by him shall be paid by the college. "sect. . the trustees shall, on or before the twentieth day of may, annually, make report to the legislature of the financial condition, operations, and progress of the college, recording such improvements and experiments made, with their cost and results, including state, industrial, and economical statistics, as may be supposed useful one copy of which shall be transmitted to each college endowed under the provisions of the aforesaid act of congress, and one copy to the secretary of the interior. "sect. . the trustees are authorized and empowered to locate and establish the college at hanover, in connection with dartmouth college, and, with that corporation, to make all necessary contracts relative to the terms of connection, subject to be terminated upon a notice of one year, given at any time after fourteen years, and in relation to its furnishing to the college the free use of an experimental farm, all requisite buildings, the libraries, laboratories, apparatus, and museums of said dartmouth college, and for supplying such instruction, in addition to that furnished by its professors and teachers, as the best interests of its students may require; and also as to any legacy said dartmouth college may receive from the estate of david culver. said trustees are also directed to furnish, so far as may be practicable, free tuition to indigent students, and to make provision for the delivery of free lectures in different parts of the state upon subjects pertaining to agriculture and the mechanic arts. "sect. . all funds derived from the sale of land scrip issued to the state by the united states, in pursuance of the act of congress aforesaid, shall be invested in registered bonds of the state or of the united states, which shall be delivered to the state treasurer, who shall have the custody of the same, and pay over the income thereof, as it may accrue, to the treasurer of the college." the great work of securing the requisite funds, and laying foundations for this by no means unimportant department, was committed to the late professor ezekiel w. dimond. his early experience in affairs gave him peculiar fitness for this service. whether occupied in interviewing legislators and capitalists, or in the planning and erection of edifices, he labored in season and out of season for the accomplishment of his task, and with large success. when the department went into operation he was one of its principal teachers, and in this sphere he left upon his pupils the impress of a well-read chemist and a devotee to his profession. to his efforts, probably more than to those of any other single individual, is new hampshire indebted for whatever of success has been attained in this department. indeed, should the agricultural college leave its stamp upon the "steep and sterile hillsides," or the more prolific valleys of the granite state, as it is devoutly to be hoped that in process of time it may, no name probably will be so familiarly associated with the history of its early struggles for existence as that of dimond. nor were professor dimond's services to science limited to this department of the college. in the academical and scientific departments his name appears in the list of zealous, painstaking teachers. professor dimond's death in , while yet apparently upon the threshold of a work to which he gave _his life_, was a public loss. of professor thomas r. crosby, professor quimby says: "entering college in , in the sophomore class, he bestowed faithful labor on the whole course, while at the same time he did not forget his favorite studies of medicine and natural history. pursuing these in his leisure hours, he was fitted to take the degrees of a. b. and m.d. at the same time, in . with this preparation he entered at once upon the practice of medicine as his life-work, first at campton, afterward at hartford, vt., meriden, and manchester. he was one of the active men in originating the hillsborough agricultural society. he had a hand in organizing the state society, and in preparing the first volume of the society's transactions. nearly at the same time the above society was originated, the publication of the "granite farmer" was commenced, and dr. crosby was employed to edit it, in which position he did well. he was for a time city physician of manchester, and came near being elected its mayor. his health having failed in some measure, he removed to norwich, vt., the home of his wife's family. for ten years he lived in norwich and hanover, engaged in such teaching and practice and study as his health would permit. when our country called for aid in the war of the rebellion he believed it his duty to consecrate his knowledge of medicine and skill in surgery to her, and to the noble men who exposed themselves to sickness and wounds in her cause. upon entering the service he was immediately put in charge of the columbian college hospital, in washington. he assumed the responsibilities of the position with the determination that the men who came under his charge 'should have their rights,' and faithfully did he carry into execution his purpose. he remained in charge of this hospital until after the close of the war and the sick and wounded were able to be transferred to their homes. the next year he was appointed professor of general and military surgery and hygiene in the national medical college, it being the medical department of columbian college, which position he filled until . on the opening of the state agricultural college here, an institution in which he was particularly interested, he was appointed professor of animal and vegetable physiology, in which, and in natural history in the academic department, he taught almost literally till the day of his decease. when unable to meet his classes in their recitation-room he received them in his own study, and there heard their recitations, the last less than forty-eight hours before his death. thus he fell 'with the harness on.'" thayer school of civil engineering. of this department professor fletcher says: "between the years and , general sylvanus thayer, of braintree, massachusetts, by donations amounting in the aggregate to seventy thousand dollars, made provision for establishing in connection with the college a special course of instruction in civil engineering. 'the venerable donor, himself a distinguished officer of the u. s. corps of engineers, was moved to this munificence, not only by a regard for his alma mater, but also by a desire to provide for young men possessing requisite ability a thorough and exclusively professional training.' "the school was organized during the winter and spring of , by professor robert fletcher, under the immediate direction of general thayer. the general character and aim of the course are indicated by the following quotation from the instrument of gift: 'the requisites for admission to the school shall be of a high order, embracing such studies, at least, as are specified in a paper to be hereto appended, called 'programme a,' bearing my signature, which programme shall be regarded as an absolute minimum, and which may, in the discretion of the board of overseers, created by the th article of this instrument, be extended, but not diminished or contracted in the least degree.' "' . the course of study shall extend through at least two years, and the duration of the course may be further extended so as to include another half year, should three or more members of the board of overseers judge, after a fair trial of the two years' course, such further extension to be expedient. the studies and instruction of each year shall extend continuously from september first to july first following.'" "instruction was begun to a regular class of the engineering course, september, . during the preceding months of the year preparatory instruction had been given. from to , a preparatory course of two years was contemplated, and during the year - was maintained in connection with the higher course. meanwhile the detailed statement of requisites for admission, styled 'programme a,' was prepared by professor fletcher, under supervision of general thayer, and with the aid of several professors eminent in the various subjects which it includes. these requirements embrace all the branches of a common school education, a full course of pure mathematics and a thorough course in physics, including theoretical chemistry and astronomy. the high standard thus established justified the following announcement in the college 'catalogue.' 'the department is to be essentially, though not formally, post-graduate. the course of study is to be of the highest order, passing beyond what is possible in institutions for general culture, and is designed to prepare the capable and faithful student for responsible positions and difficult service.' it was intended that the preparatory department should provide instruction in the subjects embraced in 'programme a.' "the decease of general thayer in october, , deprived the school of his personal supervision. the general direction of its affairs then devolved on the board of overseers constituted by his instrument of gift and appointed by himself. at that time the board consisted of rev. a. d. smith, d.d., ll. d., president of dartmouth college, prof. o. p. hubbard of new haven, formerly at dartmouth college, prof. george l. andrews, of the u. s. military academy, gen. john c. palfrey, c. e., of lowell, massachusetts, and prof. p. s. michie, of the u. s. military academy. the last three gentlemen had been officers in the u. s. corps of engineers. "at its first meeting in may, , the board decided that it would not be expedient for some time to come to maintain such an auxiliary as a preparatory department. it was found that the limited means provided by the founder would allow the attainment of his high ideal only by working within comparatively narrow limits. without attempting to cover too broad a field, a high standard and thorough work were to be essential features of the course. "the board of overseers holds a meeting at dartmouth college annually, when it examines carefully into the working of the school, its financial condition, etc., and adopts any measures promising to effect improvement and secure greater efficiency, according to the powers conferred upon it by the instrument of gift. the board also examines the students and recommends such members of the first class as it finds to be qualified, to the trustees of dartmouth college for the degree of civil engineer. "the first class which completed the two years' course graduated in . the class of was the fifth sent out by the school. at that time the whole number of graduates was thirteen. there had been, besides, two who left for professional engagements after the first year of study. the graduates have nearly all obtained honorable positions in the line of the profession soon after graduation, with fair prospects for distinction. "the nature of the course is such that a large corps of instructors is not required. careful training and drill in essential and fundamental branches is the aim. considerable time is devoted to out-door practice but without attempt to make experts in any direction. accordingly, temporary employment in a professional line is allowed at proper times, such as will conduce to the student's improvement and be more or less remunerative. thus it is expected that the student will be fitted to advance rapidly and successfully in any 'specialty' to which he may subsequently devote his efforts. "the school is now hardly in full operation, as some features about the course are still experimental. it has its history yet to make." chapter xxix. benefactors.--trustees. from various authentic sources we have the following sketches of dartmouth's leading benefactors, always excepting the last royal governor of new hampshire, john wentworth, whose care for all the interests of the province is a matter of enduring record. of the distinguished person in honor of whom the college was named, the following account, published in , is from "collins' peerage": "william, _the present and second earl of dartmouth_, for his more polite education, traveled through france, italy, and germany; and, on his return to england, took the oaths, and his seat in the house of peers, on may , . his lordship was sworn of his majesty's privy council on july , ; in august following he was appointed first commissioner of trade and plantations, which he resigned in ; in august, , he was appointed secretary of state for the colonies; and on november , , keeper of the privy seal. "his lordship married, on january , , frances catharine, only daughter and heir of sir charles gunter nicholl, knight of the bath; and by her had issue eight sons and one daughter. "his lordship is also president of the london dispensary; vice-president of the foundling and lock hospitals; recorder of litchfield; ll. d., and f. r. s." the armorial inscription is: "gaudet tentamine virtus." forbes' life of dr. beattie gives the following interesting paragraph: "his majesty (george iii.) asked what i thought of my new acquaintance, lord dartmouth. i said, there was something in his air and manner which seemed to me not only agreeable, but very enchanting, and that he seemed to me to be one of the best of men; a sentiment in which both their majesties heartily joined. 'they say that lord dartmouth is an enthusiast,' said the king, 'but surely he says nothing on the subject of religion but what every one may and ought to say on the subject of religion.'" of john thornton, the devout episcopalian, the kinsman of wilberforce, and the most munificent of dartmouth's early benefactors, almost the sole supporter of the founder for several years, rev. thomas scott, in a memorial "discourse" says: "it is worthy of observation, that this friend of mankind, in the exercise of his beneficence, not only contributed his money (which often is done to very little purpose) but he devoted his time and thoughts very much to the same object; doing good was the great business of his life, and may more properly be said to have been his occupation, than even his mercantile engagements, which were uniformly considered as subservient to that nobler design. "to form and execute plans of usefulness; to superintend, arrange, and improve upon those plans; to lay aside such as did not answer, and to substitute others; to form acquaintance, and collect intelligence for this purpose; to select proper agents, and to carry on correspondence, in order to ascertain that his bounties were well applied: these and similar concerns were the hourly occupations of his life, and the ends of living, which he proposed to himself; nor did he think that any part of his time was spent either happily or innocently, if it were not some way instrumental, directly or indirectly, to the furtherance of useful designs." "abiel chandler was a native of concord, n. h. in his childhood his parents removed to fryeburg, maine, where he labored on a farm till he was twenty-one years of age. he was graduated at harvard college in , and spent the next eleven years in teaching at salem and newburyport, mass. to the good reputation which he had previously gained as a student, he added that of an excellent preceptor. a little later he commenced a mercantile life at boston. he was of the house of chandler and howard, and afterwards chandler, howard, and company, for more than a quarter of a century, when he retired with a fortune. to numerous relatives he made liberal bequests, with great delicacy and judgment. after his legacy to the college, the residue of his property was bequeathed to the new hampshire asylum for the insane. "the origin of mr. chandler's endowment of the scientific school is referable to an incident that occurred to him when a young man at fryeburg. he fell in company with some students of dartmouth college, and he was impressed by their superiority to himself. he conceived the purpose of being himself a scholar, and he fulfilled it. when, after a few years of honorable industry as a teacher he became a merchant, he saw himself, though now a scholar, ignorant, to a great extent, of the principles and methods of mercantile life. whereupon he set himself to a new variety of learning. he gained it, and with it gained a fortune. but he saw other men around him, in different spheres, suffering as he had done from a similar want of knowledge,--merchants, traders, ship-masters, artisans, farmers, laborers. "the chandler school is the ripened fruit of a well-considered purpose to benefit mankind. he had confidence in the importance of his object, the integrity of his aims, and the wisdom of his advisers. he bestowed his charity with a hearty good-will, and left the event with god." "_john conant_ was born in stowe, mass., in . his family descended from the french huguenots who were driven into england by louis xiv. his father was an industrious and successful farmer. in the district school he was taught the merest rudiments of an english education. in after years, by the aid and sympathy of an intelligent and well-educated wife, he fitted himself to write for the public journals, to lecture on temperance and agriculture, and to perform with credit and honor the duties of important official stations, in town and state. his leisure hours were devoted to study. he collected a small private library of choice books in history, biography, and science, and made them the companions of rainy days and winter evenings. "at the age of twenty-six, he purchased a farm in jaffrey, under the shadow of 'the great monadnock,' on which he labored for thirty-five years, and gathered 'a plentiful estate.' this was accumulated by means of those home-bred virtues, industry, prudence, and economy; for he never, in a single instance, increased his wealth by speculation. "when the new hampshire insane asylum was occupying the public attention, he contributed liberally to its endowment, and was at one time president of its board of trustees, being sole superintendent of the first buildings that were reared. "turning his thoughts toward the rising academy at new london, mr. conant proposed to add to its literary and scientific departments an agricultural school. he ascertained, however, that his whole estate would be inadequate to the work, and, after making generous donations to the academy, he turned his attention to the agricultural college at hanover. "in his endowment of this institution, along with other things, he has provided a model farm for the college, and founded a scholarship for each town in cheshire county, twenty-two in all, with an additional one for jaffrey. "mr. conant was through life a liberal contributor to public enterprises, and a supporter of the gospel, and for twenty years was an active member of the baptist church." boynton's history of west point gives the following valuable paragraphs relating to sylvanus thayer, by whose munificence to the cause of education he has laid his alma mater and his native town under lasting obligations: "brevet-major sylvanus thayer, of the corps of engineers, on july , , assumed command as superintendent of the west point military academy, and from this period the commencement of whatever success as an educational institution, and whatever reputation the academy may possess, at home or abroad, for its strict, impartial, salutary, elevating, and disciplinary government, must be dated. major thayer was an early graduate of the academy. he had served with distinction in the war of , and had studied the military schools of france, and profited by the opportunity to acquire more complete and just views concerning the management of such an institution than were generally entertained by educational and military men of that day. the field before him was uncultivated; the period was one when rare qualifications for position were not considered valueless; and, blessed with health, devotion to the cause, and firmness of purpose, he was permitted to organize a system, and remain sixteen years to perfect its operation. "immediately after entering upon his duties, the cadets were organized into a battalion of two companies, with a colonel of cadets, an adjutant, and a sergeant-major, for its staff; and within the year he created a 'commandant of cadets,' to be an instructor of tactics. "the division of classes into sections, the weekly rendering of class reports, showing the daily progress, the system and scale of daily marks, the establishment of relative class rank among the members, the publication of the annual register, the introduction of the board of visitors, the check-book system, the preponderating influence of the 'blackboard,' and the essential parts of the regulations for the military academy, as they stand to this day, are some of the evidences of the indefatigable efforts of major thayer to insure method, order, and prosperity to the institution. when relieved, at his own request, the upward impetus given to the institution had attracted general observation." general thayer evidently believed that "peace hath her victories" as well as war, and nobly acted in accordance with his intelligent, earnest convictions. "joel parker was born at jaffrey, n. h. after studying in the academy at groton, where the late president james walker was one of his schoolmates, he entered the sophomore class at dartmouth college in february, , at the early age of thirteen, and graduated in , not yet seventeen years of age. after his graduation he studied law at keene, and with his brother edmund at amherst, and entered the bar of cheshire county, at the october term in , at the former place, where he at once engaged in practice. in the year , contemplating a change of residence, he visited the west, and was admitted to practice in the circuit court of the united states at columbus, ohio, in january, ; but, fortunately for his native state, returned in the latter year, and devoted himself assiduously to his chosen pursuit. free from domestic cares, affianced only to his profession, he early gained an honorable position by the steady exercise of natural abilities well adapted to its pursuit. he was industrious, thorough, minute, painstaking, cautious, persistent, and untiring. "judge parker's mode of practice in the trial of cases," writes an early professional associate, who still enjoys a ripe and honored age, "to take down the testimony in full of the witnesses in writing, and to cross-examine them at great length as to all the circumstances they might know relative to the case, contributed greatly to change the previous practice of the witness' first telling his story of what he knew, followed by a brief cross-examination, with only a few notes, made by the counsel, of the leading points of the testimony." of judge parker's judicial life in new hampshire, charles sumner, in , wrote: "it will not be unjust to his associates to distinguish. mr. chief justice parker as entitled to peculiar honor for his services on the bench. he may be justly regarded as one of the ablest judges of the country." the event which brought judge parker more conspicuously before the public, and undoubtedly contributed justly and largely to give him a wide and established reputation for vigor, independence, learning, and capacity, was his controversy with mr. justice story of the supreme court of the united states in regard to the proper construction of a clause--it might even be said the meaning of a word [lien]--in the bankrupt law of ; a controversy which became political in other hands, and threatened to reach the magnitude of a conflict between the united states and new hampshire. after the experiences of this generation, such a collision seems trifling; but it involved subjects of grave importance, and was a contest between no insignificant combatants,--not without interest at this day to a student of common or constitutional law. it began in , when story and parker were each in the full vigor of judicial life, and enthusiastic crowds of young men were learning the science of the law from story's lips. it ended seven years after, when story had passed away, and parker was lecturing where story taught, to young men who now revere the memory of both. he had laid aside the honor and labors of the office which required him to engage in the struggle; and, in the first year of his service as a professor in the school to whose success and reputation story had so largely contributed, the court which story had adorned declared the survivor victorious. like entellus, he might say,-- "hic victor cestus artemque repono." the eminent service rendered to the country and the age, by judge parker, while royall professor of law at cambridge, forms a material part of our national history. richard fletcher was a native of cavendish, vt. having graduated at dartmouth, in , he studied law with daniel webster, and commenced practice in salisbury, n. h. in he removed to boston, where he shortly took rank with the very first of legal advocates. his biographer says: "while in practice before the courts his presence ever commanded the utmost respect. of good form, of handsome and expressive features, and of most gentlemanly and pleasing address, with his great learning and untiring industry, it is not strange that he should have succeeded at the bar and on the bench. "he was an orator of great power,--fluent and elegant in diction, bright and sparkling in thought, keen and quick in repartee. "his care not to be engaged in unworthy causes was a matter of note. "in political life he found little that suited his tastes, although at different times a member of both the state and national legislatures. "mr. fletcher was a sincere christian. his religion was not so much of the aggressive kind, nor did he often urge his views upon others; but it pervaded his entire character, and shone out in all his actions. in his will he made a provision for publishing biennially, a prize essay adapted to impress 'on the minds of all christians a solemn sense of their duty to exhibit in their godly lives and conversation the beneficent effects of the religion they profess, and thus increase the efficiency of christianity in christian countries, and recommend its acceptance to the heathen portions of the world.'" few of dartmouth's alumni have manifested a more affectionate, steadfast devotion to their alma mater, than mr. fletcher. tappan wentworth was the son of isaac wentworth, of dover, n. h., and was born there february , , and died in lowell, june , . his father was a poor man, a boatman running a freight-boat between dover and portsmouth. he was sent first to common schools till he reached the classical school where he studied latin in a class with the late john k. young, d.d., dr. george w. kittredge, and hon. john h. white, but was taken from school after having read two books of virgil. judge white says: "tappan was a good scholar, energetic and self-reliant. i was in the latin class with him, and was told by the father that he was too poor to keep him in school." he then spent about three years in portsmouth, in a north end grocery store. from portsmouth he went to south berwick, me., into the stores of the late benjamin nason and alphonso gerrish, successively, as clerk. he there attracted the attention of hon. william burleigh, a then member of congress from york district, by a spirited article he had written in favor of mr. burleigh's reëlection. mr. burleigh now offered to take him as a law student, and the young clerk entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in york county in . after seven years' successful practice in his profession in south berwick and great falls, he came to lowell, bringing some seven thousand dollars with him. he now seemed to form his life plan of work, professionally and financially,--diligence in his profession and all possible investments in real estate. at his death his $ , had swollen into nearly $ , , during his forty-five years of lowell life. during these years he became a leading member of his profession, was often in offices of trust in city affairs, at different times in both houses of the legislature, and a member of congress from to . after assigning "pride of ancestry and name" as one reason for mr. wentworth's munificence to dartmouth, judge crosby says: "another reason for the gift to the college is found in his appreciation of the value, the power, and the beauty of education. he had had hard experience in relation to it. he had hungered for it when he could not get it. he had obtained it in limited departments, by hard work, at great odds and under great embarrassments, when other claims must be postponed in its behalf. and as he looked over our college studies he found many branches he had never pursued and could not approach." "the fund is not given for scholarships, professorships, libraries, or buildings. it is given for the support of the institution, to make instruction independent, learned and cheap; given to invite the youth to come here, and to give them the best opportunities of cultivation at lessened expense, to lay foundations of learning and mental enlargement for any department in life. it will maintain ten learned professors or twenty tutors, or give , volumes of books annually, as the honorable trustees shall think the demands of the college require. "it may enlarge, repair, or ornament these grounds; it may be turned into laboratories, museums of natural history, or art; it may raise the curriculum to higher studies and extended courses. it is not restrained by his personal judgment and direction in the future, but left to the better judgment of living mind." should dartmouth ever lose her maiden name, she would not hesitate in regard to the new one. william reed was born at marblehead, mass. compelled to abandon the hope of a public education, he afterwards engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he followed with great energy and activity and with a good degree of success. having by his untiring energy and perseverance, and by his strict habits of economy come into possession of a considerable amount of property, he devoted the latter part of his life to philanthropic and benevolent purposes. as a citizen he was distinguished for activity, public spirit and true patriotism. the many marks of attention and respect which he received from his fellow-citizens evinced the high estimation in which he was held by the community. in he was elected to a seat in the congress of the united states, a station which he filled for four years with honor to himself, with satisfaction to his constituents, and with advantage to his country. while the cause of foreign missions received the largest share of his christian sympathies and the largest amount of his charitable donations, yet he was deeply interested in all the benevolent operations of the day. his sound judgment was sought in the management of various public institutions. in he was elected a member of the board of visitors of the theological seminary at andover, and occupied that station until his death. he was for several years a trustee of dartmouth; also of amherst. dr. george cheyne shattuck was born in templeton, mass., in the year , in the sixth generation from william shattuck, who was born in england in the year , and died in watertown, mass., in the year , dr. benjamin shattuck graduated at harvard college in , and having studied medicine, settled in templeton. his youngest son inherited thirteen hundred dollars, and this sufficed for his support, fitting for college, and college and medical education, commenced at hanover and continued in philadelphia and boston, with such addition as he was able to make by school-keeping. there were no public conveyances when he went from templeton to hanover, and he bought a horse on which he rode to hanover and then sold it, taking the pay in board. he received four degrees from his alma mater; the first in the year and the last, of doctor of laws, in . he settled in boston in the year , and for the space of forty-seven years devoted himself to the practice of his profession. he secured the esteem, respect and affection of his patients, and gathered a handsome estate. he gave liberally to his alma mater for an observatory, for books, and for portraits of distinguished alumni. he founded a professorship in the medical department of harvard university and endowed scholarships in the academical department. he gave liberally to various charities during his lifetime, as well as to public institutions, and the poor and needy never appealed to him in vain. he died in boston in the year , in the profession of the faith in which he had been educated both at home and at college. george h. bissell was born at hanover, n. h. he is descended from a family of norman-french origin, which came from somersetshire, england. his mother came of belgic and holland descent. one of his ancestors was the first settler at windsor, ct., in . the late gov. clark bissell, of connecticut, and gov. william h. bissell, of illinois, were relatives. in , after successful teaching elsewhere, on the organization of the high school in new orleans mr. bissell was elected its first principal over many competitors. subsequently he was chosen superintendent of the public schools in that city. his remarkable administrative abilities and high qualifications as a scholar were of great service in his onerous position. the schools reached a discipline and prosperity before unknown. he is also a member of the legal profession. in the development of petroleum mr. bissell was a leading pioneer; perhaps he justly deserves the preëminence in this great work. mr. bissell is a self-made man. we quote a portion of his letter to president smith, announcing his munificent donation for a gymnasium: "in acceding to your wishes, my dear sir, i can but recall that day, now twenty years since, when, leaving dartmouth, alone and unaided, i felt that 'tentanda via est, quâ me quoque possim tollere humo.' "it affords me unqualified pleasure now to be able to gratify a wish then cherished, to aid in some degree my alma mater, and in that manner which you assure me is the most effectual." "gen. david culver was born in lyme, n. h. in the year he left the parental roof, and after a residence in hartford, conn., and new york city, for some years, where in both cities he was actively engaged in lucrative business pursuits, he returned to his beautiful ancestral home in lyme, in . the residue of his years he spent in pleasant agricultural life, on the old farm of his strongly-endeared childhood, memory, and attachment. in the rural district of this home he was ever apparently content and happy, and, much to his praise, seemed greatly beloved by his neighbors. his townsmen many times by their united suffrage gave him important offices of public trust and confidence. of the congregational church of christ, in lyme, he was for many years a highly valued helping member, and for the gospel ministry was a liberal supporter, giving of his means in so quiet a manner that he appeared not to wish his good deeds blazoned to the world. "for the needy, suffering poor of his personal acquaintance, especially the helpless poor, he had a sympathizing heart, and so deeply pitied them, in many instances, as to greatly alleviate their sufferings by ministering pecuniarily to their relief. "to the cause of general education in the community,--elementary, common, agricultural, and collegiate,--he was always a warm-hearted, deeply-interested friend. in many instances, to aspiring youth in indigent circumstances, who were striving after the acquisition of the needful knowledge to prepare themselves and others for usefulness, he has been known to bestow pecuniary assistance to aid them on their way. "and so agreeably bland was he in his mode of conferring his favors, as to greatly augment the value of them, and at the same time heighten the esteem of the recipients for the donor." outside of her alumni dartmouth had few warmer friends than general culver. samuel appleton was a native of new ipswich, n. h. his enterprise and his liberality have given his name a conspicuous place in new england history. we append a portion of one of his letters to president lord, which shows his generous appreciation of liberal culture. "it affords me much pleasure to have it in my power to do something for the only college in my native state which has done so much to establish a sound literary character in the country. dartmouth has done her full proportion in educating for the pulpit, the bar, the healing art, and the senate, good and great men who have done honor to their names, to the college, and to the country." in closing this record, we can only allude to other leading benefactors, among whom are john d. willard, who gave to dartmouth some of the fruits of his busy, earnest life. salmon p. chase, loyal to his alma mater to the last. john wentworth, who still lives to witness her work. henry bond, loving her scarcely less than his kindred, "according to the flesh." frederick hall, who gave his money, and what he valued more. john phillips, whose name will live as long as dartmouth, or andover, or exeter, shall exist. israel evans, the patriot divine, who cherished for washington and wheelock similar affection. aaron lawrence, the conscientious christian merchant. jeremiah kingman, the busy agriculturist, who cultivated his mind as well as his fields. mrs. betsey whitehouse, the parishioner of abraham burnham, by whose labors her valuable christian and general character was largely moulded, and e. w. stoughton, who fully realizes the close connection between a healthy body and a sound mind. the services of dartmouth's trustees should not be passed over in silence. we give a statement of the character of the board half a century ago, when the college was in "middle life," from mr. william h. duncan. "of the members of that board, there was elijah paine, of vermont, who had received his appointment as district judge of the united states for the district of vermont from washington, a graduate from harvard, 'a roman of the romans,' one who would have done honor to rome in her noblest and best days for the purity, integrity, and elevation of his character. charles marsh, who held for many years the unchallenged position of the leader of the bar in vermont, a cousin of that giant in the law, jeremiah mason, whom he greatly resembled in many of his intellectual characteristics,--a high-toned gentleman, and a devout and reverend believer in christianity. moses p. payson, a graduate of the college, of the class of , a lawyer of courteous and elegant demeanor, and of high social position. judge edmund parker, a sound lawyer, a man of good sense, and excellent judgment, and above all a man of unspotted character, a brother of the distinguished ex-chief justice of the supreme court of new hampshire. israel w. putnam, d.d., a graduate of the class of , so long and so favorably known in new hampshire as a clergyman. john h. church, d.d., a graduate from harvard, a man of apostolic solemnity and dignity of character, whose praise is in all the churches. john wheeler, d.d., an accomplished scholar, afterwards president of the university of vermont. bennett tyler, who was still a trustee, although he had resigned his position as president, a man of commanding dignity of presence, an unrivaled logician, and one of the best pulpit orators it has ever been the good fortune of the writer to listen to. judge samuel hubbard, of boston, one of the best lawyers of new england, who for many years was the rival and the peer of the leaders of the suffolk bar. when on the bench of the supreme court of massachusetts, he was numbered among her most eminent jurists, and was ranked with fletcher and shaw. he was a man of the finest sensibilities, and a devout and reverent christian. mills olcott, of the class of , who had been the secretary and treasurer of the college before he was a trustee, whose father had served before him for twenty years in the same capacity, a man of remarkable sagacity and enterprise in business affairs, of assured social position, and of great elegance and dignity of manner. "and of this body of men was ezekiel webster, the elder brother of daniel, a man of remarkable intellectual endowments; in sagacity and judgment, in the opinion of those who knew them both, fully equal to his distinguished brother, well read, as all the gentlemen of the old school were, in the old english authors; a profound lawyer, and, at times when he could be prevailed upon to speak, as eloquent as his brother; of commanding personal presence, which in no way can be so well described as by borrowing a homeric epithet, for he was truly a 'king' among 'men.' "such was the body of men whose grave and majestic air used to impress the writer of this sketch, when the commencements came round, in his college days, with the same feeling of awe and reverence with which the barbarians' were inspired when they first looked in upon the roman senate, supposing that they were looking upon an assembly of kings." if to these we add the names of the eminent men who were the colleagues of the founder, and of nathaniel niles, jonathan freeman, thomas w. thompson, stephen jacob, timothy farrar, samuel bell, asa mcfarland, seth payson, samuel prentiss, george sullivan, john aiken, william reed, samuel delano, samuel fletcher, nathaniel bouton, silas aiken, joel parker, richard fletcher, and the honored governors of the state, we are fully impressed with the fact that the interests of the college have been in the keeping of wise and prudent guardians. chapter xxx. labors of dartmouth alumni.--conclusion. as dartmouth was founded as an evangelizing agency, and every stone was laid in firm reliance upon him to whom all was consecrated, there was good ground of hope that it would be a strong and durable pillar in the great temple of christian learning. its record is a realization of the hopes of its noble and devoted founders. in his "narrative" for (p. ) dr. wheelock, alluding to the period immediately following his removal to hanover, says: "there were evident impressions upon the minds of a number of my family and school which soon became universal, insomuch that scarcely one remained who did not feel a greater or less degree of it, till the whole lump seemed to be leavened by it, and love, peace, joy; satisfaction and contentment reigned through the whole. the d day of january ( ) was kept as a day of solemn fasting and prayer, on which i gathered a church in this college and school, which consisted of twenty-seven members." his biographer, writing early in the present century, says: "the college has been repeatedly favored with remarkable religious impressions on the minds of the students. these showers of divine grace have produced streams which have refreshed the garden of the lord, and made glad the city of our god. the young men in this school of the prophets have, at these seasons, been powerfully and lastingly affected; they have gone forth as 'angels of the churches;' the work of god has prospered in their hands; many of their people have been turned to righteousness." of president tyler's administration it is said that the most remarkable thing was "a powerful revival of religion." all the later decades have been marked by manifestations of the divine presence in the college. scarcely a year has passed in which some of its members have not joyfully consecrated intellect and heart and life to the service of him who gave them. not a few have been "bright and shining lights" in the church. of jesse appleton, rev. dr. anderson says: "i have been placed in circumstances to see much of not a few great men in the church of christ, but i have been conversant with only a few, a very few, whose attributes of power seemed to me quite equal to his. the clearness of his conceptions was almost angelic. if i am fitted to do any good in the world, i owe what intellectual adaptation i have very much to his admirable training, especially as he took us through his favorite butler." few american divines have had a wider or more varied sphere of influence than dr. appleton's classmate, ebenezer porter, a _pioneer_ in sacred rhetoric, one of the originators of the american tract society, the most prominent of the founders of the american education society, which he adopted as his child and heir, the beloved and honored first president of the oldest theological seminary in the united states. of samuel worcester, the distinguished opponent of channing, we have the following valuable record: "when the american board of commissioners for foreign missions was formed, his labors as the corresponding secretary, with the whole system now in operation for the conduct of missions abroad, required the same processes of original evolution and determination of principles and rules, as so signally characterized the formation of our federal government. here was displayed his peculiar, if we may not say his transcendent, power among his eminent associates. the great value of 'the constitution of the board, as a working instrument,' 'the nicely adjusted relations of the voluntary and ecclesiastical principles,' the 'origination of what is peculiarly excellent in the annual reports, and also in the instructions to missionaries,' and the '_american_ idea' of 'organizing the missions as self-governing communities,' are justly ascribed to him by the present senior secretary, [dr. anderson] as conclusive witness of his extraordinary 'sagacity' and of his being far 'in advance of the age.'" philander chase could found parish and diocese and seminary with equal facility, performing a work for the episcopal church in america unrivaled by that of any contemporary. nor should we overlook such names as asa burton, teacher of teachers in theology, who could successfully measure swords with emmons; samuel wood, whose impress never left the mind of webster; daniel story, a pioneer of marietta; mase shepard, jonathan strong, walter harris, ethan smith, alvan hyde, william jackson, rufus anderson, the honored father of a not less honored son; john fiske, abijah wines, eliphalet gillett, whose home missionary zeal in maine made a lasting impression upon the rising state; kiah bailey, who first effectually moved the springs which gave to the same state the bangor theological seminary; john smith, an earnest and honored teacher in that seminary; theophilus packard, whose pupils have performed honorable service for the master in both hemispheres; peter p. roots, bezaleel pinneo, asa mcfarland, caleb jewett tenney, a leading founder of the east windsor (now hartford) theological seminary; thomas a. merrill, abraham burnham, george t. chapman, john brown, daniel poor, the pioneer in christian learning in ceylon and madura; austin dickinson, to whom the world is under large obligations for a higher type of periodical literature; levi spaulding, the worthy coadjutor of poor; nathan w. fiske, daniel temple, who carried the first missionary printing-press to western asia, and made for classic lands a christian literature; william goodell, the leading founder of two flourishing christian missions on heathen soil, and the translator of the whole bible into the armeno-turkish language; ephraim w. clark, john s. emerson, and austin h. wright, of similar spirit; benjamin woodbury, aaron foster, a leading founder of the american home missionary society, and john k. lord, whose early death in the queen city of the west, was as the falling of "a standard-bearer." to these we might add many eminent living heralds of the cross, and a hovey and a townsend in leading theological seminaries. we cannot more fitly close on this head than by remarking that of the last forty-four subjects in the second volume of sprague's invaluable "annals of the pulpit," eleven were dartmouth alumni, while all the others, save eight, numbered her alumni among their teachers. dartmouth has an honorable record in the various departments of law and in statesmanship. most naturally we dwell upon the name of daniel webster, towering in strength and grandeur, like the mountain beside which he was born, amid the surrounding granite, who left the impress of his genius upon the jurisprudence of his native state, upon the constitution of his adopted state, and upon nearly every conspicuous page of america's civil or political history for half a century; who loved plymouth rock and bunker hill with an undying affection, dwelling alternately beside the one or the other; who cherished as the apple of his eye his alma mater and the nation for whose service she had prepared him; who in early life and middle life and old age advocated the universal brotherhood of man, whether pleading in behalf of the oppressed african, or the oppressed greek, or the oppressed hungarian; who gave all his sympathy and all his influence in aid of every pursuit, enterprise, and institution which could ennoble the human race; who made all other human law pay homage to the constitution of his country, and all human law to the divine revelation; who gave to dartmouth a more enduring fame throughout america, and to america a more enduring fame over the whole earth: of levi woodbury, who as governor of his native state clearly comprehended and carefully regarded its various interests; as a senator commanded the profound respect of the national legislature; as a cabinet minister, inaugurated "a series of reforms which pervaded the whole department, and penetrated to every branch of the service," and who upon the supreme bench of the united states gave judicial opinions which are "monuments of patient research, ripe, and rarely erring judgment, enlarged and liberal views, and eminent attainments:" of thaddeus stevens, of whom his biographer says: "thoroughly radical in all his views, hating slavery with all the intensity of his nature, believing it just, right, and expedient, not only to emancipate the negro but to arm him and make him a soldier, and afterward to make him a citizen, and give him the ballot, he led off in all measures for effecting these ends. the emancipation proclamation was urged upon the president by him, on all grounds of right, justice, and expediency; the fourteenth amendment to the constitution was initiated and pressed by him:" of rufus choate, who combined in more majestic and graceful proportions than any other american lawyer, the ripe scholar and the successful advocate; who with the beauty and power of his language could captivate a jury, a popular audience, or the american congress with equal facility; who gave to english literature some of its most brilliant gems, and who in his immortal eulogy upon webster, in the opinion of competent judges, gave to the world one of the most finished and impressive examples of elegiac eloquence to which it has listened since the days of pericles: and of salmon p. chase, who, when our government needed, gave to it the "sinews of war," and in the eloquent language of evarts, "whether by interposing his strong arm to save mr. birney from the fury of a mob; or by his bold and constant maintenance in the courts of the cause of fugitive slaves, in the face of the resentments of the public opinion of the day; or by his fearless desertion of all reigning politics to lead a feeble band of protestants through the wilderness of anti-slavery wanderings, its pillar of cloud by day, its pillar of fire by night; or, as governor of ohio, facing the intimidations of the slave states, backed by federal power and a storm of popular passion; or in consolidating the triumphant politics on the urgent issue which was to flame out into rebellion and revolt; or in his serene predominance, during the trial of the president, over the rage of party hate which brought into peril the coördination of the great departments of government, and threatened its whole frame,--in all these marked instances of public duty, as in the simple routine of his ordinary conduct, mr. chase asked but one question to determine his course of action,--'is it right?'" nor should we forget others who have left a lasting impression upon the jurisprudence of new england, and indeed our whole country. among them samuel s. wilde, who had few peers as an advocate in maine, or as a judge in massachusetts; ezekiel webster, who as lawyer and statesman left a monument in new hampshire which shall never crumble; richard fletcher, "whose legal acumen, clear, distinct, and precise statement, closely reasoned argument, and conscientious mastery of his subject, adorned the bench no less than the bar;" joseph bell, who as advocate and legislator, in ability as in station, towered above most of his associates; ichabod bartlett, "the randolph of the north," who could measure swords with mason or webster or clay, without either shield or shame; and joel parker, who honored alike the bar, the bench, and the lecture-room. as members of one branch or the other of our national legislature, we record other honored names in alphabetical order: samuel c. allen, who voted _alone_ in his place in congress, in favor of suffrage without regard to color. helium allen, lemuel h. arnold, samuel bell, samuel n. bell, silas betton, abijah bigelow, john blanchard, daniel breck, elijah brigham, david brunson, joseph buffum, dudley chase, daniel chipman, martin chittenden, daniel clark, in every public position a leading spirit, judah dana, samuel dinsmoor, daniel m. durell, ira a. eastman, thomas m. edwards, walbridge a. field, benjamin f. flanders, isaac fletcher, george g. fogg, sylvester gilbert, calvin goddard, daniel w. gooch, john n. goodwin, george grennell, james w. grimes, pioneer statesman of the far west, matthew harvey, henry hibbard, henry hubbard, a man of rare abilities and influence, jonathan hunt, luther jewett, joseph s. lyman, asa lyon, rufus mcintire, charles marsh, george p. marsh, the honored son of an honored father, gilman marston, ebenezer mattoon, jeremiah nelson, moses norris, john noyes, benjamin orr, albion k. parris, james w. patterson, whose eminent abilities and elaborate culture have placed him in the foremost rank of the present generation of new england statesmen, charles h. peaslee, edward c. reed, erastus root, joseph richardson, eleazer w. ripley, equally fearless as a soldier and a statesman, ether shepley, alike conspicuous for mental and moral powers, john s. sherburne, george a. simmons, who by his own efforts attained rare eminence, peleg sprague, samuel taggart, amos tuck, a pioneer in philanthropic politics, john wentworth, who in large measure maintains the reputation of an ancient and honored family, phineas white, leonard wilcox, charles w. willard, hezekiah williams, and william wilson. to which should be added the names of james c. alvord and sylvanus backus, who were elected to congress, but did not live to take their seats. when daniel webster entered the american senate, five of its twelve new england representatives were dartmouth alumni. their labors in congress form a part of the history of every administration of our national government. amos kendall, beside large usefulness, in other spheres, was an honored cabinet minister. amos t. akerman has been similarly honored, as attorney general of the united states. the names of charles b. haddock, george p. marsh, george g. fogg, and edward f. noyes, deserve honorable mention in connection with public service abroad. the names of samuel dinsmoor, the younger, john hubbard, ralph metcalf, peter t. washburn, nelson dingley, and benjamin f. prescott should be noticed, as state governors, in addition to several who have added this honor to others, of which we have already made mention. in judicial life many names attract our notice beside those, which have been mentioned in other connections; among them nicholas baylies, nicholas emery, nathan weston, ira perley, jonas cutting, benjamin w. bonney, isaac f. redfield, robert r. heath, andrew s. woods, william h. bartlett, john s. sanborn, and benjamin h. steele, of the deceased, and william g. woodward, timothy p. redfield, george f. shepley, james barrett, jason downer, jonathan e. sargent, lincoln f. brigham, oliver miller, and charles doe, among the living. nor should we forget that of living members of the american bar few names have been honored more in the east than that of charles b. goodrich, and few names have been honored more in the west than that of james f. joy. dartmouth has contributed largely to american education. bowdoin's first two presidents were joseph mckeen and jesse appleton. thomas c. upham was one of its honored faculty for more than forty years. oren b. cheney was a leading founder of bates college, in later years. james marsh, john wheeler, and joseph torrey were successively presidents of vermont university, and each left upon it a most valuable and durable impression. william jackson and thomas a. merrill inscribed their names indelibly upon the foundations of middlebury college, which numbers benjamin labaree and calvin b. hulbert among its honored presidents. zephaniah s. moore, as president of williams college, gave to it the fruits of his valuable experience at dartmouth, and materially enhanced its usefulness; nor should we omit the name of its earnest friend and guardian, alvan hyde. in naming the leading founders of amherst college, professor tyler does not hesitate to place first, rufus graves, and next, samuel f. dickinson. the value of dr. moore's services as first president has been referred to in a previous chapter. a record of its obligations to professor nathan welby fiske is a material part of its history. the biographer of george ticknor says no one contributed more than he toward the impulse which has resulted in harvard's progress during the last half century. amos kendall was the honored founder of the college for deaf mutes at washington. john m. sturtevant has an honored place in the history of education for the blind in the south. jonathan p. cushing resuscitated hampden sydney college when life was nearly extinct, and made it again "a power in the land." philander chase, in founding kenyon and jubilee colleges, gave to the episcopalians of the west two of their leading literary institutions. john m. ellis founded illinois college, which, with the influences that centered around it, in large measure "gave character" to the state. not less plainly did he write his name upon the foundations of wabash college, and not less plainly have charles white, edmund d. hovey, and caleb mills written their names upon the superstructure. a proper estimate of the valuable labors of joseph estabrook, stephen foster, and george cooke, successively presidents of the college of east tennessee, can only be made by those who are familiar with the history of the institution. drury college, so admirably located, bears the impress of nathan j. morrison. beyond the rocky mountains, samuel h. willey and george h. atkinson will ever be honored among the leading founders and guardians of the college of california, and the pacific university. no history of american education will be complete which does not portray the earnest and valuable labors, in numerous other collegiate institutions east, west, north, and south, of a long roll of dartmouth alumni; among them, beside many others, already noticed, joseph dana, james dean, josiah noyes, frederick hall, george t. chapman, james hadley, rufus w. bailey, benjamin f. farnsworth, george bush, cyrus p. grosvenor, oramel s. hinckley, samuel hurd, caleb s. henry, john kendrick, charles d. cleaveland, leonard marsh, forrest shepherd, charles b. dana, nathaniel s. folsom, jarvis gregg, milo p. jewett, diarca h. allen, kendrick metcalf, jacob h. quimby, john b. niles, daniel f. richardson, amos brown, calvin tracy, john c. webster, edmund q. s. waldron, augustus everett, erastus everett, jonas de f. richards, abner h. brown, henry l. bullen, george p. comings, david dimond, charles h. churchill, amos b. goodhue, joshua j. blaisdell, artemas w. sawyer, mark bailey, gideon draper, joseph o. hudnut, henry e. j. boardman, charles s. farrar, nathan s. lincoln, john ordronaux, john m. hayes, daniel putnam, martin h. fisk, isaac a. parker, ephraim march, william e. barnard, ambrose w. clarke, amos n. currier, richard c. stanley, albert s. bickmore, george s. morris, and john w. scribner. it is hardly possible to overestimate the influence of these men in shaping the thought and life of our country. if we turn to academies we find that mark newman, osgood johnson, and samuel h. taylor, especially the two latter, were largely instrumental in placing phillips academy, at andover, at the head of such institutions in america. few schools of the kind have a more brilliant record than kimball union academy, and few american educators have acquired more permanent renown than cyrus s. richards. the labors of amos j. cook at fryeburg, of john vose at atkinson and pembroke, of andrew mack at gilmanton and haverhill, of john hubbard at new ipswich, of ezra carter at peacham, of clement long and william nutting at randolph, of james k. colby at st. johnsbury, of ebenezer adams at leicester, of proctor pierce at deerfield, of caleb butler at groton, and benjamin greenleaf at bradford, constitute a vital portion of the history of academic education in new england. nor must we forget that such men as albert c. perkins, at exeter, c. f. p. bancroft, at andover, and homer t. fuller, at st. johnsbury, are still laboring in this important sphere, while hiram orcutt is performing valuable service in a somewhat similar sphere at west lebanon. worcester free institute is under large obligations to charles o. thompson and john e. sinclair. if we turn to the metropolis of new england we find that john d. philbrick has made her schools and school-houses in their leading features models for a world, fit successor to elisha ticknor, the leading founder of her primary schools, and caleb bingham and john park, who in large measure revolutionized female education in america. beaumont parks taught successfully for forty years in indiana and illinois; charles e. hovey founded the illinois normal school--worthy followers of daniel story at marietta, the pioneer professional teacher of the west. john eaton, as commissioner of general education, has stamped his name, indelibly, upon our country's history. in literature, dartmouth has a worthy record. in philosophy, the names of james marsh, thomas c. upham, and caleb s. henry, command universal respect. in history, the names of george ticknor, joseph b. felt, joseph tracy, george punchard, samuel hopkins, john lord, and edwin d. sanborn, will live as long as our language. in scientific popular literature, the names of abel curtis, who is believed to have given to america its first english grammar in a separate and distinct form, of caleb bingham, who followed in his footsteps and enhanced the value of his work, of daniel adams, who gave to the world the invaluable arithmetic, of benjamin greenleaf, whose mathematical works have added materially to the usefulness of his long and busy life, of charles d. cleaveland and alphonso wood, are stars of the first magnitude. in periodical literature, the names of john park, david everett, thomas g. fessenden, asa rand, russell jarvis, absalom peters, nathaniel p. rogers, ebenezer c. tracy, amasa converse, henry wood, nathaniel s. folsom, alonzo h. quint, and henry a. hazen, deserve especial notice. in polite literature, the names of nathaniel h. carter, charles b. haddock, rufus choate, george p. marsh, richard b. kimball, and john b. bouton, command universal admiration. the writings of samuel l. knapp, henry bond, and nathan crosby are valuable contributions to american biography. in professional and classic literature, the alumni of dartmouth have done a good work. we can only glance at leading names, many of which have been mentioned in their more appropriate places. among them are asa burton, jesse appleton, ebenezer porter, samuel c. bartlett, alvah hovey, luther t. townsend, isaac f. redfield, silas durkee, edmund r. peaslee, w. w. morland, f. e. oliver, jabez b. upham, edward h. parker, joseph torrey, nathan w. fiske, george bush, and alpheus crosby. in industrial literature, the names of henry colman and john l. hayes will be honored so long as agriculture and manufactures shall have a prominent place among human pursuits. in medicine, a goodly proportion of her most eminent sons have given to dartmouth their personal services as teachers; we have only to recall in this connection the honored names recorded in a preceding chapter,--mussey, perkins, crosby, and peaslee. but other names claim our notice. amos twitchell, by tireless industry and fidelity in his regular professional work, and his boldness and skill as an operative surgeon, gained a reputation equaled by few in new england, and extending to the old world. the name of george c. shattuck shines with equal lustre, as the benefactor of his alma mater, and the friend of suffering humanity in the metropolis of new england. luther v. bell wrote his name as plainly upon the foundations of the mclean asylum, at somerville, as did his honored father, samuel bell, upon the jurisprudence of new hampshire. the name of john e. tyler is scarcely less conspicuous upon the superstructure. new jersey will never forget her obligations to lyndon a. smith for the earnest efforts which gave to that state a similar institution. nor should we be silent in regard to the services of living men who are now conducting or prominently connected with similar institutions; among them, jesse p. bancroft, clement a. walker, john ordronaux, homer o. hitchcock, william w. godding, and john p. brown. as medical lecturers, we cannot fail to notice other honored names; among them, josiah noyes, joseph a. gallup, james hadley, jesse smith, arthur l. porter, gilman kimball, benjamin r. palmer, noah worcester, abner hartwell brown, nathan s. lincoln, and phineas s. conner. a reference to all the living medical alumni of dartmouth, who are acting the part of useful practitioners or teachers, added to the above, would take us to nearly every leading medical institution, and nearly every family, in our broad land. in productive industry and the development of our national resources, the alumni of dartmouth have an honorable place. eastern new england will never be unmindful of her obligations to william a. hayes, for his successful efforts to introduce a better grade of wool than had ever before been produced in that region; nor will the country or the world forget their obligations to his honored classmate, henry colman, the american pioneer in scientific agriculture. the names of thomas g. fessenden and amos brown also deserve notice in this connection. petroleum, instead of being at the present time a leading american product, might have remained, in large measure, in its ancient bed, but for the skillful, persevering enterprise of george h. bissell and francis b. brewer. in railroad enterprise, the names of erastus hopkins, thomas m. edwards, and francis cogswell, in the east, and james f. joy, in the west, are "familiar as household words." the sons of dartmouth have performed honorable service in the field. more than a score were soldiers of the revolution. among them john s. sherburne, who lost one of his limbs; absalom peters, whose efficient service in vermont contributed largely to the protection of our northern frontier; and ebenezer mattoon, who by forced marches with his gallant men furnished cannon which "told" at saratoga. in the war of - they acted well their part. eleazer wheelock ripley, at lundy's lane, after general scott had been disabled (with the aid of the gallant miller), wrested victory from an almost triumphant foe, on the bloodiest field of the war. in that war, too, sylvanus thayer gained a measure of the renown which has rendered the name of the most efficient founder of the military academy at west point illustrious in both hemispheres. in the late war one of the most valuable coadjutors of two of its leading captains--grant and sherman--was joseph dana webster. in letters of living light we write many other names, among them charles and daniel foster--par nobile fratrum--samuel souther, charles augustine davis, isaac lewis clarke, calvin gross hollenbush, valentine b. oakes, franklin aretas haskell, arthur edwin hutchins, lucius stearns shaw, horace meeker dyke, edwin brant frost, william lawrence baker, charles whiting carroll, george washington quimby, george ephraim chamberlin, charles lee foster, henry mills caldwell, and stark fellows, who at bull run, antietam, fredericksburg, the wilderness, cold harbor, and elsewhere, gave their lives in defense of the american union. no aggregation of volumes would adequately portray the whole work of dartmouth's alumni. in quiet places, the great majority, day by day, and year by year, have performed their allotted tasks. in such places all over america, and in other lands, they have built their most enduring monuments. the calm lustre of their lives is almost as widely diffused as the morning light. eleazer wheelock founded the college, in faith and hope, for the enlightenment and evangelization of future generations in that mighty storehouse of thought and action, central new england. john wheelock carried forward the work with energy and zeal, and a large measure of success. francis brown gave a valuable life for the protection of his still youthful alma mater. daniel dana was a man of kindred spirit, and not less devoted to his work. bennet tyler magnified his office, and, laboring in season and out of season, added "goodly ornaments." nathan lord added new halls, new departments and modes of instruction, gave larger prestige, and left the impress of a great mind upon two thousand pupils. asa d. smith added yet other halls, secured new endowments, and provided a long line of scholarships, for the development of latent talent, and the encouragement of genuine worth. samuel c. bartlett brings to the accomplishment of his task the name of an ancient and honored family, and the experiences of an earnest and fruitful life. dartmouth has blessed new england and old england, north america and the whole world. her location, unrivaled in many respects by that of any sister institution, her history, so full of romance and of reality, and her work, recorded first in the history of the eighteenth century, and indelibly impressed upon the history of the nineteenth, all warrant the hope that her walls may stand, through all the ages of the future, strong as the everlasting hills, and beautiful as the celestial dome. appendix. a list of the english subscribers to dr. wheelock's indian charity school or academy. london. £ s. d. his most gracious majesty mr. isaac akerman mr. john atkins messrs. adair, jackson & co. mr. william ames mr. joseph armitage mr. joseph aldersey mr. ebenezer atkinson mrs. allovine the rev. mr. ashworth of daintree mr. atwell, a. b. mr. john anther anonymous mr. andrews mrs. sarah axford the rev. mr. sam. brewer's collection messrs. day. barclay & sons mrs. brine robert butcher, esq. mr. john bradney mr. diederick beckman mr. john bonus messrs. bland & barnett mr. thomas brooks jam. & hen. baker, esqs. thom. smalley browning, esq. john bond, esq. bank note, k sir ---- blackmore robert bird, esq. mrs. sarah bradney mrs. b. w. mr. blunkett of peckham john buchanan, esq. mr. clement bellamy mr. geo. baskerville mr. michael barlow mr. john bayley mr. frederick ball mr. jonathan bond mr. bowles mr. bush mr. richard brown mr. william butler mr. guy brian mr. j. bosley dr. bragge mrs. bragge mr. jonathan bowles ---- brooks, esq., of cambridge mr. joseph burch b. c. mrs. blakesly mr. henry burder mr. burkitt the rev. charles bowles mrs. b-f-t mr. george braithwaite mr. joseph barnardistone mr. bassingtine mr. william brown mr. biggs, junior a banker's clerk mr. wt. b. mr. ball mr. john baker mr. william baker mr. benjamin coles messrs. capel, hanbury, oswald & co. mr. james crafts mr. william cross mr. cranch, in the borough mr. james cox mr. benjamin clempson mr. lawrence charlesson mr. creswell, of stourbridge per mr. micklin the mercer mr. cross mr. benjamin champion mr. compson mr. john collier mr. john colebrooke c. t. f. mr. john cox mr. joseph cowper mr. william coombes mr. cooper mrs. cooper mr. john cobb mr. william crooke mr. joseph clarke mr. henry cowling rt. hon. william, earl of dartmouth, a trustee and president messrs. deberdt & burkitt mr. john dick d. t. mrs. davis mr. william dermer phil. dotton, esq., of plymouth, per mr. sheppard mr. darnford miss dixon mrs. dewn mr. denne mr. james donald mr. james deethait mr. james duncan mr. d. mr. benjamin dickers, per dr. gibbons mr. d. d. mr. dudds mr. dell mrs. davis mr. zephaniah eade mrs. anna eade mr. samuel ewer mr. edwards mr. e. h. mr. john elliott mr. eaton dr. fothergill a friend of the cause mr. fuller & son thomas fletcher, esq. mr. benjamin forsitt the rev. mr. ford. dr. john ford mr. william fisher, sen. messrs. flight & halliday messrs. freeman & grace mr. william fletcher mr. george flower mr. fassett mr. f. p. mrs. flight mr. david field a friend in the country sir john griffin griffin mr. william grace mr. daniel gallopine mr. gerrish mrs. sarah gale mrs. gumley mr. grainger mr. john geere, sen., collected by him mr. robert griffiths mr. daniel goodwin mr. john geere, of hythe thomas gibbons, d.d. mr. walter gelly g. e. mr. griffin mr. joseph gibbon mr. gardner mr. grote mrs. nellaby gibson mr. john gould miss gould messrs. g. mrs. ann gusthart mr. samuel gordon mr. owen griffith mr. good mrs. g----s mr. william gardiner isaac holles, esq. the rev. mr. holden's collection of deptford sir charles hotham, a trustee, deceased mrs. halsey charles hardy, esq., a trustee mr. robert hodgson sir joseph hankey and partners mr. william hervey edward hollis, esq. thomas hollis, esq. mr. richard hawtyn mr. peregrine hogg mr. hugh humstone mr. john hose & son richard hill, esq. thomas hall, esq., of harnfel hall, near henley messrs. higgins, garrett & hartfield mr. joseph hart mr. benjamin horrocks miss hillier mr. howell mrs. ann holloway mr. thomas heckley, per dr. gibbons mr. holdgate mr. thomas houston mr. william heathfield mr. horton mr. nathaniel hillier mr. hett mr. hunt mr. heath mr. harley mr. richard hatt mr. william hunter mrs. harle the rev. mr. hatham, of loughborough mrs. halford and son mrs. h. p. i. s. mr. jackson, of the temple mr. thomas justis mr. john jones mr. edward jefferies j. p. i. r., per john sabatier mr. thomas jefferys mr. jacomb mr. jackson, basinghall st. mr. j. g. mr. judd mr. richard jeffreys mr. philip jones, at upton in worcestershire mr. robert keen, a trustee mr. william kelly mr. king mr. john kennedy miss kingsley samuel lloyd, esq. collected at the rev. mr. john langford's mr. george lowe mr. thomas lowe mr. john laurence mr. l. f. mr. samuel luck mr. l. g. mr. robert lathroppe mrs. l. g. mr. l. d. mr. john lefevre the rev. dr. langford mrs. lavington mr. lawrence his excellency, general monckton mr. b. mills messrs. r. h. & r. maitland the rev. mr. martin's collection at deptford mr. james mabbs john mills, esq. mr. thomas maltby mr. thomas mason mr. samuel moody mr. maine, of kensington mr. thomas mayor mrs. marlow, per dr. gifford the rev. mr. madan mr. millet mrs. molineaux mr. mangles mr. brough maltby mr. messenger mr. samuel matthews mr. peter mallard mr. morris mr. mace mr. thomas matravers mr. moggridge miss march mrs. m. mr. marston mr. d. maitland mr. morrison mr. james murray mr. samuel mason mr. samuel munday m. c. mr. robert newton, per charles steer mr. ric. neave & son mr. edw. thomas nelson mr. and mrs. noyes miss nichols mr. noton mr. abraham ogier mr. john orton mr. olney mr. john oldham mr. john oliver thomas and richard penn, esqs. messrs. pewtress & robarts mr. james pearson mr. pomeroy mrs. rachel phipps mr. michael pearson mr. thomas prettyman mr. rowland page mr. john prentice mr. john page mrs. p. mr. john price mr. chancey poole mr. petree mr. parks mr. edward pitts mr. george prettiman mrs. mary parker mr. john payne mr. n. paul the rev. mr. phillips mr. peakes the rev. mr. romaine's collection at st. anne's, black friar's samuel roffey, esq., a trustee mrs. roffey, of lincoln's inn fields marchioness of rockingham mr. samuel rickards mrs. russel mrs. radcliffe mr. henry rutt mr. john robarts mr. matthew randall mr. george rutt mr. and mrs. rawlins miss rymers mr. john robin mrs. russel, of greek street mr. stephen roe mr. rumley mr. robarts right hon. earl of shaftesbury mr. samuel savage, a trustee samuel sparrow, esq. rev. dr. stennett's collection the rev. mr. charles skelton's collection the rev. mr. stafford and his friends william stead, esq. mr. robert stuart mr. baron smythe, a trustee mr. samuel stainton mr. sherland swanstone mr. james smith mr. j. short mr. john striteal the rev. sam. martin savage mr. sainsbury sibley mr. smith (partner with mr. nash) mrs. sowdon mr. thomas smith s. w. messrs. simmonds & co. mr. self the rev. and hon. mr. shirley mr. r. saddington mr. sarney mr. joseph smithers mr. somerhayes mrs. s. g. mr. john seaber mr. shrapnell s. f. the rev. mr. spilsbury mr. thomas savage mr. james still mr. thomas spicer the rev. mr. sheppard mr. james smith mr. john sparks mr. william slow mr. edward shickle mr. statham mr. francis simpson mr. stibbs mrs. scott s. s. john thornton, esq., a trustee and treasurer barlow trecothick, esq. sir john toriano sir john thorold, bart. of cranwell mr. william tatnall mr. thomas turville a lady unknown, per mr. thompson the rev. mr. thomson mr. john townsend mr. robert trevors t. b. mr. robert territ messrs. tredway & bayley t. mr. twelves mr. john thorne mr. timothy topping mr. taylor mrs. tomkins miss ann tayleure a person unknown a gentleman and several ladies to be unknown james vere, esq. mr. vowell the stationer a providential guinea a lady unknown a person unknown ditto cash unknown unknown unknown, four entries, each a lady unknown unknown, nine entries, each ditto, per rev. mr. traile ditto, per rev. mr. franks mr. veck unknown, four entries, each wm. wilberforce, esq. mr. rich. wilson and lady dan. west, esq., a trustee samuel wordsworth, esq. miss ann wordsworth mr. john wallaston mr. stephen williams messrs. welch & rogers mr. thomas whitehead, per rev. mr. romaine mr. jonathan wathen mr. rob. waller, at gosport mr. nathaniel weeks mr. robert watkinson mr. thomas wilson mr. moses willatts mr. george wilkinson mr. william willatts mr. john wathen & son mr. james walker mrs. mary ward mr. wheelar messrs. thomas & john wellings dr. wray mr. woodroffe mr. walker, in whitechapel mr. walcot, of dartmouth mr. whiten & co. mr. wilson the rev. mr. watson mr. caleb white mr. joseph wolmer mr. wells mr. samuel williams mrs. waddilove mr. wilton mr. wells mr. withers mr. wallis mrs. wordsworth rev. dr. worthington mr. welch mrs. williams mr. william w. x. q. y. r. z. ------------ total in london £ collections at abingdon, in berkshire. mr. joseph butlar mr. joseph tomkins mr. william tomkins mr. benjamin tomkins mrs. tomkins mr. nathaniel roberts rev. mr. john moore miss palmer mr. thomas flight mrs. elizabeth flight mr. joseph fuller mrs. sarah fuller rev. mr. daniel turner mrs. elizabeth turner the public collection donations at ashburton, in devonshire. the rev. mr. bradford, of buckfastleigh mr. richard bennett, etc. mrs. mary berry mrs. susannah bennett mr. cocksley miss eals mr. peter fabyon, etc. mr. nicholas fabyon, etc. mr. james furman mr. richard harris mr. joseph leaman rev. mr. naylor, vicar of ashburton mr. walter park and family mrs. mary rennell, etc. mrs. sowter miss soper and sister, each mr. soper messrs. john, richard & moses tozer mr. nicholas tripe a person unknown samuel windeat mr. winsor the rev. mr. waters collected at the rev. mr. waters' donations at st. albans in hertfordshire. collected at rev. messrs. hiron's and gill's - / donations at ashford, in kent. mr. benjamin harrison collected at the rev. mr. brook's - / do. at rev. mr. gillabrand's donation at ashborn, in derbyshire. collected at rev. mr. rawlins' donations at aulcester, in warwickshire. collected at the rev. mr. broadhurst's donation at appledore, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. evan's bristol. mr. ariel mr. p. allard t. & m. allard mrs. allison mr. robert atkins mr. william arnold mr. apthorp john & fran. bull, esqs. miss brown miss sarah barrow mr. britton sarah, mary, and nathaniel britton mrs. bull and miss bull one guinea each mr. blake mr. edward bright mr. edward brice mrs. badcocke mr. john bryant mr. beverston mr. jas. and miss brown mr. daniel brown mr. baker mr. john collett mr. james cowles mr. robert coleman mr. robert cottle mr. francis collins rev. mr. cook of dington mr. william cowles lady croston mrs. cheston mrs. collins mr. richard champion mr. ric. champion, jr. mr. george champion mr. benjamin chandler mr. richard carpenter mr. cottles' men mr. henry durbin mrs. d. mrs. davis mr. dugdale mr. edward daniel mr. dallaway mr. john dafforn mr. william day mr. e. daniel mrs. drew mr. daniel mr. john evans mr. thomas evans mr. john edwards mrs. edwards mrs. e. h. collected at the rev. mr. evan's meeting rev. mr. wm. foote mr. frampton mr. george fownes mr. farnall a friend mr. frame mr. francis collected at the rev. mr. foot's, at kally hill mr. gordon mr. jos. green mr. garlick mr. gomond mrs. george rev. mr. grand, rector of durham mr. griffith mr. granger mr. robert gordon mr. j. gordon mr. grimes mrs. joanna gough mrs. gorton collected at mr. gillard's, castle green mr. r. a. hawksworth mr. william hazle mr. john harris mr. mark hartford, jr. mr. william hale mrs. hale mrs. howard mrs. hibbs mr. haddocke messrs. howlett and rainsford the rev. mr. hart the rev. mr. haines mrs. hill mr. george harris mr. hollister mr. hopkins mr. harmer mr. hall mr. howell harris mr. hewlett and children mr. hinton collected at mr. harwood's capt. james mr. james ireland mrs. mary johnson the rev. mr. jillard mrs. elizabeth johnson mr. james john jennys, esq. mrs. mary jackson mr. iredel mr. sam. johnson mrs. king the b. of k----'s lady mr. e. king collected at kingswood harford lloyd, esq. mr. thomas ludlow mr. christopher ludlow mr. william ludlow from two ladies mr. thomas ledyard mr. john lawle mrs. lloyd mr. isaac ludlow mr. treat ludlow dr. lyne mr. llewellyn, etc. miss ludlow mr. lewis mr. r. ludlow mr. lemon hon. and rev. mr. m. mr. meyler, sen. mrs. merlott mr. munkley mrs. milliard mr. maynard mr. martin mr. moss mrs. moore mr. john morgan mr. maxwell mrs. m. mr. j. maynard mrs. ---- mr. john needham mr. nash mr. overbury mr. owen mr. owen mr. pynock widow poole, broad street mr. samuel peach mrs. parsons mrs. poole, bridewell lane mrs. pollard and pierce mr. purnall mr. john parstow mr. thomas purnall mr. power and children mrs. price mr. parry mr. power mr. charles prosser mrs. poole collected at chelwood, by dr. pearce ditto, at peaulton william rewees, esq. mrs. roscoe mr. rienke mrs. r. mr. rogers mrs. rogers mrs. rowles mr. john storck mr. stonehouse, mill hill mr. edward stanfell mr. joseph sievier mr. isaac stephens mr. b. stevenson the rev. dr. stonehouse the rev. mr. symes counsellor skidmore mr. thomas seymour messrs. simmonds and woodman samuel sedgeley, esq. mr. joseph shapland mr. daniel searnell mr. smith sundry small ones mr. josiah taylor dr. townsend mr. thomas mr. tomlinson mr. teague collected at the rev. mr. thomas's meeting unknown, entries, each unknown unknown, entries, each ditto, entries, each samuel webb mr. peter wilder mr. edward whatley mrs. willis, in rosegreen, kingswood mr. f. weaver mr. samuel waterford mr. daniel white mr. jos. and charles whittuck mr. watts mr. woodward mr. abraham whitluck mr. wills mr. whituck mr. williams mr. j. watts a widow collected at the rev. mr. whitfield's tabernacle, mr. rowand's, £ _s_ collected at the rev. mr. wesley's room bradford, in wiltshire. mr. humphrey trywell mr. john smith mr. joseph smith mr. saunders mrs. towgood and mr. baines collected at rev. messrs. haine's, skirven, and foote's meetings the rev. mr. spencer and friends bridgewater, in somersetshire. counsellor allen thomas allen, esq. counsellor bingford, etc. rev. mr. burroughs mr. chubbs james hervey, esq. the rev. mr. stansbury dr. taylor collected at the rev. mr. wilson's ditto at rev. mr. harris's bratton. mr. john blatch mr. william ballard mrs. ann and eleanor ballard mrs. mary drewett mrs. eleanor ellis mrs. eleanor froud mr. henry phipps rendall mrs. sarah rendall jeffery whitaker, esq. mrs. thomas whitaker the general collection biddiford, in devonshire. george buck, esq. charles davie, esq. mr. greening walter shallabar, esq. mrs. saltren unknown rev. mrs. john whitefield collected at rev. mr. samuel lavington's barnstaple, in devonshire. collected in barnstaple from the parishes of withredge and thelbridge blanford, in dorsetshire. edward madgwicke, esq. mrs. gifford mr. thomas roe and dr. pultney, etc. mr. matthew cummings rev. mr. henry field collected at the rev. mr. field's bremister, in dorsetshire. collected at the rev. mr. bryant's bridport, in dorsetshire. miss whitty collected at the rev. mr. rooker's ditto at rev. mr. sutton's broughton. collected at the rev. mr. steel's bourton, on the water. william snooke, esq. collected at the rev. mr. beddom's broomsgrove, in worcestershire. from an unknown lady, per mrs. blackmore, of manchester collected at rev. messrs. phillips', jenkins', and butterworth's - / bedworth. rev. mr. howlett, a clergyman collected at the rev. mr. saunder's bedford, in bedfordshire. mr. belsham joseph barham, esq. mr. bayley mrs. berthray messrs. costins mr. custerson mr. dunton mr. franklin william foster, esq. john howard, esq. mrs. hensman mr. king mr. leach messrs. negus mr. odell mr. palmer, sen. mr. palmer, jr. rev. mr. joshua symonds mrs. sanderson mr. wilsher mr. wells collected at the rev. mr. symmonds - / bingley. collected at the rev. mr. lilley's - / bradford, in yorkshire. collected at the rev. mr. crabtree's - / rev. mr. sykes, vicar the rev. mr. ---- the rev. mr. smith collected by ditto of his people ditto of the rev. mr. wesley's people bierley. richard richardson, esq. collected by the rev. mr. stillingfleet burstall, in yorkshire. collected at the rev. mr. wesley's - / bury, in suffolk. mr. crosbie mrs. crosbie mr. robert hayward mr. robinson and son mr. cumberland and sons mrs. sarah cumberland miss crosbie mr. joseph frost rev. mr. b. mills, rector miss m. crosbie mr. william hollman unknown mr. charles darby and wife mr. umfreville collected at the rev. mr. saville's - / mrs. lucas mrs. darby mrs. wright ---- palmer, esq. mrs. lyng mr. knock mr. ely mr. chaplin mr. mast mrs. mast mr. leech mr. sleckles mrs. webster mr. bullen mr. rutter collected at the rev. mr. lincoln's braintree and bocking, in essex. mr. gamaliel andrews mr. boosey, sen. mr. boosey, jun. mr. thomas boosey mr. barnet mr. thomas bennet mrs. barber mr. crackenthorp john churchman, esq. mr. darcy clark mr. john church mr. thomas davey the rev. mr. davidson mr. death mrs. anne english mr. john english deacon fuller mr. fordham mr. harriott mr. halls the rev. dr. hall, dean of bocking mr. hall mr. joseph josline mr. john lambert mr. isaac livermore mr. thomas lake mr. livermore, glazier mrs. mayor rev. mr. powell, rector mr. quincey mrs. reeve mr. richard sayer dr. stapleton mr. joseph saville mr. john tabor mr. samuel tabor mrs. anne tabor unknown ditto, per the rev. mr. davidson mr. john watkinson mr. samuel watkinson collected at the rev. mr. davidson's berkhempstead, in hertfordshire. the rev. mr. bland mr. duncom ---- noyse, esq. mrs. noyse mrs. thompson collected at the rev. mr. sexton's basingstoke, in hampshire. his grace the duke of bolton the rev. mr. burroughs ---- castle ---- covey mr. england the rev. mr. hinchman the rev. mr. ingham collected at rev. mr. ingham's mr. portsmouth mrs. payton mr. russell from sundries mr. vicary rev. mr. underwood brighthelmstone, in sussex. collected of mr. beach and other friends of religion beaconsfield, in buckinghamshire. mr. samuel anthony collected at the rev. mr. darby's beverly, in yorkshire. collected at the rev. mr. harris' - / boston, in lincolnshire. brought by mr. robert barlow bungay, in suffolk. mr. thomas prentice collected and sent by the rev. mr. newton, near norwich bewdley, in worcestershire. collected by the revs. messrs. skeys bath. the right rev. the bishop of derry mrs. browne mrs. b. bethell mrs. bethell william blake, esq. mrs. bearsley mr. john bleakley thomas bury, esq. countess of charleville mr. colborne mr. benjamin colborne mr. cox governor dinwiddie the rev. dr. dechair mrs. e---- the rev. mr. frank collected at the rev. mr. frank's - / dr. gusthart hall atfield, esq. mr. william hoare mrs. hervey mr. jones the rev. mr. jessie major maine mr. allen andrew millar, esq. mr. richard marchant mr. edward marchant mrs. magee john miller, esq. dr. moysey mr. parker collected at the rev. mr. parsons james roffey, esq. mrs. revead william roffie, esq. hon. richard salter the rev. j. sparrow mrs. shally mr. speering unknown john wentworth, esq., governor of new hampshire collected at the rev. mr. wesley's brompton. collected at the rev. mr. potts chalford. collected by the rev. mr. phene croscombe. collected at the rev. mr. watkins calumpton, in devonshire. collected at rev. messrs. cassel's and morgan's culmstock. collected at the rev. mr. gillerd's crediton, in devonshire. rev. mr. hart, vicar collected at the rev. mr. j. berry's chudleigh, in devonshire. collected at the rev. mr. joel orchard's crewkern. the rev. mr. taggart the rev. mr. cox collected at the rev. mr. blake's coventry, in warwickshire. the rev. dr. edwards and three of his parishioners collected of the rev. messrs. jackson's and lloyd's people - / collected of the rev. mr. butterworth's people collected of the rev. messrs. simpson's and alcott's people - / mr. cleve mrs. tibbits mr. mayor cirencester, in gloucestershire. the rev. mr. davis mr. freeman mr. kimber mr. wilkins the rev. mr. johnson mr. wavel mr. francis turner. mr. john reeve and unknown cheltenham, in gloucestershire. collected at the rev. mr. dunscomb's carlisle, in cumberland. the rev. mr. robinson collected at the rev. mr. mills castle hedingham. the rev. mr. ford mr. u. collected at the rev. mr. ford's - / coggeshall, in essex. mr. john abbott mr. buxton mr. joseph bott mr. joseph choate mr. john choate mr. john decks dr. ---- the rev. mr. dowdle mr. john fordham dr. godfrey mr. edward harrington mrs. elizabeth mason mr. midcalf the rev. mr. petto mrs. e. powel mr. robert rist mr. edward seach mr. robert salmon mr. shuttleworth unknown messrs. urwine mrs. urwine mr. john wright two widows collected at the rev. mr. petto's cambridge. of mr. robinson, by a person unknown ebenezer hollick, esq. mr. richard forster miss patterson mr. eaton mr. lincoln dr. randall, professor of music the rev. mr. robinson mrs. biggs mr. purchase mrs. hawthorn alderman gifford the rev. mr. jones (ely) mr. mayor messrs. penticross & decoetligon unknown, by mr. brooks mrs. lancaster and mrs. halsall dr. smith, vice-chancellor mr. n. v. stephens mr. juet mr. pike mrs. lake mr. william blows (whittier) mr. rayner (duxford) collected at the rev. mr. robinson's - / collected at the rev. mr. saunders' cleavering. collected at the rev. mr. reynolds' - / chesham in buckinghamshire. ---- scotto esq. dr. rumsey mr. lasenby mr. john harden mr. putnam mr. hepburn mr. richard wheeler mr. john priest mr. putnam mr. simson mr. treacher the rev. mr. spooner collected at the rev. mr. cock's and mr. spooner's cheynes. collected at the rev. mr. cromwell's colnbrooke, in buckinghamshire. collected at the rev. mr. woodman's the rev. mr. leighton, of uxbridge cranbrooke, in kent. collected at the rev. messrs. noyse's and dobb's collected at the rev. mr. colville's of goodhurst canterbury, in kent. the rev. mr. perronet the rev. mr. benge the rev. mr. delasay mr. claris mr. lapine collected at the rev. messrs. sheldon's and chapman's. collected at the rev. mr. perronet's collected at the rev. mr. wesley's chatham, in kent. william gordon, esq., and lady ---- brooks, esq. dr. craddocke mr. poley mr. stubbs unknown collected at messrs. neal's & meremeth's - / collected at the tabernacle - / the devizes in wiltshire. collected by the rev. mr. benj. fullar and the rev. mr. henry williams dartmouth, in devonshire. collected at the rev. mr. adams' dorchester, in dorsetshire. collected at the rev. mr. lamb's persons unknown, sent to messrs. pewtress & robarts dudley, in worcestershire. collected at the rev. mr. handcox's - / derby. collected at the rev. mr. thomas white's dedham. collected at the rev. mr. bingham's durham. collected at the dissenting meeting - / dover, in kent. collected at the rev. messrs. holt's and ashdown's denton, in norfolk. collected by the rev. mr. bocking a clergyman a gentleman deal, in kent. collected by the rev. mr. john say exeter, in devonshire. mr. joseph allen mr. edward addicott dr. andrews mr. abbot a. c. mr. charles barring mr. bellfield mrs. buckland mr. caleb blight mr. britland mr. john bowrug mr. bastard mr. bidwell mrs. elizabeth battersby benjamin & elizabeth binham, each mr. cranch mr. samuel coade mr. john carter, per mrs. trowbridge the rev. mr. clark mr. peter clark mr. william clark mrs. coleman mr. william coward mr. coffin, sen. messrs. clark & mayne mr. cross mr. charlock mr. coffin, jr. mr. thomas coffin miss coffin mr. casely mr. joel cadbury mr. john catbury mr. john cadbury john duntze, esq. mrs. dickers john duntze, esq., sr. mrs. durnsford capt. dawson mr. dennis mr. richard durnsford mrs. evans mrs. ann enty mr. richard evans mr. matthew frost dr. glass mr. thomas gearing madam gould mr. jonathan green mr. james green mr. thomas glass mr. benjamin grant dr. gifford mr. g. a. gibbs mrs. glyde, widow mr. john gifford mr. joseph gillett mrs. glyde mr. samuel glyde mr. william grigg mr. john holmes, jr. mrs. mary hollworthy mr. harris mrs. hallett, widow mrs. hillman, widow mr. william hornsey miss handlugh mr. william holmes the rev. mr. hogg rev. mr. richard hale mr. hornsey mr. hartsel mrs. jones, widow mr. john jerwood mr. herman kattencamp mr. abraham kenneway mr. wm. kenneway, sen. mr. william kenneway mr. william kent mr. kelley matthew lee, esq. mrs. lee mrs. lavington mr. william luke capt. luke mr. john luke mr. luscombe, sr. mr. humph. mortimore mr. samuel milford mr. mandrott the rev. dr. musgrave dr. musgrave, m.d. mrs. katharine moore the rev. mr. moore mr. killow nation mr. james newman mr. ogburn mr. samuel parminter mrs. praed mr. john vowler parminter mrs. pope (widow) mr. joseph pope mrs. parminter mr. benjamin peckford mr. john phillips mr. matthew a. paul mr. william pittfield mr. robert prudom mr. pengelly paddington meeting the rev. mr. chancellor quick mr. john reed mrs. ridler mr. reeves mrs. stockes, by the rev. mr. towgood mr. thomas smith mr. samuel short the two miss shepherds mr. john stoodley mr. john stephens mr. charles stoodley mr. george sealey mr. john shorland john shapley, esq. mr. joshua saunders mr. edward score mr. samuel sweetings mr. strong mr. spry s. c. mr. sams mrs. skinner mr. jonathan tucker the rev. mr. stephen mr. william tucker towgood miss townsends messrs. tozer and davis the rev. mr. tozer the rev. mr. micajah towgood mr. tanner mrs. mary trowbridge the rev. mr. turner mr. tucker mr. henry tarrant the rev. mr. tarrant unknown, per rev. mr. towgood ditto, per ditto mrs. vowler unknown ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto, per mrs. pope ditto ditto ditto, per mr. morris ditto ditto ditto ditto john waldron, esq. mr. john waymouth mr. henry waymouth mr. samuel waymouth mrs. mary waymouth miss waymouth mrs. sarah waymouth mr. benjamin withers mr. joshua william, sr. mr. joshua william, jr. james white, esq. mr. franklin waldron mr. thomas williams mrs. whites mr. edward white collected at the new meeting - / ditto at bow - / ditto at the rev. mr. william's - / ditto at rev. mr. lewis' ditto at the new baptist meeting eversden. collected at the rev. mr. bond's eversham, in worcestershire. collected at the rev. mr. cardale's - / rev. mr. cardale froome, in somersetshire. mr. t. bunn mr. smith mr. and mrs. bayley mr. walter sheppard mr. william sheppard mr. john allen mr. mortimer's house the rev. mr. housdon mr. burril mrs. sheppard mr. z. bailey mr. handcock mrs. handcock the rev. mr. clarke mrs. pritchard mr. henry allen mr. matthews mr. dan. and mrs. letitia wayland mr. j. allen and mrs. rachel tymball mr. henry sheppard mrs. lacey mr. griffith mr. ames mr. james jordan mr. benjamin ball some silver the rev. mr. kingdon collected at the rev. mr. kingdon's the rev. mr. sedgefield collected at the rev. mr. sedgefield's farnham, in surrey. rev. mr. john wigmore unknown folkstone, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. whitehead's gloucester. alderman harris and friends esquire wade collected at the rev. mr. dickinson's ditto at the rev. mr. n. phene's sent afterwards by rev. mr. phene glastonbury, in somersetshire. the rev. mr. phillips gosport, in hants. mr. robert waller the rev. mr. williams collected at the rev. mr. williams' gildersom. the rev. mr. ashworth's collection guildford, in surrey. collected at the rev. mr. chamberlain's godalming in surrey. the rev. mr. ring collected at the rev. mr. ring's gravesend, in kent. collected by mr. occom at the meeting - / hitchin, in hertfordshire. john radcliffe, esq. miss ann ireland mr. brown mr. simson mr. john dearmer the rev. mr. hickman mr. vincent mr. john dermer mr. thomas dermer mr. richard tristam mr. john gutherage mr. william wiltshire, jr. the rev. mr. w. mr. john stephens mr. john goodwyn mrs. brown mr. john creasey mr. isaac field mr. philip rudd mr. hide miss sukey field mr. william childs mr. moore mr. thomas baldock mrs. flack unknown mr. henry croesy mrs. wiltshire mr. john newman mr. patternoster mrs. warby mr. william crawley miss sally smith collected at the rev. mr. hickman's - / collected at the rev. mr. james' hull bishops. the rev. mr. haskell mrs. downing thomas drake, esq. mr. robert daw hall stock. collected by mr. occom harborough, in leicestershire. collected at the rev. mr. addington's hooknorton. the rev. mr. whitmore haworth. collected at the rev. mr. hartley's - / hallifax, in yorkshire. dr. leigh, vicar collected of the people of the established church mr. john lea mr. benj. dickinson mr. jeremiah marshall mr. james kershaw mr. david stansfield mr. william buck mr. joseph hollings collected at halifax meeting collected at the rev. mr. knight's - / heckmondwake. rev. mr. james scott mr. john priestly, sr. mr. joseph priestley mr. william priestley by sundry persons collected at the rev. mr. scott's - / hull, in yorkshire. the corporation of hull the corporation of the trinity house, at hull alderman watson & son alderman wilberforce alderman cogan robert wilberforce, esq. william thornton, esq. h. etherington, esq. joseph sykes, esq. mr. p. green joseph pease, esq. the rev. mr. arthur robinson, vicar cornelius cayley, esq. benjamin blaydes, esq. nathaniel maisters, esq. mr. robert macfarland mrs. frances wilkinson mrs. jane wilkinson mr. richard moxon, etc. the rev. mr. clarke gardner egginton, esq. mr. spivie mr. hickson mrs. hannah hall peter thornton, esq. a providential guinea mrs. ann thompson mrs. lydia finley collected at the rev. mr. burnet's collected at the rev. mr. beverly's hadley, in suffolk. collected at the rev. mr. tom's halstead, in essex. collected at the rev. mr. field's hempstead in hertfordshire. dr. wiltshire the rev. mr. jones the rev. mr. whitehead, etc. the rev. dr. sterling. rich. richardson, esq. mr. collett mr. squires mr. dearmer rev. mr. hews, curate collected at the rev. mr. jones' high wickham, in buckinghamshire. mr. carter the rev. mr. smithson mrs. price mr. allnut and children mr. edmund ball mr. hartley's family mr. haydon mr. shrimpton mr. john hollis mr. hannon mrs. aldersey mrs. salter mr. grove mr. blackwell mrs. ives the rev. mr. llewellin, clergyman mrs. galpin mrs. kiddle mr. crouch mrs. gibbons mr. goodwin mr. doney mr. lee collected at the rev. mr. smithson's - / henley. collected at the rev. mr. gainsborough's - / horsham, in sussex. mr. thos. shelley, jr. mrs. shelley collected at the rev. mr. thomas' collected at the baptist meeting hythe, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. clarke's rev. mr. smith, clergyman hertford. from an unknown friend, by rev. mr. saunders mr. isaac rudd mr. thomas jeeves dr. samuel rogers mrs. whittenburg and children mrs. upton and children mr. sprat richard isles, esq. miss isles mrs. dimsdale mrs. came mrs. chamberlain mrs. gatward mrs. haynes mrs. man mr. lawrence mr. rackstraw mr. haynes mr. benjamin young mr. worsley mr. john flack mr. thomas plows mr. john page mr. samuel saunders miss martha east mrs. hanscombe mr. john harrod rev. mr. john saunders mr. j. wood collected at the rev. mr. saunders' ipswich, in suffolk. mr. john barnard mr. john flindall mr. john turner miles wallis, esq. mr. george nolcut messrs. john and jos. flindall mr. ralph hare mr. john may dring mr. john scott mr. daniel wade and two sisters unknown mr. ralph mr. ralph's sister mr. george death mr. abbot mrs. abbot mr. philip dikes mr. joseph byles mr. j. hall mr. paul smith mr. john beardwell mr. robert sporle mr. william clarke mrs. clark the rev. mr. scott rev. mr. lathbury collected at the rev. mr. edward's kingsbridge. collected at the rev. mr. curtis' kettering, in northamptonshire. collected at the rev. mr. boyce's from several of mr. boyce's people collected at the rev. mr. browne's from rev. mr. matlock mr. buswall kidderminster, in worcestershire. the rev. mr. fawcett, in books mr. john watson mr. john broome and son messrs. cranes mr. joseph austin messrs. john & francis lea mr. nich. pearsall and son mr. jefferys and son mrs. longmore mr. henry penn mrs. bate mr. nicholas penn mr. john symonds mr. francis best the rev. mr. orton dr. johnstone mr. thomas richardson mr. samuel read mr. talbutt mr. john wilkinson mrs. aaron mr. john butler mr. john pearsall mr. john baker mr. john lea mr. benjamin lea mr. harper mr. hanbury mr. hornblower mr. james hill mr. john richardson mr. john cooper mr. john wright mr. broom, sr. miss symonds by sundry persons collected at the rev. mr. fawcett's - / keppin. collected at the rev. mr. whitford's keighley. collected at the rev. mr. neil's luton, in hertfordshire. collected at the rev. mr. hall's lutterworth, in leicestershire. collected at rev. messrs. dowley and kidman's liverpool, in lancashire. collected at the rev. mr. johnson's collected at the rev. mr. wesley's collected at the rev. mr. endfield's collected at the rev. mr. hall's collected by sundries leeds, in yorkshire. lady margaret ingham mrs. medhurst mr. c. barnard, in testaments collected at the rev. mr. john edwards' - / collected by the rev. mr. thomas whittaker collected by the rev. mr. wesley's people - / linton, in cambridgeshire. mr. haylock mr. barker collected at the rev. mr. curtis's lewes, in sussex. collected of sundries and at rev. mr. johnson's - / long milford. henry moore, esq. hon. wm. campbell, esq. robert cook, esq. william jennings, esq. ---- kedington, esq. mrs. bradley collected at the rev. mr. hubbard's minchin hampton, in gloucestershire. collected at the rev. mr. francis' m. h. mr. william innell mrs. fuller modbury. collected at the rev. mr. moore's martock. collected at the rev. mr. bakers milborne port. collected by mr. scott morley. collected at the rev. mr. morgan's melborn, in cambridgeshire. mr. forster collected at the rev. mr. cooper's - / margate, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. purchase's maidstone, in kent. mrs. prosper the two mrs. maynard's the two miss todds mrs. travers dr. milner mr. fullagar mr. wicking mr. sawkins mr. beal boreman mrs. heath mrs. savage mrs. polhill mrs. sharp mr. prentice mr. winter mr. pierce mr. joseph harris mr. jesser mr. dawson mrs. dean messrs. knowlden & blythe mr. bleigh mr. leicester collected at the rev. messrs. lewis', jenkins', and wyethe's collected by mr. occom - / morpeth. unknown collected at the rev. mr. trotter's - / newton abbott. rev. mr. peter fabian the rev. mr. hewgo, curate of newton mr. joseph tozer mr. samuel flammark mr. joseph westcott mr. john matthews mr. john tozer and family mr. william flammark mrs. mary matthews sundries newport, in the isle of wight. thomas urry, esq. mr. kirkpatrick dr. cook mr. sharp mrs. trattle mr. stephen leigh the rev. mr. sturch mr. richard cooke mr. thomas cooke mr. temple mr. john clarke the rev. mr. atkins mr. till mr. brown counsellor white mr. holliere mrs. whitehead farmer cook mr. douglas mr. caleb cook dr. cowlam mr. upward messrs. lucas & hollier captain pike mr. nichols mr. wilson mr. john taylor rev. mr. edwards sundry persons collected at the rev. mr. atkins' - / sent afterwards by mr. kirkpatrick northampton. rev. mr. ryland joseph churchill, esq. mr. edward whitton the rev. mr. timms mr. dicey mr. win collected at the rev. mr. rylands - / ditto at the rev. mr. hextal's nottingham. collected at rev. messrs. sloss' and allistone's capt. scott collected of rev. mr. wesley's people, by ditto - / collected of dr. eaton's people mr. fellows mrs. burden mr. immings mr. benj. bull and son mr. seagrage alderman hornbuccle mr. foxcroft mr. j. buxton mr. wilkinson mr. stubbins by sundries newcastle-under-line. collected at the rev. mr. willotts namptwich, in cheshire. collected at the rev. mr. haughton's newcastle-upon-tyne. mayor and corporation sir walter blackett collected of sundries ---- cookson, esq. joseph ord, esq. mr. airy unknown messrs. widdrington & gibbons dr. stoddart, etc. mr. donaldson collected at the rev. mr. lowthian's - / ditto at rev. mr. ogilvie's ditto at rev. mr. shields - / ditto at the rev. mr. richardson's ditto at rev. mr. atkins' ditto at rev. mr. murray's ditto by the rev. mr. wesley ditto by rev. mr. peel, of hexham ditto, and paid into the bank norwich, in norfolk. mr. mayor john ruggles, esq. mr. john scott & sons mr. wm. barnet & son mr. thomas paul rev. mr. tapps, curate of st. george's rev. mr. philip pyle rev. dr. wood dr. peck alderman crowe alderman woods aldermen ives and jeves alderman rogers mr. lincoln messrs. day and watts mr. john woodrow mr. jeremiah pestle charles weston, esq. mr. claxton smith mr. stephen gardiner philip stannard, esq. mrs. corsbie mr. baldy and others mr. patterson and sister rev. mr. burcham mrs. cubit mr. robert sewell mr. william firth mr. hinsman capt. smith mr. thomas harvey mr. john ives mr. sidley reymes mr. james wheeler mr. gimmingham mr. john reymes mr. hopson messrs. smith & barlow rev. dr. newton mr. beardman mr. partridge mrs. pie (_ s. d._) and others mr. whinnard mr. ferguson mr. ollyett mr. wiggit mr. shalders mr. beavers collected at the rev. dr. wood's chapel alderman marsh samuel wiggett, esq. mr. james tompson mr. coldham mr. bayley mr. william taylor peter finch, esq. mr. william carter mr. nasmith mr. william fell rev. mr. john hoyle the rev. mr. bruckner mr. charles marsh dr. manning mr. james smith, sen. mr. philip taylor mr. charles dalrymple mr. wright smith mr. martineau mr. john baldy mr. peter fromow mr. james barrow mrs. chamberlain miss pointer mrs. lessingham mr. thomas newman mrs. bird mr. frederick friday mr. j. trull miss lincolnes mr. christopher newman mrs. newman collected at the rev. mr. hoyle's chapel - / collected at the rev. mr. fisher's chapel nayland. collected at the rev. mr. bloomfield's newberry, in berkshire. rev. mr. reader mr. merriman rev. mr. penrose, mayor, etc. from sundries collected at the rev. mr. reader's ditto at the rev. mr. lewis' north shields. mr. pearson collected at the rev. mr. rae's collected at the rev. mr. dean's north oram. mrs. horton mrs. wainhouse mrs. holmes collected at the rev. mr. hesketh's olney and newport. collected at the rev. mr. drake's the rev. mr. bull oxford, etc. from merton college the rev. mr. kilner the rev. mr. stillingfleet the rev. mr. blaney mrs. kent mr. archdale rook mr. thomas plater mr. william fox mr. samuel fox mrs. prime collected at burford, per mr. darby ditto at whitney, per ditto osset. collected at the rev. mr. haggerstone's oakham, in rutlandshire. collected at the rev. mr. panting's plymouth, in devonshire. mr. william kingdom mr. william sheppard mr. john bayley mr. william clarke mr. william deane rev. mr. zachary mudge mr. culme mr. john jones messrs. william and philip cookworthy mr. mignam mr. john fox and son mr. francis cock mr. henry pitt sutton mr. joseph squire mr. john harris mr. william batt mr. connell mrs. holdens mr. william phillips, mayor rev. mr. john bedford mr. george leach major yeo capt. b----g dr. huxham dr. mudge mr. joseph collier mr. john browne mr. sugars mr. frey mr. roger trend mr. charles fox the rev. mr. vivian mr. john snook anthony porter, esq. widow elworthy mr. william pierce the rev. mr. julian mr. d. jardine the rev. mr. kinsman mrs. ann gwennap mr. peter bayley the rev. mr. gibbs mrs. loval mrs. bickford mr. sherdevoyne the rev. mr. dodge rev. mr. gandy rev. mr. lemoyne mr. miotts, jr. mr. michael nichols mr. p. lyman mr. george perry mr. jacob austin mr. john cock miss jennys mr. stone mrs. wilcocks mr. bicknar mr. william pearce, jr. mr. elias romery mr. erthur ---- julian, esq. mrs. ellery mr. j. wills j. moorshead, esq. mr. john collier mr. samuel champion mr. how mr. j. symonds mr. joseph pearce mr. freeman mr. husbands mr. john wallis dr. scott mrs. fuge mr. omony mr. perry mrs. tope mr. putt mr. henry hewer mr. burt unknown captain sparks mr. dunsterfield mr. carter mrs. dengey mr. james mr. lovell sundry persons ditto ditto ditto ditto collected at the rev. mr. mends' - / collected at the rev. mr. rennel's ditto at the tabernacle - / ditto at rev. mr. gibbs' plymouth dock. hon. commissioner rogers john lloyd, esq. mr. blackmore mr. poleman mr. samuel young hon. col. burleigh mr. philip justice mr. ralph paine dr. vincent madam durrell major campbell dr. wolcombe dr. colvil mr. jane mr. heath rev. mr. john stokes mr. austin mr. moore mr. atkinson mr. nicholas mercator mr. william crossman mrs. hooper mrs. spry mr. george patrick mr. james howell mr. hinckstone mr. matthew watson mr. john scott mr. brooking mr. james helling mr. nash mr. john row mr. robert jeffery mr. william phillips mrs. dillon mrs. ivey mr. p. langmaid mr. rodds mrs. mary bennett mr. lawrence rowe captain of marines mr. weggan mr. mullis mr. may mr. harding mr. baron mr. jeffery mr. lampen mr. weston mr. hatcher mr. yeo mr. john linzee mr. robert bennett unknown sundry persons ditto ditto collected at the rev. mr. whitefield's tabernacle ditto at rev. mr. wesley's stonehouse (a parish between plymouth and the dock). madam farr mr. marshal mr. bogue captain ball mr. gillard mr. binney and banwick pool, in dorsetshire. mr. samuel clark mrs. green mr. pike mr. joliff and ladies rev. mr. nairn, rector mr. sutton mr. john green mr. bird mr. hyde mr. george milner mr. d. durrell mr. george olive mr. martin kemp miss frances welch mr. miller mrs. elizabeth pike mr. bayly, mrs. pain, and mrs. campbell rev. mr. ashburner mr. sherran mr. james bristowe mr. budden mr. j. budden mr. g. durrell mr. tito durrell mrs. oliver, sen., and mrs. oliver, jr. mr. thomas stephens mr. farr strong mrs. thompson mrs. haseldon mr. frith mr. john bird mr. william taverner mr. john sweetland mrs. mary linthorn mr. richard rix mr. basset mrs. jolliff mr. j. stodely mrs. elizabeth christian mr. lacey mr. spurrier sundry persons collected at the rev. mr. howell's collected at the rev. mr. ashburner's - / portsmouth, in hants. mr. william pike the rev. mr. walter, chaplain to the dock collected at the rev. mr. wren's - / portsmouth common. mr. pierson mr. whitewood & unknown mr. millard mr. daniel hayward mr. thomas symms collected at the rev. mr. lacey's collected at the tabernacle - / pershore, in worcestershire. mr. samuel rickards mr. james rickards the rev. mr. dark the rev. mr. beal the rev. mr. ash mr. smith collected at the rev. mr. ash's pudsey. the rev. mr. wainman unknown pinner. collected at the rev. mr. madgwick's. rumsey, in hants. the rev. mr. j. samuel mr. john comley mr. thomas comley mrs. comley mr. tarver mr. clement sharp, sen. mr. clement sharp, jr. mr. madgwicke mr. newman mr. bernard mr. waldron mr. richard sharpe mr. fanner mr. newlands mr. john hewlett and sisters mrs. collier sundry persons unknown collected at the rev. mr. samuel's collected at the rev. mr. finch's ringwood, in hants. mr. n----n collected at the rev. messrs. wright's and horsey's rothwell, in northumberland. collected at the rev. moses gregson's rawdon. collected at the rev. mr. aulton's rotherham, in yorkshire. collected at the rev. mr. thorp's, and the rev. mr. moult's - / a private benefaction, sent by rev. mr. moult royston, in hertfordshire. mrs. ward mr. edward fordham mr. john fordham mr. joseph forster mr. george fordham mr. coxall mr. butler mrs. beldham mrs. wright mr. john phillips mr. john newling mrs. coxall mr. philips mrs. beldham collected at the rev. mr. wells' - / reading, in berkshire. the mayor rev. mr. merrick rev. mr. camble rev. mr. noon mr. davidson mrs. king mrs. girl mr. harrison mr. willats mrs. noon unknown collected at the rev. mr. noon's - / collected at the rev. mr. armstrong's a clergyman and a person unknown, by the rev. mr. armstrong ramsgate, in the isle of thanet. unknown mr. george rainier mr. john garret the rev. mr. bradbury mr. cornelius friend mr. daniel friend mrs. elizabeth and sarah friend mrs. abbot mr. thomas curling mrs. kemp unknown mr. small, jr. mr. cracraft unknown collected at the rev. mr. bradbury's - / saffron walden, in essex. collected at the rev. mr. gwenap's southwell, in hertfordshire. collected at the rev. mr. field's shipton mallett, in somersetshire. the rev. mr. jellard mrs. stephenson unknown collected at the rev. mr. jellard's south moulton, in devonshire. collected at the rev. mr. bishop's salisbury, in wiltshire. collected at the rev. mr. williams's collected at the rev. mr. phillips' sherborne, in dorsetshire. mr. samuel foot mr. goadby collected at the rev. mr. lewis's collected at the rev. mr. thomas's. south petherton, in somersetshire. mr. toller masters john and thomas toller mr. ostler mr. channing mr. anstice messrs. adams, phillips, & vaux mr. chapman mr. lock sundry persons rev. mr. thomas the rev. mr. kirkup collected at the rev. mr. kirkup's - / southampton, in hants. madame rollestone mr. bartholomew bray mrs. & miss messer & mr. bulkley rev. mr. rooke, v. of st. michael's rev. mr. wm. kingsbury mr. walter taylor mr. taylor, sen. mr. joseph taylor ---- norris, esq. mrs. bissault mrs. percival mr. peter bernard mr. thomas bernard mrs. bernard mr. joseph bernard mrs. raymond mrs. heckwich unknown mrs. forithorne collected at the rev. mr. kingsbury's stourbridge, in worcestershire. collected at the rev. mr. edge's stretton, in warwickshire. collected by the rev. mr. richard alliot of coventry south shields. collected at the rev. mr. rae's sunderland, in durham. collected at the rev. mr. lee's - / collected at the rev. mr. waugh's collected at the rev. mr. somervil's - / collected at the rev. mr. wesley's stockton, in durham. collected at the rev. mr. blackie's - / stroud, in gloucestershire. collected at the rev. mr. ball's saint-niots. collected at the rev. mr. davis' - / sheffield, in yorkshire. _collected of the rev. mr. pye's people._ mr. benjamin roebuck mr. samuel greaves the rev. mr. pye mr. vennor mrs. parker messrs. john & roger wilson mr. samuel wilson mrs. roebuck, sen. mr. john smith mr. bennett mrs. winter mr. windle & mr. love mr. bridges mr. william smith mrs. smith, sen. mr. nutt mrs. holy mr. andrews mr. william marshall mr. loy mr. robert hall mr. joseph wilson mr. worrell mr. samuel parkin mr. littlewood by sundries collected at the rev. mr. pye's _collected of the rev. messrs. evans's and dickinson's people._ mrs. eddowes mr. shore, sen. mrs. robarts mr. robarts the rev. mr. evans the rev. mr. hall of stannington mr. simmons mr. kaigh mr. samuel hall mr. haynes mr. marshall mr. nathaniel hall from sundries collected at the rev. messrs. evans' and dickinson's meeting _collected of others in sheffield._ messrs. broomhead mr. g. greaves mr. john fenton mr. roger wilson mr. g. woodhead mr. john winter unknown mr. kenyon and two others mr. matthews mr. moore collected at the rev. mr. bryant's collected at the rev. mr. wesley's sutton, in ashfield. collected at the rev. mr. wilson's stamford, in lincolnshire. rev. dr. wilberforce dr. jackson mrs. wingfield middleton trollop, esq. mr. adams mr. torkington mr. woodroffe rev. mr. john ralph dr. tathwell mrs. delamore stow market, in suffolk. the rev. mr. archer sudbury, in suffolk. ---- gainsborough, esq. mrs. margaret fenn mr. john burket, sen. mr. holman mr. thomas burket mr. john burket, jr. rev. mr. heginbothom mrs. holman, jr. mr. stow mr. watkinson of lavingham mr. stockdell (clark) mr. darby miss shepherd mr. barker mrs. addison mr. ellis mr. john holman mrs. holman miss holman mr. brabrook mr. thomas stow mr. english mrs. pawlett unknown collected at the rev. mr. heginbothom's thomas fenn, esq. mr. t. fenn, jr. mrs. fenn mr. thomas gibbons mr. addison mr. john ralling mr. william gibbons mr. abraham greggs mr. chaplain miss ralling miss burket miss stow collected at the rev. mr. lombard's stamborne. the rev. mr. hallam collected at the rev. mr. hallam's - / shoreham, in kent. the rev. mr. perronett and friends seven oaks, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. stenger's ditto at the rev. mr. bligh's - / ditto at the rev. mr. wesley's sheerness, in kent. collected at the meeting southwold, in suffolk. collected by the rev. mr. hurrion tetbury, in gloucestershire. collected by the rev. mr. phene trowbridge, in wiltshire. mrs. turner mrs. temple mr. whittaker mr. amos simon esquire mortimer mr. james shrapnell and son mr. butlar collected at the rev. mr. waldron's ditto at the rev. mr. cross' ditto at mr. rawling's taunton, in somersetshire. governor pool the rev. mr. blake mr. wascot mrs. welman mr. follaquire mrs. halliday the rev. mr. william johnson mr. kirkpatrick mr. jefferies, sen. mr. joseph jefferies mrs. follaquire rev. mr. john ward rev. mr. joshua toulmin mr. handcocke mrs. stone mr. harrison mr. norma mr. joseph cornish mr. william stow mrs. peacock mr. samuel reed dr. cabble mr. thomas grove mr. j. furnival mr. nobb a lady unknown miss smith mr. j. burcher mr. jowitt unknown ditto mr. slowar and a poor widow collected at the rev. mr. johnson's topsham, in devonshire. mrs. fryer mr. john fryer mr. william elliott mr. william kennaway, sen. mr. simon morris mrs. burgess madam collier mr. john woolcombe mrs. thomas captain william sherville mr. reynolds captain coleman mr. george culverwell mr. watton mr. samuel hill miss bultell the rev. mr. pitts unknown mrs. love the collection totness, in devonshire. collected at the rev. messrs. reynell's and chapman's tavistock, in devonshire. mr. thomas windiat mr. john rowe mr. roger lang richard turner, esq. a person unknown dr. lavington the rev. mr. jago collected at the rev. mr. dowdell's tewksbury, in gloucestershire. john humphries, esq. the rev. mr. jones the rev. mr. hayward from sundries collected at the rev. messrs. graham's and haydon's tiverton, in devonshire. mr. parsons mrs. lewis mrs. mary moore mr. hamilton mrs. glass mr. lewis mr. john bosley mr. atherton mr. smith mr. ensmarch, sen. mr. isaac ensmarch miss ensmarch a person unknown the rev. mr. follett mrs. glass the rev. mr. kiddall mr. zelby mr. gilbert mr. frank besly mr. besly, jr. mrs. lane mr. barn besly mrs. munt mrs. kiddall mr. anstey mrs. hudford mrs. lachgate mr. raddon mr. small mr. james mr. rathew mr. gill, jr. mr. knight mrs. stone collected at the rev. mr. kiddal's - / collected at the rev. mr. follett's sent to be added to the above, per mr. parminter thaxted. mr. daniel haddon mr. thomas saward mrs. haddon collected at the rev. mr. parry's tunbridge wells, in kent. collected at the rev. messrs. shepherd's and arnold's rev. mr. johnson tenterden, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. handcock's ufculm. richard clarke, esq. mrs. elizabeth churley rev. mr. lamport rev. mr. greenway rev. mr. john windsor, rector mr. nicholas wreford unknown mrs. hill mr. hucker the quakers unknown the collection uppingham, in rutlandshire. collected at the meeting - / upton, in worcestershire. collected at the rev. mr. jones' mr. brockhurst mrs. skinner the rev. mr. steele westbury, in wiltshire. collected at the rev. mr. mylett's warminster, in wiltshire. collected at the rev. mr. fisher's wellington, in shropshire. collected at the rev. mr. field's and at the rev. mr. day's wareham, in dorsetshire. sundry subscriptions sent to the rev. mr. s. reader collected at the rev. mr. s. reader's wilton, in wiltshire. edward baker, esq. major seward rev. mr. gardner collected at the rev. mr. gardner's winchester. collected at the rev. mr. boarman's wellingborough, in northamptonshire. collected at the rev. mr. grant's warwick. collected at the rev. mr. kettle's welford. mrs. bakewell unknown, per sundries ditto collected at the rev. mr. king's worcester. the rev. mr. blackmore mr. cooke by private subscriptions a donation from the public fund collected at the rev. messrs. urwick's and pointing's wolverhampton. collected at the rev. mr. cole's, etc. - / west bramwich. collected at the rev. messrs. robin's, stillingfleet's, and griffith's - / walsall, in staffordshire. collected at the rev. mr. llewellin's wakefield, in yorkshire. james milnes, esq. john milnes, jr., esq. mr. richard lamb mr. john lamb collected at the rev. mr. william turner's woodbridge, in suffolk. collected at the rev. mr. palmer's - / by sundries brought by mr. field to be added to ditto watesfield. the rev. mr. harmer given by the trustees collected at the rev. mr. harmer's sent afterwards watford. collected at the rev. mr. medley's whitchurch, in hampshire. collected at the rev. mr. meek's wingham. collected by the rev. mr. chapman woolwich, in kent. collected at the rev. mr. mcgregor's wrentham, in suffolk. collected by the rev. mr. sweetland yeovil, in somersetshire. mr. bullock mr. gilson dr. dumaresque rev. f. c. parsons dr. daniel mr. john taylor collected by rev. mr. evans - / yarmouth, in norfolk. collected at the rev. mr. whiteside's ditto at rev. mr. howe's ------------------ total £ , - / donations in scotland amounted to about £ , . proposed donations which determined the location of the college and school at hanover in . the king's most gracious majesty, by advice of his excellency john wentworth, esq., his majesty's governor of the province of new hampshire, and of his council, a charter of the township of landaff, about , acres. honorable benning wentworth, esq., late governor of new hampshire, acres, on which the college is fixed in hanover. hon. theodore atkinson, esq., acres. theodore atkinson, jr. esq., one right. hon. mark h. wentworth, esq., one right in plainfield. hon. j---- nevin, esq., half a right. william parker, esq., half a right in piermont. hon. peter levius, esq., one right in piermont. hon. daniel warner, esq., one right in leichester. hon. john wentworth, esq., one right in thetford. hon. daniel pierce, esq., acres. samuel livermore, esq., acres in chatham. walter bryent, esq., one right in burton. john moffat, esq., one right in masons-claim. matthew thornton, esq., one right in castleton. mr. ebenezer smith, acres. phillips white, esq., acres in wentworth, and in warren. col. jonathan grulley, acres in wentworth, and in warren. john phillips, esq., seven rights in sandwich. col. nathaniel folsom, one right in sandwich. col. nicholas gilman, acres in sandwich. samuel folsom, esq., acres in sandwich. mr. enoch poor, acres in sandwich. col. clement march, one right in addinson, and one right in leichester. robert fletcher, esq., acres. john wendal, esq., one right in barnard. walter bryent, jr. esq., one right in burton. hunking wentworth, esq., half a right in barnard. reuben kidder, esq., half a right in campton. col. jonathan moulton, acres in orford, in piermont, in relhan, and in moultenboro'. mr. john moulton, acres in moultenboro'. mr. moses little, two rights in saville. mr. samuel emerson, acres in saville. mr. william moulton, acres in stonington. mr. james jewet, acres in stonington. mr. adam cogswel, acres in stonington. col. jacob bayley, acres. timothy bedel, esq., acres. capt. john hazen, acres. benjamin whiting. esq., acres in newbury and topsham. israel morey, esq., acres in orford, and other towns, handy for the use of the school. mr. noah dewey, acres in orford. capt. noah dewey, jr., acres in orford. mr. thomas sawyer, acres in orford. mr. daniel tillotson, acres in thetford. mr. benjamin baldwin, acres in thetford. mr. ebenezer baldwin, acres in thetford. mr. daniel cross, acres in farley. mr. john chamberlain, acres in canaan. mr. samuel gillett, acres in thetford. mr. ebenezer green, acres in thetford, and acres in lyme. mr. fredrick smith, acres in strafford. mr. abner chamberlain, acres in thetford. mr. john sloan, acres in lyme. mr. william sloan, acres in lyme. mr. alexander murray, acres in lyme. mr. david sloan, acres in lyme. mr. thomas sumner, acres in gilsom. oliver willard, esq., acres land and £ . £. s. d. capt. zadock wright lieut. joel matthews mr. paul spooner mr. john laiton mr. christopher billings mr. charles killam - / mr. timothy lull mr. asa taylor mr. zebulon lee - / mr. john johnson mr. matthias rust capt. francis smith mr. john stevens, jr. mr. robert miller mr. abel stevens mr. reuben jerold mr. willard smith mr. adam clark mr. charles spalding mr. daniel short mr. josiah russel mr. josiah russel, jr. mr. daniel woodward mr. william cutler mr. josiah colton mr. joseph smith mr. john stevens mr. william bramble mr. joshua dewie mr. elisha marsh mr. christopher pease mr. john strong mr. david bliss mr. elijah strong mr. ebenezer bliss mr. daniel pinneo mr. thomas miner mr. nathaniel holbrook mr. henry woodward mr. abel marsh mr. lionel udal lebanon proprietors, acres. mr. thomas storrs, acres. capt. nathaniel hall, acres. john salter, esq., acres. mr. nathaniel storrs, acres. mr. constant southworth, acres. mr. huckens storrs, acres. mr. amariah storrs, acres. mr. nehemiah easterbrook, acres. capt. samuel storrs, acres. mr. aaron storrs, acres. mr. huckens storrs, jr., acres. mr. jedediah hebard, acres. mr. oliver griswould, acres. mr. levi hyde, acres. mr. israel gillet, acres. mr. rufus baldwin £ and acres. mr. john gillet and acres. mr. eliezer robinson, and acres. mr. charles hill major john slapp mr. joseph wood mr. silas waterman mr. john griswold mr. david bliss mr. joseph martin mr. benjamin fuller mr. azariah bliss mr. william dana mr. william downer mr. joseph tilden mr. samuel mecham mr. benjamin wright mr. benjamin parkhurst, acres land. mr. david rowland, acres. mr. josiah wheeler, acres. mr. jacob burton acres, and £ mr. ebenezer ball, acres. mr. thomas murdock, acres and £ mr. elisha crane, acres and mr. philip smith, acres and mr. joseph hatch, acres and mr. josiah burton, acres. mr. israel brown, acres and £ mr. daniel baldwin, acres and mr. francis fenton, acres. capt. hezekiah johnson, acres and £ mr. john serjeant, acres and mr. timothy bush, acres and mr. peter thatcher, acres and mr. daniel waterman, acres and mr. john slafter, acres and mr. samuel hutchinson mr. medad benton mr. john hatch mr. samuel partridge mr. elisha partridge mr. jonas richards mr. john hutchinson mr. elisha burton mr. nathan messenger mr. john wright mr. aaron wright mr. francis smalley mr. joseph ball mr. jonathan ball mr. samuel brown mr. samuel waterman mr. samuel partridge, jr. mr. ebenezer jaques mr. timothy smith, acres land. mr. jonathan curtiss, acres and mr. benjamin davis, acres. mr. john ordway, acres. maj. joseph storrs, acres. mr. john house, acres. mr. jonathan freeman, acres. mr. nathaniel wright, acres. mr. otis freeman, acres. mr. gideon smith, dollars. mr. nath. woodward, acres land. mr. isaac bridgman, acres. mr. knight sexton, acres and £ mr. james murch mr. simeon dewey, acres land and mr. benjamin rice mr. asa parker, acres. mr. edm. freeman, jr., acres. mr. isaac wallbridge, acres and mr. david mason mr. jeremiah trescot mr. habakkuk turner mr. samuel rust mr. edmond freeman, acres. mr. william johnson, jr. rev. gideon noble, acres. mr. abner barker, acres. mr. prince freeman, acres. mr. abel johnson mr. william johnson mr. russel freeman it should be remarked that many of the above named were unable to fulfill their promises. the college received in all about , acres of land. extract from hanover town records. "met according to adjournment, november , . the following vote was passed: "_whereas_, john wright, david woodward, edmund freeman, otis freeman, isaac walbridge, isaac bridgman, and john bridgman, have agreed to give the rev. eleazar wheelock, d.d., acres of land in this town, voted, that the above-mentioned persons may give deed of acres of land in the land now lying undivided among the proprietors, as follows, namely, to begin at lebanon line at the bound of a lot of land lately given by the hon. benning wentworth, esq., to the trustees of dartmouth college; then in the east line of said lot about rods, to the southwest bound of the th hundred-acre lot west of the half-mile line, then south sixty-four degrees, east about rods, or so far as that a line to run parallel with the first-mentioned line and running to lebanon will make acres, said land to lie to the above-mentioned persons for so much in their next division on the respective original rights they now own; _i. e._ to john wright acres, to david woodward acres, to isaac bridgman acres, to edmund freeman acres, to isaac walbridge acres, to otis freeman acres, to john bridgman acres. and whereas, the persons whose names are hereafter mentioned have covenanted and agreed to give to the trustees of dartmouth college, for the benefit of said college, the following quantities of land, namely, knight sexton acres, joseph storrs acres, john house acres, john ordway acres, jonathan curtice acres, tim. smith acres, edmund freeman acres, prince freeman acres, jonathan freeman acres, nathaniel wright acres, nathaniel woodward acres, simon dewey acres, benjamin davis acres, asa parker acres, voted, that the above-named persons may give a deed of all the undivided land lying east of the piece aforementioned, and south of the hundred-acre lots in the st and d ranges of hundred acres in the st division of hundred-acre lots, and west of the two-mile road, and north of lebanon line, it being about , acres, be it more or less, to lie for so much to the original rights aforementioned as the present owners of said rights have subscribed to give, reserving proper allowance for highways for the benefit of the town." * * * * * other proposed donations. "we the subscribers hereby severally promise for ourselves, our heirs, etc., to pay to the rev. mr. eleazar wheelock, or such other person or persons who shall be appointed to receive the same the sums respectively affixed to our names for the founding and supporting a school for the education of indian youth and others to be paid in land whereon to build a proper house or houses and in provisions and in materials for building such house or houses which shall be judged necessary for the support of said school, provided said school be fixed in the first society in hebron and there continued. witness our hands this th january, . david barbur £ alex phelps john phelps asahel phelps joshua phelps ebenezer gilbert increase porter benjamin sumner obadiah horsford silvanus phelps israel morey stephen palmer aaron stiles isaac ford ichabod buell lijah buell alexander mack stephen stiles eliphalet case benjamin day asa white eliphalet youngs, jr. saml. phelps israel post nathl. phelps stephen barbur neziah bliss samuel fielding oliver phelps pelatiah porter eleazar strong thomas post saml. gilbert, jr. thos. summer abijah rowlee danl. tillotson ephraim wright saml. jones danl. porter oliver barbur worthy waters zebulon strong jonathan birge story gott solomon huntington solomon tarbox elisha mack david carver adam waters samuel bicler, jr. ichabod phelps ichabod phelps, jr. eliphalet young samuel gilbert benjamin buell thomas tarbox mr. wheelock's correspondence indicates that the school was kept one year at hebron, by mr. alexander phelps. * * * * * "at a meeting of the first company of the delaware purchasers (so called), held by adjournment at the town-house in norwich, on the d day of january, a. d. , "voted that this company do now grant to the indian charity school under the care of rev. eleazar wheelock, d.d., of lebanon, six miles square of land, to be laid out on the westermost part of this company's purchase upon delaware river, upon condition said school shall be erected on the susquehannah purchase (so called). "the above is a true copy of the vote of the first company of the delaware purchasers. "test elisha tracy, clerk for said company." "at a meeting of the second company of the delaware purchasers (so called), held by adjournment at the town-house in norwich, on the d day of january, a. d. , "voted that this company do now grant to the indian charity school under the care of the rev. eleazar wheelock, d.d., of lebanon, six miles square of land, to be laid out for the use of said school on the westermost part of this company's purchase of land upon lacawack river, upon condition said school shall be erected upon the susquehannah purchase, so called. "the above is a true copy of the vote of the second delaware company. "test elisha tracy, clerk for said company." in september, , messrs. williams, woodbridge, sergeant, willard, brown, goodrich, gray, pixley, jones, curtis, bement, wilson, stoddard, bouton, dean, fuller, and others, proposed to give various sums, ranging from $ to £ , provided the college, should be located, agreeably to their wishes, at stockbridge, mass. during the same year, zephaniah batcheller writes from albany, stating that captain abraham j. lansing will give, in all, more than two hundred acres of land, suitably located for buildings and other uses, and worth £ , , provided the college is located at lansingburg, n. y. "province of new hampshire, june , . at a proprietor's meeting, lawfully warned and held at my dwelling-house in lyme in the province above said, voted to lay out to the use and benefit of dartmouth college fifteen hundred acres of land, ... provided said trustees shall fix or build said college in the township of lyme, south of clay brook. "a true copy of file test jonathan sumner, proprietor's clerk. lyme, june , ." * * * * * "january , . proprietors' meeting at hampton. "whereas a charter for a college to be erected in the western part of this province, by the name of dartmouth college, has been granted under the great seal of said province, with a special view of christianizing the several indian tribes in america, therefore in consideration of the many advantages that would accrue to the proprietors of orford if said college could be settled in said town, and that the same pious design might be carried into immediate execution, "voted, in case said college should be settled in said township, to give and grant for the use and benefit of said college, for ever, one thousand acres of land in said town. also, whereas the rev. eleazar wheelock is appointed president of said college, and doubtless will settle himself and family in the town where the college shall be, where it will be very necessary he should have some land to settle upon, therefore, for encouraging and promoting the same, "voted to give and grant unto the said eleazar wheelock, his heirs and assigns for ever, one thousand acres of land in said town. they also "voted (conditionally) to give to the said eleazar wheelock the sum of one hundred pounds lawful money." * * * * * piermont offered one thousand acres of land to secure the college. other towns, not mentioned hereafter, among them canaan, boscawen, and cornish, are said to have presented some attractions to dr. wheelock. * * * * * "honorable and reverend: in the capacity of agent for the towns of newbury and haverhill, i promise and engage (if dartmouth college is placed in said haverhill in new hampshire) that out of the subscriptions of said haverhill and newbury and the town of bath, that three thousand acres of land shall be laid out in a convenient form at the corner of haverhill, adjoining the southwest corner of said town of landaff, and one thousand acres more, laid out in a gore, in bath adjoining said town of landaff, and the three thousand acres in haverhill as above; and also i engage to give five hundred acres more to the honorable and reverend trust of said college, for the use of said college, in a handsome form, round said college, if set in said haverhill; provided it is not set on lands already laid out, which if it is to lay out said five hundred next adjoining, in a convenient form, as also to make and raise a frame for a building two hundred feet long and eighteen feet broad, one story high, or a frame or labor to that value. the above i promise to perform at or before the first day of november next. the frame i promise to set up on demand. witness my hand, jacob bayley. "portsmouth, june , . "to the honorable and reverend trust of dartmouth college." newburyport, march , . reverend sir: i have lately received an account from plymouth of a subscription being opened and there is already three thousand dollars in labor, provisions, etc., subscribed; also another here worth one thousand dollars, provided the college is fixed in campton, rumney, or plymouth; also being sensible that you will be at great expense to move into a new country, have opened another subscription for rev. dr. wheelock, which will be generous; i have lately heard that the college is to be fixed before the meeting of the trustees, which is the reason of mr. call's journey, the bearer of this, who is a friend to the indian cause, and in time past has been a means of collecting a considerable for them. i should be much obliged if you would inform me the time the college will be fixed, and i will bring or send the subscriptions, which i make no doubt will be generous when completed. if it should not be agreeable to the trustees to fix the college in any of the above mentioned towns, these subscriptions will not do any hurt to the college nor dr. wheelock, but spur on others to outdo. i think, where it is fixed, they ought to do generously, as it must help them much. i conclude with our family's and my duty to you and madam wheelock, and regards to all the family, and remain your most obedient servant, moses little. "p. s. we hear that the most generous subscription is to carry the college, provided the place is suitable; hope what we offer dr. wheelock will not be any damage, for it is not done as a private thing, but are willing the trustees and everybody else should know. "m. l. has subscribed: thousand boards. tons hay, three years, is tons. bushels wheat, three years, is bushels. bushels rye, three years, is bushels. bushels indian, three years, is bushels. days labor, three years, is days. "also use of house and barn and land pasturing round it, twenty acres cleared; also esq. brainerd, one right of land, etc., in rumney; also sent a man with a subscription, to be followed, we hope, in proportion and more than proportion to the above. expect some hundred bushels grain yearly for three years, also land and labor; and if the above is not enough subscribed by moses little, dr. wheelock shall have liberty to improve as much of his land as he pleases." * * * * * "albany, may , . "reverend sir: i have had the pleasure to see your letter, directed to the mayor of this city and others. the subject of it was a very agreeable one. to encourage literature indicates a great mind; to civilize savages, with a view to their eternal happiness, evinces a goodness of heart and a charitable disposition truly commendable; whoever attempts it has a right to claim the assistance of every worthy member of society. i shall be happy if i can be any ways instrumental in promoting the success of your humane plan; i am informed that mr. mayor and the other gentlemen of the corporation have expressed an equal desire, and i make no doubt but their offers will be such as a corporation ought to make who are impressed with a sense of its general utility. i could say much of the advantages that would accrue from fixing the school near this city, but as you have doubtless considered this affair with attention, you will have anticipated all i could say on the subject. i shall only remark that i have observed with much satisfaction that the morals of my fellow-citizens are much less vitiated than those of other cities that have an immediate foreign trade, and consequently import the vices of other climes; to this, give me leave to add, that a becoming economy is what characterizes our people, and may, by way of example, have a very good effect on the indian children, and such others as might be allowed to take their education in the proposed seminary. "should you, however, reverend sir, after receiving the proposals of the corporation, think them inadequate to the advantages the city would receive, or should you, for reasons that do not occur to me, think a more remote situation more eligible (which i wish may not be), i then, sir, will make an offer, to forward the charity. but though i have already fixed on the proposals i intend to make, i must yet declare that those that i am told the city intends to offer appear to me to have the advantage in point of fulfilling the intentions of the gentlemen at home, but perhaps it may be thought otherwise, and i be mistaken. "whenever, sir, this or your other affairs may call you into this county, i shall be extremely glad to show you any civilities in my power, and beg you will make my house your home, where i try to keep up to the good old adage, 'to welcome the coming and to speed the going guest.' "i am, with much respect, reverend sir, your most obedient, humble servant, "to the rev. mr. wheelock. ph. schuyler." * * * * * "february , . "reverend sir: as i understand that colonel alexander phelps, esquire, has been on business of importance relative to your college, to wit, the consulting the honorable trustees, at portsmouth, concerning the place where it will be best to set the said college, and as there is great engagedness and large subscriptions making by the proprietors and others of the towns of plainfield, hartford, harford, lebanon, norwich, hanover, and some other back towns, for the said school, if said school should be set in hanover, in the province of new hampshire, now, sir, i suppose that colonel phelps never heard of this subscription, and i apprehend he has not laid this donation, with the circumstances of the place, before the board at portsmouth. "trusting in your wisdom and willingness to hear everything of consequence to said school, i would therefore pray that the place for the said college may not be fixed on till the donations may be gathered and the circumstances of the place be properly laid before their honors. "p. s. i suppose there can be as much or more said in favor of its going to the said town of hanover than any town on the river, which will be laid before their honors in writing, if desired. "from their humble servant and well-wisher to said school, james murch." in a later letter he says: "now, sir, we all hope you will view the place yourself, and the people well all be satisfied that the college will be set in the best place for its benefit; or, if a disinterested man should come and view the places, and make a representation, it is generally thought it would come to hanover or lebanon. now, sir, i shall endeavor to set before you some of the benefits of this place for the college. first, here is a large tract of land of near three thousand acres or more, all lying together, and the greater part some of the best of land. i shall only add that there may be a good road to portsmouth; and it is in a line to crown point from portsmouth; and a very narrow place in the great river, for a brig; and it is by a long pair of falls; and where salt and other articles, brought up the river, will be cheaper than they will be further up. "having given some short hints of what is commonly talked of where i have been, i hope you will condescend to forgive what is amiss in this broken letter. "so i remain, yours to serve, james murch. "hanover, new hampshire, march , . "p. s. i would inform you we all got up here well." * * * * * "the company expected to attend commencement at dartmouth college, august , , with his excellency governor wentworth, viz.: the honorable mark hunking wentworth, esq.; george jaffrey, esq.; daniel rogers, esq.; peter gilman, esq.; the honorable john wentworth, esq., _speaker of assembly_; major samuel hobart, esq., john giddinge, esq., colonel john phillips, esq., john sherburne, esq., _members of assembly_; john fisher, esq., _collector of salem_; colonel nathaniel folsom, esq.; rev. dr. langdon, of portsmouth; rev. mr. emerson, of hollis; dr. cutter; dr. bracket; samuel penhallow, esq.; william parker, jun., esq.; benjamin whiting, esq., _high sheriff of hillsboro' county_; honorable samuel holland, esq., _surveyor-general of the northern district of america and a councillor of canada_; thomas mac-donogh, esq., _secretary to the governor_. about ten more are invited, but i think uncertain whether they'll undertake the journey." from gov. wentworth. * * * * * "dartmouth college, june , , at break of day. "my dear sir: i trust you have received my two late letters, by my son and sir trimble, with orders, if you can to good advantage, to make sale of my tenement at the crank, and pay my debts to mr. dean, mr. watson, and yourself. if you have successfully attempted the affair, or shall soon so do, i should be glad to see you, and if it may be with the remainder of the money as soon as may be; or if you could, before you come, visit dr. mead, who was principal of, and agent for, the first grantees of the town of landaff, the settlement of which is now retarded and discouraged by the influence of mr. joseph davenport, who has inspired an apprehension in the minds of the populace that they shall be exposed to a quarrel, if they should settle there, etc. i wish i could send you a copy of the college charter, and enable you to discourse understandingly with dr. mead, and let him see how amply this incorporation is endowed, and how independent it is made of this government or any other incorporation; that the first object of the royal grant of said township was the dispersed indian natives, and to this corporation only in trust for that purpose; that such a matter of controversy can be decided by no judicatory but supreme, or one equal to that which incorporated it, that is the continental congress; that unless they can prove that the fee of those lands was not in reality in the king when the charter thereof was given to the college and the grant made to the grantees (however irregular and unkind the steps taken may have been), they will find it difficult, if not impracticable, to recover it. however, to prevent any expense in that matter, quiet the minds of people and facilitate the settlement, as well as exercise proper regard to those who have looked upon themselves injured thereby, i would propose some conditions of agreement with those first grantees, whereby i might obtain their quitclaims to the premises; that is, either a sum of money, or some other way. what if you should see dr. mead and discourse with him before you come hither? but the bearer is waiting. accept love to you and yours, etc., from your affectionate, "mr. jabez bingham, jun." * * * * * this letter was evidently written by president wheelock. miscellaneous matter. "since there is great misrepresentations by some concerning my life and education, i take this opportunity to give the world, in few words, the true account of my education. i was born a heathen in mmoyanheeunnuck, alias mohegan, in new london, north america. my parents were altogether heathens, and i was educated by them in their heathenish notions, though there was a sermon preached to our mohegan tribe sometimes, but our indians regarded not the christian religion. they would persist in their heathenish ways, and my parents in particular were very strong in the customs of their forefathers, and they led a wandering life up and down in the wilderness, for my father was a great hunter. thus i lived with them till i was sixteen years old, and then there was a great stir of religion in these parts of the world both amongst the indians as well as the english, and about this time i began to think about the christian religion, and was under great trouble of mind for some time. i thought the religion which i heard at this time was a new thing among mankind, such as they never heard the like before, so ignorant was i, and when i was seventeen years of age i received a hope, and as i begun to think about religion, so i began to learn to read, though i went to no school till i was in my nineteenth year, and then i went to the rev. mr. wheelock's to learning, and spent four years there, and was very weakly most of the time; this is the true account of my education. samson occom. "boston, nov. , ." * * * * * mr. occom spent the closing years of a useful life at brotherton, n. y., where he died, in , aged nearly seventy. * * * * * "a list of charity scholars (in rev. e. wheelock's school), from to : john pumpshire, a delaware. jacob woolley, a delaware. samson woyboy. joseph woolley, a delaware. hezekiah calvin, a delaware. joseph johnson, a mohegan. david fowler, a montauk. aaron occom, a mohegan. samuel kirtland, of norwich. isaiah uncas, a mohegan. amie johnson, a mohegan. joseph brant, } negyes ----, } mohawks. center ----, dead, } miriam stores, a delaware. moses ----, } mohawks. johannes ----, } sarah wyog, a mohegan. enoch closs, a delaware. samuel tallman, a delaware. daniel mossock, a farmington. abraham primus, } abraham secundus, } mohawks. peter ----, } patience johnson, a mohegan. samuel gray, of boston. mr. samuel ashpo, a mohegan. eleazar sweetland, of andover. jacob fowler, a montauk. manuel simon, a narraganset. hannah poquiantus, a nehantic. hannah garret, a narraganset. mary sequettass, a narraganset. david avery, of norwich. david mccluer, of boston. mr. titus smith, of south hadley. william primus, } william secundus, } mohawks. elias ----, } mr. theophilus chamberlain, of south hadley. susannah, } katharine, } mohawks. mary ----, } david ----, an oneida. mr. aaron kinne, of volentown. mundeus, } oneidas. jacob, } sarah simons, a narraganset. charles daniel, a narraganset. john green, a mohawk. sam'l johnson, a member of yale college. allen mather, of windsor. william, an oneida. paulus, a mohawk. seth ----, a mohawk. john shaddock, } narragansets. toby shaddock, } levi frisbie, of branford. abigail ----, } narragansets. martha ----, } toby shadock's wife and child. margaret ----." * * * * * in the "history of the five indian nations," by cadwallader colden, we find the following paragraph: "the french priests had (from time to time) persuaded several of the five nations to leave their own country and to settle near montreal, where the french are very industrious in encouraging them. their numbers have been likewise increased by the prisoners the french have taken in war, and by others who have run from their own country because of some mischief that they had done, or debts which they owed to the christians. these indians all profess christianity, and therefore are commonly called the praying indians by their countrymen, and they are called _cahnuagas_ (caghnawagas) by the people of albany." * * * * * "an agreement between the reverend doctor eleazar wheelock, president of dartmouth college, and mr. john smith, late tutor of the same, with respect to said mr. smith's settlement and salary in capacity of professor of the languages in dartmouth college. "mr. smith agrees to settle as professor of english, latin, greek, hebrew, chaldee, etc., in dartmouth college, to teach which, and as many of these and other such languages as he shall understand, as the trustees shall judge necessary and practicable for one man, and also to read lectures on them, as often as the president, tutors, etc., with himself shall judge profitable for the seminary. he also agrees, while he can do it consistently with his office as professor, annually to serve as tutor to a class of students in the college. in consideration of which, dr. wheelock agrees to give him (the said mr. smith) one hundred pounds l. my. annually as a salary to be paid one half in money and the other half in money or in such necessary articles for a family as wheat, indian corn, rye, beef, pork, mutton, butter, cheese, hay, pasturing, etc., as long as he shall continue professor as aforesaid, and that he shall have these articles delivered to him at the same price for which they were usually sold before the commencement of the present war in america, viz.: that he shall have wheat at s. per bushel, rye at s., indian corn at s. d., fresh beef at d. per lb., salt beef at - / d., fresh pork at - / d., salt do. at d., fresh beef at s. per ct., do. pork at s., mutton at d. per lb., butter at d., cheese at d., bread at d., hay at s. per ton, pasturing per season for horse s., for cow s., and also to give him one acre of land near the college for a building spot, a deed of which he promises to give him whenever he shall request the same. doctor wheelock also agrees that mr. smith's salary, viz.: one hundred pounds annually, shall not be diminished when his business as professor shall be so great that it will render it impracticable for him to serve as a tutor to a class in college; and that mr. smith shall not be removed from his professorship except the trustees of dartmouth college shall judge him incapacitated therefor, and also that mr. smith's salary shall begin with the date hereof. doctor wheelock also promises to lay this agreement before the trustees of dartmouth college to be confirmed by them at their next meeting. mr. smith also promises that whenever he shall have a sufficient support from any fund established for the maintenance of a professor of languages, he will give up the salary to which the agreement entitles him. "in testimony whereof, we have hereunto interchangeably affixed our hands and seals this th day of november, . "eleazar wheelock. [l. s.] "john smith. [l. s.] "in presence of: "sylvanus ripley. "joseph mottey." * * * * * "july , . the governor and council appointed hon. josiah bartlett, of stratham, hon. joshua darling, of henniker, hon. wm. h. woodward, of hanover, matthew harvey, esq., of hopkinton, and levi woodbury, esq., of francestown, trustees of dartmouth university, and on the following day added henry hubbard, esq., of charlestown, dr. cyrus perkins, of hanover, aaron hutchinson, esq., of lebanon, and daniel m. durell, esq., of dover. on the same days, hon. john langdon, of portsmouth, hon. william gray, of boston, mass., gen. henry dearborn, of roxbury, mass., rev. thomas baldwin, of boston, hon. joseph story, of salem, mass., hon. w. crowninshield, of salem, mass., hon. benjamin greene, of berwick, me., hon. cyrus king, of saco, me., elisha ticknor, esq., of boston, hon. clifton claggett, of amherst, hon. dudley chase, of randolph, vt., gen. henry a. s. dearborn, of boston, hon. jonathan h. hubbard, of windsor, vt., hon. george sullivan, of exeter, james t. austin, esq., of boston, hon. levi lincoln, jr., of worcester, mass., hon. albion k. parris, of paris, me., amos twitchell, m.d., of keene, hon. william a. griswold, of danville, vt., hon. clement storer, of portsmouth, and rev. david sutherland, of bath, overseers of dartmouth university." * * * * * contents of culver hall. culver hall has . the hall collection of minerals, worth $ , by estimate when presented to the college about forty years since. . minerals and rocks collected since, of no great value. . minerals, fossils, and a collection of , specimens from maine deposited by professor hitchcock. . a small zoological collection. . a large cast of animals from ward's university series. . antiquities. in the story below is one room devoted to an excellent herbarium, another to the natural objects obtained from the states of new hampshire and vermont. these are largely those collected by the state geologist, consisting of , - , specimens illustrating the rocks. a wall of sections, where specimens have been collected along thirteen lines east and west through new hampshire and vermont; and colored geological profiles behind, on the wall. a case of maps, ten in number, showing such physical features of new hampshire as these: geological structure, surface geology, distribution of fauna, distribution of trees, areas occupied by forests in , hydrographic basins, isothermal lines, amount of annual rainfall, distribution of soils and the topography by means of contour lines. there is a large model or relief map of the state on a table, scale one mile to the inch horizontally, and , feet to the inch vertically, about fifteen feet long, with the town boundaries, names of villages, rivers, ponds, railroads, and mountains inserted in their proper places; other collections are of the economic products of new hampshire and vermont, their minerals and fossils. a large collection of birds and , species of insects are here also, presented by professor h. fairbanks. the geological recitation room has a large map of the united states in it, and a case of drawers containing minerals, rocks, fossils, models of crystals and other collections for use in giving instruction. the laboratory is in two parts, one for general and the other for analytical instruction. agricultural college library in second story, and several recitation rooms. small working shop for thayer department in the basement. * * * * * pictures in the halls of dartmouth college. . rev. eleazar wheelock, d.d., founder. . rev. francis brown, d.d. . the same. . rev. bennet tyler, d.d. . rev. nathan lord, d.d., ll. d. . ebenezer adams, a. m., f. r. s. . rev. roswell shurtleff, d.d. . nathan smith, m.d. . cyrus perkins, m.d. . charles b. haddock, ll. d. . william chamberlain, a. m. . dixi crosby, m.d., ll. d. . albert smith, m.d., ll. d. . rev. benjamin hale, d.d. . ira young, a. m. . rev. david peabody, a. m. . rev. sam'l g. brown, d.d., ll. d. . rev. dan'l j. noyes, d.d. . edwin d. sanborn, ll. d. . stephen chase, a. m. . edmund r. peaslee, m.d., ll. d. . john s. woodman, a. m. . rev. john n. putnam, a. m. . rev. charles a. aiken, d.d., ph. d. . hon. james w. patterson, ll. d. . william legge, second earl of dartmouth. . john phillips, ll. d. . rev. nathaniel whitaker, d.d. . hon. daniel webster, ll. d. . the same (large picture). . the same (head and bust). . hon. jeremiah mason, ll. d. . hon. jeremiah smith, ll. d. . hon. joseph hopkinson. . amos twitchell, m.d. . richard fletcher, ll. d. . hon. matthew harvey. . hon. charles marsh. . hon. rufus choate, ll. d. (in action). . the same (head and bust). . richard b. kimball, ll. d. . abiel chandler. . samuel appleton, a. m. . rev. samson occom. . john conant. . gen. sylvanus thayer, ll. d. . hon. john quincy adams, ll. d. . a knight in armor. . a lady (a companion picture). . supposed to be a portrait of an italian poet. . an untouched photograph of the original of stuart's washington. . an untouched photograph of daniel webster. . a bust of rev. nathan lord, d.d., ll. d. . john hubbard, a. m. . alpheus crosby, a. m. . thomas r. crosby, m.d. . pres. j. wheelock. . rev. george t. chapman, d.d. the picture gallery also contains six slabs, with seven heroic figures, from nineveh, the gift of sir henry rawlinson, obtained by rev. austin h. wright, d.d., of ooroomiah, persia. * * * * * in an inventory of the philosophical apparatus belonging to the college was taken, and the transfer was made to the appleton fund; the amount of this inventory was $ , . . while rev. h. fairbanks occupied the chair of natural philosophy about $ was paid out. prof. c. a. young expended over $ , for apparatus while he had charge of the department. most of the apparatus is in good condition, and its value is not far from $ , . for the astronomical department prof. c. a. young raised among the alumni and friends of the college, mostly in new england, over $ , , to put the observatory in good condition. recent liberal donations to the college from the state, and from hon. e. w. stoughton, of new york, have enabled the faculty to put the medical building in complete repair throughout. a suitable room for a pathological museum has been finished, which is frequently receiving specimens of diseased structure. the supply of plates, models, etc., is very ample, and is freely used in illustration of the lectures. * * * * * leading donors to the academical department, since the death of the founder. samuel appleton, founder of the appleton professorship. george h. bissell ($ , ), founder of bissell hall. henry bond, for the library. salmon p. chase. david culver ($ , ), founder of culver hall. william e. dodge. israel evans, founder of the evans professorship. richard fletcher. james w. grimes. frederic hall, founder of the hall professorship. jeremiah kingman, for scholarships. aaron lawrence, founder of the lawrence professorship. joel parker, for the library. john phillips, founder of the phillips professorship. william reed, founder of reed hall. george c. shattuck, founder of the shattuck observatory. isaac spalding. edward s. tobey. john wentworth. henry winkley ($ , ). miss mary c. bryant, for the library. mrs. betsey whitehouse, for scholarships. the sums given by the above average perhaps about $ , . it is worthy of remark that a majority of these donations were made or received during the administration of president smith. * * * * * there are at present ten principal edifices erected for the use of the various departments of the college: dartmouth hall and the medical college, erected during the administration of pres. john wheelock; thornton, wentworth, and reed halls, shattuck observatory, and the chandler building, erected or completed during the administration of president lord; bissell, culver, and conant halls, erected during the administration of president smith. during the latter period the president's chair received an endowment of $ , , and more than sixty scholarships an endowment of $ , each. recent bequests to the various departments from tappan wentworth, john d. willard, richard fletcher, john s. woodman, and joel parker will amount, _when available_, to over $ , . charter of dartmouth college. george the third by the grace of god, of great britain, france and ireland, king, defender of the faith, etc. _to all to whom these presents shall come_, greeting: whereas it hath been represented to our trusty and well-beloved john wentworth, esq., governor and commander-in-chief, in and over our province of new hampshire, in new england in america, that the rev. eleazar wheelock of lebanon, in the colony of connecticut, in new england aforesaid, now doctor in divinity, did, on or about the year of our lord, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, at his own expense, on his own estate and plantation, set on foot an _indian charity school_, and for several years, through the assistance of well disposed persons in america, cloathed, maintained and educated a number of the children of the _indian natives_, with a view to their carrying the gospel in their own language, and spreading the knowledge of the great redeemer among their savage tribes, and hath actually employed a number of them as missionaries and school masters in the wilderness for that purpose, and by the blessing of god upon the endeavors of said wheelock, the design became reputable among the indians, insomuch that a larger number desired the education of their children in said school, and were also disposed to receive missionaries and school masters in the wilderness, more than could be supported by the charitable contributions in these american colonies. whereupon the said eleazar wheelock thought it expedient that endeavors should be used to raise contributions from well disposed persons in england, for the carrying on and extending said undertaking, and for that purpose said eleazar wheelock requested the rev. nathaniel whitaker, now doctor in divinity, to go over to england for that purpose, and sent over with him the rev. sampson occom, an indian minister, who had been educated by the said wheelock. and to enable the said whitaker, to the more successful performance of said work on which he was sent, said wheelock gave him a full power of attorney, by which said whitaker solicited those worthy and generous contributors to the charity, viz. the right hon. william earl of dartmouth, the hon. sir sidney stafford smythe, knight, one of the barons of his majesty's court of exchequer, john thornton, of clapham, in the county of surrey, esq., samuel roffey, of lincoln's innfields, in the county of middlesex, esq., charles hardey, of the parish of st. mary-le-bonne, in said county, esq., daniel west, of christ's church, spitalfields, in the county aforesaid, esq., samuel savage, of the same place, gentleman; josiah robarts, of the parish of st. edmund the king, lombard street, london, gentleman, and robert keen, of the parish of st. botolph, aldgate, london, gentleman; to receive the several sums of money which should be contributed, and to be trustees to the contributors to such charity: which they cheerfully agreed to. whereupon, the said whitaker did, by virtue of said power of attorney, constitute and appoint the said earl of dartmouth, sir sidney stafford smythe, john thornton, samuel roffey, charles hardey, and daniel west, esquires, and samuel savage, josiah robarts, and robert keen, gentlemen, to be trustees of the money which had then been contributed, and which should by his means be contributed for said purpose; which trust they have accepted, as by their engrossed declaration of the same under their hands and seals, well executed fully appears, and the same hath also been ratified by a deed of trust, well executed by said wheelock. and the said wheelock further represents, that he has, by a power of attorney, for many weighty reasons, given full power to the said trustees, to fix upon and determine the place for said school, most subservient to the great end in view. and to enable them understandingly to give the preference, the said wheelock has laid before the said trustees the several offers which have been generously made in the several governments in america to encourage and invite the settlement of said school among them for their own private emolument, and for the increase of learning in their respective places, as well as for the furtherance of the general design in view. and whereas a large number of the proprietors of lands in the western part of this our province of new hampshire, animated and excited thereto by the generous example of his excellency their governor, and by the liberal contributions of many noblemen and gentlemen in england, and especially by the consideration that such a situation would be as convenient as any for carrying on the great design among the indians; and also considering that without the least impediment to the said design, the same school may be enlarged and improved to promote learning among the english, and be a means to supply a great number of churches and congregations which are likely soon to be formed in that new country, with a learned and orthodox ministry, they the said proprietors have promised large tracts of land for the uses aforesaid, provided the school shall be settled in the western part of our said province. and they the said right hon. hon. and worthy trustees before mentioned, having maturely considered the reasons and arguments in favor of the several places proposed, have given the preference to the western part of our said province, lying on connecticut river, as a situation most convenient for said school. and the said wheelock has further represented a necessity of a legal incorporation, in order to the safety and well being of said seminary, and its being capable of the tenure and disposal of lands and bequests for the use of the same. and the said wheelock has also represented, that for many weighty reasons, it will be expedient, at least in the infancy of said institution, or till it can be accommodated in that new country, and he and his friends be able to remove and settle by and round about it, that the gentlemen whom he has already nominated in his last will (which he has transmitted to the aforesaid gentlemen of the trust in england) to be trustees in america, should be of the corporation now proposed. and also as there are already large collections for said school in the hands of the aforesaid gentlemen of the trust in england, and all reason to believe from their signal wisdom, piety, and zeal, to promote the redeemer's cause (which has already procured for them the utmost confidence of the kingdom) we may expect they will appoint successors in time to come, who will be men of the same spirit, whereby great good may and will accrue many ways to the institution, and much be done by their example and influence to encourage and facilitate the whole design in view; for which reasons said wheelock desires that the trustees aforesaid, may be vested with all that power therein which can consist with their distance from the same. know ye therefore that we, considering the premises and being willing to encourage the laudable design of spreading christian knowledge among the savages of our american wilderness. and also that the best means of education be established in our province of new hampshire, for the benefit of said province, do, of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, by and with the advice of our council for said province, by these presents will, ordain, grant and constitute that there be a college erected in our said province of new hampshire, by the name of _dartmouth college_, for the education and instruction of youths of the indian tribes in this land, in reading, writing, and all parts of learning, which shall appear necessary and expedient, for civilizing and christianizing the children of pagans, as well as in all liberal arts and sciences, and also of english youths, and any others. and the trustees of said college may, and shall be, one body corporate and politic in deed, action and name, and shall be called, named, and distinguished by the name of _the trustees of dartmouth college_. and further, we have willed, given, granted, constituted and ordained, and by this our present charter, of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, with the advice aforesaid, do for us, our heirs and successors forever, will, give, grant, constitute, and ordain, that there shall from henceforth and forever, be in the said dartmouth college, a body politic, consisting of trustees of dartmouth college. and for the more full and perfect erection of said corporation and body politic, consisting of trustees of dartmouth college, we, of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, do, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, make, ordain, constitute and appoint, our trusty and well beloved john wentworth, esquire, governor of our said province, and the governor of our said province of new hampshire, for the time being, and our trusty and well beloved theodore atkinson, esquire, now president of our council of our said province, george jaffrey and daniel pierce, esqrs., both of our said council, and peter gilman, esq., now speaker of our house of representatives in said province, and william pitkin, esq., one of the assistants of our colony of connecticut, and our trusty and well beloved eleazar wheelock, of lebanon, doctor in divinity, benjamin pomeroy, of hebron, james lockwood, of weathersfield, timothy pitkin and john smalley, of farmington, and william patten of hartford, all of our said colony of connecticut, ministers of the gospel (the whole number of said trustees consisting, and hereafter forever to consist, of twelve and no more) to be trustees of said dartmouth college, in this our province of new hampshire. and we do further, of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for us, our heirs and successors, will, give, grant and appoint that the said trustees and their successors shall, forever hereafter, be in deed, act and name, a body corporate and politic, and that they the said body corporate and politic, shall be known and distinguished in all deeds, grants, bargains, sales, writings, evidences or otherwise however, and in all courts forever hereafter plead and be impleaded by the name of _the trustees of dartmouth college_. and that the said corporation by the name aforesaid, shall be able and in law capable for the use of said dartmouth college, to have, get, acquire, purchase, receive, hold, possess and enjoy, tenements, hereditaments, jurisdictions and franchises for themselves and their successors, in fee simple or otherwise however, and to purchase, receive, or build any house or houses, or any other buildings, as they shall think needful and convenient for the use of said dartmouth college, and in such town in the western part of our said province of new hampshire, as shall, by said trustees, or the major part of them be agreed upon, their said agreement to be evidenced by an instrument in writing under their hands ascertaining the same. and also to receive and dispose of any lands, goods, chattels and other things of what nature soever, for the use aforesaid. and also to have, accept and receive any rents, profits, annuities, gifts, legacies, donations or bequests of any kind whatsoever for the use aforesaid: so nevertheless, that the yearly value of the premises do not exceed the sum of six thousand pounds sterling. and therewith or otherwise to support and pay, as the said trustees, or the major part of such of them as are regularly convened for that purpose, shall agree; the president, tutors, and other officers and ministers of said dartmouth college, and also to pay all such missionaries and school masters as shall be authorized, appointed and employed by them for civilizing, christianizing, and instructing the indian natives of this land, their several allowances, and also their respective annual salaries or allowances, and also such necessary and contingent charges, as from time to time shall arise and accrue, relating to said dartmouth college. and also to bargain, sell, let or assign lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods or chattels, and all other things whatsoever, by the name aforesaid, in as full and ample a manner, to all intents and purposes as a natural person or other body corporate or politic, is able to do by the laws of our realm of great britain, or of said province of new hampshire. and further, of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, to the intent that our said corporation and body politic may answer the end of their erection and constitution, and may have perpetual succession and continuance forever, we do for us, our heirs and successors, will, give and grant unto the said trustees of dartmouth college, and to their successors forever, that there shall be once a year, and every year, a meeting of said trustees, held at said dartmouth college, at such time as by said trustees, or the major part of them, at any legal meeting of said trustees shall be agreed on. the first meeting to be called by the said eleazar wheelock, as soon as conveniently may be, within one year next after the enrolment of these our letters patent, at such time and place as he shall judge proper. and the said trustees, or the major part of any seven or more of them, shall then determine on the time for holding the annual meeting, aforesaid, which may be altered as they shall hereafter find most convenient. and we do further ordain and direct, that the said eleazar wheelock shall notify the time for holding the first meeting to be called as aforesaid, by sending a letter to each of said trustees, and causing an advertisement thereof to be printed in the "new hampshire gazette," and in some public newspaper printed in the colony of connecticut. but in case of the death or incapacity of said wheelock, then such meeting to be notified in manner as aforesaid, by the governor or commander in chief of our said province for the time being. and we also, for us, our heirs and successors, hereby will, give and grant unto the said trustees of dartmouth college aforesaid, and to their successors forever, that when any seven or more of the said trustees or their successors are convened and met together for the service of said dartmouth college, at any time or times, such seven or more shall be capable to act as fully and amply to all intents and purposes, as if all the trustees of said college were personally present; and all affairs and actions whatsoever, under the care of said trustees, shall be determined by the majority or greater number of those seven or more trustees, so convened and met together. and we do further will, ordain and direct, that the president, trustees, professors, and tutors, and all such officers as shall be appointed for the public instruction and government of said college, shall, before they undertake the execution of their respective offices or trusts, or within one year after, take the oaths and subscribe the declaration, provided by an act of parliament, made in the first year of king george the first, entitled, "an act for the further security of his majesty's person and government, and the succession of the crown in the heirs of the late princess sophia being protestants, and for the extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince of wales, and his open and secret abettors," that is to say, the president before the governor of our said province for the time being, or by one empowered by him to that service, or by the president of our council, and the trustees, professors, tutors and other officers before the president of said college, for the time being, who is hereby empowered to administer the same: an entry of all which shall be made in the records of the said college. and we do for us, our heirs and successors, hereby will, give and grant full power and authority to the president, hereafter by us named, and to his successors, or in case of his failure, to any three or more of said trustees, to appoint other occasional meetings, from time to time, of the said seven trustees, or any greater number of them, to transact any matter or thing necessary to be done, before the next annual meeting, and to order notice to the said seven or any greater number of them, of the times and places of meetings for the services aforesaid, by a letter under his or their hands of the same, one month before said meeting. provided always, that no standing rule or order be made or altered, for the regulation of said college, or any president or professor be chosen or displaced, or any other matter or thing transacted or done, which shall continue in force after the then next annual meeting of said trustees as aforesaid. and further, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, create, make, constitute, nominate and appoint our trusty and well beloved eleazar wheelock, doctor in divinity, the founder of said college, to be president of said dartmouth college, and to have the immediate care of the education and government of such students, as shall be admitted into said dartmouth college, for instruction and education; and do will, give and grant to him in said office, full power, authority and right to nominate, appoint, constitute and ordain by his last will, such suitable and meet person or persons as he shall choose, to succeed him in the presidency of said dartmouth college; and the person so appointed by his last will, to continue in office, vested with all the powers, privileges, jurisdiction and authority of a president of said dartmouth college, that is to say, so long as until such appointment, by said last will, shall be disapproved by the trustees of said dartmouth college. and we do also for us, our heirs and successors, will, give and grant to the said trustees of dartmouth college, and to their successors forever, or any seven or more of them, convened as aforesaid, that in case of the ceasing or failure of a president, by any means whatsoever, that the said trustees do elect, nominate and appoint such qualified person, as they, or the major part of any seven or more of them, convened for that purpose, as above directed, shall think fit, to be president of said dartmouth college, and to have the care of the education and government of the students as aforesaid. and in case of the ceasing of a president as aforesaid, the senior professor or tutor, being one of the trustees, shall exercise the office of a president, until the trustees shall make choice of, and appoint a president as aforesaid; and such professor or tutor, or any three or more of the trustees, shall immediately appoint a meeting of the body of the trustees for the purpose aforesaid. and also, we do will, give and grant to the said trustees, convened as aforesaid, that they elect, nominate and appoint, so many tutors and professors, to assist the president in the education and government of the students belonging thereto as they the said trustees shall, from time to time, and at any time think needful and serviceable to the interests of said dartmouth college. and also that the said trustees, or their successors, or the major part of any seven or more of them, convened for that purpose as above directed, shall at any time displace and discharge from the service of said dartmouth college, any or all such officers, and elect others in their room and stead as before directed. and also that the said trustees or their successors, or the major part of any seven of them which shall convene for that purpose as above directed, do from time to time as occasion shall require, elect, constitute and appoint a treasurer, a clerk, an usher and a steward, for the said dartmouth college, and appoint to them, and each of them, their respective businesses and trust; and displace and discharge from the service of said college, such treasurer, clerk, usher or steward, and elect others in their room and stead; which officers so elected as before directed, we do for us, our heirs and successors, by these presents constitute and establish in their respective offices, and do give to each and every of them, full power and authority, to exercise the same in said dartmouth college, according to the directions and during the pleasure of the said trustees, as fully and freely as any like officers in any of our universities, colleges, or seminaries of learning, in our realm of great britain, lawfully may or ought to do. and also, that the said trustees or their successors, or the major part of any seven or more of them, which shall convene for that purpose, as is above directed, as often as one or more of said trustees shall die, or by removal or otherwise shall, according to their judgment become unfit or incapable to serve the interests of said college, do, as soon as may be, after the death, removal, or such unfitness or incapacity of such trustee or trustees, elect and appoint such trustee or trustees as shall supply the place of him or them so dying, or becoming incapable to serve the interests of said college; and every trustee so elected and appointed, shall, by virtue of these presents, and such election and appointment, be vested with all the powers and privileges which any of the other trustees of said college are hereby vested with. and we do further will, ordain and direct, that from and after the expiration of two years from the enrolment of these presents, such vacancy or vacancies shall be filled up unto the complete number of _twelve trustees_, eight of the aforesaid whole number of the body of the trustees shall be resident and respectable freeholders of our said province of _new hampshire_, and seven of said whole number shall be laymen. and we do further of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, will, give and grant unto the said trustees of _dartmouth college_ that they and their successors, or the major part of any seven of them which shall convene for that purpose as above directed, may make, and they are hereby fully empowered from time to time fully and lawfully to make and establish such ordinances, orders and laws, as may tend to the good and wholesome government of the said _college_, and all the students and the several officers and ministers thereof, and to the public benefit of the same, not repugnant to the laws and statutes of our realm of _great britain_ or of this our province of _new hampshire_ (and not excluding any person of any religious denomination whatsoever from free and equal liberty and advantage of education, or from any of the liberties and privileges or immunities of the said _college_ on account of his or their speculative sentiments in religion, and of his or their being of a religious profession different from the said _trustees_ of the said _dartmouth college_), and such ordinances, orders and laws which shall as aforesaid be made, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, ratify, allow of and confirm, as good and effectual to oblige and bind all the students and the several officers and ministers of said _college_. and we do hereby authorize and empower the said _trustees of dartmouth college_, and the _president_, tutors and professors by them elected and appointed as aforesaid, to put such ordinances, laws and orders into execution to all intents and purposes. and we do further of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, will, give and grant unto the said _trustees_, of said _dartmouth college_, for the encouragement of learning and animating the students of said _college_ to diligence and industry and a laudable progress in literature, that they and their successors, or the major part of any seven or more of them convened for that purpose as above directed, do by the _president_ of said _college_ for the time being, or any other deputed by them, give and grant any such degree or degrees to any of the students of the said _college_, or any others by them thought worthy thereof, as are usually granted in either of the _universities_ or any other _college_ in our realm of _great britain_; and that they sign and seal diplomas or certificates of such graduations to be kept by the graduates as perpetual memorials and testimonies thereof. and we do further of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for us, our heirs and successors, by these presents give and grant unto the _trustees_ of said _dartmouth college_ and to their successors, that they and their successors shall have a common seal under which they may pass all diplomas or certificates of degrees, and all other affairs of business of and concerning the said _college_, which shall be engraven in such form and with such an inscription as shall be devised by the said trustees for the time being, or by the major part of any seven or more of them convened for the service of said _college_ as is above directed. and we do further for us our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the _trustees_ of said _dartmouth college_ and their successors, or to the major part of any seven or more of them convened for the service of said _college_, full power and authority from time to time to nominate and appoint all other officers and ministers which they shall think convenient and necessary for the service of the said _college_ not herein particularly named or mentioned; which officers and ministers we do hereby impower to execute their offices and trusts as fully and freely as any one of the officers and ministers in our _universities_ or _colleges_ in our realm of _great britain_ lawfully may or ought to do. and further, that the generous contributors to the support of this design of spreading the knowledge of the only true god and saviour among the _american_ savages, may from time to time be satisfied that their liberations are faithfully disposed of in the best manner for that purpose, and that others may in future time be encouraged in the exercise of the like liberality for promoting the same pious design; it shall be the duty of the _president_ of said _dartmouth college_ and of his successors, annually or as often as he shall be thereunto desired or requested, to transmit to the right hon., hon. and worthy gentlemen of the trust in _england_ before mentioned, a faithful account of the improvements and disbursements of the several sums he shall receive from the donations and bequests made in _england_ through the hands of the said _trustees_, and also advise them of the general plans laid and prospects exhibited, as well as a faithful account of all remarkable occurrences, in order if they shall think expedient that they may be published. and this to continue so long as they shall perpetuate their board of trust, and there shall be any of the _indian_ natives remaining to be proper objects of that charity. and lastly, our express will and pleasure is, and we do by these presents for us our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said _trustees_ of _dartmouth college_ and to their successors forever, that these our letters patent or the enrolment thereof in the secretary's office of our province of _new hampshire_ aforesaid, shall be good and effectual in law to all intents and purposes against us our heirs and successors, without any other license, grant or confirmation from us our heirs and successors hereafter by the said _trustees_ to be had and obtained, notwithstanding the not writing or misrecital, not naming or misnaming the aforesaid offices, franchises, privileges, immunities, or other the premises or any of them, and notwithstanding a writ of _ad quod damnum_ hath not issued forth to enquire of the premises or any of them before the ensealing hereof, any statute, act, ordinance or proviso, or any other matter or thing to the contrary notwithstanding. to have and to hold, all and singular the privileges, advantages, liberties, immunities, and all other the premises herein and hereby granted and given, or which are meant, mentioned, or intended to be herein and hereby given and granted unto them the said _trustees_ of _dartmouth college_ and to their successors forever. * * * * * in testimony whereof we have caused these our letters to be made _patent_, and the public seal of our said province of _new hampshire_ to be hereunto affixed. witness our trusty and well beloved john wentworth, esq., governor and commander in chief in and over our said province, etc., this thirteenth day of _december_, in the tenth year of our reign, and in the year of our lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine. j. wentworth. by his excellency's command with the advice of council. theodore atkinson, _secretary_. [locus ] [sigilli.] index. abbott, . accum, f., . adams, d., . adams, ebenezer, , , , , , , , , , , , . adams, eliza, . adams, ephraim, . adams, john, . adams, joseph, , , . adams, j. o., , . adams, r. l., . aiken, c. a., . aiken, j., . aiken, s., , , . akerman, a. t., . albany medical school, . alexander, a., . allen, d. h., . allen, e. a., . allen, h., . allen, s. c., , . allen, thomas, . allen, timothy, . allen, w., , . alvord, j. c., . amherst college, , , . amherst, j., . anderson, r., , , . andover theological seminary, , , , , , , , , , . andral, . andrews, g. l., . antietam, . appleton, j., , , , , , , . appleton, s., , . arnold, l. h., . arnold, t., . atkinson, g. h., . atkinson, t., , . auburn theological seminary, , , . austin, . backus, c., , . backus, s., . badger, j., . bailey, k., . bailey, m., . bailey, r. w., , . baker, w. l., . bancroft, c. f. p., . bancroft, j. p., . bangor theological seminary, . bannister, . barber, j., . barker, f., . barnard, w. e., . barrett, j., , . barstow, j. w., , . barstow, z. s., . bartlett, e., , . bartlett, l., , . bartlett, s. c., , , , , , . bartlett, w. h., . barton, b. s., . bates college, . baylies, n., . beattie, . bedel, . bell, j., . bell, l. v., . bell, s., , , . bell, s. n., . bellamy, j. s, , . bellevue hospital medical college, , . berkeley, g., , , . bermuda, college at, . bernard, . bernard, sir f., . betton, s., . bickmore, a. s., . bigelow, a., . bigelow, j., . bigelow, t., . bingham, . bingham, a., . bingham, c., , , . birney, . bissell, c., . bissell, g. h., , . bissell, w. h., . blaisdell, j. j., . blanchard, j., . blois, . boardman, b., . boardman, h. e. j., . bond, h., , , , . bonney, b. w., . bouton, j. b., . bouton, n., , , . bowdoin college, , , , , , , , , . boyle, r., , , , . bradford, . bradford, e. p., . bradford, w., . brainerd, d., . brainerd, j., . brant, j., . breck, d., . brewer, f. b., . briggs, . brigham, e., . brigham, l., . brigham, l. f., . brigham, m., . brown, a., , . brown, a. h., , . brown, b., . brown, e. g., , , . brown, f., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . brown, j., , . brown, j. p., . brown, p. k., . brown, s. g., , , , , , , , , , , . brown university, . brunson, d., . buffum, j., . bullen, h. l., . bull run, . burleigh, w., . burlingame, . burnham, a., , . burr, a., . burroughs, e., , . burton, a., , . bush, g., , . butler, c., , . byles, m., . byrd, w., . caghnawaga chiefs, . caldwell, h. m., . california, college of, . calvin, j., . carroll, c. w., . carter, e., , . carter, n. h., , , . carteret, . casey, . centennial celebration, . chamberlain, j. e., . chamberlain, s. l. g., , , . chamberlain, w., , , , , , , , , . chamberlain, w. m., . chamberlin, g. e., . chandler, . chandler, a., , , , . chapman, . chapman, g. t., , , . chase, b. p., . chase, c. c., . chase, d., . chase, e., . chase, j., . chase, m. c., . chase, p., , . chase, sarah, . chase, stephen, , , , , , , , , . chase, s. p., , , , , . chenery, . cheney, o. b., . chesley, m. a., . chesley, s. p., . chicago theological seminary, . chipman, d., . chittenden, m., . choate, r., , , , , , , , , . church, j. h., . churchill, c. h., . clap, t., , , , . clare hall, . clark, a., , . clark, daniel, , . clark, dorus, . clark, e. w., . clarke, a. w., . clarke, i. l., . clay, h., . cleaveland, c. d., , . cleaveland, e., , , , . cleaveland, m., . clyde, , . cogswell, f., . cogswell, j., . cogswell, j. b., . cogswell, j. g., . cogswell, w., , , , , , . coke, . colby, j. k., . cold harbor, . collar, . collins, . collins' peerage, . colman, . colman, h., , . columbia, . columbia college, . columbian college, . comings, g. p., . commerce, journal of, . conant, j., , . conner, p. s., . converse, a., . cook, a. j., . cooke, g., . cooper, sir a., . cotton, . cotton, w., , . craft, j., . crane, c., . crosby, . crosby, alpheus, , , , , , , , , , , , , , . crosby, asa, , . crosby, a. b., , , , , , . crosby, a. g. j. c., . crosby, a. r., . crosby, d., , , , , , , , . crosby, m. j. m., . crosby, n., , , , . crosby, t. r., . culver, d., , , . currier, a. n., . curtis, a., , . cushing, j. p., . cushman, . cutler, a. c. g. j., . cutler, a. g. j., . cutler, j., . cutting, j., . daggett, . dana, c. b., . dana, d., , , , , , , . dana, e. c., . dana, james f., , , , , , , , , , . dana, jonathan f., . dana, joseph, . dana, judah, , . dana, l., . dana, l. g., . dana, r., . dana, s., . dana, s. e., . dana, s. l., . dartmouth controversy, . dartmouth, earl of, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . dartmouth hall, erection of, . davenport, j., . davis, . davis, c. a., . davis, e., , . davis, m., , . deaf mutes, college for, . dean, j., , , , , , . de berdt, . dedham, , , , , . delamater, j., , . de lancey, w. h., . delano, s., . dickinson, a., . dickinson, s. f., . dimond, d., . dimond, e. w., , . dingley, n., . dinsmoor, s., , . dixwell, j. j., . doddridge, p., . doe, c., . dorsey, . douglass, . dover town records, . downer, j., . draper, g., . dresden, . drury college, . drury, p., . drury, t., . dudley, t., . dumas, . duncan, w. h., , , , . dunham, j., , . dunning, b., . durell, d. m., . durkee, s., . duvall, . dyer, e., . dyke, h. m., . eastman, i. a., , . eastman, t., . east tennessee, college of, . east windsor theological seminary, , . eaton, j., . eaton, s., . edinburgh, university of, . edwards, j., , , . edwards, t. m., , . eells, n., . eliot, . eliot, john, , . ellis, j. m., . emerson, c. f., . emerson, j. s., , . emery, n., . emmet, t. a., , . emmons, n., . erskine, , , . estabrook, h., . estabrook, j., . evans, i., , . evans, w. m., . everett, alexander, . everett, augustus, . everett, d., . everett, e., . exeter donation, . fairbanks, h., . fairfield medical college, . farnsworth, b. f., . farrar, c. s., . farrar, t., , . fellows, s., . felt, j. b., . fessenden, t. g., , . field, h. m., . field, w. a., . fillmore, m., . first effort to found a college in america, . fish, j., . fisk, m. h., . fiske, j., . fiske, m., . fiske, n. w., , , , . fitch, , . fitch, j., . flanders, b. f., . fletcher, i., . fletcher, richard, , , , , , . fletcher, robert, , . fletcher, s., , . flint, . fogg, g. g., , . folsom, n. s., , , , , , , . forbes, . forsythe, . foster, . foster, a., . foster, c., . foster, c. l., . foster, d., . foster, s., . fowler, d., . fowler, jacob, . fowler, joseph, . fox, j., . franklin, b., , . fredericksburg, . freeman, e., . freeman, j., , . frink, a., . frost, c. p., . frost, e. b., . fuller, . fuller, h. t., . furber, d. l., , . gale, n., . gallup, j. a., . gardiner, r. h., . gates, . geneva college, , , . george ii., . george iii., . gerrish, a., . gifford, a., , . gilbert, samuel, . gilbert, sylvester, . gillett, e., . gilman, joseph, . gilman, josiah, . gilman, n., . gilman, p., , . gilman, t., . gilmanton theological seminary, , . gladstone, , . goddard, c., . godding, w. w., . gooch, d. w., . goodell, w., . goodhue, a. b., . goodrich, c. b., . goodwin, i., . goodwin, j. n., . goodwin s. t., . gookin, n., , . gorham, . grant, u. s., . graves, m., . graves, r., , . gray, s., . greeley, a., . greenleaf, b., , . gregg, j., , , , . grennell, g., . griffith, r., . grimes, j. w., . griswold, . grosvenor, c. p., . grover, j., . gurley, e., . haddock, a. w., . haddock, c. b., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . haddock, w. t., . hadley, j., , . hagar, . hale, b., , , , , , , , , . hale, t., . halifax, lord, . hall, f., , , . hamilton college, , , , . hampden sidney college, . handel society, . hanover, press in, . hardy, . hardy, c., . harris, w., . hartford theological seminary, . harvard college, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . harvey, m., , . harwood, t., . haskell, f. a., . haven, n. a., . haven, s., , , . hayes, f. b., . hayes, j. l., . hayes, j. m., . hayes, w. a., , . hazen, h. a., , . heath, r. r., . hebron, , , , . henry, c. s., , . hibbard, a., . hibbard, h., . hill, i., . hinckley, o. s., , . hitchcock, c. h., . hitchcock, h. o., . hobart college, . hoit, . hoit, b., . hollenbush, c. g., . holmes, j., . holmes, o. w., , . holyoke, . hood, j. e., , , . hooker, t., , . hopkins, e., . hopkins, s., . hopkinson, j., . hovey, a., , . hovey, c. e., . hovey, e. o., . how, l. b., , . howard, . howard, t., . howe, . howe, g., , . hubbard, h., . hubbard, h. j., . hubbard, j., , , , , , . hubbard, o. p., , , , . hubbard, s., . hubbard, w., . hudnut, j. o., . hulbert, c. b., . hunt, j., . huntington, c., . huntington, d., . huntington family memoir, . huntington, j., . huntington, m., . huntington, r., . hurd, s., . hutchins, a. e., . hutchinson, . hyde, a., , . illinois college, . jackson, l., , . jackson, w., , . jacob, s., . jaffrey, g., . james, . jarvis, r., . jefferson medical college, . jefferson, t., . jewett, d., . jewett, l., . jewett, m. p., . johnson, d., . johnson, o., , , . johnson, sir w., , , . joy, j. f., , . jubilee college, . judson, . keen, r., , , , . kelly, j., . kendall, a., , . kendall, t., . kendrick, j., . kendrick, m. t., . kendrick, s., . kent, g., . kenyon college, . kimball, g., . kimball, r., . kimball, r. b., , . king, c., . king, m. c., . kingman, jeremiah, . kingman, joseph, . kingman, m., . kirkland, j. t., . kirkland, s., , . kirkland, d., . kirkland, s., . kittredge, g. w., . knapp, s. l., . knox, . labaree, b., . laennec, . lancaster, d., , , , . landaff, , , , , . lang, r., . lang, s. s., . langdon, s., , , , , . lansing, a. j., . lawrence, a., . lebanon, conn., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . ledyard, . leeds, s. p., . library, origin of, . lincoln, a., . lincoln, n. s., , . little, a., . little, e., . little, j., . little, m., . lockwood, j., . long, c., , , , , , , . long island medical college, . long, m. c., . long, s., . lord, e. k. l., . lord, j., , . lord, j. k., , . lord, m. p., . lord, n., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . lothian, marquis of, . lothrop, e., . louis, , . lowe, a. t., . lundy's lane, . luzerne, chevalier de, . lyman, j., . lyman, j. s., . lyman, p., . lyon, a., . macclion, . mack, a., , . malgaigne, . mann, t., . march, c., . marsh, . marsh, c., , , , , . marsh, g. p., , , . marsh, j., , , , . marsh, l., . marshall, j., , , , . marston, g., . mason, . mason, d., . mason, j., , , , , , . mason, s., . mather, a., . mattoon, e., , . mayhew, . mcclure, d., , , , . mcdowell, e., . mcfarland, a., , , , , , . mcintire, r., . mckeen, j., , . meadville theological seminary, . medfield, . mendon, . merrill, t. a., , , . merton college, . metcalf, k., . metcalf, r., . miami medical college, . michie, p. s., . michigan, university of, . middlebury college, , , , . miller, . miller, o., . mills, c., . milton, j., . minot, b., . monthly anthology, . moody, j., , . moody, m. j., . moody, samuel, , . moody, stephen, . moore, j., . moore, m. s., . moore, z. s., , , , , , , , . more, j., , , , . morland, w. w., . morris, g., . morris, g. s., . morrison, n. j., . morse, . morse, h. b., . morse, s. f. b., , , . morton, . moseley, s., , . murch, e., . murch, j., . mussey, j., . mussey, r. d., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . narragansett fort, . nason, b., . nelson, jeremiah, . nelson, john, , . new jersey, college of, , . newman, m., . newton, i., . new york medical college, . new york, university of, , . nicholl, sir c. g., . nicholl, f. c., . niebuhr, , , . niles, j. b., . niles, n., , . norris, m., . northern academy, formation of society of, , . norton, j., , . noyes, d. j., . noyes, e. f., . noyes, john, , . noyes, josiah, , , . nutting, w., . oakes, v. b., . occom, s., , , , , , , . odlin, w., . ohio, medical college of, , . olcott, b., . olcott, mills, . oliver, b. l., , . oliver, d., , , , , , , , , , , , , , . oliver, f. e., . oliver, h. k., . oliver, t., . oliver, t. f., . orange, prince of, . orcutt, h., . ordronaux, j., , . orr, b., . osgood, . osgood, h., . pacific university, . packard, . packard, t., . packard, w. a., . paine, e., , , . palermo, academy of, . palfrey, j. c., . palmer, b. r., . pancoast, . parish, e., , . park, j., , . parker, e., , , , . parker, e. h., . parker, h. e., , . parker, i., . parker, i. a., . parker, j., , , , , , , , . parker, w., . parkhurst, j. l., . parks, b., . parris, a. k., , . parsons, s., . parsons, u., , . patten, w., , . patterson, j. w., , , , , . payson, e., . payson, m. p., . payson, s., . peabody, d., , , , , , , . peabody, j., . peabody, l. b., . peabody, s., . peaslee, c. h., . peaslee, e. r., , , , , , , , , . peck, . pendexter, e., . pendexter, m. a., . pennsylvania, university of, , , . perkins, a. c., . perkins, c., , , , , . perley, i., , , . perry, j., . peters, a., , . phelps, a., , . phelps, e. e., , . philbrick, j. d., . phillips, j., , , . philotechnic society, formation of, . physic, , , . physicians and surgeons, college of, , . pickering, j., . pierce, d., . pierce, p., . pike, j., , , . pinneo, b., . pinneo, j., , . pitkin, t., . pitkin, w., . plumer, w., , . pomeroy, b., , , , , , . poor, d., . pope, a., . pope, j., . porter, . porter, a. l., . porter, e., , , . portsmouth, annals of, . potter, . powers, p., . preble, w. p., . prentiss, s., . prescott, b. f., . preston, j., . preston, r., . price, . prince, . proctor, j. c., . pulling, e., . pulling, m. r., . pumpshire, j., . punchard, g., , . putnam, a. b. f., . putnam, d., . putnam, i. w., . putnam, j. n., , , , , , , , , , . putnam, s., . pynchon, w., . quimby, e. t., , . quimby, g. w., . quimby, j. h., . quint, a. h., . rand, a., . rawden, lord, . redfield, i. f., , . redfield, t. p., . reed, e. c., . reed hall, erection of, . reed, w., , . rice, j. h., . richards, c. s., . richards, j. d. f., . richardson, d. f., . richardson, j., . richardson, w. m., . ripley, e. w., , . ripley, j., . ripley, s., , , , , , , , . roberts, j., . robinson, j., . roby, j., , . rockwell, a., . rockwell, r. e., . roffey, s., . rogers, j., , . rogers, l., . rogers, n. p., . root, e., . roots, p. p., . rose, . rosetter, a., . rosetter, e., . ruggles, e. r., , . rush, b., , , , . rush medical college, . ruter, m., . salter, r., . sanborn, e. d., , , . sanborn, j. s., . sandys, sir e., , . sargent, j. e., . savage, s., , , . sawyer, . sawyer, a. w., . schuyler, p., . scott, c. w., . scott, t., . scott, w., . scribner, j. w., . sedgwick, . sergeant, j., , , . sewall, m., . shattuck, b., . shattuck, g. c., , , . shattuck, w., . shaw, . shaw, l. s., . shepard, m., . shepard, t., . shepherd, f., . shepley, e., . shepley, g. f., . sherburne, h., . sherburne, j. s., , . sherman, w. t., , , . shillaber, b. p., . shirley, j., . shropshire, . shurtleff, a. p., . shurtleff, h. c., . shurtleff, r., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . shurtleff, w., . silliman's journal, . simmons, g. a., . sinclair, j. e., . sketches of the history of dartmouth college and moor's charity school, , , , , . smalley, . smalley, j., , . smith, a., , , , . smith, a. d., , , , , , , , . smith, c. j., . smith, e., . smith, e. p., . smith, jeremiah, . smith, jesse, . smith, john, , , , , , , , , , , . smith, joseph, . smith, l. a., . smith, m. g., . smith, n., , , , , , , , , , , . smith, n. r., . smith, s. a. a., . smith, w., , , . smith, w. r., . smythe, s. s., . snell, t., . social friends, formation of society of, . souther, s., . spaulding, l., . spear, c., , . spooner, a., . spooner, j. p., . spotswood, . sprague's annals, , , , , , , . sprague, p., . sprague, z., . spring, . stacey, . standish, m., . stanley, r. c., . stanwix fort, . stark, j., . st. clair, . stearns, f., . steele, b. h., . stevens, g., . stevens, s., . stevens, t., . stiles, e., , . st. mary's college, . stone, . stone, s., . storrs, j., . storrs, s., . story, d., , . story, j., , , , , . stoughton, e. w., . stowe, c. e., , , , . straghn, . strong, joanna, . strong, jonathan, , . strong, n., . sturtevant, j. m., . suhm, c., . sullivan, , . sullivan, g., . sumner, c., . swift, dean, . taggart, s., . tarbell, . taylor, s. h., , , . taylor, t., . temple, d., . tenney, c. j., . tenney, s., . thayer, s., , , , , , . thayer, t., , . thomas, . thomas, i., . thompson, c. o., . thompson, j., . thompson, t. w., , , , . thornton hall, erection of, . thornton, j., , , . throop, b., . thurston, . ticknor, . ticknor, e., , . ticknor, g., , . tisdale, . tisdale, n., . torrey, j., , , , . townsend, l. t., , . tracy, c., . tracy, e. c., , . tracy, j., . treat, . trumbull, . trumbull, b., , , . tuck, a., , , , . twitchell, a., , . tyler, b., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . tyler, e. s., . tyler, j. e., , , , . tyler, w. s., . uncas, i., . union theological seminary, . united fraternity, formation of society of, . upham, j. b., , . upham, t. c., , . varney, j. r., . velpeau, . vergennes, count de, . vermont medical college, . vermont, university of, , , . vindication by trustees, . virginia, stith's history of, . virginia, university of, . vose, j., , . wabash college, . wainwright, . waldron, e. q. s., . waldron, t. w., . walker, c. a., . walker, j., . washburn, p. t., . washington, g., , , , . weare, m., . webber, m., . webber, s., . webster, d., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . webster, ebenezer, . webster, ezekiel, , , , . webster, josiah, . webster, j. c., . webster, j. d., . wellman, m., . wentworth, b., , , . wentworth hall, erection of, . wentworth, i., . wentworth, j., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . wentworth, m. h., . wentworth, p., . wentworth, t., , . west, d., . western reserve college, , . weston, n., , . west point military academy, , , , . west point military academy, boynton's history of, . wheeler, j., , . wheelock, . wheelock, a., . wheelock, e., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . wheelock, j., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . wheelock, m., . wheelock, memoirs of, , , , , , , . wheelock, m. b., . wheelock, m. s., , . wheelock, ralph, , , , . wheelock, rebecca, . wheelock, s. d. m., . wheelock, vt., . whitaker, n., , , , , , , , . white, c., . white, d. a., . white, j. h., . white, p., . white, s., . white, w., . whitefield, g., , , , , , . whitehouse, b., . whiting, . whiting, s., . wight, j., . wilberforce, w., . wilcox, l., . wilde, s. s., . wilderness, . willard, . willard, c. w., . willard, j. d., , . willey, s. h., . william and mary's college, . williams college, , , , , . williams, e., , , , . williams, h., . williams, j., . williams, s., . williams, s. w., , . wilson, w., . windham, , , , , , . wines, a., . winthrop, . wirt, w., . wistar, , . wood, a., . wood, h., , . wood, s., . woodbridge, t., . woodbury, b., . woodbury, l., . woodhouse, . woodman, a. h. c., . woodman, j. s., , , , , , . woodman, n., . woods, a. s., . woods, l., . woodward, b., , , , , , , , , . woodward, d., . woodward, h., . woodward, i., , , . woodward, m. s., . woodward, w. g., . woodward, w. h., , . woolley, j., , . worcester, e., . worcester, n., . worcester, s., , , . wright, a. h., . wright, j., , , . wright, n., . wyllis, . wyllis, g., . yale college, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . young, c. a., . young, c. k., . young, i., , , , , , , , , , . young, j. k., . young, r. b., . young, s., . errata. page , for _mishech_, read _meshech_. " , for _relation_, read _relative_. " , for _simeon_, read _simon_. " , for _m'clare_, read _m'clure_. " , for _meadville college_, read _meadville theological seminary_. " , for _alphæus_, read _alpheus_. " , for _consideratio_, read _consideratis_. " , for _nineteen_, read _fifteen_. " , for _furbur_, read _farber_. " , for _elizabeth_, read _elisabeth_. " , for _brompton_, read _brampton_. " , for _calumpton_, read _columpton_. " , for _bultell_, read _bulteel_. transcriber's notes: the caret character (^) indicates a superscript. there is one instance of [=m] which indicates a bar over the m in the original. the footnote on page does not have an anchor in the text. i have guessed the correct placement is after 'fundamental rules of arithmetic.' the footnote on page does not have an anchor in the text. i have guessed the correct placement is after 'were printed by them at about the same period.' on page , it is unclear what the fraction is, but the bottom number is clearly , so i have guessed at / . "£ _s._ - / _d._, lawful money." inconsistencies in the spelling of names in the appendix, misspelled words within quoted material (i.e. neccessary), and inconsistencies in hyphenated words have all been retained. inconsistencies between spelling in the text and in the index have been normalized. for instance, delancey was changed to de lancey. transcribers note text enclosed in curly brackets {like this} has been added by the transcriber. bold text is indicated with = signs, =like this=. the tatler [illustration: {signatures and messages from students}] _the tatler_ [illustration: {a group of riders on horseback}] foreword school days are joy days; days filled with the pleasures of friendships and the gladness of intimacy, with the satisfaction of work well done and the pride in having done it for one's school. and we at northrop school have been blessed with such days from the time of four entering as kindergarteners, up through grammar school and our subsequent joining of the league; on through these last days when, as high school girls, we took a real part in the activities of school life, and felt ourselves to have each one a share, however small, in the great whole, our alma mater. and it is to recollection of these joys and to the memory of our school days that we of the senior class wish to dedicate the tatler. evelyn mccue baker president of the senior class _"she's as good as she is fair"_ [illustration: {evelyn mccue baker}] [illustration: {evelyn mccue baker as a young child}] mary barber eaton president of the league _"she who feels nobly, acts nobly"_ [illustration: {mary barber eaton}] [illustration: {mary barber eaton as a young child}] margaret louise newhall editor of tatler _"young and yet so wise"_ [illustration: {margaret louise newhall}] [illustration: {margaret louise newhall as a young child}] virginia josephine leffingwell vice-president of league _"the soft, bright curl of her hair and lash and the glance of her sparkling eye i saw, and knew she was out for a dash as her steed went prancing by."_ [illustration: {virginia josephine leffingwell}] [illustration: {virginia josephine leffingwell as a young child}] bernice alyne bechtol _"her hair is not more sunny than her heart"_ [illustration: {bernice alyne bechtol}] [illustration: {bernice alyne bechtol as a young child}] mary elizabeth brackett _"she has a natural wise sincerity and a merry happiness"_ [illustration: {mary elizabeth brackett}] [illustration: {mary elizabeth brackett as a young child}] esther mabel davis _"the glass of fashion and the mold of form"_ [illustration: {esther mabel davis}] [illustration: {esther mabel davis as a young child}] lydia mortimer forest _"she giggles when she's happy, and one might even say that when there is no reason, she giggles anyway"_ [illustration: {lydia mortimer forest}] [illustration: {lydia mortimer forest as a young child}] marion josephine hume _"for she's a jolly good fellow, her school mates all declare, she's out for all athletics, there's nothing she won't dare"_ [illustration: {marion josephine hume}] [illustration: {marion josephine hume as a young child}] ann wilder jewett _"true worth cannot be concealed"_ [illustration: {ann wilder jewett}] [illustration: {ann wilder jewett as a young child}] beatrice myrtice joslin _"there is mischief in that woman"_ [illustration: {beatrice myrtice joslin}] [illustration: {beatrice myrtice joslin as a young child}] marion harriet mcdonald _"happy i am, from care i'm free; why aren't all the rest contented like me?"_ [illustration: {marion harriet mcdonald}] [illustration: {marion harriet mcdonald as a young child}] josephine reinhart _"nothing is impossible to a willing heart"_ [illustration: {josephine reinhart}] [illustration: {josephine reinhart as a young child}] marion jean savage _"the will can do if the soul but dares"_ [illustration: {marion jean savage}] [illustration: {marion jean savage as a young child}] nancy morris stevenson _"a perfect woman, nobly planned, to warn, to comfort, to command"_ [illustration: {nancy morris stevenson}] [illustration: {nancy morris stevenson as a young child}] class history a shiver ran down my back as the last chords of the ivy song were played. it was actually a reality--our dream had come true for we were at last garbed in those precious white robes for which we had been striving for four years. memories of these years rushed over me. how burdened we were with our importance in being freshmen; seniors seemed very old and distant. suddenly we slipped from cock robins to conscientious sophomores. by this time rumors were heard of a financial problem that we, as juniors, must meet. immediately we began to save all our pennies in order to startle the faculty and the seniors of with a luxurious junior-senior ball. so our sophomore year closed with many peeks into the class treasury. dancing, fortune telling, freaks, and so on, came to our rescue in preparation for the j. s. we juniors, as financiers, staged a junior carnival--and it was successful. may the twenty-ninth, in the year of our lord, one thousand-nine hundred and twenty-five, was the red letter day of our junior year. our hopes, not our fears, were realized. gayly we danced to "tea for two" in the green and white decked ballroom (alias the dining room) and promenaded in a garden in japan, otherwise the roof garden. sadly--ah, yes--the music hesitated and then ceased--as we unitedly sighed, perhaps with relief, perhaps with weariness. who knows? our herculean task had passed, and our eyes were turned to the magnetic red ties. honored beyond recognition we were the first to abide in the new senior room, south-west parallel room , on the third floor. june quickly slipped near and we fixed our hopes and ambitions on the now approaching goal, graduation. the class prophecy in nineteen hundred and fifty-six the year of our lord, a. d., i sat me down, and put my specs on, an epistle of length to see. and that you may understand this better, i'll herewith disclose the news of the letter: "dear mike," the writer began, "you know i'm feeling that life is far from slow. as mary b. eaton, instructor in war, my military academy's not such a bore; between drills, and luncheon, and chapel, it seems that this life is not all that it was in my dreams. "and nance, instead of teaching the boys how to ride, prefers to smuggle them food, and candy beside. by the way, did you know that virge leffingwell has given up art and horses as well? she's opened a school, the dear old scamp, to teach all the young ladies the best ways to vamp. "the other day, as i drove in my hack, i passed a familiar figure in black; 'twas irresponsible lydia, our giggler so jolly, gone into seclusion to atone for past folly. she lives all alone, without any noise, without any jazz, and without any boys! she told me with horror and pain in her gaze that bee had turned actress, in movies (not plays) and that very same week was playing down town with r. valentino in the 'countess's frown.' "i didn't tell lydia, but i thought 'twould be great to go to bee's movie and see how she'd rate. so i left lyd and started, and the first thing i met, or rather bumped into, was a fair suffragette, covered with signs 'e. baker for mayor'. so many there hardly was room to see our progressive young democrat hume! yes, 'twas none other than marion, our businesslike girl; she's adopted the slogan of 'death to the curl!' and she's canvassing the city, with a terrible row, to get votes for ely, who's in politics now. "and bernice and andy, have you heard of their fate? the last thing i know they had each found a mate. one of them's handsome and young, but no money, the other one's rich, but crabby and funny. but each one is happy in marriage, they say; and that's what really counts, say what you may. for bernice is proud of her good-looking guy, and andy knows the old man will soon die! "did you see in the paper mary brackett's new fad? as sunday school superintendent i'll bet she's not bad. and, mike, yesterday on some errands, i encountered another of our old friends. i'd hired a cab because i was tired. i thought the driver was reckless and ought to be fired; so i leaned over to express my opinion, you know, and if it wasn't our esther, the pedestrian's foe! "did you know marion macdonald is engaged again? that makes five times now, oh, woe to the men! jean's spoken to her now, a couple of times, of reforming herself, but do you think marion minds? jean's slumming committees have had lots of work, directed by joey, who won't let them shirk. "well, mike, how're your orphans, from johnny to bill? are there exactly nine hundred and nine of them still?" and with this, tony closed, and ted henry, oswald, etcetera, i sent up to bed. --m. l. n. eleventh form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_dorothy sweet_, _barbara bailey_, _shirley woodward_, _betty smith_, _mary louise griffin_ middle row--_polly sweet_, _virginia little_, _louise gorham_, _betty fowler_, _mabel reeves_, _grace helen stuart_ front row--_janet marrison_, _frances baker_, _betty long_, _anne healy_, _charlotte williams_ _jane thompson_ friday, the thirteenth we worked feverishly and hoped that there would be no more disputes concerning the chairs. some thought the ones from the dining room ought to be used; others thought not. the chairs were brought down and then taken back with much strife along the way. would anyone want to play bridge? we wondered. would anyone bring cards to play bridge with? we wondered again. the fact that wax was being applied to the floor caused a good deal of worry, for we were afraid we would fall and break our necks if too much was put on. however, even in that predicament, we were determined to be gracious and smiling. did everyone know that all the autumn boughs in blue and silver were tied on with red string? we fervently hoped they didn't, for we were in no condition to do anything about it if they did. thus our thoughts ran as we slammed down tables, tied on table cloths, and practised our spanish dance in uniforms and low heeled shoes. at five-thirty we went home, thankful that we didn't have to wash the windows and clean up the furnace room. much credit must be given to those few guests who realized that the gym was supposed to represent a cabaret. we greatly appreciate their penetration. they perhaps didn't know that fortune-telling and fishing for tin automobiles in the telephone booth were a part of the procedure at a cabaret dance. but if they didn't know these things, they had much to learn, for that's what they did at our party and who were we to spurn their filthy lucre? they also danced and ate heartily of the ice cream and cake we served. many thought the popcorn balls were a holdup, but they refrained from throwing them at us when we asked ten cents. an attempt was made at amusement when we gave two dances; one with castanets and tambourines and much swirling and swooping; another with spanish shawls draped on us. this latter one was more or less of a failure, for we couldn't seem to get into step when we did it a second time. the audience, however, applauded, regardless of the fact, and didn't see that the dance was any worse than it had been the first time. about eleven-thirty it was gently hinted that the time had come for the party to break up. we went on aching feet, hoping that since the party had been a success financially, the guests were not making too many derogatory remarks about it as a social function. dawn broke, and blushed to see the sight at northrop school: packs of cards scattered in fifty-two different places, tables every which way, covers off, cake and popcorn balls scattered liberally on the floor. a few of us came to clean up, and cleaned with many yawns. after a few hours the gym began to take on its natural air of bleakness, and we left it to the tender mercies of clyde and mullen, hoping that the junior-senior would be a good one. tenth form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_dorothy stevens_, _louise jewett_, _ethel conary_, _jean crocker_, _elizabeth dodge_, _kate velie_, _elizabeth jewett_, _jane bartley_, _anna margaret thresher_ middle row--_dorothy owens_, _nita weinrebe_, _helen dietz_, _jane davenport_, _gloria congdon_, _martha jean maughan_, _priscilla brown_, _florence roberts_, _eylin seeley_ front row--_jane strong_, _mayme wynne peppard_, _eugenia bovey_, _mary louise sudduth_, _eleanor de laittre_, _emily knoblaugh_, _elizabeth pray_, _maude benjamin_ _jane woodward_ sophomore girls' gazette seven shekels in st. paul published once in a while general news the other day several members of the sophomore class visited the studios of the famous mesdames dodginsky and debartley, where they were told their secret ambitions; and by special permission we have been allowed to print them. it appears that annah margaret thresher would like to swim the english channel. jean crocker longs to be a professor of music at oxford, while florence roberts would receive all possible degrees at columbia. others seem to desire athletic professions. helen dietz would like to be the football coach at the "u," jane woodward to be the world's greatest lightweight forward, and kate velie to be on the olympic sprinting team. mayme wynne has a morbid desire to be a designer of curious coiffures in paris. weather report by e. b. the sophomores suggest a soaking spring if the snow smelts. if it rains sufficiently to suit miss svenddahl, they forecast dancing in the gym. the spring days will be either cloudy, partly cloudy, or clear. it will rain dogs and cats or hail taxicabs, although we may have snow, a tornado, a cyclone, a blizzard, a squall, a typhoon, a tidal wave, or a forest fire. * * * * * last friday evening the sophomore select sewing society met at the home of miss jane bartley. a pleasant time was had by all, making rackets and nightcaps for the poor. refreshments were served. [illustration: {flea}] brain tickler [illustration: {flea}] one of these fleas has been magnified times, the other ½ times. which was originally the larger? take seconds in which to do this. miscellaneous dr. ailment's post box question: dear doc: what can be done to keep up one's hair when it is not entirely grown out?--a. m. t. b. d. b. i. answer: cut it off, my dears. * * * * * question: dear doc: what can be done for eye-strain caused by drawing maps of the aegean sea?--sophomore class. answer: don't do 'em. you will flunk anyway. advertisement take my three minute course and learn to study successfully. astound your teachers in any way. see me about it.--j. crocker. learn the art of putting up your hair in two minutes between bells. don't be late for your classes. follow my example. easy lessons. apply to b. dodge. ninth form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_jane robinson_, _martha eurich_, _mary elizabeth case_, _catherine colwell_, _caroline doerr_, _donna mccabe_, _nancy adair van slyke_, _catherine moroney_ middle row--_edna louise smith_, _margaret maroney_, _victoria mercer_, _mary morison_, _jean adair willard_, _virginia lee bechtol_, _elizabeth heegaard_, _mary atkinson_ front row--_alice tenney_, _ann beckwith_, _carol hoidale_, _helen tuttle_, _marion wood_, _beatrice wells_, _mildred o'brien_ giant trans-atlantic air ship downed (minneapolis morning tribune, june , ) the giant airship _coolidge_ was downed last night in a hurricane on the atlantic. a terrific wind arose, which broke one of the huge wings. the ship dropped abruptly, and though the captain fired distress signals, nothing could possibly have saved the passengers but the timely arrival of the _admiral sims_, a destroyer, captained by helen tuttle, and the ship, _the roosevelt_, captained by caroline doerr. the two crews worked feverishly, and in less than an hour everyone was off the sinking ship. miss tuttle and miss doerr were the heroines of the hour, keeping their heads and directing their crews with a coolness equal to any man's. several minneapolis people were on board. among them were miss carol hoidale, famous sportswoman, who was going to england to be in the leicestershire horse show; miss marion wood, accomplished pianist; and miss elizabeth heegard, a well-known actress. miss doerr, miss tuttle, and these three ladies were classmates at northrop collegiate school and graduated in . former northrop students capturing titles in europe miss nancy van slyke and miss mary morison are capturing all the tennis titles. recently at the tournament at nice the two americans defeated mlle. isabelle lenglen, daughter of the famous suzanne, and mlle. pavol, winning both sets, - , - . this gives them the world's doubles championship. * * * * * last night miss beatrice wells was proclaimed world's amateur champion fancy skater at the st. moritz artificial rink. * * * * * miss jane robinson and miss alice tenny, the young american athletes, are doing well in the olympics. miss robinson has set a new mark for high jumping. miss tenny has shattered all previous breaststroke records. * * * * * "dee," or donna mccabe, won the sanford cup yesterday with her packard straight eight. she lowered her previous record by several minutes. the distinguished monogram on the hood was designed by mary e. atkinson. back from mars miss martha eurich and miss margaret maroney, famous artists, returned today from mars, where they went to make sketches of an improved type of building that has airplane parking space on the roof. they were sent by miss mary e. case, president of the animal rescue league, who contemplates building a new sky-scraper for animals. * * * * * miss catherine r. mount, the well-known new york designer, says trains are coming back. she bases her claims on the present length of skirts. * * * * * "the same old story," written by miss anne beckwith, is a delightful book. the plot is very new and the book is very original. it is pleasantly illustrated by miss catherine colwell, who is so famous for her drawings, and is dedicated in verse by virginia lee bechtol to miss cordelia lockwood. * * * * * miss edna lou smith will be the soloist for tomorrow's concert, that is if she doesn't disappear in the meantime. to make debut miss mildred o'brian will make her debut tomorrow at a tea given by her mother. miss o'brian will wear a corsage bouquet given by her mother, the first part of the afternoon. after that she will wear the corsages given by her admirers, a minute each. * * * * * judge victoria mercer sentences hard boiled egg for life. eighth form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_muriel miner_, _frances lee_, _betty stroud_, _harriet kemp_, _lorraine stuart_, _alice wright_, _betty bean_ middle row--_betty strout_, _grayce conary_, _mary elizabeth ricker_, _esther hazlett_, _mary elizabeth thrall_, _inez colcord_, _edna nagell_, _ruth de vienne_ front row--_marian murray_, _marjorie osgood_, _virginia cook_, _eleanor bellows_, _anne winton_, _louise partridge_, _miriam powell_ _mary eleanor best_, _ruth alberta clark_, _aileen stimson_ the eighth form primer _lest the history of our year through passing time grow dimmer, we've gathered the choicest bits and put them in a primer._ =a= stands for athletics, ambition, and art, since they're packed full of action we're glad to take part. =b= is for bumps, got when sliding at noon; we often see stars and sometimes the moon. =c= for captain ball games, two of which we have won, and we all agree they are jolly good fun. =d= is le duc whose french we found charming, but a sky downstairs we think most alarming. =e= is for eighths. what else could it be? energetic, ecstatic, emphatic are we. =f= is friar tuck. in our robin hood play he was bluff, fat, and hearty in quite the right way. =g= for graham crackers. they're indeed simple fare, but they keep us from getting too much outside air. =h= is the hill, so covered with sleet that when we come down, we can't stay on our feet. =i= stands for icelandic. though amusing to hear, we think we'll not speak it each day in the year. =j= is for joking. that is our folly for rather than sad we choose to be jolly. =k= for kicker sleds. they arrived last december and furnished good sport for every class member. =l= is for luther--burbank we were told, who started the protestant reformation of old. =m= is the mascot that brings us our luck, and we surely need him to combat sevens' pluck. =n= for "noblesse oblige," our chosen class aim. though sometimes we slip, we strive on just the same. =o= is old girls' party, to which we escorted the whole seventh grade; a gay time was reported. =p= is for pageant we held columbus day, to tell how brave sailors to our land made way. =q= for the quest the whole class did make when told to make rhymes for our tatler's sake. =r= for radiators to which we all swarm to dry off our stockings and get our toes warm. =s= is for silver, that coupled with blue is the symbol to which we shall ever be true. =t= is for tourney 'twixt the white and the gold. but 'tis fought with balls instead of swords bold. =u= is uniform. when that badge we wear we must look to upholding northrop's standards so fair. =v= for valentine party, which the seventh form had. favors, verses, and dancing made our hearts glad. =w= for winter sports. there's no fun more thrilling, whether skating or sliding or in the snow spilling. =x= is unknown, so why trouble with it. we'll leave it alone and not wear out our wit. =y= is for yells. we give them with vim when sports are on foot in our lower gym. =z= for zipper boots, our greatest delights. zip off the last minute and fly up two flights. seventh form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_katharine simonton_, _barbara newman_, _betty goldsborough_, _marjorie williams_, _louisa hineline_, _betty miller_ middle row--_laura van nest_, _alice benjamin_, _pauline brooks_, _catherine wagner_, _catherine piper_, _ann lee_ front row--_betty thomson_, _elizabeth junkin_, _jane helm_, _virginia helm_, _peggy gillette_, _emily douglas_ seventh form events sports early in the fall the sevenths and eighths had a number of baseball games. although the sevenths tried very hard, they were always defeated. however, spring is coming, and they may have better luck. in midwinter when games are indoors, captain ball is the popular sport. the two classes always play two games. in the first one the sevenths were badly beaten, but in the second they came close to victory with a score of to . the winter outdoor fun is on a bumpy, crooked hill back of school used for sliding. down it goes a continuous stream of sleds, toboggans, and skis. sometimes an overloaded sled drops a passenger on the way, and sometimes a load lands upside down in a drift, but it's all part of the fun. parties at the beginning of school the seventh form were guests of the eighth form at the opening league party. we danced a great deal, and we laughed at the wild west show and the autoride of by-gone days. then we climbed to the top floor for refreshments and more laughing. on the eleventh of february to return the courtesy, we invited the eighths to a valentine party. after decorating our guests with gay caps, we danced for a while. the event of the day, however, was the valentine boxes. there were three fat ones stuffed with valentines for us all. by the time we had exclaimed over them, we were ready to have refreshments. cheers of appreciation ended the party. chapel programs this year we have been visited by both a princess and a duke. the princess came from damascus and gave us an ancient story of her city--the story of naaman the leper. the duke, who was from france, showed us pictures of beautiful old french buildings, which he is trying to keep from being destroyed. early in march our own class took part in a chapel program by demonstrating some lessons in musical appreciation. * * * * * piping merrily _william_ the _piper_ floated down the meadow _brooks_ seated at the _helm_ of his boat. being a _new-man_ in this country he stopped to ask his way of a _miller_. the miller directed him across the _lee_ to a little town called _goldsborough_. there he stopped at the inn of the _van nest_. after a good sleep, a shave with his _gillette_, and a hearty meal of _thomson's_ baked beans and _wagner's_ canned _pease_, he was much refreshed. the next morning he continued his wanderings, but unwittingly he trespassed on the land of a farmer named _hineline_, who threatened to take him to the village of _simonton_ and throw him and his _junk-in_ jail. finally he made his peace, but he had to leave his boat behind. "however, i'm not so unlucky," said he, "for i have stout _douglas_ shoes to tramp in, and my faithful dog, _benjamin_, to bear me company." jane helm and catherine piper. sixth form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_mary louise parker_, _miriam lucker_, _isabel mclaughlin_, _mary rogers_, _betty short_, _janet bulkley_, _jane fansler_ middle row--_rosemarie gregory_, _carolyn belcher_, _sally louise bell_, _grace ann campbell_, _barbara bagley_, _ella sturgis pillsbury_, _marie jaffrey_, _elizabeth mapes_ front row--_betty lou burrows_, _charlotte driscoll_, _gretchen hauschild_, _helen beckwith_, _eleanor smith_, _peggy thomson_ _phyllis foulstone_ fifth form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_mary ann kelly_, _anne dalrymple_, _mary dodge_, _barbara healy_, _harriet hineline_, _anne mcgill_ middle row--_barbara anson_, _jane arnold_, _mary thayer_, _mary foster_, _marian carlson_, _edith rizer_, _edith mcknight_ front row--_betty jane jewett_, _geraldine hudson_, _ione kuechle_, _virginia baker_, _deborah anson_, _louise walker_, _catherine gilman_ fourth form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_martha miller_, _martha bagley_, _mary malcolmson_, _patty greenman_ middle row--_susan wheelock_, _patricia dalrymple_, _helen louise hayden_, _nanette harrison_ front row--_mary partridge_, _olivia carpenter_, _katherine boynton_, _anne morrison_, _dolly conary_ _margaret partridge_, _frances ward_ third form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_elizabeth lucker_, _sally ross dinsmore_, _joan parker_ middle row--_rhoda belcher_, _penelope paulson_, _harriet helm_, _ottilie tusler_ front row--_elizabeth williams_, _susan snyder_, _mary lou pickett_, _anne perlee_ _charlotte buckley_ second form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_mary anna nash_, _nancy rogers_, _katherine dain_, _blanche rough_, _betty tuttle_ middle row--_betty lee_, _elizabeth hedback_, _elizabeth ann eggleston_, _ruth rizer_, _jane loughland_, _katharine rand_ front row--_janey lou harvey_, _katherine warner_, _donna jane weinrebe_, _elizabeth booraem_, _margie ireys_ _barbara brooks_, _helen jane eggan_ first form [illustration: {group photograph of students}] top row--_melissa lindsey_, _dorothea lindsey_ middle row--_mary ann fulton_, _laura booraem_, _carolyn cogdell_, _peggy carpenter_ front row--_bobby thompson_, _martha pattridge_, _betty king_, _jane pillsbury_, _calder bressler_ _whitney burton_, _betty june tupper_, _jean bell_ kindergarten and junior primary [illustration: {group photographs of students}] top row--_jean clifford_, _archie walker_, _jimmie wyman_, _mary jane van campen_, _sally jones_, _vincent carpenter_ middle row--_morris hallowell_, _janet sandy_, _ogden confer_, _beatrice devaney_, _ann carpenter_, _frederick jahn_, _barbara taylor_ front row--_phyllis beckwith_, _yale sumley_, _david warner_, _jamie doerr_, _elizabeth hobbs_, _gloria hays_, _lindley burton_, _frances mapes_, _henry doerr_ _sheldon brooks_, _billy johns_, _betty webster_, _barbara hill_, _patty rogers_, _emmy lou lucker_, _george pillsbury_, _jane pillsbury_ college news smith college, northampton, massachusetts, february , . dear janet: when i received your letter asking me to tell northrop what her alumnae at smith have been doing this year, i had a sudden sinking sensation, since i felt that the achievements accomplished by some of us have not been startling. however, upon digging for evidence, i have discovered that northrop need not feel ashamed of us after all. dorothy wilson sings in the junior choir, is a member of the smith college glee club, and of the oriental club--one which is connected with the bible department--and has been chosen business manager of the smith college handbook--"freshman bible"--for the class of . "pete" mccarthy, also a junior, who vehemently claimed that she had nothing to tell me about herself, i discover is fire captain of her house, a member of the french club, and chairman of the spring dance committee. on washington's birthday, at the annual rally day performance, mary truesdell and lorraine long, dressed as sailors, with the accompaniment of the mandolin club, clogged for us in multifarious rhythms, ways, and manners--or however one does clog--to the astonishment of all of us, who never before dreamed that professional talent actually existed in northampton. elizabeth carpenter is president of her house. as for the rest of us, lucy winton, eleanor cook, and me, all i can venture to say--and they agree with me--is that, like the proverbial green freshman, we have been plodding along at studies occasionally, and at all other times we have been eating, sleeping, or amusing ourselves to the nth degree. i can't wait to see the new _tatler_ to find out what you have been doing this year. please give my love to everyone. very sincerely, peg williams * * * * * south hadley, massachusetts, february , . dear margaret louise: if i should attempt to tell you everything we are doing here now, i'm afraid that i should go far past the limits of my little column, for our occupations are so multitudinous and varied that there is hardly an end to them. right now, notwithstanding the ever present pursuit of the academic, the whole college is having the most glorious time hiking over the countryside on snowshoes, risking its dignity and perhaps its neck in attempting the ski jump on pageant field, and "hooking" rides with the small village boys on their bob sleds down the long hill on college street. south hadley is such a tiny town, anyway, that it is just like living in the country with lovely mountains all around. by now mount tom and mount holyoke are quite like old friends, for most of us had a personal interview with one or the other of them when we hiked one of the ranges last fall on mountain day. mountain day, by the way, was a red letter day, for the freshmen particularly. it was one of those gorgeous blue october days when we could hardly stand the thought of having to be inside, and, almost like a gift from heaven, miss woolley unexpectedly announced in morning chapel that she would leave it to the students to vote whether they would have their holiday then, with its incomplete arrangements, or two days later when it was scheduled, with beautifully laid plans but with possible showers. the girls were simply bursting with excitement by that time, and the vote was carried unanimously. not one class in prospect for that day, but just a chance to start out with a lunch on your back to "parts unknown"--oh, it was wonderful! another big part of our college social life here in the fall and spring is college songs and class serenades. during september and october we had one out by the "college steps" once a week. i shall never forget the first time we gathered under a full moon, about nine o'clock, and our senior song leader started us off by having us sing all the songs we knew about the moon, with the singing of parts much encouraged! even if the harmony was a little doubtful in spots, taken as a whole the result was "perfectly heavenly"--to one enthusiastic freshman. then a few weeks later the freshmen were called to their windows one evening to hear "sisters, sisters, we sing to you," and looking down, we saw the whole junior class assembled underneath the dormitory windows. then in due time our turn came to "surprise them," but it wasn't, evidently, kept a "deep and dark" secret as we had hoped, for at the end of the first song we were literally showered with candy kisses hurled down from above. these are just a few of the kinds of things we do outside our academic work; not to mention the picnic breakfasts at "paradise" in the warm weather, sleigh rides or hikes to old hadley, a quaint old town near here, winter carnival, or all the excitement that comes with junior prom time. then, you may be sure, the "little sisters" are pressed into service! what i think, however, makes mount holyoke mean what it does to us is something that is almost impossible to describe, but something that is just as real as any phase of our life here--and that is the college atmosphere. it is created, in part, by miss woolley's wonderful chapel services, in part by the sheer beauty of the country in which we live, and, lastly, by the fine spirit of the girls themselves, the college community. very sincerely, doris douglas, ' . * * * * * to the editor of the tatler: we who once formed a goodly part of northrop's illustrious student body, but who now attend vassar college, send our heartiest and most affectionate greetings, to the pupils, the faculty, the trustees, and miss carse! in the first part of the year, when those of us who are freshmen were busying ourselves with getting adjusted to our new environment, new studies, and new acquaintances, we had no time to reflect on our past activities. but now that we have become acclimated, we take great joy in remembering our years spent at northrop, and realize, more and more, all that she did for us. we owe our present life and opportunities to northrop's splendid teaching and background. the northrop league gave us a moral background which we shall never lose. our companionship with each other gave us friendships which can never be lost, even though we may be separated. northrop alumnae who are sophomores and the five who are holding up the honor of vassar's class of ' , still feel northrop's influence very strongly, and are forever singing her praises. they feel that the training in concentration and in well-divided time received at northrop has proved invaluable throughout their college course. the large number of us here at vassar, set aside as "northrop girls" feel that we have a great responsibility resting on us. we have a standard to live up to, a standard caused by the good name sent out into the world by northrop. may we live up to that name, may we carry on the standard of northrop school. josephine clifford, betty goodell. members of league council for - officers of the league mary eaton _president_ virginia leffingwell _vice-president_ barbara bailey _treasurer_ florence isabel roberts _secretary_ chairmen of standing committees marion hume _athletics_ margaret louise newhall _publication_ beatrice joslin _entertainment_ class presidents evelyn baker _form xii_ betty long _form xi_ mary louise sudduth _form x_ helen tuttle _form ix_ eleanor bellows _form viii_ jane helm _form vii_ athletic council marion hume _chairman_ josephine reinhart _form xii_ charlotte williams janet morison _form xi_ betty jewett jane woodward _form x_ victoria mercer nancy van slyke _form ix_ ruth de vienne _forms viii and vii_ tatler board margaret louise newhall _editor_ janet morison _business assistant_ nancy stevenson marion mcdonald _form xii_ virginia little _form xi_ martha jean maughan _form x_ nancy van slyke _form ix_ anne winton _form viii_ pauline brooks _form vii_ faculty advisers miss carse miss bagier miss sadley miss ferebee miss mchugh miss brown miss svenddal miss pease miss lockwood mrs. armstrong the northrop league it hardly seems necessary in this, the sixth year of the league's existence, to explain its purpose. i think it is sufficient to say that the league is an organization which, under miss carse's sympathetic guidance, has come to control the student activities of the high school and the seventh and the eighth grades. it is true, of course, that the league is governed by its officers, but the league itself is what the large body of the girls make it. the pledge, an expression of its standards, seeks to hold each girl to a high sense of honor, loyalty, and self-improvement. this, briefly, is the purpose. as nearer perfection is reached, in the struggle for this goal, the league gains in power. thus it is that the league is the result of the effort of every member. mary eaton. report of league treasurer given at the parents' and teachers' dinner should any girl of northrop wish to prepare herself for a position that has to do with the handling of money, i should advise her to begin campaigning by lobbying for the office of treasurer of the northrop league. however, the reputation of the detailed work of this office is such that there are few who are ever over-anxious to receive it. this was my feeling at first, but now when i realize how much i already know about making out checks, keeping accounts, and the intricacies of banking, i feel it is all worth while. by commencement i shouldn't be surprised if i could fill the important position of messenger in a bank. the first thing that comes up at the beginning of each year is the collection of the annual league dues, which are two dollars and fifty cents. a total amount of about three hundred dollars was handed in this year. this is put under the "operating fund," and takes care of all the league expenditures, except those of the welfare committee. there are four departments of student activities drawing from these league dues, athletic, entertainment, and printing and stationery. also, this year the league voted to back the tatler board up with one hundred dollars. at the first council meeting of the year a budget is made out for the different committees of the league. this budget is based on the expenditures of that committee for the preceding year. until nineteen twenty-five, the welfare work was taken care of by collections running through the year as the various needs arose. this year a new system was adopted, which took care of everything at one time. we foresaw a need of money for the thanksgiving, christmas, and community funds, for the near east relief, and the french orphans; therefore slips were given to each girl with these different needs listed. she was expected to put an amount after each, which amount she pledged to pay in cash or in deferred payments. so far eight hundred and twelve dollars of the nine hundred and two dollars and thirteen cents pledged has been handed in. this plan is much more systematic, and saves the trouble of conducting so many drives. all money transactions of classes and committees whether receipts or expenditures go through the hands of the league treasurer. a system of books is maintained. each class and committee keeps its own accounts. then the league treasurer has a large cash book in which she also keeps all the receipts and disbursements of the classes and committees. at the end of each month the balances are put in a simplified ledger. it is from this that the monthly and annual reports are made. when a bill is received, it is paid only by the league treasurer after it has been ok'd by the chairman of the committee responsible for it. when money is handed in, a receipt is given to the bearer. at the end of each month the books are balanced and checked with the bank statement. also the check book is verified with the bank balance. although the league treasurer is custodian of the class funds, each class has a treasurer who keeps her own accounts. the classes have their own dues to pay for all their expenditures. at the end of each month, after the class treasurer has balanced her book, it is checked over with the accounts of the league treasurer for that class to see if they agree. a checking account is kept at the northwestern national bank and the savings' account at the farmers and mechanics bank. we have had almost three hundred dollars in the savings account, but two hundred dollars, which is last year's league gift to the school, has just been withdrawn and added to the chapel fund. the duties of a treasurer are not over until she has passed to her successor what she has learned during her treasurership and has changed the accounts to the new girl's name. after this has been done, the retiring treasurer is released and must seek new fields in which to carry on. in case a former northrop league treasurer ever applies to any of you for a position, just remember the "big" business in which she began her training. barbara bailey. northrop league welfare budget near east relief french orphan community fund thanksgiving fund christmas fund emergency fund this year, when community fund interests brought to our attention the need of school collections, of which the community fund is but one, we thought to have a single large drive instead of several small drives. we called in the expert opinion of one who had long worked in social agencies, and worked out a scheme and a budget for one drive covering all our needs. this plan was presented to the league council and met with approval. sheets containing lists of the various funds for which money was to be collected, were given to the pupils to take home for conference with their parents. if a girl wished to give to any one of the various funds, she was to mark down that amount, also putting down the date of payment (any time until february ); or else the money might be sent right back with the pledges. in this way we tried to make the idea of voluntary subscription the whole basis of our plan. the total amount of the entire drive, both pledged and paid, is $ . , out of which $ . was paid in full to the community fund. the total of the thanksgiving fund was $ . , out of which $ . was paid for thanksgiving baskets which were filled with good, substantial food, and were delivered by a number of the girls, each group accompanied by an older person, to eighteen needy families. the christmas fund total reached the sum of $ . . from this, we gave $ . as gifts to the house-staff. the emergency fund amounted to $ . . from this, we gave $ . to help support a french orphan for whose care we are responsible. there is also an unapportioned fund. a number of pledges were returned with only the total amount marked down, none of which was divided among the funds. these amounts were put down under the unapportioned fund. from this sum, we drew $ . for the near east relief. in addition to all this, we are having a continuous drive for old clothes which we place where most needed. after the various distributions were made, we found that our book balanced with that of the league treasurer. handling a situation of this sort has been an interesting task, and i think that we all have greatly profited by the experience, and believe that it has been a preparation for future service to the community. virginia leffingwell, _chairman_. [illustration: {a group of students in costume as shepherds}] calendar for - _october_ --old girls' party for the new. --riding contest. _november_ --book exhibit. --junior carnival. _december_ --christmas luncheon. --christmas play. _february_ --parents' and teachers' dinner. --valentine party for grades vii and viii. reading by the princess rahme haider. _march_ --lecture by the duc de trevise. --northrop entertains summit. --athletic banquet. --lecture by dr. cora best. _may_ and --junior field day. and --senior field day. _june_ --the junior-senior dance. --senior chapel. alumnae luncheon. class day. --commencement. [illustration: {a student wearing a costume of robes}] [illustration: {seven photographs of students in th century costume}] the junior-senior dance, on friday morning, may , , each junior awoke with the entire responsibility of the junior-senior dance on her shoulders. ten o'clock found some of the class in an effort to carry out the green and white color scheme, robbing the neighbors' bridal wreath hedges of all their glory. returning to school they wound the blossoming sprays in and out of a white lattice work, which a few of their industrious class mates had made to cover the radiators in the dining room. they then hung green and white balloons in clusters from the side lights. while this was being done, others were converting nice-looking automobiles into furniture vans. the furniture was arranged on the roof garden, over which japanese lanterns were hung. having finished these tasks, we had by no means completed our work. the supper tables next occupied our attention. these we arranged in the side hall. centering each was a miniature white may pole wound with green and white streamers. the appearance was festive indeed. after the lapse of a few hours the weary juniors returned to welcome their guests, the seniors.... as the clock struck twelve, the music ceased, the building resumed its former tranquility, and the happy guests filed home. evelyn baker and polly daunt. we entertain summit school every year northrop and summit schools come together at one place or the other for an informal party. this year, it being our pleasure to entertain the summit girls, we looked forward to the occasion as one of our most enjoyable events. we departed from the usual form of entertainment in presenting the french play "le voyage de monsieur perrichon." although probably not every one in the audience understood all the speeches, the play went off well, for the plot is such that it is easily comprehended through the acting; also to aid the audience a short synopsis was read in english before the curtain rose, by shirley woodward, who looked the part of a dashing french soldier. the roles of that amusing pair, monsieur and madam perrichon, were taken by betty long and barbara bailey. henriette, their daughter, was portrayed by anne healy, and the two charming lovers, daniel and armand, by dorothy sweet and janet morrison. an additional feature of the program was provided by the faculty sextet, in the form of several pleasing songs. after the play, the faculties of both schools had refreshments upstairs, and dancing followed in the gymnasium. la visite du duc de trevise [illustration: {a large group of students outdoors with the visitor}] le huit mars nous fûmes très heureuses d'avoir avec nous le duc de trévise. comme mlle. carse était dans l'est, mlle. bagier le présenta. il fit une conférence des plus intéressantes sur la reconstruction de l'ancienne architecture de la france, accompagnée de projections charmantes de son sujet. il expliqua de son ravissant accent français, les dégâts qu'on fait aux beaux édifices du moyen âge. il nous soumit le projet de son organisation pour conserver divers anciens châteaux, aux villages différents de la france pour chaque ville américaine qui aura approprié de l'argent pour cette cause, donnant ainsi le moyen aux citoyens de chaque ville d'avoir un logis quand ils visiteront le village ou la ville dans lesquels leur château particulier se trouve. l'argent qu'on a déjà donné a fait beaucoup pour avancer le travail de la reconstruction. nous fûmes charmées de découvrir que, quand il retombait dans sa langue natale, nous pûmes avec peu de difficulté le comprendre. après que la dernière projection eut été montrée, le duc voulut beaucoup une photographie des élèves de northrop school. en conséquence nous nous assemblâmes au côté sud de l'école où mlle. bagier fit deux photographies des jeunes filles avec leur ami nouveau-trouvé. comme cela fut une grande occasion pour les plus jeunes filles, elles démandèrent à grands cris des autographes que le duc leur donna avec bonté. ensuite on nous rappela à nos leçons qui nous semblèrent plus tristes que d'ordinaire par contraste avec l'heure très interessante que nous venions de passer avec le duc. the princess rahme haider it would seem that the good angels were plotting in favor of northrop school, for this year we have had one delightful entertainment after another. foremost among these events was a visit from the syrian princess rahme haider and her charming companion miss burgess, who gave us a fascinating dramatic reading from the bible. the entire school was held spellbound by the art of the princess, who made a very artistic appearance in her oriental garb and had a charming personality. princess rahme haider most assuredly gave us one of the most interesting and profitable programs of the year. grace helen stuart. [handwriting: sincerely princess rahme damascus syria] [illustration: {a group of students in 'peasant' costume}] athletic calendar october --the riding contest. baseball november --vii, ; viii, . november --vii, ; viii, . november --vii, ; viii, . hockey november --senior, ; sophomore, . november --junior, ; freshman, . november --senior, ; freshman, . november --senior, ; junior, . november --sophomore, ; freshman, . november --sophomore, ; junior, . captain ball march --vii, ; viii, . march --vii, ; viii, . march --gold, ; white, . march --gold, ; white, . basketball--interclass february --junior, ; sophomore, . february --freshman, ; sophomore, . march --senior, ; sophomore, . march --junior, ; freshman, . march --freshman ; senior . march --junior, ; senior, . march --tournament--junior, ; sophomore, . basketball--gold and white march --gold i, ; white i, . march --gold ii, ; white ii, . march --gold iii, ; white iii, . march --gold iv, ; white iv, . march --gold a, ; white a, . field day may and --junior field day. may and --senior field day. hockey this year a new regulation in regard to hockey practise was introduced. the girls were required to report twice a week instead of once, one of these days being given to stick practise. the first game of the season was played on november ninth between the seniors and the sophomores. it was a very close one resulting in a one to one tie. on the next day, november tenth, the juniors beat the freshmen by a score of five to nothing. the game on november second resulted in another tie; this time a scoreless one between the seniors and the freshmen, which was most unsatisfactory to both teams. on november sixteenth the senior-junior game was played which the juniors won six to nothing. on the eighteenth the sophomores won from the freshmen eight to nothing, and on the next day the game between the juniors and the sophomores was played. as no one had crossed the juniors' goal since the beginning of the ' season there was a great deal of interest in the game. it was an exceedingly hard contest, two girls being more or less knocked out during the game, but the sophomores won by a score of three to nothing. we were fortunate this season in having the weather remain so that we were able to play all the games on the schedule. the riding contest the annual riding contest was held on the parade grounds, friday, october , mlle. bagier and betty fowler acting as managers. although it was a cold and wintry day, a large crowd turned out. dr. e. w. berg, mr. l. mcfall, and mr. william hindle were the judges, and the misses anderson acted as ring mistresses. everything went off very smoothly, beginning with the junior cup class, followed by the senior cup class, the pony class, and ending with five gaited class. after the contest, tea was served in the gymnasium, where the awards were given out. the junior cup went to ruth clark; the pony cup, to virginia leffingwell; the five gaited cup to betty fowler; and the much desired senior cup to mary louise sudduth. base ball and captain ball on the fall the sevenths and eighths had several baseball games. they were very exciting in spite of the fact that the eighths always won by a generous margin. however the sevenths took the defeats so well that no one could call them "poor losers." after the snow came, captain ball began. the two match games were very interesting. the score of the first was - in the eighths' favor, and of the second was - , the same side being victorious. then came the gold and white games, both of which the whites won. it was hard, but it was fun, to play against a girl that one had previously played with as a partner. these games brought out such good sportsmanship that we all enjoyed them. [illustration: {seven photographs of students participating in sports events}] basketball the basketball season opened with much enthusiasm as soon as school began after the christmas vacation. the attendance at practices was especially good this year, and the members of every class reported regularly. in order to arouse some spirit, each class distributed its colors among its rooters, and there was much competition between the classes in finding original yells. as a result of these efforts the crowds at the games were exceptionally good, much larger than in previous years. the sophomore-junior game, the first of the season, was won by the juniors after a hard fight. the next two games were the sophomore-freshman and the senior-sophomore, which were both won by the sophomores. the juniors then played the freshmen and were victorious. the senior-freshman game, one of the most exciting of the season, ended in a tie, much to the disappointment of both sides. the seniors in their last game at northrop played the juniors and won. as a result of these games, the juniors and sophomores were competitors in the tournament. the girls worked hard to make the gymnasium look suitable for the occasion and were rewarded for their efforts, for cheering and enthusiastic crowds filled the gym. the best yelling of the evening, however, was done by the sophomores, who nearly raised the roof with their snappy and well-led cheers. their serious and well performed stunt of forming and singing, contrasted with the ridiculous showing of the juniors made on tricycles. after the stunts, the game began and certainly proved to be a close one. although the juniors were behind during a good part of the game, they finally won by a score of - . the tournament closed the inter-class games and those of the gold and white teams began. in order that more girls might take part in the games, the upper school had been divided into two large teams called the gold and white. these teams were in turn subdivided into basketball teams, and many games were played between these teams. although the audiences were not all that might be desired the plan can be called a success since it interested more girls in the game. the white team won the first two games and the gold the next two; therefore the final game between the two "a" teams would decide whether the gold or the white team would win the basketball series. the game was won by the gold team, - . this game ended the basketball season, which has been an unusually good one. i strive to wring from my unwilling pen a sonnet,--and all ordered thoughts pass by; light as a swirl of mist, too soon they fly for my poor wits to capture them again. o sonnet unattained! for other men so easy to attain, but it is i who struggle, and for me all goes awry,-- my efforts fond go unrequited then. "why, surely it is but a trifle, this," they cry amazed, in sweet unknowing bliss. a trifle, yes, for shelley or for blake, they had not many extra marks at stake; i toil in vain toward a retarding goal,-- i fear the poet's part is not my role. shirley woodward, ' . gardens i have read about books are the means by which one may travel without moving. it is through the medium of a book that i was able to visit a garden in italy. it happened to be a garden that was typically italian and a very charming one. the entrance was through a vine-covered tuscan arch at the side of a villa, and down several steps to a wide terrace. the sun was beating down outside, but inside this walled garden all was cool and refreshing. at one's feet were clumps of darkest green ferns, like miniature forests. at the bottom of the terrace there was a terracotta pool, where water flowers were drifting on their flat green pads. around the edge of this pool and through an aisle of tiny fragrant pink rose bushes was a space enclosed on three sides by feathery greens. here a laughing satyr was perched on the top of a fountain, spouting water in a silvery arc. through a shaded avenue could be seen other secluded spots with marble benches in front of other fountains. in another direction was a grotto where water trickled down gray, moss-covered stones. far in the distance were cypress trees waving their spear-like tops and standing guard over the coolness and beauty of the garden. very different from this is the sunny english garden that next i visited. it, too, was terraced and had fountains, but the water in these fountains sparkled in the sun, and the cool dampness of the italian garden was lacking. on the terrace were occasional closely-trimmed yew trees, or box trees clipped in odd shapes. a curving walk, edged with laurel, led to the ivy-walled inner garden. here, in the full sun and warmth, grew, not the delicate rose bush of my italian garden, but sturdy, bold rose trees, and apple trees, above snowdrops, daffodils, and crocuses in round, oblong, and square beds. these had trimmed herbaceous borders, and gray flag walks lay between them. beyond towered great elms, but even these did not shut out any of the sun, which reached the foxgloves and violets, transplanted from the moor to the corner of the wall. here in america, though i have never been east, i know i should feel at home in a new england garden. my entire knowledge of them has been gained from books, but i am sure, from what i have read that these gardens are quite as charming as the more formal ones of other lands. separated from the street by either a white picket fence or a row of lilac bushes, grow in their seasons nasturtiums, pinks, larkspur, mignonette, sweet peas, and forget-me-nots, in neat rows. all these are in such profusion that one sees only the glorious general effect and fails to notice that the garden has been planted with total disregard to the blending of colors. at the back, against the fence, tall sun flowers flaunt themselves, while in front are clumps of gorgeous peonies, and at the side beds of fragrant mint. all these gardens i think of when spring comes, and my yearly gardening fever seizes me. but at the end of two months, when my radishes go to seed before attaining edible size, and those of my flowers that are not choked by weeds have been dug up by other members of the family, i go back to the dream gardens in my books. mary eaton, ' . dixie an old man, ragged, but with an air of dignity, quickly glanced at his stop watch as a small figure, crouched over a shining black neck, shot by. with a thunder of hoofs the black horse whirled past and fought for her head down the stretch. she would win the following saturday--she must! if she didn't then she too would have to go and leave the ruined old gentleman, who looked so feeble leaning over the white rail which enclosed the mile track. after much coaxing the black colt came mincing up to her old master. the small colored boy, as black as his mount, was bubbling over with enthusiasm. "dat dehby, suh, is going to be won by ma dixie," patting the curved neck of the horse. the old gentleman looked up. "mah boy, you must remembah that dixie will have otheah good hawses to beat. vixen is the favohite and very fast, although ah know mah little black friend heah will do heh best to honah the purple and white," glancing proudly at the headband of the black marvel. "next satahday will decide it all." a shadow fell across the colt. looking up, the gentleman, known as colonel fairfax, saw a man dressed in a checkered suit and orange socks. on a tie to match was a monstrous, well polished diamond, which sparkled wickedly in the sun. the man stood staring at the stop-watch. "ah beg yoh pahdon, suh, but theh anything ah could do foah you?" the man, hearing the question, looked up, flushing. "youh horse is a derby entry?" colonel fairfax eyed the horse reflectively and answered, "it all depends on her condition, and only time can answeh that." the man hurried away, leaving the old gentleman looking after him, a deep frown on his face. "washington, ah am a bit doubtful about this new-uh-acquaintance," he addressed the exercise boy. each day, no matter how early dixie was given her exercise, the stranger was to be seen loitering in the distance or walking briskly beside the track--seemingly deep in thought. his presence seemed to trouble the colonel, who watched his colt anxiously. at last, the final workout. colonel fairfax and the unwelcome stranger leaned over the rail, intently watching the black horse, which appeared to have wings. the stranger, who had been seen talking to the owner of vixen, the favorite, annoyed the old gentleman; he was suspicious of this flashily dressed man and did not conceal his feelings. sundown, friday, found the stable at churchill downs buzzing with excitement. the favorite's stall was surrounded by interested old racing men, who loved the thoroughbred and his sport, while a few individuals in gaily checkered suits crowded about, listening to the many "hunches" for business reasons only. an old man sat before stall no. . glancing up, he noticed two men peering in at dixie. one was the man who had seemed so much interested in the mare's trial gallops. through the half-open door of the box stall could be seen a horse in faded purple and white blankets. after a hurried conversation the two men passed on to the favorite's stall, where they smiled at the jockey, looked in, and walked on. long after the one-thirty special night train had whistled at the downs crossing, a dark figure could be seen sliding along the stall doors--"ten--nine--; eight--" then it came to halt before stall no. , and slipped through the door. it felt in the dark for the blanketed horse's neck. the horse jumped as a dagger-like needle was thrust into its neck. the colored boy, in a drugged sleep at the door of the stall, stirred in his dreams, but was still again. the door opened quietly, and the figure slipped out, leaving the horse in no. leaning drunkenly against the side wall. a shaft of moonlight fell across the intruder's face, revealing the same man who had attended all of dixie's trial gallops. little did this unscrupulous person realize that the black mare was spending the night in an old deserted barn near the race track, guarded by an old gentleman whose mouth was twisted into a whimsical smile, while a "guaranteed-to-be-gentle" livery horse was leading a life of luxury that evening in stall no. , churchill downs. derby day at churchill downs! kentucky was doing homage to the thoroughbred. as the band played "dixie," the derby entries filed through the paddock onto the field. proudly leading the string of the country's best two year olds, was the song's namesake, a true daughter of the south. with arching neck and prancing feet, dixie, the pride of an old man's heart, took her place at the barrier. her jockey looked up as he passed an aristocratic old gentleman, dressed in a faded coat which reminded one of "befoah de wah" days and whose hat remained off while the horses passed. the barrier was up, and the roar shook the grandstand. "they're off!!" the favorite, vixen, shot ahead and seemed to be making a runaway race. cheer after cheer rent the air. an old man clasped his program a little tighter and breathed a prayer. around the turn came vixen, but not alone. crouched to the ground, a small black horse crept up to the flying tail of the favorite. down the stretch the two thundered, fighting for supremacy. "foah kentucky, dixie, and the honah of the purple and white!" as if she heard this plea from her master, dixie bent lower. then, her black nose thrust ahead, more than a length in advance of vixen, she flashed under the wire, bringing "honah" to the purple and white. nancy stevenson, ' . my bureau drawers my bureau drawers,--i wonder what their contents could tell! whenever i go through them with the firm resolve to clear out everything that i do not actually use, i always end by saving some things just for the sake of the memories connected with them. take that pink satin hair ribbon, for instance. i wore it for the first time with a new pink dress at a party in california. it brings back all the thought of california as i first saw it in nineteen twenty, memories of stately and haughty poinsettias, of date palms from which one could pick and eat fresh dates, of a dancing ocean with its myriads of lovely sea creatures, and its gaily-colored beach equipment, of an amusement park with the roller coaster on which i nearly had heart failure. then, in another corner, lies a string of green beads. what could better recall to my mind the night of my graduation from the grade school? the recollection makes me want to be in grade school once more. i well remember how one of my classmates forgot to bring the music to the class song which was to have been one of the attractions of the program. disaster marked that evening farther when a tall danish boy, looking the picture of selfconsciousness and misery, arose to give the farewell address. as nearly as i can remember, it ran thus: "ladies and gentlemen, on the evening of our graduation ve vish to tank de teachers and also de principal for de vork"--a long awkward pause--"ve vish to tank de teachers and also de principal for de vork"--a still longer pause, interspersed with rising giggles from the graduating class--"ladies and gentlemen, ve vish to tank de teachers and also de principal for de vork vich they have done in getting us trough." then, there at the back of the drawer, is a black satin sash. it brings to my mind an entirely different kind of memory. it is one thing that i have left from the dress i wore at my grandfather's funeral. i remember all the tragedy of the occasion, lightened by one spot of comedy, my grandmother's losing her petticoat. i dare say that some day i shall throw away these things that others consider rubbish, but i shall never part with the memories for which they stand. polly sweet. a surprise it was early in the morning when nancy nelson awoke. she got up and put on her wrapper and one slipper, as she couldn't get the other one on, though she tried hard. "ah," she said, "there must be something in my slipper." so nancy felt in her slipper and then pulled out her hand. why, there was a little package! "who put it in there, i wonder," she said, quite surprised. nancy asked everybody in the house. then her mother said, "nancy, did you forget that it is your birthday?" then she opened the little package and found a small silver thimble, with the name "nancy nelson" on it. anne morrison, form iv. the departure and the return of the ship it was a clear, warm day in late spring and a ship was leaving the harbor, its departure accompanied by a merry clanking of chains as the anchor was drawn up. the lusty cheers of the sailors floated back in echoes. the shore was crowded with the wives and sweethearts of these two hundred sailors, their brightly colored gowns and fluttering handkerchiefs making a lovely picture against the background of the green cliffs. on board the men were singing lustily as they performed their tasks and the last echo of their happiness floated back clearly to the little group on the shore as the ship dropped below the hill and out of sight. the women had already settled down to their period of watchful waiting and were trusting the safety of their loved ones to god, who had always protected them and brought them home safely before. it was a clear, crisp night in late october and the moon was sending its silvery beams out over the quiet waters. everything was pervaded by an air of mystery. slowly, from far out at sea, a great ship came slinking into the harbor. as it drew nearer, it glowed with crimson lights. then, suddenly every light went out and again the great mysterious hulk was swallowed up in the darkness. not a sound was heard. could this be the same ship that had sailed away so gayly three years ago? no one awaited its coming, for it had been long given up for lost. it came nearer and nearer, and a breeze, which had suddenly come up, whistled through its thin sails and moved the spars, making a sound like the rattling of dry bones. then, as if in response to the command of a ghostly captain, the great, black hulk sank into the darkness under the water, leaving only a whirlpool to mark its existence. it sank as it had sailed in; slowly and mysteriously. martha jean maughan, ' . rain i love to hear upon the walk the rain that comes on nights in spring, so warm and soft and pattering it seems to fairly talk. it tells me of arbutus shy, that hides in moss beside a tree, of crocus and anemone that peek out at the sky. it fills with earthly scent the night, and glistens on the new green leaves; it drips and drips from shining eaves and sparkles in the light. mary brackett, ' . troubles of an amateur mary had been assured that "dolly" was absolutely dependable, would not shy, had a kind and gentle disposition, and was easy to manage; but now she was actually gazing upon this amiable annihilator, the courage oozed out of her suddenly pounding heart and her eyes widened with fright and suspicion. she wished now she hadn't been so desirous of tempting fate on such a seemingly ferocious and unnatural brute. "dolly," on the other hand, happily unaware of his savageness and unnatural spirit, drooped his homely, ungainly head in a dejected manner. to him, mary was only one more burden, one more wriggling, gasping infliction, to be jogged slowly about for her first ride. he snorted in disdain. mary jumped. why didn't she use her own feet? "dolly" didn't want to be bothered. finally he rolled an eye back to survey his passenger. the groom was gradually coaxing mary on--onto something terrible. she just knew it! "dolly" seemed to assume supernatural proportions as mary reached out a hand to grasp the reins which were handed to her. someone boosted her on. goodness! she was going right over on the other side! but no! she found herself sitting up on the broad back of "dolly"; it was a very precarious position. how did one keep one's balance? she just knew she couldn't stay on. there was nothing to hang onto, and her.... "help!" she shrieked, as her steed casually stamped a clumsy foot, in the endeavor to rid himself of a persistent fly. the groom, now mounted, led her horse out into the ring. mary hoped he'd hang onto the reins. if he didn't.... mary pictured herself a mangled, shapeless mass. she shuddered. she'd seen those movie actors dart gaily about and had thought it would be lovely to learn to dart. but now--she wondered if they had been tied on! oh! they were jogging. mary didn't seem to understand the nature of the jog. she was out of breath. grasping the pommel, she looked miserably at the long neck swaying in front of her. two long ears fascinated her. up and down, up and down. ah! why didn't he stop? she attempted to shriek, but only succeeded in emitting faint gasps as "dolly" swerved to avoid a small hole. inside she seemed to be jolted to pieces. her heart shook her chest, and a giddy feeling overpowered her. her vision blurred, and her breath came in short gasps. "dolly" had now slowed down to a walk, but to mary this was the wildest of gaits. every minute she fully expected to die on the spot. she couldn't stand it another second. she couldn't--she couldn't! "time is up, miss," announced a cheery voice. "do you wish to dismount?" mary came up from the depths of agony, and hope lit her face. "oh-h-h!" she moaned. "yes, i--yes! yes!" she was lifted, or rather dragged, off, she didn't know which, didn't care as long as she was off. the ground seemed to come up to meet her. why didn't things stand still? even the unsuspicious "dolly" appeared to be performing grotesque antics. mary took a step, just one. it was not necessary for her to take more to realize that she was very stiff. "heavens!" she slowly gathered up her coat and hat, and limped painfully out of the academy. now she could realize that an amateur, in riding anyway, had her troubles in walking! virginia leffingwell, ' . teresa teresa is my aunt's black cat; she plays with this, she plays with that-- a tassel green, a string to tug, a fleck of light upon the rug give her imagination fire. and then she sleeps all in a ball beside the hearth out in the hall. she loves to warm herself this way, and dreams, this time, about her play-- while cuddled up she purrs and purrs. when tea time comes, she's always there, beside my aunt's old walnut chair; her big green eyes are bright with glee, her chin sinks in a creamy sea, and her ecstasy is complete. mary brackett, ' . books i should like to write it is last period on a long, sleepy, particularly humdrum day at school. shirley sits trying to concentrate on a history text-book, but her mind will wander, despite her really noble efforts to distinguish the valerian laws from the licinian laws. "what an idiotic law to have to make!" she mutters resentfully. "but i'm sure i shouldn't be so dumb in history if i had an interesting text-book. it seems as though someone could write it, even if we aren't all van loons and h. g. wellses. i bet i could myself--at least i'd make it a fascinating book if not a strictly exact one ('yes you would,' says her subconscious, but she pays no attention)! when i think of the generations of defenseless students to be subjected to these text-books, my heart aches for them!... the valerian law was...." the scene changes from this lethargic one to a fireside on a winter evening. she drops the book in her lap, the yells of the savages are fainter. she shakes the salt spray from her chair and tries to adjust herself once more to the prosaic of a land-lubber. "to write a book like that is my only desire on earth," she murmurs, as she reaches for a volume of jane austen. now, completely involved in the career of _emma_, she says, "oh, for that gift of the gods jane austen had! her speech--a rippling stream of perfect and delicious english, the king's english indeed! each phrase is as delicately constructed as a watch, and all her watches tick together as one." thus the incorrigible child goes on, unaware how many fascinating books she has longed to have written. from _nicholas nickleby_ to _thunder on the left_, from _walter h. page_ to the _constant nymph_, and from _chaucer_ to _edna st. vincent millay_! a veritable gourmande, she is. but forgive her. who has not felt that he might improve a text-book? who has not longed, in reading a glorious book, for similar brilliance? what lover of books is unmoved to an occasional effort at emulation, even if he afterwards destroy it? you who do these things, sympathize with shirley, who, by her own hand we do confess, is bitterly disillusioned every time she tries to write a theme. shirley woodward, ' . our street three indians padded softly along through the tall dark pines. their errand seemed peaceful, since their number was so small and they came so openly. soon the path widened out, and finally led to a small glade in which stood a rough cabin. the indians stopped to observe cautiously before making themselves known. what they saw filled them with curiosity and awe, for standing before the cabin was a white man praying, his deep voice echoing through the wild stillness of the forest. beside him stood a younger man, whose attention, while respectful, was not undivided, for he had spied the indians and waited restlessly for the "father" to finish his devotions. these done, he called his superior's attention to the savages lurking on the outskirts of the glade and beckoned to them to come forward. both white men were eager to learn what the indians might tell them, and the elder, who spoke the indian tongue, talked glibly with the redskins. they, in turn, were curious about several things. first, the strange contrivance that hung from father hennepin's belt. he explained that it was to help him find his way through the uncharted country. save for the compass he would quickly be lost. "hugh," grunted one of the braves, "that no good. i lead you," surprising the jesuit by his use of english. "good," answered the priest. the two white men went into the cabin, gathered their scanty baggage, and reappeared at the door. by this time the other indians had disappeared down the path by which they had come. in the opposite direction, without a backward glance, the party of three men, the jesuit, his companion, and the indian guide, set out to find new thoroughfares. now from morning to night traffic rolls along the same trail. the narrow path that once found its way through the forest with many turnings and twistings is now a wide, paved avenue. over it go street cars carrying busy people, trucks laden with gravel or coal, the ever-present automobiles of people bent on pleasure. the street is lined on either side with tall buildings: stores, offices, houses, churches, museums. as we go down the avenue, we come to what was once a clearing in the forest. instead of the simple cabin, there are now a variety of buildings: a small store whose owner, a french canadian, carries on a thriving business; opposite, a restaurant owned by two yellow chinese, who specialize in chow-mein; next door, the establishment of a husky yankee, who plies his trade by greasing automobiles and supplying gasoline to motorists demanding that necessity. a thriving community now, what will this one time forest clearing be two hundred years hence? janet morison, ' . a conversation at the dinner table at dinner daddy told us he had seen a prince. i asked him what prince it was. then mother said, "didn't you read the paper, ella sturgis?" "no," i replied. "it was the prince of greece," said daddy, "and he wore a monocle." chucky said, "what is a monocle?" "it is a glass people wear in one eye and squint a little to keep it in," said mother. then she asked daddy where he had seen the prince. "at the club," he replied. "i was invited to have lunch with him, but i could not accept the invitation because i had promised ella sturgis to do something for her dog, and ashes is more important than the prince." ella sturgis pillsbury, form vi. loring park in grandfather's day in about mr. w. h. grimshaw came to live in minneapolis where the plaza hotel now stands. then loring park and the vicinity was farm land, and an indian named keg-o-ma-go-shieg had his wigwam at the corner of oak grove and fifteenth streets. mr. grimshaw learned from him that indians had lived on this spot for generations, but that since the land had come under government control, most of the indians had gone. keg-o-ma-go-shieg, because he loved so much the spot where he was born, returned every summer to fish in the lakes and hunt in the woods of his beloved birthplace. there is no tablet or monument to this last indian in loring park, but there is one to ole bull facing harmon place. would it not be more fitting to have a statue of sitting bull? also there used to be an old, well-traveled indian trail through the park, of which there is no trace now, although some people have searched carefully for it. according to mr. grimshaw there used to be countless passenger pigeons, which in the migratory season roosted in the trees of loring park. at noon the sky would be darkened by a cloud of these birds, the air would be filled with the sound of their wings, and they would alight on the branches of the trees, nearly breaking them down by their great weight. then there was the old brook that flowed out of loring park lake, across harmon place, under the present automobile buildings, and emptied into basset's creek. the old military road from minnehaha falls to fort ridgley ran through this section, roughly along hennepin avenue. west of hennepin avenue was ruber's pasture, where cows and horses used to graze, and where the parade grounds, the armory, the cathedral, and northrop school now are. mr. j. s. johnson was the first white settler in this part of minneapolis. in he bought one hundred and sixty acres, of which a part is now loring park, for one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. eugenia bovey, ' . the story hour "now if you will be quiet i will tell you a story," said miss smith. "all right," said tom, "but you must tell us a story about a pirate." "no!" cried betty, "tell us a story about a fairy." "be quiet or i will not tell you any story," exclaimed miss smith. "please tell us a 'tory bout 'ittle baby," pleaded baby ruth. "all right, the story will be about a little baby. you two older children ought to know better than to shout," sighed miss smith. "oh dear, we never get anything now that ruthie is old enough to let you know what she wants," groaned tom. "once upon a time," began miss smith, "there was a ..." "pirate," interrupted tom. "no, no," said miss smith as she went on with the story. "once upon a time there was a ..." "fairy," interrupted betty. "no, a little baby," cried ruth. janet bulkley, form vi. [illustration: {nine photographs of students enjoying leisure activities}] spring and summer spring is coming with the sun; the birds are coming too. summer's coming with the grass, the flowers with the dew. susan wheelock, form iv. "at the back of the north wind" if you would enjoy a glance at the home of one of the winds, read _at the back of the north wind_, by george macdonald. young diamond, a little boy, the north wind, diamond's father and mother, and old diamond, which is a great and good horse,--these are the characters you will hear the most about in this story. the story narrates a series of adventures, in dream form, of young diamond and an uncanny creature who calls herself the north wind. an unusual part of the story is the trip to the sea where the north wind will destroy a ship. diamond does not want to perceive this, so north wind drops him in a great cathedral, where he wakes to see the moon-lit windows showing the saints in beautiful garments. if you like fairy tales, i would suggest that you read this incredible book. geraldine hudson, form v. my dear friend: i do so hope you will like the book _dandelion cottage_. it is an interesting story of four little girls named betty tucker, jeanie mapes, mabel bennett, and marjorie vale, who pay rent for a cottage by pulling dandelions. they have such interesting adventures and act so business-like that you ought to love it. i did when i read it. carroll watson rankin certainly knows what girls like, for she has innumerable objects in that cottage that i know you would love to have in your room. it is very clean in the cottage, with not an atom of dirt anywhere. the part i like best in the story is where laura milligan, a disdainful little girl, moves into the neighborhood. she makes life miserable for the cottagers. when you read the story, be sure you look very carefully for the things laura does, for they are very interesting. i know you prefer to read the book yourselves, so i will close now. sincerely yours, barbara anson, form v. krag and johnny bear you would be very much interested in the story of _krag and johnny bear_, by ernest thomson seton. the names are very cute. there are nubbins, his mother, white nose, and his mother. this part of the story tells about krag, an extraordinary little sheep, who has many fascinating adventures. little white nose is very lazy, obstinate, and wary. every morning nubbins gets up and tries to wake up white nose. when krag grows up, he has beautiful big horns, and the hunters try to catch him so they can mount them. at the end of the story he is caught and his horns are mounted and kept in the king's palace. i know you would like to read this book if you are fond of animal stories. another interesting story is about randy, an extraordinary sparrow who is brought up with some canaries and learns to sing. one day the cage randy was in fell over with an astounding crash and he escaped. he built a nest of sticks, which was the only kind he knew, and was very disconsolate when his mate, who was an ordinary sparrow, threw them away and brought hay and straw instead. randy's mate is finally killed and randy is caught and put back in his cage. i think you will like this book if you like animal stories. jane arnold and louise walker, form v. uses of pumpkins it was a cold and frosty morning at mr. brown's farm. the pumpkins were huddled together, and their frosty coats glistened in the morning sunshine. "i heard mr. brown talking about thanksgiving," said a little pumpkin. "i wonder what thanksgiving is?" "long ago," began a big pumpkin, "when the first white people came to this country, it was in early winter, and these settlers could raise no food. many of them died of hunger and cold. but the next year the settlers planted many crops, and they grew wonderfully. so they had a day to thank god for the crops they had. the day they celebrated is called thanksgiving." "oh, i see," said the little pumpkin. "i am sure teddy was thankful he had such a nice big pumpkin to make his jack o' lantern out of on hallowe'en." "i think the cattle are thankful that they have us to eat in winter," said a middle-sized pumpkin, trying very hard to look wise, but the november air was so delightfully chilly and crisp he had to laugh. "i'm sure farmer brown and his family are thankful to have such a nice pumpkin pie every thanksgiving," said a big pumpkin. "i never knew pumpkins were so useful," sighed the little pumpkin sleepily. then he turned over and went to sleep. harriot olivia carpenter, form iv. 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hip bands of either knit wool or | | self material._ | | | | _nothing like a_ | | | | polar overjac | | | | _playing around outdoors_ | | | | there's nothing like it for looks or for utility either. the | | jaunty lines, the natty materials, the exuberant | | colors--that will all appeal to you, and besides you'll like | | the easy feel of it on you--the comfortable fit--the way it | | "gives" to your movements. | | | | whatever your plans for this summer vacation you'll want a | | polar overjac. it's the handiest thing imaginable to slip | | into--and just the right weight to give the little extra | | warmth needed cooler days and evenings. for driving, golf, | | for "roughing it" and all the rest. well made, expertly | | tailored--that accounts for a lot of its good looks. | | | | _at your neighborhood store_ | | | | made exclusively by | | | | _wyman, partridge & co._ | | minneapolis | | | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------+ | | | [illustration] | | | | first national bank | | | | _minneapolis, minnesota_ | | | +----------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | | | _compliments of_ | | | | davis _and_ michel | | _attorneys-at-law_ | | | | | | metropolitan bank building | | | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------+ | | | _since _ | | | | a safe place for | | savings accounts | | | | hennepin county | | savings bank | | | | marquette | | | | _the oldest savings bank in minnesota_ | | | +------------------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | _the following names represent purchasers of advertising | | space in the tatler, who have given the space back to us | | for our own purposes. we are especially grateful to them | | for this two-fold gift, and wish hereby to acknowledge | | their contribution._ | | | | mr. c. r. williams mr. b. h. woodworth | | mr. p. a. brooks mr. v. h. van slyke | | mr. r. a. gamble mr. w. a. reinhart | | mr. c. m. case | | | +------------------------------------------------------------+ from the press of the augsburg publishing house transcriber's note obvious typographic errors (incorrect punctuation, omitted or transposed letters) have been repaired. otherwise, however, variable spelling (including proper names, where there was no way to establish which spelling was correct) and hyphenation has been left as printed, due to the number of different contributors. page includes the phrase "if the snow smelts." this is probably a typographic error, but as it was impossible to be certain, it has been left as printed. [illustration: (front cover)] [illustration: (frontispiece)] charles edward putney an appreciation published by the charles e. putney memorial association what delightful hosts are they-- life and love! lingeringly i turn away, this late hour, yet glad enough they have not withheld from me their high hospitality. so, with face lit with delight and all gratitude, i stay yet to press their hands and say, "thanks,--so fine a time! good night." --_james whitcomb riley_ foreword this memorial to a great vermont educator is the happy thought of one of his pupils, miss caroline s. woodruff. the idea immediately found favor wherever it was known that such a tribute was contemplated. an organization was perfected known as "the charles e. putney memorial," to arrange for the publication of this book. hon. charles w. gates of franklin, vermont, was selected as chairman, and the preliminary expenses of the enterprise were taken care of by a finance committee consisting of hon. f. w. plaisted of augusta, me., mrs. fletcher d. proctor of proctor, and j. f. cloutman of farmington, n. h. the committee in charge of securing the material for the book and its publication were miss caroline s. woodruff of st. johnsbury, rolfe cobleigh of boston, and arthur f. stone of st. johnsbury. the publication committee realize that there are many former pupils of mr. putney who would have been glad to have contributed to this memorial, but believe that the tributes in the following pages are representative of the sentiments of all who sat under his inspiring teaching, and are stronger and better men and women because of his marked influence upon their lives. to charles e. putney on his seventy-fifth birthday february , still, still a summer day comes to my call,-- a room wide-windowed, bright with girls and boys, a wrinkled homer craning from the wall, a bee-like murmuring of _ai's_ and _oi's_; and you, a king, dark-bearded, on your throne,-- a king of gentle bearing and soft speech, no scepter ringing and no trumpet blown, but nature's own authority to teach. a stranger-lad i steal into my place and five and thirty years are quickly gone. the same sweet balsam breathes upon my face, the old hellenic brook is purling on. see with how bright a chain you hold us true: we that would think of youth must think of you. wendell phillips stafford. biographical charles edward putney, the son of david and mary putney, was born at bow, new hampshire, february , . he was one of fourteen children, of whom ten lived to grow to manhood and womanhood. david putney was a farmer, and mr. putney's early years were spent on the farm. he attended district school and went later to colby academy, teaching district schools from time to time, and preparing himself to enter dartmouth college, which he was about to do when the civil war broke out. he enlisted in the thirteenth new hampshire volunteers, and later became a sergeant. he was in the war over three years and took part in the battles of fredericksburg, siege of suffolk, port walthal, swift creek, kingsland creek, drewrys bluff, cold harbor, petersburg, fort mcconhie, fort harrison, and richmond. he was one of the first four men to enter richmond after the surrender. at the conclusion of the war he entered dartmouth college, and was graduated with high rank in . directly after his graduation he was married to abbie m. clement of norwich, vermont, who died in . he taught in norwich until , when he became assistant principal in st. johnsbury academy under mr. homer t. fuller, whom he succeeded in the principalship. in he resigned on account of ill health. he went to massachusetts and became superintendent of schools in the templeton district, where he remained until the spring of , when he took up his work in the burlington high school. he died in burlington at the home of his daughter, february , , after an illness of two weeks. dr. smart at college st. church at the funeral of mr. putney it takes a man to adorn any calling; callings require or bring special fitness, but manhood crowns the fitness, gives it added scope, completeness, power and beauty--rejoicing the heart. good doctors, good lawyers, good men of affairs, good teachers, are better if they are beyond reckoning. wisdom is an intellectual thing, a property of the mind, but when it is perfect the heart pours through it as the rivers flowed through paradise. a poem in the scriptures says that wisdom created the world, not as a task, but as a pastime. speaking of god, wisdom says, "i was daily his delight, sporting before him, sporting in his habitable earth." when one sees a man investing his work with personal charm, one knows the difference between a photograph and a painting--a photograph with its hard, incisive fidelities, and a painting with its living colors, its appeal to feeling, its lovely beauty, something luxuriously human in it. a teacher has a special reason for floating his service, if it may be, upon a stream of personal worth and personal charm, because he deals with children and youth who respond to what he is, as well as to what he teaches. daniel says, "the teachers shall shine as the stars." our friend here had much of the oak, much of the granite in his make-up; something also of the morning scattered upon the hills, something of the son of consolation. he mellowed with the years. he planted climbing roses beside his strength, and in the heart of it a tender and delicate consideration; some of you loved him more and more to the end. in his early youth he had the happy fortune to serve his country during the civil war. the ardors of that crisis glowed in his heart to the end; the scorching heat gone, the flashing lightning gone, but never the remaining glory of those years when he ennobled his young manhood by risking his life for his country. he might have said what galahad said of the holy grail, "... never yet hath ... this holy thing fail'd from my side nor come covered, but moving with me night and day." he was a faithful member of stannard post, and long its commander. he kept the friday night of the post meeting for the post. every sunday afternoon he passed my house, going to visit a comrade whom illness kept at home. and he was a religious man--a christian man. faith was mixed with his life. god strengthened him with strength in his soul. he was a deacon of this church, and while his strength permitted, a teacher in the sunday school. he lived by his faith, and he thought about it. it was one of the great interests of his mind. there is plenty in every man's experience to limit him, to confine him, to make him small and petty. this man had at least two enthusiasms which lifted and broadened his spirit, his patriotism and his religion. the last word he spoke was the name of his native town in new hampshire, bow. a great light came into his eyes with the name, as if he saw the place in a vision. he loved his old home and visited it when he could. he went back at last in imagination and desire to the roothold of his life, and that was well and fair, for he represented the fineness of that new england inheritance. one perhaps should not boast, but at least one may say that it is a goodly inheritance of solidity, fidelity, seriousness, fitness to live in a community and take part in its affairs. it is said of elisha that he took up the mantle of elijah. the mantle was a symbol of the spirit; it had become almost a personal thing. elijah had wrapped his face in it when he stood in the cave's mouth and heard the small, still voice of the lord. he cast it upon elisha when he called him from his plow to be a prophet. he smote the waters with it, when he went to the place where he was to go up in the whirlwind, and they were divided hither and thither so that they went over on dry ground. when he went up in the storm, his mantle fell on elisha. that mantle lay close to the secrets of the prophet's heart; he wrapped his face in it when god spoke to him. it was the symbol of his influence; he called elisha with it. it was the symbol of his power; he divided the waters with it. a mantle lies upon the shoulders. it may fit another as well as its owner. if it could be said that the mantle of this man has fallen upon the teachers of burlington, he would need, he could desire, no other memorial. letter to mr. putney's granddaughter, mary lane south weymouth, mass., february , . dear mary: may i tell you a little story? it has largely to do with one whom you loved and who loved you very much. you called him "grandpa." the story begins sixty-four years ago this coming spring, when two brothers, a big brother of sixteen years and a little brother of eight years, started out together one morning for school. they were going to attend a private school, for a few weeks, in a strange district about two miles from their home. the little brother would have been afraid to go that long distance alone; but he had all confidence in his big brother, whom he loved very dearly. they had not been in that school very long when the teacher discovered that the big brother was the best scholar he had. very soon the teacher asked him to help him in his work. do you think the big brother refused? one day the teacher was ill and could not attend school. he sent word by one of his pupils that he wanted his best scholar to take charge of the school for the day. well, that was a trying experience for a boy of sixteen; but that boy commanded the respect of all the pupils of that school; so he undertook the task and with wonderful success. he had no difficulty with any of the pupils although some of them were older than himself. perhaps the little brother wasn't proud to have such a big brother! it was about this time that the little fellow began to notice how earnestly his older brother was trying to do right in every way; it made a great impression upon him. the few weeks of private school ended and the big brother soon opened the summer term of school in his home district. in spite of his youth he was appointed teacher and all the people of the district seemed very glad. among his pupils were little brother, two other brothers, and a sister. the teacher was so successful in his work that the parents in the district wanted him to teach another and another term. he did so; but all the time he was studying to prepare himself for larger work. he took advantage of every opportunity to attend school for a term or two at a time in some academy, until he became fitted for college. meanwhile he was deeply interested in his younger brothers and sister and doing all he could to help them along in their studies. about the time he was sixteen years old he heard a voice that seemed to say to him, "go, work in my vineyard!" that voice meant everything to him; he was eager, therefore, to obey it. to work in the vineyard meant doing good, helping others, being unselfish, giving strength and cheer when needed. we all know how well he did his work in the master's vineyard and through how many years he sowed the good seed. a few weeks ago, the little brother, to whom i have referred, was looking forward to the coming of big brother's eightieth birthday and wishing that he could give expression to something worthy of the brother and his wonderful life-work. while he knew that he was not equal to an ideal accomplishment of such a pleasant task, he made one of his attempts and wrote the few lines enclosed, finishing them a very few days before the sad news of grandpa's fatal illness reached him. he has made no change in them, realizing that you will understand that he was fondly hoping that his eightieth birthday would find big brother in his usual health and strength. so, with a heart heavy with grief, yet full of loving and grateful memories of my dear big brother, i am telling you this little story and sending you the accompanying tribute to one of the best men that ever lived. and now, with much love to yourself and all the members of your home, the little brother of sixty-four years ago wishes to sign himself your affectionate uncle freeman. and the sheaves are still coming in "go, work in my vineyard!" the master spoke to the list'ning heart of youth; "the world is my vineyard; go forth and sow the life-giving seed of truth!" and forth to the sowing, with ardent zeal and a love for mankind akin to the master's own, he joyfully went,-- and the sheaves are still coming in. he quickened ambition's sluggish soil, and freely scattered the seeds; the blades spring up, and life takes on a passion for worthy deeds. new visions catch the opening eye, fresh purposes begin; the sower sowed with a lavish trust,-- and the sheaves are still coming in. he turned deep furrows in shadowed soil, where the weeds of dark despair were the only growth; the seeds of hope he patiently planted there. a harvesting of wheat appears where lately tares had been; the sower in love had graciously sown,-- and the sheaves are still coming in. the years speed on; in manhood's glow he is sowing with vigilant care; there are fields that call for the seed of life,-- he is finding them everywhere. he is steadfastly doing the master's work, unheeding the clamor and din of a restless world; he quietly sows,-- and the sheaves are still coming in. at threescore years: does he stay his hand in token of lessening powers? he takes no note of vanishing time save to honor its golden hours. he only kens 'tis the master's wish that his strength be given to win the harvests of truth; he scatters the seed,-- and the sheaves are still coming in. threescore and ten: he has surely laid the burden of sowing down? he is far afield and with glow of soul is wearing the years' bright crown. in his zeal for service he does not ask when the days of rest begin; enough to know there is seed to sow; and the sheaves are still coming in. and what of the sower at fourscore years? has the vineyard a place for him still? in joy of service and glow of zeal he is sowing with marvelous skill. he has sown in faith through many years, and rich have the harvests been; his forward look is a look of trust, for the sheaves are still coming in. ah! brother, thy summons to riches' quest was the call of the voice divine; thou hast shaped thy will to the master's word, and infinite wealth is thine. 'twas thy constant aim, from the fields of time, eternal treasures to win; that aim was blessed; to thy lasting joy the sheaves are still coming in. and when thou art called from the toil of earth to the larger service above, and shalt hear the master's questioning voice, in accents of infinite love, "what is the measure of golden grain thou didst wrest from the fields of sin?" the angel of record will testify, "the sheaves are still coming in." * * * * * "call him not old, although the flight of years has measured off the allotted term of life! call him not old, since neither doubts nor fears have quenched his hope throughout the long, long strife! they are not old though days of youth have fled, who quaff the brimming cup of peace and joy! they are not old who from life's hidden springs find draughts which still refresh but never cloy." letters received on mr. putney's seventy-fifth birthday i am glad you are to have a birthday tomorrow. i feel sure that it will be a happy birthday. your children and grandchildren will see to it that the day is properly celebrated. it is a great pleasure to look back on the days spent in st. johnsbury when your influence meant so much to us. you can never know how strongly your personality and your life influenced the boys and girls in the academy, especially those of us who were away from home. many of the things which you said to us, the time or occasion of saying them and the place too are very vividly recalled after thirty years. you in st. johnsbury, four or five professors at dartmouth and perhaps a half dozen other men, make up a small group of men who have given me most in the way of stimulation and encouragement. to express adequately my gratitude is impossible, but out of a full heart i do thank you and am glad of this opportunity to extend my best wishes to you for continued health and happiness. yours very sincerely, david n. blakely, ' . you have been living in my life all these long years since the old st. johnsbury academy days. that wonderful kindness with which you looked upon all our shortcomings has been the great example of kindness i have looked to all these days. that wonderful equality of judgment with which you decided all our cases, has always remained unquestioned in my heart. and that which most of all has influenced my life has been that wonderful quietness with which you have possessed your soul. i am more grateful to you every day i live and more thankful for the years spent under your influence. we are all to be congratulated because of this birthday. may you have many, many more and may you know better every year how much we all love you. yours most sincerely, mary drew, ' . believing that the only real satisfaction to a teacher after all is the knowledge that somewhere down the years there sounds an echo of his effort, i am venturing to add my word of appreciation to you on your birthday. there in your office and classroom i received, as have hundreds of others, the inspiration--the vision, if you will, of what life means--and there are no memories more hallowed than those of the associations at st. johnsbury academy. year after year for thirty years i've watched the groups of young men and women leave the institution but never without a keener appreciation of what the years had meant to us. not for the first time do i say that whatever little success i may have had with young people is due in large measure to the help received at your hand, and with all my heart i thank you for your firm and gentle guidance, your paternal influence over us all, and most of all for your exemplary christian character that never failed. the best wish i can offer you today on your seventy-fifth birthday is that you may realize more and more what a mighty power for good you have been and are in the lives of an army of men and women today who once fell under your influence. very sincerely, caroline s. woodruff, ' . i wonder how many of us you can remember and whether any of our failings are still in your mind? you only had me for a short time, but such as it was it completed my school work. in fact it was my only schooling away from home. i am therefore able to recall vividly many impressions made on my mind during the time i was under your charge. i formed the impression that you were absolutely fair and honest with your scholars and that you expected no higher standard of conduct from them than you were practising every day. i can see you as you were then and wonder why, with such an example, we did not do better. i do not say this because it is your seventy-fifth birthday but because it is true and i wish you to know that i realized it. seventy-five years of upright living comes to but very few and is a crown of glory more valuable than great wealth or political advancement and i most sincerely congratulate you on having achieved this end. may your remaining days be filled with content and happiness and may the expressions of appreciation and love that you are sure to receive at this time, bring to you a partial reward for all you have done in the past for your fellows. sincerely and lovingly yours, g. h. prouty. patey and i were speaking and writing some time ago about the seventy-fifth birthday. as the boys would say, "that is some birthday," and it is fitting that more than ordinary notice should be taken of it. i expressed a belief that expressions of loyalty and grateful remembrance were more to you than material things would be. i hope the expression will be as spontaneous at this time as it has been from year to year all through your service. i have never known in any other case such a continued and universal loyalty as the students of st. johnsbury academy have given to you. by reflex action it has been inspiring to me and cultivated in me the same desire to serve my pupils which you have shown. with best wishes, franklin a. dakin. words are after all poor substitutes for the genuine feelings of the heart but i know you will be able to brush aside the words and get at the sentiment back of them. in three more days from this date you will be rounding out seventy-five years of a very useful life. i am sure you will let an old pupil and one who has received so much inspiration and good cheer from your life tell you so at this time. your boys and girls are in many lands but they are still your boys and girls. never have i seen a man retain the affection and esteem of those who have come under his influence to a greater extent than you have. may the good lord continue to bless you and yours is the sincere wish of your former pupil and friend, hedley philip patey, ' . as i look back on my years in st. johnsbury academy i know that i appreciated to some extent what you were doing for the young people in your charge, and especially the many kindnesses that you showed to me in assisting me to prepare for college. it was not until the close of my second year at the academy that i made any definite plans to go farther, but i appreciate very much more today than i did then the character of the work you were doing. it was my good fortune to be brought into touch with able teachers and educators during my entire education, but i can truthfully say that not one of them took time out of a busy life to arouse and assist a growing ambition for a broader education as you did, and i shall always look back to the three years spent under you at st. johnsbury academy as the time when my ambitions clarified themselves and i began to look out toward a broader field. very sincerely, matt b. jones, ' . as one of the many students who in st. johnsbury academy had the pleasure and advantage of your instruction, i am glad to acknowledge the obligation i personally feel to you for the kindly and patient direction given me at such an important period in a young man's life. it seems to me that the knowledge that one has wisely directed the education and lives of so many young men and women as you have, must constitute one of the crowning and most satisfying joys possible, and i am sure that all the youth who have felt the influence of your teaching sincerely wish that you may live long to enjoy the happiness which you deserve for service so conscientiously and cheerfully performed. very sincerely yours, edwin a. bayley, ' . i am sending this letter hoping it may be opened by you on february , which i am told is your birthday. i want you to be sure of the love of an old pupil who never forgets you, and never will cease to be grateful for your gifts to him during the three years that we were together in st. johnsbury. the lord richly bless you with all good things. yours loyally and affectionately, ozora s. davis, ' . i wish to take this opportunity to write to you to extend congratulations on your seventy-fifth birthday, and further to express my appreciation for the service you rendered me back in st. johnsbury academy. you will recall that when i entered the academy i told you i wanted to become a teacher and to that end i have always striven. * * * * * i must not weary you with too much of my own history, only enough to let you know that after eighteen years of service i can still look back with appreciation to the man who above all others in the academy made a lasting impression on my life. may the years that are before you be full of sunshine and happiness. yours sincerely, arthur f. o'malley, ' . some one tells me that you are to have a birthday tomorrow and i desire to join with the host of your former students in sending you good wishes on that day. there are many of us who still feel in our lives what a factor st. johnsbury was, and of all those in the old school you were the one who meant the most to each one of us. when i think of my experiences at the academy--and st. johnsbury meant more to me than college or anything else--i always think of you and the great help that you were to us boys in the time when we needed help. the pleasures of my classes in greek and all the other things in which you were of such valuable assistance, will always be remembered. i only wish i might do for some boy as much as you did for me. i send you my sincerest greetings and best wishes for a happy birthday. yours for ' , jay b. benton, ' . it hardly seems possible that you are reaching your seventy-fifth birthday, but such, i am informed, is the case. i have really known you quite a while; because you will remember that you were the normal school examiner, and i was in one of the classes graduating from the randolph normal school in . i presume that as you think over the factors which have led to such a hale and hearty old age, you will agree with mark twain who attributed his seventy years to, among other things, never having smoked but one cigar at a time, never having smoked during sleep, and not always at his meals. i hope that on this auspicious day you will take out the gold-headed cane presented you by the class of ' and, at least, wave it in the air a few times; for, as i think i told you on the day of its presentation, we hoped you might never need it for walking purposes. i can never forget your many acts of kindness rendered me personally during my course at st. johnsbury. were i to attempt to recount them as they occur to me i am sure i should make this letter, which is intended to be simply one of warm congratulations, far too long. among the many things upon which i think you are to be congratulated, i would mention first the spirit which inspires you to still love your work at seventy-five, and again the nervous and physical energy which permits you to stay, as roosevelt might say, "in the ring." no less are you to be congratulated on the consciousness, which i know must be yours, of the love and devotion of hundreds, yes, thousands by this time, of your pupils throughout the world. * * * * * i am sure i have imperfectly expressed the love, gratitude, and admiration which i always cherish toward you, but you can be sure there is much of it here, as there is in the hearts of all who have come in contact with you. with cordial best wishes i am, sincerely, george e. may, ' . tribute written by mr. roland e. stevens for the _hartford gazette_, a paper printed by mr. stevens' small boy. editor of the _hartford gazette_: every day in every year, i suppose, has a special meaning and interest for some one or more of the great human family. the day of the present week that has a particular interest and meaning for me (and without doubt for many others whom i know) is friday the twenty-six. why? because nearly thirty years ago when i was an awkward, spindling boy, thirsty and hungry for an education, without means and not in very good health, i wrote a letter to the principal of st. johnsbury academy, telling him of my ambition to enter the academy as a student and asking him if he thought i could find work by means of which i could earn enough to pay my way at the academy. when i was writing the letter i was half discouraged and rather feared and expected that i wouldn't receive an answer, because i knew the letter was not very well written or expressed, and i was almost sure that so great a man as i supposed the principal of st. johnsbury academy to be, wouldn't pay much attention to such a letter. in a short time, however, i received a very encouraging reply expressing a friendly interest in me and advising me to come to st. johnsbury in season to take an entrance examination and stating that a willing boy could most always find work. the letter was not dictated nor was it typewritten. it was written in long hand and by the principal himself. the spelling, grammar, and punctuation were, i felt sure, absolutely perfect; but the handwriting, to my great joy, was no handsomer than mine. this and the kindly tone of the letter helped me to a quick and firm determination to pack all of my worldly possessions, including some cookies, loaves of bread, etc., into a rough wooden box and start for st. johnsbury in season for the opening of the fall term. within an hour after my arrival i found myself in the home of the principal sitting quite near him, hearing him say in a quiet, sincere voice, that he was glad i came; that he had found work for me; that he wanted me to know that he was interested in all boys who came to the academy with a desire to work and to learn. i went from him to the family where i was to live and work, inspired with confidence in him and respect for him. master editor, these things happened nearly twenty years before your birth, and in all these years the only change in my feelings toward this principal of st. johnsbury academy that i am conscious of, is an increased and unbounded faith in him as a christian gentleman, love and respect for him as a true friend, gratitude and admiration for him as a teacher and wise counsellor who has ministered generously to the physical and spiritual needs of many besides myself. you know, of course, that i refer to prof. c. e. putney who was principal of st. johnsbury academy in the days when it ranked with andover and exeter and for a number of years has been teaching latin and greek in the burlington, vermont, high school. february , will be his seventy-fifth birthday. this is why that day has a particular meaning and interest for me and many others. roland e. stevens. hartford, vermont, february , . on mr. putney's seventy-fifth birthday the teachers of edmunds high school presented him with a beautiful loving cup. this note accompanied the cup: to our honored friend and co-worker, mr. charles e. putney. the teachers of the high school, with the superintendent and his wife, wish to send you hearty congratulations on your birthday and the many years of usefulness that lie in its wake. they wish to emphasize their appreciation of what it means to the whole school to have in their midst a loyal old soldier, a kindly and genial friend, and a real gentleman of "the old school." they hope this loving cup will be to you a substantial evidence of their appreciation in the past, as also of their good wishes for the future. tributes upon other birthdays at seventy with a step elastic, vigorous of mind, strenuous of purpose, casting doubts behind,-- vigilant for duty, strong to banish fears,-- what a wealth of tribute to your seventy years. backward glance disclosing many a service field, to whose faithful tilling bounteous harvests yield,-- priceless treasures, wrested from the soil of truth, treasures from rich sowing in the lives of youth; treasures from the valley, where the shadows lay till your voice of comfort whispered them away; treasures from the hillside, whose ascent seemed drear till your note of courage fell upon the ear. treasures from the garden, where the graces bloom, lavishly exuding breaths of rich perfume; treasures from the vineyard, to whose soil were given streams of gracious influence born of hope and heaven; treasures from the hilltop, where the eternal love fell in showers of blessing from the fount above; treasures gleaned from sorrow, when to longing eyes came a glimpse of mansions reared in paradise. ten and threescore cycles are complete today; loving benedictions speed you on your way. age has no forebodings,-- clouds and shadows fly from the glow and radiance of your western sky. peaceful, glad and trustful is your forward glance,-- faith begetting vision as the years advance. is the sight entrancing? do you long to go? list! the father speaketh, lovingly and low: "safe are all the treasures for which you have wrought; safe the precious jewels prayer and love have bought; all your aspirations-- incense of the soul-- with the seal eternal, safe in my control. "heaven awaits your coming with a warmth that cheers; but the earth-friends need you for a few more years; tarry yet a season, that my will may be, through the twilight hour, perfected in thee." mrs. a. l. hardy. of late we have heard much on the subject of preparedness. we have been told that the prepared man is the man who achieves the thing he goes after. he is happy. he is satisfied with himself. on the twenty-sixth of february, seventy-six years ago, there was born into the world a man who now holds a very high place in the thoughts of hundreds of men and women. that man was charles edward putney, our beloved and respected teacher. the lives of great men, it has been said, are the greatest teachers. let us then take the life of mr. putney and see what a lesson it teaches us in preparedness. at the early age of seventeen, mr. putney was teaching school. if he had not studied and prepared himself could he have filled such a position at the early age? the answer is plainly "no." mr. putney had moreover the moral and the physical courage as well as mental ability. in he answered lincoln's call for volunteers and fought bravely for the union. he had prepared to do the right and when duty called he responded. after the great war was over he entered dartmouth college. he was graduated from the institution as "honor man." and since then wherever he has gone he has been the "honor man." men, now old themselves, speak with fondest regard of their teacher and state that he showed them the right way to success. he prepared not only himself but others. isn't that a glorious thing? what greater hero is there than the fashioner of the thoughts and character of the young? let us then, as i have said before, set up mr. putney's life as a life to live by. prepare ourselves as he did and then when we have reached the autumn of our lives, we can look back with pride on a life well spent, on a character that was prepared for all that was right. if we can do that, surely we shall be happy, we shall be satisfied with ourselves.--_burlington high school register._ there are many people who are seventy-one years old, but there are very few who can claim the distinction of being seventy-one years young which belongs to our respected greek teacher. we rejoice with mr. putney in his undimmed triumph over time and congratulate him on his many years of constant usefulness. as the philosophic greeks once honored one of their race with the words "not who but what" so we honor and esteem mr. putney for his faithful service to old edmunds and for the great good he has done for her sons. we love him for his splendid personality, his patience, his fortitude and the kindly interest that he always shows in our welfare. after we leave this school, when we turn and recall the many bright days we have spent in the burlington high school, the memory of mr. putney will ever awake affection and make our heart glow with its warmth.--_burlington high school register._ february , . here are my congratulations and best wishes for you. another year of service is added to your enviable list. it must be a great satisfaction to look back upon a life so well spent and to realize how many lives have been benefited because you have been here all these years. you cannot but know the honor and respect with which the teachers look up to you, and how we are trying to reach something like the high standard which you have attained; but i wonder if you realize the love which your pupils have for you. some of them come into my room every day at the close of school for an hour's uninterrupted study and i am going to tell you some of the things which they have said to me about you. "mr. putney is such a lovable man." "i thought i should be afraid of him, but he makes us feel he is interested in us and i don't feel one bit afraid even though he does know so much." "he is full of fun too. there is no one in the class who sees anything funny quicker than he." "i am so glad he is in the school while i am here. i shall always feel it to have been a great privilege to have had him for a teacher." and i want to say that i, too, feel it to be a great privilege to be in the school with you and to have felt your quiet presence and to have known your ready sympathy and interest. may the coming year be a happy one. very sincerely yours, harriet towne. one of the "boys of seventy-six" he's just a boy, a lively boy, who notes no years, i ween; he might be six and seventy, or he might be "sweet sixteen." he's done a marv'lous work, and still is putting in his licks to prove the staying powers of a "boy of seventy-six." "his hair is white?" of course it's white! he's white, all through and through! his soul is white, has always been; his heart is white and true. but in life's battle has he shown whiteness of feather? nix!! his whiteness adds new glory to the "boys of seventy-six." "what great things has he done?" ah! if the querist only knew it, greatness concerns not what we do, but, rather, how we do it. and every deed well done is great; and that is just his fix! say! isn't that some record for a "boy of seventy-six"? "but doesn't he take time to play?" why, bless your anxious soul! he's always played,--too hard to note how fast the seasons roll! he's playing yet; but work and play in him so closely mix you don't know which to call him, man or "boy of seventy-six." "his favorite game?" no need to ask; that in which good is rife; the game that tests all human worth,-- the glorious game of life. he never "stacks the cards," and yet he takes his share of tricks; competitors have nothing on this "boy of seventy-six." "but when does he intend to stop? he's surely done his share; give him some nook and let him play a game of solitaire." methinks i see you try it on! there'd be some vigorous kicks; you'd feel them, too, though coming from a "boy of seventy-six." a "quitter," he? not on your life! he's built on different lines; he'll never be a quitter while the sun of priv'lege shines! as long as he can serve the needs of harrys, toms and dicks who look his way, he'll be "on call," this "boy of seventy-six." freeman putney. a birthday reminder of gallant service performed in the war charles e. putney was happily surprised at the opening of the sunday school of the college street church when the rev. i. c. smart, pastor of the church, in a most delightful manner, presented him with the insignia of the first brigade, first division (general stannard's), eighteenth army corps, the gift of his friends in the church. the badge was pinned to the left breast of mr. putney's coat by his little granddaughter, mary p. lane, and gen. theodore s. peck explained to the children the use of the corps badge of the army. although overcome with surprise, mr. putney responded most feelingly. the presentation was witnessed by a large number of members of the school and of the grand army of the republic. the medal bears the following inscription: "prof. c. e. putney, from friends in the college street church, burlington, vermont, february , , in remembrance of his gallant service in the war for the union, as sergeant, co. c, thirteenth new hampshire, first brigade, first division, eighteenth army corps." on the two gold bars from which the medal is suspended by a red, white and blue ribbon, are inscribed the eleven battles in which his regiment participated: first fredericksburg, siege of suffolk, port walthal, swift creek, kingsland creek, drewrys bluff, cold harbor, petersburg, fort mcconhie, fort harrison and richmond. the badge was originally intended as a birthday gift to mr. putney, but its arrival was delayed so the presentation was made on the anniversary of the death of abraham lincoln. the badge was accompanied by a letter from mr. putney's friends stating that the gift was intended as a slight token of their esteem and affection and a birthday reminder of the gallant service performed by him as a soldier in the army of the union, - .--_national tribune._ * * * * * sleep on, o brave-hearted, o wise man that kindled to flame-- to live in mankind is far more than to live in a name, to live in mankind, far, far more than to live in a name! --nicholas vachel lindsay. tributes from friends at st. johnsbury academy i take special pleasure in sending to mr. putney's memorial an appreciative testimony to the long tried friendship which we had for each other. i was with him as fellow teacher under mr. fuller's principalship and after that worked with and under him as principal until his resignation. was with him a longer time than any other teacher, always with the kindest and most uniform relations both in educational and social respects, and more than all else in the higher spiritual relationships. in a letter from him a very short time before he passed away he hoped he might still be in the work of teaching when he reached his eightieth birthday. i thought he was to be much rejoiced with that he came so near it and was called up higher while in the joy of his chosen life work. it is very pleasant to remember also the close friendships between wives and daughters of our two families. solomon h. brackett. none of mr. putney's pupils were more devoted and loyal to him, none had more sincere love and affection for him, than the teachers who were privileged to work with him. mr. putney's great aim was to make true men and noble women and all those who were fortunate to be called his pupils will bear his mark with them in their accomplishments, in their graces, and in their power. many of his pupils will be inclined to virtue, holiness and peace, because the teacher was the embodiment of these qualities. in all things he had charity. tolerance was of his nature. he respected in others the qualities he himself possessed, sincerity of conviction and frankness of expression. his power over his pupils was marked and abiding because of his own example, his profound scholarship, his humility, his absolute justice, yet accompanied with sympathy and respect. his impulses were great, earnest, simple, unostentatious. his is the old story of devotion to duty, a religious sentiment and faith, serious determination, cheerfulness and untiring effort. "for he was a faithful man and feared god above many." a. l. hardy. when you speak of mr. putney you will find my loyalty as strong as ever. we kept up our correspondence to the last. i am glad to express again my debt to him, and i certainly should not wish to be omitted from any group of mr. putney's friends. when i went to st. johnsbury academy at mr. putney's invitation i was inexperienced and needed a good deal of friendly advice. he had a rare gift in that way. his own devotion, unselfishness and conscientiousness were contagious. he was a good teacher and still better trainer. but the moral effect of living and working with him was the best thing about the academy. i believe all the excellent staff of teachers felt just as i did. so much so that our intimate association gave us more than the pupils could get. some of us enjoyed too the fine, generous neighborliness of both mr. and mrs. putney. in administrative councils his judgment never lost sight of the central object--the cultivation of each pupil to the most effective christian manhood and womanhood. what higher mark than that can be set by any of the theorists and innovators of the present day education? the typical "new england academy"--and st. johnsbury was the ideal among them--can bear comparison with the latest and best of schools in the highest object of education. probably it needed its own environment which could not be duplicated elsewhere. all honor to it and to him who was its exponent during my own years so happily given to its service. sincerely yours, franklin a. dakin. the first impression which mr. putney made upon me when he joined our circle of teachers in the academy was that of a man of strength, high moral purpose and rare teaching ability, an impression which grew to a certainty as the years went on and he became our principal. his courtesy, unfailing kindness and good fellowship made it a pleasure to work with and under him, and i shall always remember him as a true and valued friend and a great teacher. "what more can we desire for our friends than this," as was said of that other beloved teacher, edward bowen of england, "that in remembering them there should be nothing to regret, that all who came under their influence should feel themselves for ever thereafter the better for that influence." l. jennie colby. it is difficult to put in words my estimate of mr. putney. he was a loyal friend to everyone he knew, always looking for ways of encouragement and help. many a scholar can testify to the truth of this. we know his thoroughness as a teacher, we remember his reverence for the bible, his prayers, his loyalty to church and its organizations, his devotion to his heavenly father. i think his influence for good will extend to the ends of the earth. it has been a great blessing to know him. i have been so glad he could keep up his work to the last. mary cummings clark. if i were to put into one word what seems to me the keynote of mr. putney's life as i knew him, it would be service. there was never a moment that i was not conscious that even when he was in physical suffering, which, alas! was often, he was ready to help in every way possible. this patience and kindness were unfailing, and his sense of humor, which must have helped him as well as us, often pricked our difficulties, and showed us how unimportant they really were. i was with him only two years, but his character, and the lessons learned from him have been a very real influence in my life ever since. elizabeth washburn worthen. the distance of time (now forty years) since those academy days does not dim the fond recollection and appreciation of my teachers at st. johnsbury academy. and of them all, before or since, there is no one who holds a higher place in my esteem than mr. putney. though engaged in teaching mathematics and astronomy during the greater part of this time, i have not forgotten, nor ever shall, the essentials he taught--some things even in latin and greek, but far more in earnestness and sincerity and purpose. and i prize also the closer touch with his sensitive, kindly, sterling personality afforded by the few months when i was privileged to teach as a substitute at the academy. would that we had more such men now in the ranks of the profession. f. b. brackett, ' . with high reverence for what men had known as wisdom and beauty in the past, with sane and clear-eyed understanding of the shifting needs of the present, with confident faith in the ultimate good, whatever the future, he taught many lessons which we did not know until long afterwards that we had learned. margaret bell merrill, ' . it is a great pleasure for me to add my word of appreciation with respect to the splendid influence that mr. putney exerted at st. johnsbury academy. he was always fair, always friendly, and his sense of humor was a delight. a thorough scholar himself, he was not satisfied with superficial work. he was able to sympathize with the pupil's view of life and yet he knew how to enlarge that view. the branches of latin and greek which he taught did not afford him full scope for expressing the originality that was a remarkable part of his character; but i remember a course of reading in english literature which our class took under him as an extra, and there he was able to disclose the poetic part of his nature, and we were able to know him as a thinker and a seer. i look back with gratitude to the days at "st. jack." george r. montgomery, ' . i first saw mr. putney in august, , when i came alone and somewhat homesick to seek admission to the academy. he was standing on the steps of south hall ready to greet new students with his quiet friendly manner and sincere expression of interest. he made us feel at once that we had in him a friend, one who understood us and expected the best from us. i like to recall this picture of him for it gave me an impression of the man that i have never had occasion to change. mr. putney was a great teacher. thorough in detail and wise in daily drill that he knew was necessary for our success, he showed a love for the literature that he taught and an enthusiasm that was contagious. fortunate the boy or girl who learned virgil under his wise guidance. always sympathetic and encouraging, he could detect the bluffer and discourage one who tried to get through his lessons without adequate preparation. he corrected our mistakes, but encouraged our attempts to succeed, even though we often failed. he appealed to our ambition, to our sense of obligation, and to our pride; and thus he led rather than drove us to our work. and work we did; we did not dare to disappoint him, we did not wish to disappoint him. later in college we had occasion more than once to be thankful for the wise and sound training we had had under his leadership. it is, however, the personality of the man that lives with us, whether we remember him best in the classroom or in the chapel exercises, in the dormitory or in some other phase of his active life. he was quiet, even-tempered, but forceful. his voice was not often raised, but it carried conviction. his directions were accepted without protest or question; or if, as i remember well, on one occasion we did protest, he had a firm, convincing manner that made us accept his word as final. and yet there was no rancor left, we felt that mr. putney was right. as a rule he was serious, but he had a merry twinkle in his eye that told of a sense of humor and an ability to join with his students in their good times. in a very real sense he entered into the lives of all of us and made upon us that impression that makes us rise and say with one voice, "he was a christian gentleman." gilbert s. blakely, ' . the personality of mr. putney has stayed with me during all these years with singular distinctness. many other teachers, whose influence has been undoubted and deeply felt, shape themselves in memory somewhat vaguely. but mr. putney stands out clearly and vividly, as if the days under him at st. johnsbury academy were but yesterday. here was a man quiet and unassuming, and yet i am conscious, and always have been conscious, of a certain power that flowed from him into the lives of his pupils. such a force does not lend itself readily to analysis. like most fundamental things, it is subtle, undefinable. but some elements in the character of mr. putney in the retrospect are clear as air. in the first place, he was a born teacher. his scholarship was backed by thoroughness of application in the classroom. a part of his painstaking self passed into the mental processes, and so into the equipment, of those who sat under him. his instruction went deep. it was thorough plowing of the mind. slip-shod methods were repugnant to his nature. then, too, how patient he was! for every student he seemed to carry in his mind an ideal of development that made every effort on his part toward that end a real joy, and so he first grounded him in basic things and then built on that foundation. with poise and self-control, though not physically robust, he managed a large school in such a way that it ran as smoothly as a well-oiled machine. we took it all for granted then. but we see now, especially those of us who are teachers ourselves, the meaning and the reason of it all, and we trace the fact to its source in an able and inspiring personality. mr. putney had a quiet glow of humor, and many an incident comes to mind to show how large and wholesome a part this characteristic played in his career. but most of all i would pay tribute to the christian gentleman. his idealism was not too lofty for "human nature's daily food." rather it expressed itself in practical devotion to the best interests of his pupils, to good things, and to noble causes. he was a leader because he allowed himself humbly to be led by something above him. he moulded character because he was himself being moulded by spiritual forces. not ambitious in the worldly sense, he came into his own long before his gentle life passed from among us. i fancy that, could he do so, he would tell us that his real ambition has been realized. in mr. putney we are gratefully aware of that gracious thing, the distribution of a rare personality through the lives of others, the multiplication of self in terms of helpfulness to the world. henry d. wild, ' . those were days of exceptional privilege in the eighties and nineties for the shy but eager boys and girls of rural vermont who found their way to st. johnsbury academy, there, under mr. putney and the able and friendly faculty of his choice, to catch enlarged vision and the preparation to fulfill it. the quiet, unobtrusive life of such as mr. putney lends itself to fewer striking, outstanding memories than more brilliant careers, yet how positive the impression and far-reaching the influence, and how sweet the incidents one does recall! my first acquaintance revealed his friendly interest and thoughtfulness. discovering that i, a timid new-comer, was the only girl enrolled for greek with twenty young men, he sent a kindly word of encouragement and the hope that i would not let the fact discourage me in my purpose. that pledge of sympathy on the part of one of my first male instructors had large weight in deciding me to brave the ordeal. it was, too, a pledge fully and most wisely carried out, so discriminatingly administered by daily, tactful consideration as to set me wholly at ease and to establish the most natural, unconscious comradeship with the class. the only visible evidence of his thought came in occasional approving comments upon the little rivalry in scholarship in the class and the requests that i conduct the class sometimes when he was necessarily absent. thus he made of the experience, by his fine tact and wisdom, a happy and fruitful one. i was early inspired with a confidence that the ideals he held for us were but those of his own life. the urgent suggestions to drill and review our lessons thoroughly were the more forceful when i learned that it had been a habit of all his own student life to review each saturday the entire daily work of the week. a trying epidemic of colds and coughs was prevailing one winter, disturbing school exercises greatly. at the close of chapel one morning mr. putney told us in his quiet, earnest manner the dangers of allowing a cough to become aggravated and the possibility of entirely controlling it. skeptical of this, i well remember with what gleeful malice i scoffed at it in the hearing of a teacher who made the lesson one of life-long practice by telling me of the heroic, thorough treatment to which mr. putney had in early life subjected himself, so that he had spoken out of personal experience again. when his life had been despaired of because of supposedly fatal illness he had effected a complete recovery by checking the deep-seated cough. when in later years i found that his benign presence and quiet influence was bearing daily fruit in the same, or even greater respect and reverence with a younger generation of students, i realized afresh under what a rare teacher i had had the privilege of coming, and how profoundly true it is that such a personality teaches constantly, often when least suspected, the finest and most profound lessons. the vision which he communicated is one of the most precious treasures. bertha m. terrill, ' . i appreciate exceedingly this opportunity to add my words of tribute to the memory and worth of mr. putney. to him i am indebted beyond measure for the incentive, encouragement, aid and inspiration which he gave me while a student at the academy. his was a life long in years, ripe in scholarship, and rich in unselfish and generous service. in him were combined the qualities of the best type of teacher. his clearness of vision, and straight thinking made him a leader whose influence was broad and lasting; while by the gentleness of his manners and by the broadness of his sympathies he won and held the affection of all who knew him. his loyal devotion to the cause of education was such that he desired nothing more earnestly than to serve and aid those who sought his instruction, and he ever held before the student the highest ideals of a fine, clean, strong and christian manhood. his influence continues, and will widen in the years yet to come. george e. miner, ' . all the way along, from the days when, in the absence of my own father, he initiated me, a little girl of five, into the joys of a dip in the atlantic to the almost equally happy days in number ten when i learned through him to know the wonder and beauty of virgil and cicero, mr. putney seemed to me one of the best and finest men in the world. how considerate he always was! during the years of my father's pastorate, mr. putney was among those who gave unsparingly at all times just the help and cheer that the minister needed. i think of him as one whose life was a beautiful mingling of gentleness and strength. cornelia taylor fairbanks, ' . march , . it would be a genuine and great pleasure to us to be with you at the doings of the alumni association and to meet again all the famous characters expected there, especially the guest of honor. we are glad of this opportunity to renew our profession of allegiance to him. he was our principal during the final year we passed at the beloved academy, the year when, because of mr. fuller's absence abroad, he was the acting principal as he afterwards came to be the titular principal as well. we have always cherished the sincerest regard and affection for mr. putney,--not only because he was our competent and faithful teacher and our respected principal, but because he was in the truest sense our friend. we owe him a great debt of gratitude which, like honest though insolvent creditors, we can acknowledge though we cannot hope to pay. ours was the first graduating class that knew him as principal, and we always cherished the fond conceit, that, as he was peculiarly dear to us, so we were a little more to him than any other class could be. i hope he will not say or do anything upon this occasion to banish that happy thought from our minds. he will probably try to appear as fond of you as he is of us. he always did have a way of letting you down easy when he didn't want to hurt your feelings. you cannot have forgotten how, when you answered his questions in classroom, he always said, "yes, yes," as though your answer was all that could be desired, even when he followed it by some quiet correction, which when you had taken your seat and thought it over, gradually let you see that you had missed the mark by about a mile. we wish that we could do anything as well as mr. putney could teach! happy is the school that has him for a teacher! happy are the boys and girls--of whatever age--who have him for a friend! sincerely and fraternally yours, florence and wendell stafford, ' . being both a paternal and maternal grandson of the academy, i subscribe to the above with duty as well as pleasure. edward stafford, ' . i hardly know what to say. there is such a mingling of emotions--sorrow for the loss, joy that he has been with us so long, gratitude that it has been my privilege to keep in so close touch with him during most of the years since i, a school girl, first came under the influence that has never lost its hold for a minute. no one individual has ever had more to do with the shaping of my life than he and whatever little good i have been able to do for boys and girls is largely attributable to the influence that has helped me for so long. my experience can be multiplied a thousand times and then the story has not been told. we all shall hold his memory in love, and in reverence. generations to come will still feel indirectly the help that we have had from him. i've always seen mr. putney as i read those words of tennyson in his dedication to the "idylls." "indeed he seems to me scarce other than my king's ideal knight, who reverenced his conscience as his king, whose glory was redressing human wrong, who spake no slander, no nor listened to it, we have lost him, he is gone-- we know him now--and we see him as he moved, how modest, kindly, all accomplished, wise, with what sublime repression of himself-- and in what limits, and how tenderly-- now swaying to this faction or to that-- but through all this tract of years wearing the white flower of a blameless life, before a thousand peering littlenesses. where is he who dares foreshadow for an only son a lovelier life, a more unstained than his?" very sincerely, caroline s. woodruff, ' . among the many valuable and valued possessions which were mine when i left st. johnsbury academy was a clear-cut impression of mr. putney as a man, as a friend, and as a teacher. he stood for standards, high standards of behavior and of scholarship. after all these years this image is still clear and vivid. simple, sincere, and single-minded in his life work, his standards of living have always been a challenge to the best in his associates, a challenge which has, consciously or unconsciously, helped us all to higher levels of service. this is our tribute to his memory. elizabeth hall, ' . i look back on the old academy days under mr. putney with ever increasing appreciation of him and of his influence over my life. i am glad to add my tribute to his memory and i do so most heartily. charles e. putney was a kindly, courtly, christian gentleman. he was a wonderful teacher, leading his students through the classics by ways that made latin and greek no longer "dead" languages but very much alive; and so were the thrilling narratives of the old worthies who almost seemed to speak again in mr. putney's classrooms. meantime, character building was going on and his insistence of high standards of honor and strict discipline made most of the boys more manly and most of the girls more womanly, and they are grateful to him, as i am, for it all. devotion to duty was characteristic of him in school and church, in home and public life. he was a good soldier and to him citizenship meant service. he was a true friend and that meant the helping hand. i honor and revere his memory. my humble tribute is one of gratitude for his noble life, which, touching mine, revealed more clearly for my stumbling feet the shining pathway that he trod to worthy self-investment, to truth and god. rolfe cobleigh, ' . from that first day when i went into the academy office to consult with mr. putney as a new student, i have been and shall continue to be under the deepest obligation to one of the noblest spirits and finest teachers whose influence ever has been exerted upon young men and women. his scholarship was accurate and he made greek interesting. his moral standards were lofty and he made honor and truth beautiful. his soul was sincere and devoted and he made christ attractive to the mind and will of a boy. he knew how to give encouragement at the critical moment and how to exercise discipline justly so that no sting remained. he influenced me more deeply than any other teacher of my youth, and my love and gratitude grew as the years passed. mr. putney did not disappoint me as my ideal of a christian teacher and lover of young men. it was a great life. ozora s. davis, ' . a teacher projects himself through the lives of his pupils and an institution of learning speaks through the voice of its scholars. st. johnsbury academy has been a formative force in the educational life of new england and beyond, and her leadership has been buttressed upon sound learning. charles e. putney was a great principal and an inspiring teacher. in the classics his well-ordered mind found a congenial field for interpretation and elucidation. frail of physique, with all the scholar's nerves and sensitiveness, he yet day after day ploughed through the hesitating minds of his pupils with patience and thoroughness. particularly as a teacher of greek did he excel. he led his pupils through the necessary technique of parasangs to the mastery of the sublime secrets of this imperial mother of tongues. he possessed the capacity of taking infinite pains and played no favorites among his scholars. i imagine the responsibility of administration irked his gentle spirit and the rawness of self-centered youth must have tried his conscientious soul. i never thought of him in those days as a veteran of the civil war, in fact, did not then know of his martial service, but i can see now how that experience must have fed his hatred of disobedience and disloyalty and increased his zeal for the proper development of the minds of his boys and girls in order that they too might become dependable citizens of the republic. his was a kindly nature, though to the pupil who first fronted him he seemed stern, yet this was but the shell, in which daily duty encased him. it was always a pleasure to watch his sense of humor expand itself in friendly smile and expend itself in his low chuckle as some particularly atrocious translation fell from lips unused to expressing ancient thought. it is hard to measure his personal influence by a sentence but it seems to me as principal and teacher, by precept and practice, he showed how desirable a thing it is to perform the daily task conscientiously and patiently. frederick g. fleetwood, ' . to me mr. putney was a great teacher. i knew him as a friend, my friend and the life-time friend of my father. i knew him as an active member of the south church, and a devoted leader of religious life and activity in the academy. but it was as a teacher that he had a formative power on my life. as i look back on those classes in "beginning greek," and in cicero, i recognize his painstaking thoroughness. the fundamentals were clear to him, and it was his work to make them clear, definite, and lasting in the minds of his pupils. if he made a mistake it was in his conscientious care that no dull or backward or thoughtless pupil should fail to have these fundamentals of the subject drilled into his mind. how many hundreds of pupils owe their sense of accurate and clear thought to his persistent efforts day in and day out, i have no idea. he was primarily a great teacher because he never relaxed his effort to make every pupil know the essentials of the subject he taught. but he was more than a drillmaster, fundamental as that is. he was not without a sense of humor. i remember once he came to the door of a room in south hall where, one saturday afternoon, some boys were not very quiet in their recreation. some one answered his knock by asking, "who's there?" when the answer came, "it's me, mr. putney," the boy said, "no, mr. putney would have said, 'it is i'"; and i can almost hear his quiet chuckle as he went away. a great teacher depends for his success on his moral character. no one could ever question the sincerity and force of mr. putney's character. with clear vision of the work he wanted to accomplish, with a devotion to his high purpose which never wavered, with a simplicity and straightforwardness which showed in every action, he impressed on the students his high ideals. at the same time he won their complete confidence and made them feel his sympathy. such a man leaves a widespread heritage in his pupils. he leaves also a heritage of fine tradition for the academy he served. arthur fairbanks, ' . a college professor, at an alumni gathering, in conversation with one of his former students who had been obliged to work his way through college, said to him, "i always had a feeling that you took life too seriously,--that you had too little diversion." the thought expressed in that remark suggests one of the dominant impressions of mr. putney that comes to me after these many years. teaching was to him a serious matter, and the student's part, in his judgment, both in preparation and in classroom, demanded likewise faithful and not superficial performance. the basis of this characteristic in his life-work was his christian faith. it naturally made his objective the development of christian character, over and above the impartation and reception of information. i have always felt a deep sense of personal gratitude for a service rendered during a special period of study at the academy. members of my class who took the classical course will recall that greek was not included among my studies. nearly four years after graduation from the academy, having decided to enter college as a classical student, i returned to st. johnsbury for ten weeks of intensive study of greek alone. mr. putney not only made my membership in the class in "middle" greek possible, and practically free from embarrassment at being a late comer, but gave me many regular hours of private instruction in homeric greek, enabling me during the last weeks of the time to join the senior class in the study of the latter form of the language. this i believe to be illustrative of his devotion and self-denying service to any who are ready to respond to the forth-putting of time, strength and knowledge on his part. his home was open, if needed, to receive students or others who were sick and in need of attention impossible to be given in the academy dormitory or other rooming building. some cases of illness were of many weeks duration, but this mattered not. the tender ministrations of mrs. putney were not lessened until all necessity was passed. mr. putney's influence was not due to his public utterances, for he did not seek platform prominence. but his constant adherence to high ideals of faithfulness, conscientiousness, and efficiency outside and in the classroom, and his personal helpfulness to many an individual student are among the legacies which many of us have been privileged to share from his long and abundantly fruitful life. george l. leonard, ' . a human humanist "are you willing to write an appreciation of what his influence in those early days meant to you?" so the letter read, telling me of the charles e. putney memorial. and shall i be frank enough to add that for a moment the question rather floored me? for while youth is very susceptible to influences, of many sorts, youth is not much more conscious of them than the beanstalk of the pole. yet almost immediately it came back to me that a few days before that letter arrived, a group of men were chatting in a washington club--among other things, about the value and results of formal education. and, agreeing that few people ever pick up at school or college anything which in later life they can put their finger on, that for many people the so-called higher education is a pure waste of time, i added, "the only man who ever taught me anything was a greek teacher i had at a preparatory school in vermont." that greek teacher was mr. putney. perhaps greek is no longer taught at the academy. i don't know. it is not the fashion nowadays. but i am somewhat concerned that it has ceased to be the fashion. and the foundation of the feeling i have about it was laid, in great part, at st. johnsbury. on that, at any rate, i can put my finger. it may not have been mr. putney who first sowed in the mind of one of his pupils the consciousness that history is a very long drawn out affair; that it did not begin in a. d. , or in a. d. , or even in a. d. . for before that pupil trod the banks of the passumpsic he happened to have visited the shores of the Ã�gean. to him, consequently, the anabasis and homer were more real than otherwise they might have seemed--though mr. putney had the gift of making those old stories real. but of one thing i am quite sure. mr. putney gave me my first sense of language as a living and growing organism, come from far beginnings; and he first made me see in the english language, in particular, a stream of many confluents. this is the chief reason why it seems to me a disaster that the classics are passing out of fashion. for with them all true understanding of our rich and noble tongue seems fated to pass out of fashion. to be too much bound to the past is of course an unhappy thing. each generation must live by and largely for itself. yet does it not profit a man to be aware that knowledge is an ancient and gradual accumulation, to gain an outlook upon the cycles of history and upon the human experiments that have succeeded or failed, to be able to trace the sources of this or that element in science, in law, in art? and how shall he really know the language he speaks without some acquaintance with the languages which have chiefly enriched it--not only french and german, but latin and greek as well? this mr. putney had the art of making his pupils feel. i remember how he used to pick words to pieces and squeeze out for us the inner essence of their meaning. one example in particular has always stuck in my memory: pernicious. and i can still hear mr. putney's voice translating it for us: "most completely full of that which produces death." that word has had an interest for me ever since--akin to the respect which henry james later instilled into me for the adjective poignant, which he declared should be used only once or twice in a lifetime. what is more, i have never lost the habit mr. putney enticed us to form, of picking words to pieces for ourselves. there is no better way of extracting shades of meaning. but that way is closed to those who have no greek. mr. putney was, in short, my first humanist--though that word didn't come to me till another day, when i began to read about the renaissance. but he was more than a humanist. he was humane. he was human. that underlay the fact that, with the affectionate disrespect of youth, he was known among ourselves as "put." disrespect, however, was never what we felt toward the principal of the academy. indeed, the first time i ever saw him, when i was a new boy of sixteen, he impressed me as being a rather awesome person. as long as i knew him his dignity and his firmness never failed to impress me. yet about that dignity there was nothing aloof. that firmness was not hardness; it had no cutting edge. he meant what he said. that was all. no idle or disobedient boy flattered himself that "put" was to be trifled with. every boy felt, however, that "put" was just. firm as he was, he had too a great gentleness. and i think he had the kindest and most patient eyes i ever looked into. they were very shrewd. they could look through a boy as if he were made of glass. but they were also very wise, and they knew how to overlook a great deal of folly and thoughtlessness. moreover there was in the bottom of them a twinkle--of a most individual kind. it was no broad irish twinkle, nor yet an ironic latin twinkle. you saw it sometimes when you had made a particularly egregious translation; but it didn't dishearten you. i have never forgotten that quiet, that comprehending, that rare twinkle. after all, what happier light could a man cast on the cloudy ways of youth--or shed upon his own character? h. g. dwight, ' . coming east from dubuque to chicago, it is inspiring to an eastern man to see how the life of this busy metropolis of the west is guided and influenced by the eastern-trained man and woman. on the same street with the great university of chicago is chicago theological seminary. i had a delightful interview with the man who presides over this institution, training the virile young men of the west for the work of the christian ministry and also for work in the mission field. this man is dr. ozora s. davis, a graduate of st. johnsbury academy and of dartmouth college. dr. davis attended st. johnsbury academy during the principalship of that gifted and consecrated christian gentleman, charles e. putney, ph. d. a powerful influence for righteousness exerted by the quiet but inspiring personality of this educational leader is now felt throughout the world. truly the fourth verse of the nineteenth psalm is applicable to this former principal of a new england academy: "their line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world." h. philip patey, ' . _journal of education._ it is fitting that mr. putney's work and influence as an officer in the church in whose service he was so constant and faithful should receive some mention. while serving as principal of st. johnsbury academy during some of its most prosperous years and largest enrollment, he found time to serve actively on the board of deacons of the south church, to teach a large class of students in the sunday school, and to be unfailing in attendance upon the mid-week meeting. he was a pillar in the church he loved. and while in the academy he maintained the religious traditions on which it was founded, he recognized that it was in the church that these traditions found their source and inspiration. on his removal to burlington he took up similar relations with the college street church, and continued them to the end of his career, loyal to its interests and liberal in its support. if fine distinctions are to be made between vocation and avocation it would be difficult to determine to which institution the terms should be applied as his life is reviewed. c. h. merrill, _vermont missionary._ it was not my privilege to sit at the feet of mr. putney as a student. in about the year , i attended prize-speaking at the high school of norwich, vermont, and was told that the young principal was a mr. putney. something about the man appealed to my boyish senses and i wished that i might know him, but lack of confidence prevented my making myself known. an acquaintance was formed three or four years later at st. johnsbury. for a time, i was associated with mr. putney in certain lay-religious work and came to know him well, if not intimately,--a friendship which ever after continued. after the death of mrs. hazen, i received a beautiful letter from mr. putney, written laboriously by a shaking hand, but it expressed so much in a few words, characteristic of his genuineness, it is a letter that will ever be preserved among my most cherished possessions. what was the subtle something that so appealed to me that long-ago evening at norwich? it seems to me it was the unspoken sympathy of the man which touched the lives of all who came in contact with him even as the fragrance of a flower permeates the atmosphere. surely he lived a life that is well "worth the telling." perley f. hazen. i want to join in the chorus of love and tender remembrance which you are hearing from all sides in regard to your father. he was my first teacher, at norwich, when for the first time i went to school, and his kindness and consideration helped me over the strangeness and discomfort of the new experience. he taught me latin and i began greek with him. he was a most delightful principal of the school, and thought of the pleasantest things for us boys and girls to do, in and out of the classrooms; for instance, long walks together in which he accompanied us. all my life i have thought of him with warmth and pleasure, and on the few occasions when i have seen him the old gratitude and confidence have been renewed. he was so good and so delightful all at once. sincerely yours, katherine morris cone. charles e. putney one lately dying--though alas i deem myself unfit to praise his high, clear faith-- followed his master till the darkling stream was bravely crossed, sure that in life or death nothing could separate from the love of christ. so faithfully he kept with god his long, last tryst. j. a. bellows, dartmouth, ' . from his brother freeman. the hearts of all your father's brothers were terribly wrung by his death. for it has not often been given to a household to have a leading member who commanded such reverently affectionate esteem as did our brother charles. his life, his spirit, his purposes, his exemplary attitude toward worthy living, his generously helpful thought--always expressed in action--how could they well be other than a constant challenge to his brothers and sisters? we all have rare cause for deep gratitude that he was ours for so many years; we cannot express our gratitude for our memories of him. from a friend. there is just one mind and one expression regarding your dear father--"one of the grand old men has gone to his reward." the presence of mr. putney has been a benediction to our high school. how thankful you must be that he had no lingering illness but just laid down his books and entered into the fuller life. we thank god for such a presence in our midst. from an associate teacher. in the years in school mr. putney was always ready with good counsel to the younger men. he never seemed to lose his courage nor even to grow old. the last time i saw him, his smile was as bright and his voice as cheery as i remember it always to have been. from another associate teacher. i count myself very fortunate to have known your father, and to have been his friend for a short time. he was one of the finest christian gentlemen i ever knew. his influence in the city, the church and the school is certainly past all measuring. from a friend. a man whom literally thousands love and revere in memory, and whose work and influence are still going on. from a former pupil. i need not tell you that his going is, as was the death of your blessed mother, like the loss of one of my own parents. the kindness of those two good people to me when i needed help of just the kind they so finely and unselfishly gave has always been a most helpful influence in my life. to grow old looking upon his advancing years and the future with grace and an abiding faith, as mr. putney did, is in itself an inspiration to us all. from a more recent pupil. i do not need to tell you how we all loved him--everyone did who ever knew him. he was everybody's favorite teacher, and instead of hating to go to his classes we loved to do so. somehow i always felt better after having talked with him, and i only wish everyone in the world could have known him. he was a real gentleman and a scholar. * * * * * he is not dead, this friend; not dead, but on some road by mortals tread, got some few trifling steps ahead; and nearer to the end; so that you too once past the bend, shall meet again, as face to face this friend you fancy dead. --robert louis stevenson. appreciative words from teachers and pupils of burlington high school, to live to old age; to keep one's physical health and mental vigor to the very end; to work at one's chosen task with undiminished enthusiasm; to know one's self greatly useful and greatly beloved; to go, at last, swiftly, and to be mourned by many friends;--what could one ask, of all the gifts of life, better than that? the impression left by mr. putney is that of a singularly serene and happy old age. and surely, if ever a man had reason to look upon his life with serenity and quiet satisfaction, mr. putney had reason to do so. it is a touching and also an inspiring thought, how the successive generations of young boys and girls passed through his life, each one receiving something of the rich gift which mr. putney had to share with all, but then too, each returning something of the fresh outlook and untarnished faith of youth to keep his old age green. mr. putney lived long but never grew old. perhaps because of his very association with the young, he tasted the fountain of perpetual youth. how valuable and how prized was the gift which he imparted, is best known to those who best knew the man himself. no pupil of his seems to think of him primarily as a teacher, but as a wise and kindly friend, whom to know was, somehow, to become one's self wiser and of a more human spirit. and yet he was a superb teacher. it is simply that this phase of him is lost in the totality of the man. one thinks instinctively of a phrase of cicero's--cicero whose orations mr. putney taught for so many years--"vir amplissimus." it means something much more, something quite other than simply "great man." it means one adequate for the occasion, whatever that occasion might be. that is the final verdict to be pronounced, as it is the highest praise to be bestowed. from whatever angle mr. putney was regarded, and to whatever test he was brought, he measured up; he sufficed. john e. colburn. when mr. putney died, we could not at first realize our loss. he had been so much a part of the school life that it seemed hardly possible that, while that life went on, he could be away. we all loved and admired him, but we seldom stopped to measure him. we accepted him, like any other accustomed gift, without realizing quite fully how much he meant to us. as we remember him now, what impresses us most strongly is the thought how little in him we could have wished to change--how extraordinarily well he measured up as a man. there was a fine serenity about him, and a kind of soundness and sweetness of character like the autumnal ripeness of a perfect apple. it was tonic and wholesome to be under his influence. there have been great teachers who could not teach. nevertheless they were great teachers because a virtue went out from them which touched the lives of their pupils and was better than all instruction. there have been great instructors who could not be respected, because along with intellectual brilliancy and clearness went a narrow, or a low, or a selfish outlook on life. mr. putney measured up in both respects--he was a large-minded man, he was a great teacher. the very nature of his profession precluded any wide or ringing fame. his work was done quietly, unobtrusively, one might almost say, obscurely. a teacher's work is always so. his memory rests with us who knew him, but with us it is very secure. it is the memory of a man whom we could respect without coldness, and love without making allowances.--_burlington high school register._ in these days when the so-called practical side of life has seemed to crowd out the humanities, so that in many schools latin and greek are not included in the curriculum, mr. putney has held high the torch of classical learning. to him much credit should be given for keeping alive a real interest in greek, and for giving thorough and inspiring work in latin. moreover, in all school relations mr. putney has been not only ready but glad to co-operate. whether for a social gathering of the teachers requiring a tax, for tickets to the many ball games, or for thanksgiving baskets to be filled, mr. putney's purse was always open. not many, indeed, know how often he overpaid his subscription so as to be sure to do his part. but, of course, it is the personality of mr. putney, so elusive and yet so real, that has impressed us all. in the hurry and rush of modern days, he never failed to be truly kind, to be warmly sympathetic, and at all times to be wholly unselfish. so with the poet we say, "and thus he bore without abuse the grand old name of gentleman." effie moore. the thing which impressed me the most about mr. putney was the way he saluted the flag in assembly every morning. one could tell by his manner in saluting that he loved the flag and would fight for it again, anywhere, any time. i. a. mr. putney was a man who always found the best in every one; who proved himself such a sympathetic teacher that he inspired all to try to please him. his name will always bring to mind most tender remembrances. l. b. mr. putney has always been to his students the highest ideal of man and of teacher. he has been a true friend. his generosity to faults and the encouragement he has given us all to live better lives will bear fruit. he had a whole-hearted smile which none of us will ever forget. he is, and always will be, the outstanding figure in my school life. e. c. with the passing away of this most venerable character burlington high school has lost a shining star,--a star that shone in the hearts of all his students and of all of those who knew him. he was a friend of all creeds and was always ready to lend a willing hand to them. religious to the utmost and a real american in the full sense of the word,--such is the character of the soul which will no longer cheer us in our daily tasks, but which will remain in our memories forever. a. f. of all mr. putney's most striking attributes, his smile always impressed me greatly. every time he smiled we looked up and just naturally smiled, too. and when he laughed it was contagious--a ripple of happiness sounded through the class. his smile always drove away the blues and encouraged us; not only in our latin lessons, but in every way it made life brighter. e. l. mr. putney's love and friendship for the pupils and the respect which they had for him stand out most strongly in my mind. never did he hesitate when asked to help some of his pupils out of hours. never did a cross word pass his lips, and a nod was all that was needed to stop any disturbance in the hall or room. he will be missed as the most loved, most able, and most respected teacher and companion that ever entered "old edmunds." c. k. mr. putney, the most perfect man i have ever known. only a few words are necessary to say that though i knew him only for a short while, he stood as a symbol of my utmost ideal in man. justice, kindness, love and brotherhood were living in his heart. his most beautiful characteristic and the most precious was his consideration for others. g. e. r. what especially appealed to me in mr. putney was his love for his pupils. he always tried to help them in every possible way. he even stayed at school an hour or so after the school had closed to help those "who might wish to come for help," as he always said in his pleasing tone. i shall never forget his words, "well, you will have it to-morrow?" when some person was not prepared with his lesson. no greater loss could be sustained by the school than this giving up of mr. putney. d. r. mr. putney was a man dearly loved by all who knew him. his gentle ways, his remarkable whole-heartedness and his polished manners are characteristics of a man who was a great but modest hero in the great civil war. he had no favorites among the pupils but he was the favorite of the pupils. thus we mourn the loss of mr. putney next to the loss of a near relative. c. t. when i first saw mr. putney i was impressed by his dignity and his kind face. after knowing him better, what appealed to me most forcibly was the absolute confidence and trust he had in his pupils. this trust in us made us want to do our work well, and made us feel that we must do our work well so that we would deserve his trust. "build thee more stately mansions, o my soul." when we heard of mr. putney's passing all was silence; that was the only tribute one could give. mere words, mere music,--nothing reaches the summit of a life given over to service. his creed was, what do we live for if it is not to make life a little less difficult for others. surely that is the highest goal of any human soul. he lived so that to come into his presence was to be warmed and cheered as by the sun. by a life heroic he conquered death. whenever i looked at mr. putney and the flag in assembly, i could not help connect him in some way with abraham lincoln and the great struggle for freedom. he used to carry himself in such a soldierly manner. whenever he spoke to us it was a rare treat. h. m. b. address of dr. smart at the burlington high school you have not asked me to speak to you this morning about mr. putney because i can tell you anything about him which you do not already know. in fact it does not matter very much who speaks to you about him. you only wish to have an occasion to recall a familiar and delightful and impressive teacher. you wish someone to do what mark antony did for the romans and tell you what you yourselves do know and enable you to repeat the experience of samson's mother in the scriptures who said about the angel's visit, "the man came to me who came to me the other day." you have set me a difficult and an easy task. difficult because you knew the man and open your ears for words good enough to speak about him, and easy because you knew the man and can yourselves supply what i may miss, and smooth my awkwardness by the harmony of your own recollections. you might be interested to hear something about thomas arnold of rugby, tom brown's teacher, or about bronson alcott who had such strange ways in discipline, requiring an offending pupil to punish him, holding out his own hand for the ferrule; or about tagore in india who requires his boys to go out early in the morning to sit for half an hour under some bush or tree for quiet meditation. talk about these men might perhaps appeal to your general interest in teachers and teaching, but what you crave this morning is different. you wish to repeat the experience of achilles who slept beside the many-voiced sea, the _polu phloisboio thalasses_, and dreamed that his slain friend patroclus came back to him: "like him in all things--stature, beautiful eyes and voice and garments which he wore in life a marvellous semblance of the living man." or the experience of peter when his master appeared to him and freshened the old love and admiration and moved him to carry on the master's service in his own life. you have set me a very difficult task but when i give you an inch you will take an ell. where i stumble you will walk with sure step. if i am too much like hamlet with old polonius saying this cloud is like an elephant or a camel, you will see a cloud like that which went before the israelites in the desert--a high spiritual presence to guide them. a few days ago he was here. the memory is full of life. his stalwart figure clothed with gentlemanly care and taste, his bearing and movement so fine, so dignified, so courteous and so pleasant. his voice so special to him, with all harshness fined out of it, tuned as their voices are who have in their spirits the accent and habit of good will. and that fine face, the out-of-doors sign of good thinking and good feeling, practiced long and become a second nature. that shapely, well-proportioned, roomy head with its glory of white hair. he had, it seemed to me, in his physical presence the charm of old age without its weakness. he was not a sentimental, flowery man. he was naturally perhaps like the rock in the desert which moses struck and drew water from it. the rock did not look as if it hid a fountain of living water, but he took duty to wife. he loved to do his duty. he could not be comfortable in any other course and doing his duty became his joy, his life. wherever you found him, in school, in church, in the state, in the grand army, he was at his post, on guard, awake, alert, devoted. he did not go with the crowd into the civil war. he thought alone and deeply. he weighed the matter by himself. he compared his obligation to his father on the old farm with the call of the union and concluded that he ought to go. after a long life of fidelity to obligation he could not breathe easily in any other atmosphere. he went simply and straight to his post with his whole gift and might. duty-- "stern lawgiver! yet thou dost wear the godhead's most benignant grace; nor know we anything so fair as is the smile upon the face, flowers laugh before thee on their beds, and fragrance in thy footing treads. thou dost preserve the stars from wrong, and the most ancient heavens through thee are fresh and strong." mr. putney was an instructive teacher. some of you know it. many old pupils gratefully acknowledge his service. both in the classroom and in private personal contact he had an enthusiasm for teaching. he managed to secure knowledge of what he taught. he was interested in his pupils and he was interested in his subject and interested in bringing the two together. teaching i should think would be difficult without all of those interests. no doubt mr. putney had a gift for teaching, but in teaching as in other kinds of work one does much to make one's own gift. barring conspicuousness for a calling, this creative energy is the man himself. i like to remind young people of this fact because they are wondering what they will do in life; what they are fitted to do. with some reservations it may be said that one becomes fitted to do whatever one determines to do with one's whole mind and soul and strength. think how hit or miss our choices often are. accidental circumstances or chance openings when we are looking around for a job, something which happens to be in the air when we come on the stage have more to do with our first choices than any supposed genius for this or that. when men and women who have begun their career in this quite casual manner succeed, then people say they have a remarkable gift for their work. the gift in a very real and large sense is the creation of their own energy. i believe that it was so with mr. putney. he was diligent and faithful in his calling and his calling opened its treasures to him. you remember what the scripture says: "no man having tasted old wine straightway desireth the new for he saith the old is better." mr. putney illustrated the saying. there was a graciousness, a consideration, a pleasantness and good will in his ripe age which made it beautiful and drew warm personal feeling to him. a custom of the heart grew up about his name. some of you loved him. that feeble old soldier whom he visited every sunday afternoon is lonely without him. he had "that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obedience, troops of friends." not a few boys and girls have reason to remember with tenderness his delicate and patient sympathy. i received a circular the other day signed by my old teacher of mathematics. i have not seen him for nearly forty years but reading his words, seeing his name i lifted him again before my mind as if i sat again before him in the albany academy. i recall his bodily presence, his voice, his manner. i am grateful for his clear, and to me inescapably conclusive teaching, and something i cannot analyze came back to me--perhaps i should better say, came over me for my debt to him has been growing all these years. something of him has taken root in my life and grown and borne fruit. in youth we take such influences for granted. we are careless about them. we absorb them without thanks. but the years bring thought and thought reveals service and we are grateful. "all my best is dressing old words new spending again what is already spent for as the sun is daily new and old so is my love still telling what is told." in coming years some of you will be thinking and saying about mr. putney with growing appreciation what some who are now in the thick of life are already saying in the words of scripture "demetrius hath good report of all men and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record." making life a benediction whatever our path in life or the aim of our ambition, the real measure of our service and success is the influence we exert upon the present generation and those who come after us. we may do this through our everyday life, through our individual service, through our benefactions. when our lives are summed up, we are asked not what we gained, but what we gave, not how much wealth we accumulated, but how much good we did through our service and the means at our disposal. to grow old beautifully in service for humanity has been named the height of human achievement. it falls to few men to do this in the measure reached by professor putney, who has just passed out from this community mourned by all. his long life joined generations far separated. those who paid tribute to his life and individual service included the rapidly thinning "blue line" of the veterans of the war for the preservation of the union, for human freedom, of nearly three-quarters of a century ago as well as hundreds of school children who had learned to love him through the close association of teacher and pupil. it is given to only one man in ten thousand thus to link close to his own personality the genuine affections of organizations representing extreme youth and advanced age. to have done all this is proof that professor putney in every sense of the expression "grew old beautifully." the human interest element serves to bring out this side of his life still more impressively. it was his ambition that he might teach on his eightieth birthday. a few more days would have witnessed the consummation of this allowable wish. his conscientiousness was supreme however. he remarked to his granddaughter that if he did not recover in two weeks it would not be right for him to retain his position as a teacher in the burlington high school, great as was his desire to celebrate his fourscore anniversary "in harness." he continued to the end one of the youngest of aged men. he kept in touch with youth and was thus able to reflect the spirit and intense interest of youth. he was constantly aiding boys in his home who needed help in their studies. he gave of himself ungrudgingly in this way and refused recompense. it was with him a labor of love. if he had frailties, and who of us has not, he governed them instead of letting them have dominion over him, thereby showing himself better "than he that taketh a city." for his pupils and his associates as well as for those who associated with him in his christian work in the college street church he was always the gentleman of the old school and the embodiment of unobtrusive beneficence combined. all boys and girls who may be inclined to bewail the impossibility of being of service under present conditions or limitations will establish their privilege of serving as he served, if they bear thoroughly in mind that professor putney did what he did, not through the aid of wealth or position or the favor of powerful friends, but solely through his own individual service to others. of such it is written "that he shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him." in the years to follow the sheaves of influence of professor putney's life will come many times to the youth whose privilege it has been to be associated with him, and they will rejoice that his influence entered their careers. who shall measure the influences for good that he has set in motion in the young lives and in the life of our community? happy the man to whom it is thus given to grow old beautifully! thrice happy that man who in thus growing old beautifully is able to bring down to the latest generations the best traditions of the past and through them to make his life a benediction to many generations to come.--_burlington free press._ the epilogue he toiled long, well, and with good cheer in the service of others giving his whole, asking little enduring patiently, complaining not at all with small means effecting much * * * he had no strength that was not useful no weakness that was not lovable no aim that was not worthy no motive that was not pure * * * ever he bent his eye upon the task undone ever he bent his soul upon the stars his heart upon the sun * * * bravely he met his test richly he earned his rest --herbert putnam. [illustration: university hall] the university of michigan by wilfred shaw general secretary of the alumni association and editor of the michigan alumnus _illustrated by photographs and four etchings by the author_ new york harcourt, brace and howe copyright, , by harcourt, brace and howe, inc. the quinn & boden company rahway, n.j. to my wife preface it has not been the purpose of the author to write a history of the university of michigan. several predecessors in this field have done their work so well that another book entirely historical in character might seem superfluous. rather it is the aim of this volume to furnish a survey--sketching broadly the development of the university, and dwelling upon incidents and personalities that contribute movement to the narrative. those familiar with the history of the university will recognize the sources of much that appears in the following pages. the author must acknowledge an especial debt to professor ten brook's "history of state universities," and the two histories of the university, written by elizabeth farrand, ' _m_, and professor burke e. hinsdale. much of the material in the early chapters is based directly upon professor hinsdale's painstaking and authoritative work. other works which have been consulted are judge cooley's "history of michigan," professor c.k. adams' "historical sketch," published by the university in , professor a.c. mclaughlin's "history of higher education in michigan" (contributions to american educational history, number ii, bureau of education, ), the reports of the fiftieth and seventy-fifth anniversaries and dr. angell's quarter centennial celebration, and dr. angell's "reminiscences." the files of _the michigan alumnus_ and the _michiganensian_, the records of the regents' meetings and the calendars of the university have likewise proved extremely valuable. for the material in certain chapters, "the michigan book," published in , by edwin h. humphrey, ' , an article entitled "the university of michigan and the training of her students for the war," by professor arthur l. cross, in the _michigan history magazine_, for january, , and andrew d. white's "autobiography" have been freely consulted. it is unfortunate that our information concerning the earliest days of the university is comparatively meager. the collections of old newspapers and other original sources in the university library have been utilized, but these are not as extensive as they should be. undoubtedly not a little material in the form of letters and diaries is still to be found among the papers of the earliest officers of the university and the graduates of the ' 's and ' 's. the writer would appreciate any information regarding such documents. acknowledgment is also due to the many friends who have offered suggestions and helpful criticism. especially is grateful recognition due to professor f.n. scott, judge v.h. lane, president emeritus harry b. hutchins, dr. g. carl huber, dean john r. effinger, professor evans holbrook, professor arthur l. cross and the late professor isaac n. demmon; their encouragement and counsel have been invaluable. an apparent inconsistency in references to the major divisions of the university may be noted by some readers. these are sometimes referred to as "departments" and sometimes as "schools" or "colleges," as the case may be. this arises from the fact that the official nomenclature was changed about ten years ago. in general the author has referred to these divisions as "departments" in discussing the period before . w.s. contents chapter page i introduction ii the foundation of the university iii the university's early days iv the first administrations v president angell and president hutchins vi literature, science, and the arts vii the professional schools and colleges viii a state university as a center of learning ix student life x fraternities and student activities xi athletics xii town and campus xiii the university in war times xiv the alumni of the university tables index list of illustrations facing page university hall. etching _frontispiece_ the catholepistemiad, or university, of michigania. a photograph of the original outline in judge woodward's handwriting, now in the university library four founders of the university. stevens t. mason ( - ), john d. pierce ( - ), zina pitcher ( - ), samuel denton ( - ) the campus in two of the university's oldest buildings: the president's house. the only one of the original four professors' houses still remaining the old medical building. torn down in four members of the early faculty. george palmer williams ( - ), andrew ten brook ( - ), abram sager ( - ), thomas mcintyre cooley ( - ) henry philip tappan, ll.d. ( - ). the first president of the university, - erastus otis haven, ll.d. ( - ). president of the university, - henry simmons frieze ( - ). professor of latin, - . acting president of the university, - , - the two main buildings of the university about alumni memorial hall. etching james burrill angell, ll.d. ( - ). president of the university, - harry burns hutchins, ll.d. president of the university, - marion leroy burton, ll.d. president of the university of michigan, - a general view of the front of the campus. showing university hall, including the old north wing, with the law building in the background the university observatory hill auditorium the chemistry building the natural science building the new library the engineering building the medical building panoramic view of the old hospitals the new hospital building the law building the engineering quadrangle. etching the dental building the homeopathic hospital and children's ward the interior of hill auditorium the interior of the main reading room in the new library the michigan union. etching the doorway of the martha cook building lane hall. the university y.m.c.a. building newberry hall. the university y.w.c.a. building newberry residence for women barbour gymnasium for women the tug of war across the huron. the freshman losing in the annual freshman-sophomore contests four society houses. psi upsilon, sigma phi, phi delta theta, collegiate sorosis waterman gymnasium for men ferry field from the new stand, showing the gates and the club house a view of ann arbor. across the valley of the huron. the hospital buildings, with the university beyond along the huron. a glimpse of ann arbor's park system the university campus in the seventies the campus elms the captains of the three student companies in . charles kendall adams, ' , captain of the university guards; isaac h. elliott, ' , captain of the chancellor greys; albert nye, ' , captain of the ellsworth zouaves. the students' army training corps. drawn up before the michigan union (fall of ) one of the fourteen-inch naval guns in france. whose crews were largely composed of the michigan naval volunteers. the concourse or general lobby in the michigan union the university of michigan chapter i introduction one early june day some fourscore years ago, it was to be precise, a party of distinguished visitors arrived in what was then the little backwoods community of ann arbor. the interest of the loiterers at the country tavern and the corner grocery was no doubt aroused by their coming, for ann arbor we may suppose was not different from other small places; and this curiosity could hardly have been lessened by the fact that the newcomers were all men who figured prominently in the affairs of the state, which had been admitted to the union only four months before. whatever the speculation aroused by the personnel of the party, however, the business that called them to ann arbor caused little comment, if we are to judge from contemporary reports. yet this unpretentious gathering of notables was charged with the inauguration of what was to become one of the most significant developments in the history of american education,--the establishment and successful maintenance of a university by the people of a state. thus met for their first session the regents of the future university of michigan. unfortunately we do not know the particulars of this meeting; not even in what country lawyer's office or public hall it was held; still less are we able to profit from any of the illuminating details or personal comments a modern observer would have given us. our knowledge of the character of the men, and the official report of what they did, is all we have to reveal the spirit in which they set themselves to their task. of the nineteen members of the board at that time eleven were present at this first session, which lasted three days. included among the number, as ex-officio members, were the boy governor of the state, stevens t. mason, then only twenty-five years old, the lieutenant-governor, edward mundy, and the chancellor of the state, elon farnsworth; while among the members by appointment were michigan's first congressman and author of the law under which the university was to be organized, general isaac e. crary, and two well-known detroit physicians, dr. zina pitcher, afterward to be known as the founder of the medical school, and dr. samuel denton, destined to be a professor in the same department. their first action was the appointment of a committee to select the forty acres offered as an inducement to bring the university to ann arbor. measures were then taken for the organization of the institution; the legislature was petitioned to give the board the power to appoint a chancellor; four professorships were established until more were needed; salaries were limited to not less than $ , or more than $ , ; and a librarian was appointed for a library not yet in existence. thus the university began its career. the men who were responsible for it in its early years were, for the most part, lawyers and politicians, lacking even the actual experience in educational matters which the clergymen of that time were supposed to have; but there is evidence of an idealism and confidence in the future on their part which must explain the eventual success of the university,--a vision which enabled it to become the model for all succeeding state institutions. the task before this board and its immediate successors was not an easy one. they saw, in their mind's eye, a university with thousands of students, forming the cap-stone of a great educational system which was to rest on the little log schoolhouses which were so rapidly rising in the wilderness about them. their immediate resources, however, proved almost ridiculously inadequate, while their best efforts were often nullified by the selfishness and lack of foresight of many of their contemporaries. land set aside for the university by the government was sold for a song to satisfy speculators. an elaborate building program had, perforce, to be abandoned and even the simple buildings erected were criticized as extravagant. the faculty was far from being a harmonious little family, and dissensions arose between the students and teachers over the establishment of fraternities; while the jealousy of rival religious denominations and the lack of a strong executive multiplied the difficulties which made the first years of the university far from happy. nevertheless the university came through it all, not unscathed, but sufficiently strong and vigorous, and with great possibilities for the future in the rising fortunes of the commonwealth, which gradually came to take a great pride in this child of its first years. to the state, no less than to the regents and faculty, belongs the credit of michigan's great achievement in american educational history,--the first proof that a university, maintained by the people of a state as part of its educational system, could be made a practical success. the idea of a state university, or rather a state educational system, was not in itself strikingly new; in fact two interesting experiments in detroit had preceded the university. but none of the original thirteen colonies, or the new states so rapidly being carved out of the lands brought in by the addition of the northwest territory, had been able to make really practical that provision in the ordinance of which, from its place above the stage in university hall, has sunk into the consciousness of so many student generations of the university of michigan. religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. the actual success of the university was michigan's first great contribution to the nation. the inauguration of practical laboratory work in science, as well as the speedy organization of medical and engineering departments, was the second step. this led to a new relationship between education and practical life; others besides candidates for the ministry began to come in greater numbers to seek degrees. hardly less revolutionary in the third place was dr. tappan's effort to make michigan a real university,--the introduction of true graduate study which, though not immediately successful, made michigan once more a pioneer among american schools. again, the establishment of the chemical laboratory, the introduction of co-education, and the creation of a department of education, bringing with it a correlation of the university with the high schools of the state, are all matters now so generally taken for granted that it is somewhat difficult nowadays to give the university proper credit for leading the way. in recent years other state universities have overtaken michigan in their development. some states are supporting their universities even more liberally than michigan. many have gone so far as to do away with student fees, an item which has a large place in michigan's annual income. whether this is entirely desirable is perhaps a question. one of the university's greatest assets is the interest and support of her former students. they have shown less of the spirit which is more or less inevitable in all state institutions,--a feeling that once they have received their educational bargain, their responsibility to the institution ceases. the loyalty of michigan's alumni body may arise in some part from the very fact that the education given has not been entirely free, as well as through a justifiable pride in the prestige and academic traditions which the years have brought. other universities also have developed further means of maintaining friendly relations with the people of their states, through affiliating the state agricultural colleges with the university and offering elaborate programs of extension courses. in this direction michigan has made haste slowly, for there is danger to true academic ideals in such a course. the result has been that there is no instruction given in the university that cannot be considered of proper academic character under present-day standards. our university system has progressed so far and so fast, however, that the educators of the first half of the nineteenth century would find little they could recognize in the wide range of human knowledge included in our modern university curricula. when the university was founded, the schools of america were really closer to the great universities of the middle ages than to those of the present day. the comparatively brief period covered by the life of the university of michigan has seen a greater change in educational ideals and practices than anything which took place during the preceding thousand years, for we have added to their heritage all the great developments of the past century in science and the arts. michigan has done her part in this transition from the old to the new; and in carrying on her work she has acquired a life of her own, an academic atmosphere, and a characteristic student life which have a peculiar interest to all michigan men and women. to chronicle in brief the main events in michigan's history; to suggest their significance; to picture the life of the students and faculties; and to set forth the university's real measure of success, in order that all who are interested in the university may know her and understand her ideals and traditions, is the aim of the following chapters. chapter ii the foundation of the university the history of the university of michigan might properly be said to begin in . it is true that the university seal proclaims as the year of its birth, but the present institution is only a successor of two previous incarnations in detroit, which were its direct predecessors. the state supreme court, in fact, held in that the corporate existence of the university began with the act of the th of august, , and has been continuous throughout all the subsequent changes of the organic law. it would be difficult, however, to recognize the present university in that curiosity of educational history established by the act of under the sonorous title of the "catholepistemiad, or university of michigania." this institution, in effect designed to be a university, was to be composed of thirteen _didaxiim_, or professorships, of such branches as _catholepistemia_ or universal science, _anthropoglossica_ or literature, _physiosophica_ or natural philosophy, _polemitactica_ or military science, and _ennoeica_ or intellectual sciences, which embraced all the _epistimiim_ or "sciences relative to the minds of animals, to the human mind, to spiritual existences, to the deity, and to religion." it is worthy of note also that chemistry, medicine, and political economy were provided for under the names of _chymia_, _iatrica_, and _oeconomica_. this scheme, which was prepared by augustus b. woodward, presiding judge of the territorial supreme court, went further than this provision for the university, however, for it contemplated as well a complete state educational system, with subordinate colleges, academies, schools, libraries, museums, athenæums, botanical gardens, laboratories and "other useful literary and scientific institutions consonant with the laws of the united states and of michigan." these the president and the didactors were to provide for, as well as for directors, visitors, curators, librarians, instructors and "instructrixes" throughout the various counties, cities, towns, townships, or other geographical divisions of michigan. to support this grand scheme, the public taxes were to be increased fifteen percent, and a provision, which seems strangely unacademic to the college community of a century later, was made for four successive lotteries from which the catholepistemiad might retain fifteen percent of the prizes for its own use. two of these lotteries apparently were drawn. the institution which arose in the shade of this immense growth of pseudo-classical verbiage was a very modest undertaking indeed and developed little beyond the primary school and classical academy first established. these were housed in a little building in detroit, twenty-four by fifty feet, on the west side of bates street near congress, afterward occupied by one of the branches of the university. scarcely more ambitious was the faculty of two men, the rev. john monteith, a presbyterian clergyman who was president and seven-fold _didactor_, and father gabriel richard, a catholic priest who was vice-president and incumbent of the other six _didaxiim_. [illustration: the catholepistemiad, or university, of michigania a photograph of the original outline in judge woodward's handwriting; now in the university library] absurd as was the terminology and ridiculous as were its vast pretensions in view of the little french-canadian community it served, nevertheless, the educational scheme which the act outlined was of great significance in the future development of education in the state. it was one of the first plans in america for a complete educational program to be supported by the people of a state.[ ] its sources were to be found, undoubtedly, in the strong influence of french thought on contemporary american life, for this scheme was but a copy of the highly centralized organization of state instruction which napoleon gave to france in the imperial university of - . as professor hinsdale says, "the ponderous name belonged to organized public education." four years later, another act established in detroit "an university for the purpose of educating youth" as the successor of the catholepistemiad, with little change in the broad and liberal outline of the plan save in two particulars,--a change from classical to english nomenclature and the substitution of a board of trustees for the self-governing president and didactors of the earlier scheme. [footnote : no one of the old states had what we would now call a state university, although two or three states had institutions that bore that name, while several of the states had voted money or wild lands to promote higher education; nor had any of the new states, aided by the bounty of congress, established such an institution that was worthy of the name, university.--hinsdale, _history of the university of michigan_, p. .] michigan at this time was on the far edge of civilization; it was not even organized as a territory until the year . in the total population was only , , while in it could not have been more than , . the inhabitants of detroit only numbered , in . aside from the indians, who for many years were to be a not inconsiderable portion of the population, the early inhabitants were all french settlers whose main business was fur trading. with the first years of the nineteenth century, however, there came a constantly increasing stream of "bostonians," as the men from the east were called. they were not welcomed at first, although their enterprise and education were to transform michigan within a surprisingly short period into one of the most progressive of the new states. nevertheless this growth was at first slow and it was not until michigan became a state in that the rapid increase in settlers from new york and new england changed so completely the character of the people that it became in a few years a predominantly agricultural, instead of a primitive fur-trading community. the rapidity of this movement towards the west, once begun, was most fortunate, as the settlers from the older states in the east were enabled to put into effect immediately their own training in the schools of new york and new england for the benefit of their children. this is one of the underlying causes of michigan's success; whereas other states, whose settlement began earlier, failed through the lowering of the standards of education inevitable in the hard life of the generation succeeding the first pioneers. the initial public support of education in michigan, as in all of the new states west of the alleghenies, came from the important provision made by the federal government in for a system of surveys of the public lands. these had eventually been deeded to the government by the different states as the only practicable settlement of conflicting claims which at one time promised to disrupt the new confederation. their acquisition by the nation and their eventual division and admission to the union as states contributed not a little to the strengthening of the central authority at a time when it was a vital necessity. the first survey of these lands provided, as is well known, for division into townships six miles square, to be again sub-divided into thirty-six lots one mile square called sections. the provision of this ordinance of particular interest in this connection is the following: "there shall be reserved the lot number of every township for the maintenance of public schools within the said township." in the ordinance of , providing for the administration of the northwest territory, we have only the familiar general declaration that: "schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged," but an ordinance adopted ten days later provided that in addition to the school lot in every township: "not more than two complete townships are to be given perpetually for the purposes of a university, to be laid off by the purchaser or purchasers as near the center as may be, so that the same shall be of good land to be applied to the intended object by the legislature of the state." this was the fundamental action which made possible the foundation of the university of michigan almost at the same time that the state was admitted to the union. for the most part the story of the land grants under this provision is an unfortunate one of speculation, misappropriations, and sale by venal legislatures, whose only excuse was probably their inexperience and lack of vision; and the natural desire of the people to benefit at once from the endowment these lands represented. michigan had her troubles in common with the other new states, but she did manage to acquire enough from these lands eventually to give the university needed support in her very lean early years. their history, therefore, is not without interest. when indiana territory was divided by congress in into the three districts corresponding to the present states of indiana, illinois, and michigan, one township was reserved in each for a seminary of learning. this, in michigan, was increased in to two townships, which might be located by sections in any of the districts surveyed. even more important was a measure approved by congress in which permitted the state to control the selection, administration, and even eventual sale of these sections with no reference to the limits of the congressional townships, thus permitting their consolidation into one state fund. this precedent has been followed by all the states entering the union since . the plan of making a state trust of the public lands was a good one--on paper. but with the rapidly growing population, envious eyes were soon cast on these tracts by immigrants, many of whom settled on these sections as squatters, to make endless trouble in the future with their conflicting claims. the first lands definitely set aside were selected by the trustees of the old university of detroit in within the limits of what is now the city of toledo. the selection could not have been better, consisting in all of some acres, but most unfortunately the best part was exchanged in , on the representation of land-sharks, for poorer land and the land thus received was sold four years later for $ , . the remainder was disposed of fifteen years later for about $ an acre, bringing to the university a total of some $ , for land which eventually came to be worth, literally, millions. meanwhile other tracts were being located in all the counties of the state then organized. soon after michigan became a state, the superintendent of public instruction made an inventory of these which showed that at $ an acre they would bring a fund of $ , and an annual income to the university of $ , . at $ , which he thought might easily represent their value, they would bring an annual income of $ , . the first sale justified his optimism, as the price averaged $ . an acre, though only one-fourth of the purchase money was paid in cash. but the people of the state soon began to murmur; they were not interested in continuing these big reservations of choice land for an object so remote as a university. the superintendent of public instruction, moreover, found himself involved in all kinds of trouble with the purchasers. the matter finally came up to the legislature under the guise of a bill for the relief of certain settlers on university and other state lands, which would have thrown these sections on the market at a nominal price and insured the squatters permanent tenure. the bill was a short-sighted and vicious one and was promptly vetoed by the young governor, stevens t. mason, because he felt these lands were given to the state as a sacred trust. in this courageous action he performed one of the greatest of his many services to the university. but the legislature had a different idea as to the sacredness of the trust. various measures were passed, lengthening the time of deferred payment, successively lowering the minimum price at which the lands were to be sold and eventually in making the minimum price of $ retroactive. under this measure, $ , were actually returned or credited to purchasers. when the lands were all sold the average price realized was not quite $ an acre, resulting in a fund of some $ , from which the university now derives an annual income of $ , . . while this amount is by no means as large as was hoped for in those early days, this income, if it had been available in the first years, would have helped the struggling institution materially. to most of us this dissipation of what might have been, with more careful and conservative management, a magnificent endowment seems almost a tragedy. but there is another side. michigan was far more fortunate in her disposal of these public lands than any of her contemporaries and obtained more than twice the amount realized from any other state lands in the northwest. for example, wisconsin only realized $ , from her sections, while others fared worse instead of better. michigan is regarded in this respect as a model, instead of a horrible example. then, too, the early sale of the land was imperative if the university was to live. the income from this source was almost its sole support except the exceedingly slender student fees. we must conclude, therefore, that the government grants performed their function; thanks to them we still have a university and still receive a respectable income from the fund which represents their sale. the constitution prepared for the prospective state by the convention of provided for a university and authorized its immediate establishment upon the adoption of the constitution. this provision was the result of the joint labors of two men whose memory will always be held in honor by the university;--john d. pierce, a graduate of brown university and a missionary in the service of the presbyterian church, who was then about forty years old, and general isaac edwin crary, a graduate of trinity college, connecticut ( ), who, with his bride, made his home with pierce in the tiny backwoods settlement of marshall. they were both men of unusual caliber and were interested vitally in the affairs of the territory, particularly educational questions. many are the discussions these two must have held, to which a stray copy of a translation of m. victor cousin's report on "the state of public instruction in prussia," made to the french ministry of public instruction, which fell into the hands of pierce, certainly contributed not a little. here was the account of a state system of public instruction which was under successful operation. these men were familiar with the previous experiments in the michigan of territorial days and with the efforts in other states in this direction, but nowhere could they find the practical help they needed. the few colleges in the country were practically all privately endowed institutions, having no organic connection with the secondary schools, to say nothing of the rare public high schools. thus the orderly and consistent development of a state school system in prussia had a peculiar appeal to these pioneers who were already considering the outline of the educational system in the state of michigan to be. [illustration: four founders of the university (from paintings) stevens t. mason ( - ) john d. pierce ( - ) zina pitcher ( - ) samuel denton ( - )] general crary became the chairman of the committee on education in the constitutional convention and upon him devolved the immediate task of drafting the educational article. he had, no doubt, cousin's report at hand as well as the advantage of the advice of pierce. the result was the most progressive and far-seeing provision for public instruction in any state constitution up to that time; yet a measure that appealed to the good sense and practical wisdom of the people of the state. in brief it provided that the governor, with the legislature, should "encourage, by all suitable means, the promotion of intellectual, scientifical, and agricultural improvement" and that, in particular, there should be appointed a superintendent of public instruction, an officer then unknown to any of the states; that there should be created a perpetual and inviolable public fund from the sale of lands for the support of public schools; and that provision should be made for libraries as well, one at least in each township, to be supported from money paid for exemption from military service and from fines collected for any breach of the penal law. the section concerning the university was as follows: the legislature shall take measures for the protection, improvement, or other disposition of such lands as have been or may hereafter be reserved or granted by the united states, to this state, for the support of a university, and the funds accruing from the rents or sale of such lands, or from any other source, for the purpose aforesaid, shall be and remain a permanent fund for the support of said university, with such branches as the public convenience may hereafter demand for the promotion of literature, the arts and sciences, and as may be authorized by the terms of such grant. and it shall be the duty of the legislature, as soon as may be, to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds of said university. this constitution went into effect as soon as michigan became a state on the th of january, , though pierce, afterwards known affectionately in university circles as "father pierce," had already been serving as the superintendent of public instruction since the previous july. upon him fell the important task of preparing a system for the organization of common schools, together with a university and its branches. the system he devised has become a landmark in educational progress throughout the world, as is shown by the numerous foreign delegations which have visited the university in recent years for the purpose of studying our educational system. as for the plans outlined by pierce, which were quickly approved by the legislature in march, , we can best quote president angell when he said fifty years later: "our means have not yet enabled us to execute in all particulars the comprehensive plan which was framed by mr. pierce." there was no precedent in america for the task set him. eight of the new states, it is true, had accepted federal grants of land but had failed in the trust thus imposed, and the feeble schools they supported offered no more guidance than michigan's two experiments in detroit. the field was practically virgin soil, actually as well as metaphorically; the problem was the effective organization of a university on the basis of the land given by the government to the state for this purpose. the answer was the organic act of the university of michigan approved march , . in essentials it provided for a board of regents with a chancellor who should be ex-officio president. of the regents twelve were to be nominated by the governor and confirmed by the senate, while the governor, lieutenant-governor, the judges of the supreme court, and the chancellor of the state were to be members ex-officio. the university was to consist of a department of literature, science, and the arts, a department of law, and a department of medicine. the professorships were specified and it is significant that, in addition to the usual branches taught in those days, such as ancient and modern languages, philosophy, moral philosophy, and natural theology, provision was also made for professorships in chemistry, geology, botany, fine arts, and civil engineering and architecture. a limiting clause, however, was incorporated in this ambitious scheme, which provided that only so many professorships should be filled at first as the needs of the institution warranted. while the immediate government of the university was to be entrusted to the respective faculties, the regents had final authority in the regulation of courses and the selection of textbooks, and were empowered to remove any professor, tutor, or other officer, when in their judgment the interests of the university required it. the fees were to be $ for residents of the state. a board of visitors was also to be appointed by the superintendent of public instruction to make a personal examination of the university and report to him their observations and recommendations. it was also provided that such branches of the university were to be established in different parts of the state as might from time to time be authorized by the legislature. these branches, however, were not to confer degrees, though they were to have departments of agriculture in connection and also an "institution for the education of females in the higher branches of knowledge, whenever suitable buildings should be provided for them." the funds for these branches were to be appropriated from the university fund in sums proportionate to the number of scholars. shortly after the first meeting of the board of regents in , the legislature, following some of their suggestions, modified the university act in certain particulars; abolishing the chancellorship of the board of regents and making the governor the president of that body, at the same time directing the regents to elect a chancellor of the university who should not be a member of the board. this act also gave the regents power to assign the duties of vacant professorships to any professor already appointed and to establish branches in the different counties without further legislative authority. the board was also authorized to purchase philosophical apparatus, a library, and a cabinet of natural history. these were the essential provisions for the university. with so novel a scheme the regents and the legislature naturally had to proceed on a more or less cut and try method, but those at all familiar with the organization of the present institution will recognize familiar features in this first plan. one of the practical problems which faced those who held the fate of the university in their charge was the question as to where students, sufficiently trained in the higher branches, were to be found in a state which numbered, all told, not more than , souls, scattered for the most part in little frontier settlements. this explains the provisions for the branches, which were to be in effect the high schools from which the university was to draw its students. for a time this was the actual development; but after the branches were discontinued, high schools, supported by the various towns of the state, came into existence and were eventually bound to the university through the admission of their students by certificate. thus the same end was accomplished and at less expense. when one considers the actual situation in michigan at that time, the program outlined by this act seems extraordinarily ambitious if not actually ridiculous. the hard and primitive life of those days is almost inconceivable now, and yet the change has come well within the lifetime of the oldest inhabitants of many thriving cities of the state. the secret lay in the extraordinary increase of the population. settlers came in so rapidly that, where in there were but , inhabitants, there were over , in , and it was precisely this growth, evidences of which were on every hand, that encouraged those educational pioneers to aim high. the result has justified their optimism; though there were to be many years of small things and limited means before the fulfillment of this early vision. as professor hinsdale wisely says in his history: "a large scheme would do no harm provided no attempt were made at once to realize it, and it might in time be well filled out; while a small plan, in case of large growth, would require reconstruction from the foundation." the result has amply proved the worth of the venture. as has been seen, the university was to be but a part of a complete state system. as a corollary in the minds of its sponsors private institutions were to be discouraged. superintendent pierce even queried whether it would not be wise to forbid them altogether. that proving entirely impracticable, the alternative was to make the university and the branches so good that private schools could not meet their competition. he first endeavored to prevent the chartering of private colleges; later he sought to deny them the privilege of conferring degrees. in this he asked the advice of eastern educators, among them president wayland, of brown, who wrote him, "by a great number of small and badly appointed colleges you will increase the nominally educated men, but you will decrease the power of education because it will be little else but the name." in spite of this support his efforts, however, were not effective and in the legislature in the name of freedom and opposition to monopoly passed an act to incorporate the trustees of marshall college, in pierce's own home town. by several such charters were granted and in the degree conferring power was given these institutions. it is doubtless true that at least some of the opposition with which the university had to contend during her early years may be traced to this first policy, which aroused the sectarian spirit behind the smaller colleges and it was important to that extent; but far more significant was the alternative of concentrating all the energies of the state in the one great institution. events have proved this the wise course. we have had the example of less wise counsel in neighboring commonwealths where the state universities have suffered from a multiplication of small schools and have only recently been able to acquire their full stature as true universities. the establishment of the branches, which preceded the opening of the university by several years, and their quick discontinuance, is an interesting episode connected with the university's early years. they formed the necessary preparatory schools for the coming university, and furnished the first instruction under its auspices in the new state. by the end of five branches with students had been established with the "decided approbation and support of the inhabitants." for some years these academies flourished in a modest way, though they never enrolled more than students in any one year. but this effort, which originally aimed to cover every county in the state, soon arrived at the place which might have been foreseen from the beginning. the branches began not only to overshadow the parent institution but actually to eat up all of the university's resources. the necessary action followed quickly when the university began to demand all the available income; in the regents gave notice that the appropriations for the branches would be reduced and by all support was definitely withdrawn. this was practically the end of these schools, though some of them managed to maintain a precarious existence for a few years. they had, however, served a useful purpose. without the students they trained it is difficult to imagine where the first classes to graduate would have received the preparation which enabled the university to maintain collegiate, instead of preparatory, courses,--the rock upon which so many institutions stumbled. then, too, they accustomed the people of the state to the idea of schools affiliated with the university and prepared the way for the local high schools which within a short time came to serve the same purposes as had the branches. finally they performed a valuable service in the preparation of teachers for the common schools. the $ , spent by the regents on these branches was therefore far from wasted. rather it was one of the series of fortunate measures, somewhat blindly entered upon, which served the university well; but it is equally true that the abandonment of the policy came only in the nick of time, for the regents were already in serious financial difficulties. with all of these favorable influences, the horoscope of the university was at least propitious. the people of the state were familiar with the idea of a state educational system; the immigrants from the east were for the most part homogeneous and of a progressive spirit; it was believed that an adequate income for the educational program was assured from the sale of state lands; provision had been made for the proper preparation of matriculates in the university; and above all, wise and far-sighted men had devised a scheme of organization which showed familiarity with the best there was in educational development at that time. we can now take up the story of the university itself. chapter iii the university's early days there were several candidates among the towns of the state for the honor of having the university. detroit, monroe, and marshall were mentioned, but an offer of forty acres of land by the ann arbor land company, previously offered unsuccessfully as a site for the state capitol, proved the most attractive bid, and the legislature voted in favor of ann arbor in an act signed by the governor, march , . the town was then fourteen years old and boasted some , inhabitants, who supported four churches, two newspapers, two banks, seventeen drygoods stores, eleven lawyers, nine doctors, and eight mills and manufacturing plants, including a good-sized plow factory. nevertheless it was in essentials a frontier community. there are those still living who remember the indians who came in to town to trade,--presumably at those seventeen drygoods stores. transportation was primitive, the first railroad did not come until ; while great tracts of uninhabited land lay on every side. of the twelve regents by appointment who were members of the first board, six had been members of the constitutional convention, two were physicians, and four were lawyers; seven had received collegiate degrees, while one, henry r. schoolcraft, was the best authority of that time on the american indian. general crary appears to have been the only one who had previously concerned himself with educational matters, so it is small wonder that some impracticable measures were taken. to those of us who look back now with the advantage of "hind-sight," the mistakes of the first board are obvious. two tracts of land were considered as possible sites for the university. the choice fell upon the wrong one, and we now have the present campus, undistinguished by any natural advantages, instead of the commanding location on the hills overlooking the huron, recommended by the committee appointed at the first session. we do not know now why the change was made, though there must have been some little discussion, as it was only made by a vote of to . we can only imagine now how much more beautiful and impressive the buildings of the future university might have been, lining the brows of the hills overlooking the huron valley, rather than spreading over the flat rough clearing of the rumsey farm that by that time had lost the attraction which the original forest trees must once have given it. for many years the present campus remained what it was originally, a bit of farm land, where wheat was grown on the unoccupied portions and where the families of the four professors who lived on the campus gathered peaches from the old farm orchard. [illustration: the campus in (from a painting by cropsey)] at their first meeting the regents undertook the preliminary steps towards the appointment of a faculty, though a resolution asking for a change in the university act, giving them power to elect and prescribe the duties of a chancellor of the university, suggests that they were uncertain of their powers in this matter. four prospective professorships were established and though the report of the committee on the matter was not adopted as presented, the assignment of the subjects is suggestive; they included a professor of mental philosophy, whose field was to comprise moral philosophy, natural theology, rhetoric, oratory, logic, and the history of all religions; a professor of mathematics, to have also in charge civil engineering and architecture; a professor of languages, to have in charge the roman and greek languages; and a professor of law. this action came four years before the actual appointment of professors of languages and mathematics and twenty-two years before a professor of law was needed. a librarian, the rev. henry colclazer, was also appointed, the first officer of the university chosen, though he did not assume his duties or his munificent salary of $ a year until . the question of the organization of the branches, which became the perennial subject of discussion at all the early meetings of the board, also came up at this time through the authorization of a committee on branches, and a request that the superintendent of public instruction furnish an "outline of a plan of the university." from this time on meetings of the regents were held with fair regularity, either in ann arbor or, more usually, in the capitol city, which at that time was detroit. occasional difficulties in obtaining a quorum are discernible, however, in the reports of the early meetings. the trip on horseback or stage from detroit to ann arbor during the first two years was not always easy or convenient, while there was little to arouse enthusiasm in the slow development of the campus. the question of a library and scientific apparatus interested the board from the first meeting and among their early purchases was a collection of minerals made by one baron lederer which consisted of , specimens, purchased in january, , for $ , . in july of the same year, dr. asa gray was made a professor of botany and zoölogy, the first professor to be appointed. he was contemplating a trip to europe and was entrusted by the regents with $ , for the purchase of a library. this charge he performed to the great satisfaction of the regents, sending back a collection of , volumes in all the branches ordinarily taught at that time, including many books unobtainable in america. this task ended professor gray's connection with michigan. practically all his long and distinguished career was spent as a professor in harvard university. another purchase of this period, probably the first acquisition for the library, which seems curiously extravagant for the officers of an "incipient" university, was audubon's "birds of america." at the present time it is worth many times the $ paid for it then, but one wonders, in view of the extreme slenderness of the resources of the university, just what was the idea which led to its purchase. it was in any case an evidence of the interest of the board in practical scientific studies and their sympathy with what was then the progressive movement in education. meanwhile the regents were making haste slowly in erecting the university buildings. in accordance with the "grand design" of the university act, a new haven architect was commissioned to prepare what proved to be, according to superintendent pierce, "a truly magnificent design." the governor and the board of regents approved this plan but the superintendent of public instruction, with a better sense of realities, refused his assent. he maintained that a university did not consist of fine buildings, "but in the number and ability of its professors, and in its other appointments, as libraries, cabinets, and works of art." so this scheme which would have cost five hundred thousand dollars, or twice the amount of what had at that time been realized from the university lands, was abandoned, apparently to the great disappointment of the citizens of ann arbor, who showed their disapproval by a public indignation meeting. the plan finally adopted had at least the merit of modesty and some degree of serviceability. it called for the erection of six buildings, two to serve as dormitories and class rooms and four as professors' houses, all on the campus. the first of the dormitories was completed in , at a cost of about $ , ; while the four professors' houses, which were ready at the same time, cost $ , . the dormitory, which was the first university building, is now the north wing of university hall. it was a gaunt, bleak structure in those days, one hundred and ten by forty feet, whose stark outlines were softened nowhere by trees and shrubbery. the original plan called for sixty-four bedrooms and thirty-two studies, but the necessity of including a chapel and a recitation room on the first and second floors, the library on the third, and a museum on the fourth, severely limited the space for the students' rooms. in the building was named mason hall, in honor of the late governor who had just died, but the name was long forgotten until revived in , when a tablet was placed by the d.a.r. on the building, which has since been called by that name. contemporary opinion is reflected in a description of this building in the _michigan state journal_ of august , , where we read: "more classical models or a more beautiful finish cannot be imagined. they honor the architect, while they beautify the village." from this one cannot but suspect that journalistic exaggeration is not entirely a latter-day fault, although the opinion of governor barry seems to have been somewhat the same when he charged the regents with "vast expenditures" for "large and commodious buildings, which ... will doubtless at some future period be wanted for occupation and use." as a matter of fact the governor's strictures were not entirely unjustified, as the four professors' houses proved a continual source of annoyance and expense, while the wisdom of erecting a building to be used largely as a dormitory when students could easily have lived in the town, as they do nowadays, was doubtful. governor barry is reported to have said in that "as the state had the buildings and had no other use for them, it was probably best to continue the school." that was in the period of the lowest ebb of the university's fortunes which followed soon after its doors were opened, and, as professor ten brook remarked, it showed that the balance of the scale between suspending and going forward may have been turned in favor of the university by the bare fact of having these architectural preparations. the second and corresponding building was not erected until at the cost of about $ , . a few months later the medical building was completed. the affairs of the university were in a critical state by . the sale of the state lands had resulted in no such sum as had been expected; the branches had been eating up what little income there was; while an unfortunate bit of financiering on the part of the regents in , involving a loan of $ , from the state for the immediate completion of the necessary buildings and the establishment of the branches, only added to the difficulties. the history of this loan is a complicated one which does not need to be detailed here. the expense incurred in establishing the branches, the purchases for the library and mineral collections, and the erection of the buildings practically exhausted it. when it was made the regents supposed that the income from the state lands would more than cover the interest, but this proved a vain hope. practically every bit of the university's income was needed for this purpose. the situation was only saved in by the legislature permitting the regents to apply depreciated treasury notes and other state scrip received for the sale of university lands at a fixed valuation in the payment of this debt, as well as accepting some property in detroit. this relieved the situation so that soon after that time the regents were able to report that the disbursements were less than the receipts. for several years the state exacted interest for this loan and in deducted $ , from the university fund held by the state. three years later, however, the legislature directed that the interest upon the whole amount of the lands sold be paid to the university. this was done by successive legislatures until in the $ , was finally returned to the university fund through an adjustment of the accounting system of the state. whether the return of this $ , constitutes a gift to the university by the state is still a matter of discussion. professor ten brook, in his "history of american state universities," written, however, in , before the final adjustment was made, maintained that the university had already paid this debt, while professor hinsdale, in his later "history of the university," more properly insisted that actually the university never repaid the debt, and that this $ , was eventually made a gift and thus became the first direct state support of the university of michigan. the whole history of the early finances of the university is one of great expectations and of small resources not always judiciously used. the sums expended upon the branches were not spent in vain, for they provided the scholastic foundation of the university in its first years. nor is the erection of university buildings to be criticized, except as to their impractical character. this defect the experience of a few years was to show, for one of the first acts of dr. tappan, when he became president in , was to end the use of the two university buildings as dormitories; while the professors' houses, with the exception of the one reserved as the president's residence, were eventually used for general university purposes and at one time were even let as boarding houses. in september, , the university first opened its doors with a faculty of two. the first professor appointed to assume active duties was the rev. george palmer williams, formerly the head of the pontiac branch, who was elected in july, , as professor of languages. in august, the rev. joseph whiting was elected professor of languages, and professor williams was transferred to the professorship of mathematics, and, later, of natural philosophy. strictly speaking these two were not the first professors in the university, as asa gray had received his appointment as professor of botany in july, , and dr. douglass houghton had been elected professor of chemistry, zoölogy, and mineralogy in october, . though both of these distinguished men rendered services to the university, one in the selection of the library, and the other in contributions to the scientific collections, neither ever met any classes. [illustration: two of the university's oldest buildings the president's house the only one of the original four professors' houses the old medical building torn down in ] the grand total of the students who ventured to try the educational facilities offered when the university at last got down to business was exactly six: judson d. collins, lyndon township; merchant h. goodrich, ann arbor; lyman d. norris, ypsilanti; george e. parmalee, ann arbor; george w. pray, superior; and william b. wesson, detroit. by the time this class was graduated in , the number had increased to twelve. the mental fare set before this little company consisted of the traditional classical curriculum, which differed not at all from the ordinary college course of those days in spite of the progressive spirit of the founders. for the freshmen, livy, xenophon, and algebra occupied the first term. horace, thucydides, herodotus, and roman antiquities, more algebra, geometry and botany, the second term; while horace, homer, geometry, mensuration, and the application of algebra to geometry completed the year. more greek and latin and higher mathematics were scheduled for the second year, while science in the shape of lectures in zoölogy and chemistry and two courses in intellectual and moral science, represented by abercrombie's "intellectual powers" and paley's "natural theology," were added to their classical and mathematical studies during the third year. geology and calculus were introduced the fourth year, as well as courses in philosophy, moral science, psychology, logic, economics, and political science. no modern languages, medieval or modern history, or laboratory courses in science, save what practical demonstrations could be made from the cabinet of minerals, were offered, to say nothing of engineering, architecture, law, or medicine. the traditions of centuries were still too strong and the institution too weak. upon this modest foundation the curriculum slowly grew; new professorships were added from time to time as they became imperatively necessary, so that little by little opportunities developed for the leaven of the new spirit in education to work. in the rev. edward thomson, afterwards president of ohio wesleyan university, was appointed professor of moral and intellectual philosophy. he only stayed one year; and was succeeded by the rev. andrew ten brook, in after years librarian and historian of the university. in , abram sager, m.d., afterwards a member of the medical faculty, was made professor of zoölogy and botany, while silas h. douglas, m.d., who was later to organize the chemical laboratory, came in as an assistant to the absent professor of chemistry, dr. houghton. the chair of logic, rhetoric, and history was filled the next year by the rev. daniel d. whedon; while the chair of greek and latin, left vacant by the death of dr. whiting about this time, was filled by the rev. john h. agnew. in , a professor of modern languages, louis fasquelle, ll.d., was appointed and became one of the most distinguished members of that early group. these were the men who cast their lot with the very precarious fortunes of the new university. the first two resident members of the faculty, who came to the university from the branches, suffered a considerable diminution of their salary, as the scale outlined at the first regents' meeting was more than halved; they received annually but five hundred dollars and the rent of their houses. in fact it was not for many years that the $ , maximum salary first established was reached. even these salaries were not certain in the dark days of and , when the regents felt it their duty to make known to the faculty the university's financial difficulties. the university owes not a little, surely, to these men who signified their willingness to stick by the institution and to endure privations and hardships as long as there was hope. life for the students in those days was also no bed of academic ease, though it was perhaps no harder than the home life to which they were accustomed. one study with the two adjoining bedrooms was assigned to two students who were expected to care for their own rooms and sweep the dirt into the halls for pat kelly, the "professor of dust and ashes," as well as to cut their own wood at the woodpile behind the building and carry it in, sometimes up three flights of stairs. chapel exercises were held from : to : in the morning and at : or : in the afternoon, according to the time of year, and were compulsory. tradition has it that the efforts of the official monitors were supplemented by the janitor, whose duty it was to ring a bell, borrowed from the michigan central railroad, and who aroused more than one delinquent by shouting, "did yez hear the bell?", a commentary either on the bell or on pat kelly's voice. to a student of modern days the greatest hardship would appear in the first recitation of the day before breakfast following chapel exercises. three classes were held daily except on saturday, when there was only one recitation and an exercise in elocution. on sunday the students were obliged to attend service in some one of the churches, and monitors, sometimes not overzealous, were on hand to see that they attended. the expenses are given as from $ to $ a year, with an entrance fee of $ and an annual tax of $ . for the use of the room and janitor's services. students were allowed to leave the campus for their meals but were expected to be on hand from morning prayers to : a.m., from : a.m. to : noon, from : to : p.m. and from : or : to : p.m., after which no student was permitted to leave the campus. the question of illumination was a serious one in those days, and these periods varied somewhat with the length of daylight. the cost of candles for early recitations and chapel exercises was borne by the students. the number of students increased each year up to - , when there were enrolled. after that time, the withdrawal of university support from the branches and their gradual abandonment began to show its effect in the enrolment, which dropped to in - . twenty-three students were graduated with the class of , while there were only nine in . the struggling little towns of the state found enough difficulty for the time in supporting primary schools. the branches, however, had proved their necessity, and it was not long before the rise of the union schools began to provide a stream of students which has flowed to the university uninterruptedly since that time. [illustration: four members of the early faculty george palmer williams ( - ) andrew ten brook ( - ) abram sager ( - ) thomas mcintyre cooley ( - )] there was another and probably more immediate reason for the falling off in attendance. this was the great struggle between the faculty and the students over the establishment of greek-letter societies, a contest which became so bitter that not only the town but the state legislature was involved. a large number of students were expelled, and eventually the whole relationship between students and faculty was placed upon a different basis. the trouble began in the spring of , when some student depredations were traced to a small log house situated in the depths of what was then known as the black forest, the deep wood which extended far east of the campus. this building, which probably stood somewhere on the present site of the forest hill cemetery, was discovered to be the headquarters of the chi psi fraternity, the first chapter house built by any american college fraternity. when the faculty investigator sought entrance to this building, he found his way barred by resolute fratres. this led to the ultimate disclosure of the fact that two fraternities, chi psi and beta theta pi, had been established in the university for at least a year, in direct violation of a regulation known as rule , apparently in force for some time, which provided that: no student shall be or become a member of any society connected with the university which has not first submitted its constitution to the faculty and received their approval. the students involved, however, were willing enough to give lists of their members, relying upon their numbers and their affiliation with similar organizations in other colleges to avoid any unpleasant consequences. the faculty thought otherwise; though as events proved their authority was not too well defined. meanwhile another society, alpha delta phi, had submitted a constitution to the faculty for approval; but owing to the press of other matters it was not considered and the chapter was organized with no action by the authorities. the greater number of the students in the university thus became members of the three greek-letter fraternities. the faculty was disturbed, but apparently did not take the matter too seriously at first and decided to allow the societies to continue, merely exacting pledges from all new students to join no society without approval by the faculty; thus providing as they thought, for an early demise of the fraternities. it did not work out that way, however. the chapter of alpha delta phi held that their society existed at least by sufferance of the faculty, and proceeded to initiate members, a fact that was not discovered until march, . then followed a series of suspensions and re-admissions of students who had promised not to join these societies. not only were they obliged to resign their membership, but the original members of alpha delta phi were compelled formally to submit to re-admission to the university, pledging themselves not to consent to the initiation of any members of the university in the society in opposition to rule . the matter rested here until the following november, when the society presented a second constitution, which was received by the faculty with the announcement that they had no authority to legalize the society. this reply was answered by the students with a plea that if the faculty had no authority to legalize their fraternity then they had no authority to forbid it. later another fraternity asked for re-admission with similar results. meanwhile these organizations were maintaining themselves. letters to the presidents of six eastern colleges brought replies most unfavorable to the fraternities and seemed to indicate to the faculty that elsewhere the fraternities were under a strict ban. the students, however, knew that the facts were otherwise and that fraternities were flourishing in most of the institutions where they had been established. finally in december, , a list of members of the chi psi fraternity, which included the names of many new students, was found in a university catalogue. the defense set up by the chapter was that they were not members of a society "_in_ the university of michigan" but "_in_ ann arbor," that they did not meet on university grounds, and that they had admitted three members who were not students. one of these members was, in fact, a member of the board of regents. the society, therefore, was not connected with the university and did not consist of students. this defense was considered only an evasion and on the last day of the term in the faculty announced that the members of chi psi and alpha delta phi, whose names had in the meantime been made public, must cease their connection with the university, unless they renounced their connection with their fraternities. of the members of these two societies seven withdrew their membership; the others were expelled. the members of beta theta pi were not expelled until september, , apparently because the constitution had not yet been signed, to the disgust of one member of the faculty, who considered this excuse only a legalistic quibble. some of the students expelled went to other institutions, some eventually returned to the university, while others ended their college days. this action naturally caused an uproar; neither the faculty nor the regents were unanimous in approval of these measures; while the citizens of ann arbor held an indignation meeting and appointed a committee to ask the legislature for a change in the administration of the university. the faculty prepared a report to the regents stating their case strongly and even bitterly, characterizing the whole history of these three societies as "a detail of obliquities," and their "extended affiliations as a great irresponsible authority, a monster power, which lays its hand upon every college faculty in our country"; they were also fearful of the "debauchery, drunkenness, pugilism, and duelling, ... and the despotic power of disorder and ravagism, rife among their german prototypes." this report was signed by all the faculty, though the opinion was not unanimous, nor had all the actions of individual members been consistent. the regents also made a report sustaining the faculty, and both were submitted to the legislature, accompanied by a reply made by the seven reinstated students, who denied the charges. they even maintained that rule was a dead letter and that one of the professors, when consulted at the time one of the fraternities was founded, did not disapprove, or quote this law. a memorial was also submitted by fifteen "neutral" students sustaining the faculty and suggesting that the threatened legislation, which was advocated by the committee of ann arbor citizens, was the greatest obstacle to harmony. unfortunately this legislative action was just what seemed inevitable for some time. the ann arbor citizens represented that the university was failing, and that the only way to save it was by an entire change in its organic law, the appointment of a new faculty, and the recognition of that natural right of man--to form secret societies if he so elects. their case before the legislature, however, had been weakened by the action of two students who had circulated a week or so in advance a garbled and caricatured form of the faculty report, which had been submitted honorably to the students to enable them to make a reply if they so desired. this undoubtedly prejudiced the student case when the truth became known, and the net result was no action by the legislature on any of the memorials. with the withdrawal of the bill, the faculty and the regents were left to handle the question as seemed best to them. in the meantime, however, the opposition to the suppression of the societies had become so widespread and aggressive that one by one the fraternities were "conditionally" reinstated in october, . while the upshot of all this hostility was, superficially, only a return to the _status quo_, the students had won their point. the germ of the trouble probably lay in the difference between the paternalistic attitude of the faculty, traditional in all colleges of the time, and the beginning of a new and progressive spirit in university life. the students had been brought up in an atmosphere which developed individuality and self-reliance and they resented a meticulous regulation of their lives and doubtless contrasted it unfavorably with what they knew of european universities. the whole fraternity struggle of - may then be regarded, in part at least, as a successful effort on the students' part to ensure a different and more liberal policy toward student life and affairs on the part of the authorities. not the least of the troubles this contest brought to the university was the revelation of its weakness, not only the plainly evident lack of harmony within the faculty, but also the practical demonstration it furnished of the faculty's lack of real power. the reasons for this go back once more to the act establishing the university, which allowed the regents to delegate to the faculties only such authority as they saw fit, in practice not any too much, for the regents maintained apparently a close and personal supervision over the university. this was shown by the habit of some members of the board, notably major kearsley of detroit, of conducting final oral examinations at the end of the term. major kearsley, a veteran of the war of , was something of a martinet and prided himself upon his learning; so he usually gave the students a very hard time. he was soon dubbed "major tormentum" from _majora tormenta_, the name given big guns, or cannon, in a latin "life of washington" then used in the classes. his visits finally ceased after the students found out how to deal with him and came loaded with "grape and canister," as one member of the class of ' put it, to return his heavy fire. from its earliest days the university insisted upon maintaining a non-sectarian character, but this did not imply any lack of religious training or supervision,--quite the contrary, as has been suggested. the scarcity of representatives of the cloth on the first board of regents did not pass unremarked, and it was but a short time before several clergymen, one a catholic priest, became members of the governing body, to offset the preponderance of lawyers and politicians and to furnish the board the benefits of their presumably wider experience in educational matters. every effort was made, however, to keep a proper balance among the different persuasions, and all the protestant churches came to feel that they had almost a vested right to representation, as the long list of "reverends" in the first faculty list shows. professor williams was an episcopalian; dr. whedon, a methodist; professor agnew, a presbyterian; and professor ten brook, a baptist. whenever a vacancy occurred, the question of religious affiliations was at least as important in the ultimate selection of the candidates, as any qualifications in the subject to be taught. this situation naturally led to a certain degree of rivalry, partisanship, and lack of co-operation in the faculty. to this the lack of a chancellor during those earlier years only added further confusion. from the first the regents had proposed the appointment of such an officer, but in the absence of any clear notion of their authority and his precise duties the matter was allowed to lapse, until the financial difficulties of the early years after the university opened made it clearly obvious that such an officer would be something of a luxury. the matter was settled by making each professor in turn president, or principal, for one year, a practice which continued until the appointment of president, or chancellor, tappan in . this alternation in office was approved as eminently democratic and as following the practice of the german universities, the ideal of the time. in a report submitted by the board of visitors in , the plan was commended and it was even urged that the monarchical feature of a chancellor should be struck out of the organic law, and the system then in force thereby fixed for all time. nevertheless the plan was none too successful in application. there was too much opportunity for jealousy and too little central authority. this is shown plainly in the contest which arose over the hours of teaching as the numbers in the university grew. the emphasis in the curriculum upon the classics has been noted. this threw the burden of almost the whole course of study upon professor agnew after the services of a single tutor were dispensed with in . professors whedon and ten brook were therefore called upon to assist him, which they did unwillingly, professor whedon finally refusing to hear further classes in greek. the trouble grew and finally resulted in the resignation of professor ten brook in , because of the opposition of three other members of the faculty. in after years he came to consider this action a mistake; particularly as he had the respect and friendship of the board of regents, who brought about the downfall of his opponents within six months. this began in an action against professor whedon, who had for some time aroused opposition by his pronounced anti-slavery views. as a result of this feeling, on december , , at the last session of the board of regents by appointment before a new board elected under the new state constitution was to take its place, a resolution was introduced requesting the removal of the rev. d.d. whedon for the reason that he had-- not only publicly preached, but otherwise openly advocated the doctrine called "the higher law," a doctrine which is unauthorized by the bible, at war with the principles, precepts and examples of christ and his apostles, subversive alike of civil government, civil society, and the legal rights of individual citizens, and in effect constitutes, in the opinion of this board, a species of moral treason against the government. this resolution seems to have expressed the real sentiment of the regents; but the actual measure passed was a resolution declaring, that in view of the fact that a new board of regents was to take charge and appoint a president, it was expedient that the terms of professors williams, whedon, and agnew terminate at the close of the year. this was an out and out partisan matter, as there was no reason for such action inherent in the change of the governing body, particularly as it did not affect two members of the faculty who had avoided participation in this family jar. the new board chose, however, to act upon it and the three resignations were accepted. professor williams was later reappointed, as he had apparently taken a minor part in the opposition to professor ten brook. this whole episode was most unfortunate and was brought about by the lack of a strong guiding administrative policy. professor ten brook in his later review generously says of these men: "a stronger body of men of the same number was probably never associated in such an opening enterprise," and again, "we should find that their merits would be magnified and their mistakes diminished by a consideration of the complicated, and till then unknown difficulties with which they had to contend." with a chancellor to guide and direct the faculty and to exert, on occasion, a restraining hand, a large part of these troubles might have been avoided. the regents had early discovered their dependence upon the whims of the legislature, particularly in financial matters, while the superintendent of public instruction was given too much authority. in fact, a committee of the legislature appointed as early as stated in its report: "a board of experienced regents could manage the funds and machinery of the university better than any legislature; and the faculty could manage the business of education--the interior of a college--better than any regents." this was becoming recognized; the university's difficulties only emphasized what had become a general opinion. accordingly the sections of the new constitution of relating to the university were thoroughly discussed in the convention; with the result that certain new provisions were incorporated which gave the university of michigan a unique standing among state universities. particularly important were the measures relating to the board of regents. in the first place, it was provided that they should be elected by the people, one for each judicial district, and at the same time the judges of each circuit were elected. ten years later the latter provision was changed so that the number of regents was definitely fixed at eight; two to be elected every two years at the regular election of the justices of the supreme court. in the second place, it was provided that while the regents should have only general supervision of the university, they should have the direction and control of all expenditures from the university interest fund. these provisions were far-reaching. they made the board of regents a constituent part of the state government, on an equality as regards powers with the governor, the legislature, and the supreme court. from the time this action went into effect we may date the larger growth of the university. the selection of the regents is as far removed from political influence as it is possible to make it under our electoral system, and they are given absolute control of the income of the university and the appropriations of the legislature, once they are made; provided of course they are used for the purposes designated. a further provision of the constitution specified the immediate appointment of a president. the old plan was not considered suitable for an american college. this sentiment was so strong that the convention was unwilling to leave this matter to the discretion of the regents and therefore they made action imperative. all that was necessary now was the adaptation of the organic act of the university to the new constitution. this was accomplished on april , , when a new act was adopted, in essentials far simpler and more general in its terms than the old one, which left the university free to enter upon the remarkable growth and expansion which began with the administration of president tappan. chapter iv the first administrations the new university act had charged the regents with the duty of electing a president immediately. it was some time, however, before they found the right man, henry philip tappan, ll.d., who was inaugurated as the first president of the university of michigan on december , . dr. tappan's name was first suggested by george bancroft, the historian, who was also considered for the position, but there was some opposition, which seems to have centered about the fact that dr. tappan had once consulted a homeopathic physician, and he was not elected until august . president, or as he was often called, chancellor tappan was a man of wide culture, of established reputation as a scholar, and an author on philosophical and educational subjects. his personality was magnetic and commanding, but it was combined with a frank and fatherly attitude toward his students which won their immediate and life-long friendship. born at rhinebeck on the hudson, of mixed dutch and huguenot ancestry, on april , , he came to michigan in time to give his best years to his new work. many of his friends may well have been astonished at his acceptance of a post in a tiny college far on the outskirts of a village in the western wilderness, which carried with it the munificent salary of $ , , together with a house and an additional $ for traveling expenses. yet he came. the principles of the university agreed with the ideals he had received in his long study of european methods and his personal experiences in german schools. he determined to make a real university in the west; he fixed his glance upon the opportunities for future development rather than the bareness and inevitable crudity of pioneer life. for the first time he found his cherished ideas embodied in the provision for a state university; and though he realized they had not been made effective, he believed that in the west, if anywhere, was his opportunity to put them into actual practice, unhampered by the traditions which had grown up everywhere in the east. the new president, in the first catalogue issued under his administration, let the world know in no uncertain terms what the university was to become as long as his was the guiding hand. he traced the succession of state schools up to and through the university, where, he declared, it was his purpose "to make it possible for every student to study what he pleases, and to any extent he pleases." some of his proposed measures must be regarded as prophecies for the future; they could hardly have been taken seriously at the time. they are not all realized even now; but they show the breadth of his conception of a real university. he emphasized openly the correspondence between the michigan and the german systems of education, and declared that; it is the cardinal object to make this correspondence as complete as possible. hence, it is proposed to make the studies here pursued not only introductory to professional studies, and to studies in the higher branches of science and literature, but also to embrace such studies as are more particularly adapted to agriculture, the mechanic arts, and to the industrial arts generally. accordingly, a distinct scientific course has been added, running parallel to the classical course, extending through the same term of four years, and embracing the same number of classes with the same designations. these ideas he put into practice at once and michigan became the first university in the country to introduce practical scientific courses within the regular arts curriculum, and, following harvard by only a few years, was the second university in the country to break away from the accepted hard and fast course in which the humanities were the beginning and the end of education, acknowledging the claims of science by granting the degree of bachelor of science. he was likewise a pioneer in other ways; for the university was the first to recognize the needs of special students who, while not seeking a degree, were anxious to pursue studies in special subjects. president tappan was wise enough not to seek the establishment of his grand object at once, but he did announce in that first catalogue that he proposed-- at as early a day as practicable, to open courses of lectures for those who have graduated at this or other institutions, and for those who in other ways have made such preparation as may enable them to attend upon them with advantage. here was the germ of a graduate school, though for many years the lectures were more in evidence in the catalogue of the university than in the class room. he was sufficiently practical to realize that the collegiate course, "with its schoolmaster methods and discipline," of his time must be retained for a period, though he aimed eventually to transfer its work to the high school, gradually swinging the university to "true university methods, free and manly habits of study and investigation." he also aimed to gather about him a faculty in which every chair was filled by a man of exceptional ability and thorough training, "not a picked up, but a picked out man," to quote professor frieze in his memorial address on dr. tappan. these are the cardinal principles which guided michigan's first president throughout his career in the university, and, as ideals, have been a powerful factor in its growth since his time. more apparent to his contemporaries were the immediate benefits of his strong administration. he saw at once the urgent need of more funds for the library and obtained a subscription from ann arbor citizens of some $ , , to which the regents added $ , resulting in an increase of , volumes. from that time dates the steady and consistent growth of the university library. even more pressing appeared to him the need for an astronomical observatory. from the very day of his inauguration, he made the raising of sufficient funds for this purpose one of his first tasks and so effective were his efforts that the observatory was opened in ; the result of a gift of $ , by citizens of detroit, to which the university had added an appropriation of $ , . this gave michigan one of the three well-equipped observatories in the country at that time. the telescope, a thirteen-inch objective, was purchased in this country, but other items of equipment were obtained in berlin under the advice of professor encke, the director of the royal observatory, whose assistant, dr. brünnow, came to america as michigan's first professor of astronomy. it was during dr. tappan's administration also that the professional departments, as they were long called, came into their own. the medical school had been organized since , when the first building was completed at a cost of about $ , ; but the work was only fairly under way when he came. the new department was opened in october, , with ninety matriculates and grew with extraordinary rapidity, so that for the first years the enrolment exceeded that of the literary department. when dr. tappan left the university in there were students in the medical department and by - their number increased to , the largest enrolment in the history of the school. the creation of a law department was considered at the same time the medical department was organized, but lack of resources as well as any enthusiastic support from the legal profession in the state postponed its opening for ten years. the growing number of petitions for its establishment, however, finally led to the opening of the school in with a faculty of three, and ninety-two students. hardly less important was the establishment in of a course in civil engineering. it was organized in connection with the department of physics, however, and did not attain to the dignity of a separate department with its own head for many years. even so modest a beginning as this for technical courses in the university found precedent in those days only at harvard. lack of funds and co-operation from the legislature seems to have been the only reason which led to the abandonment of plans for the creation of departments of agriculture and military science which were seriously considered at that time. the inauguration of these different schools was all a part of dr. tappan's scheme for the development of a true university. though he deplored their necessarily lowered requirements, he saw the day when they would be graduate departments, as in effect the law and medical schools are in the way of becoming now, at least insofar as they require a minimum of two years' work in the literary college before the student is permitted to enter upon his professional studies. they formed, as it was, with the various scientific courses established in the literary department, a significant departure from the single "cast iron" course of the eastern colleges. by very reason of this innovation michigan, in president white's words, "stands at the beginning of the transition of the old sectarian college to the modern university." in all this president tappan's influence was vital. he entered whole-heartedly into the life of the university, displaying a remarkable shrewdness and charity in his dealings with the students, and sympathizing heartily with the work of every professor. one of his students, byron m. cutcheon, ' , afterward a regent of the university, thus describes him: as i remember him, he was fully six feet tall, with a grand head set upon massive shoulders. a full suite of dark brown hair, worn rather long and considerably disordered, crowned and adorned his head. his face ... was pleasant and attractive though never exhibiting levity, and rarely, humor. the nose was large and somewhat roman. the rather long side beard had not yet turned gray. his carriage was upright and dignified. i never saw him in a hurry. he was always approachable, but never familiar nor invited familiarity. the powerful frame and compelling presence of chancellor tappan are well portrayed in the magnificent bas-relief by karl bitter, now in alumni memorial hall, a fitting tribute to his influence upon the university on the part of his former students. especially noteworthy is his representation here with his favorite mastiff, "leo," his inseparable companion. no reminiscence of a student of that time is complete without mention of "leo" and his later companion "buff," an only slightly less huge animal acquired during the later years of dr. tappan's administration. so when, in the popular air of the sixties, his students asked: "where, o where, is dr. tappan?" the answer was: "he went up on buff and leo, safe now in the promised land." president tappan was not fortunate in his appearances before the state legislature to ask for appropriations. he was too good a speaker not to command a hearing, but his repeated references to the german prototypes of the university were resented; while the opposition of the smaller church colleges, who represented the unsectarian character of the university as "godless," was very evident in the indifferent and even discourteous attitude of the individual members of the legislature. finally president tappan became disgusted and as he left, never to return, he made the memorable prophecy: "the day will come, gentlemen, when my boys will take your places, and then something will be done for the university." within a decade this began to come true, but not in time to save to the university the services of dr. tappan. it was one of the university's greatest misfortunes that her first president was not permitted to work out his plans. the story of his removal is a sad one, though fortunately the issues were largely personal and did not involve fundamental university policies. when dr. tappan came to michigan he found the faculty and regents entirely ready to co-operate with him; glad, in fact, to have a strong hand at last at the helm. the board sympathized with his ideals and the faculty seconded him loyally in all his efforts. this happy state of affairs continued from to , when, in conformity with the constitutional provision of , a new board of regents succeeded the one which had chosen him as president. this board was not only entirely new, but it was composed of men who lacked what would seem to be the elementary qualifications for such a task; in fact, few if any of them had had any academic training whatever. nevertheless this did not in the least embarrass them, and they proceeded at once to take a very active part in university life. it soon became evident that there was a great difference between their views as to the duties of the president, and those of dr. tappan, who assumed that, as executive officer, his authority in the internal affairs of the university and over the faculty was, under certain limitations, comprehensive and effective. he could not see how the university could properly develop otherwise. the new regents, on the contrary, seemed to feel that not only the administration of the university finances but a great share of the legislative and administrative power rested with them; and they proceeded to act upon that assumption. they prepared a set of rules for the conduct of the university without consulting president tappan, and appointed a series of executive committees which seriously limited his control. certain of the regents were particularly aggressive, especially levi bishop, the detroit member of the board, who for a long period wrote anonymous articles on the university in a detroit paper, giving his biased view of all that happened in the regents' meetings. the ann arbor regent, donald macintyre, whose banking office became the unofficial center of university affairs, also proved himself unfriendly to the president. the faculty, unfortunately, was divided in its sympathies. it may be said that dr. tappan possessed the defects of his qualities. he showed a certain lack of fellowship and understanding in dealing with some of his associates and assumed, perhaps unconsciously, an air of authority and an attitude of superiority which was resented. where his pre-eminent position was unquestioned, as in his relations with the students and with the people of the state, the charm and graciousness of his manner and his parental kindness won him universal friendship and respect. moreover dr. tappan was courageous, generous, and direct in all his dealings, in spite of that touch of condescension. he insisted strongly, however, on what he regarded as his prerogatives and exhibited a certain lack of diplomacy and forbearance in dealing with the regents and faculty, which under ordinary circumstances would have been regarded as the personal idiosyncrasy of a great man. but with a majority of the regents definitely opposed to him from the first and with a growing faculty cabal in support, it weighed heavily against him. his every action was criticized. though he was a clergyman of the dutch reformed church, and was affiliated with the presbyterian church in ann arbor, he emphasized the university's non-sectarian character, and paid no attention to the denominational affiliations of the candidates in making appointments to the faculty. he carried this policy so far that he took no active part in the affairs of his own church in ann arbor, a course which was resented by the presbyterians, while it won him no friends in the other churches which he attended impartially. his european habit of serving wine at his table also was severely censured, particularly by the local regent, who was a presbyterian and a strong prohibitionist. finally, his efforts to maintain a high standard in the faculty by holding in subordinate positions men who had not proved their ability did not increase the number of friends among his colleagues. a change was anticipated in , when a new board of regents offered promise of a different order. dr. tappan therefore, in spite of many temptations to resign, continued to hold his position, largely because of the appeals of his friends, particularly students and alumni, to "stick it out." but certain members of the old board, it was said, had stated that they would bring about his removal before the end of their term. the event proved their intention, for the retiring board, on june , , without warning, and only giving him a few hours to offer his resignation, summarily removed him from the offices and duties of president and professor of philosophy. at the same meeting dr. tappan's son was also removed from the position of librarian, which he had held most successfully for some years, while dr. brünnow, who had married his only daughter, was dismissed from the professorship of astronomy, where he had contributed so much to the reputation of the university. the board then elected to the presidency and the professorship of rhetoric and english literature dr. erastus o. haven, who had served as professor of latin, and later of history and english literature, from to , and who had afterward been engaged in the publication of a religious paper of the methodist church in boston. dr. l.d. chapin, amherst, ' , pastor of the ann arbor presbyterian church, who was among those considered for the presidency, was elected to the professorship of moral philosophy. dr. tappan never returned to michigan. he spent the rest of his life in europe and died in vevey, switzerland, in . he had come to ann arbor with high hopes, the fulfilment of a desire to take part in the "creation of an american university deserving the name," and his disappointment and disillusionment was a crushing blow. his spirit still lived, however, in the institution he loved and served, for we know now that no man has had so large a share as he in shaping the course the university was to take or insuring a proper direction of the first steps. when he came he found a small struggling college of students; when he left there were students in three flourishing departments and the beginning of a real university. were he alive today he would realize that his great work was not in vain. the earnest invitation of the regents that he be the honored guest of the university at the commencement, which was declined because of failing health, must have softened bitter memories, particularly as the message of acknowledgment included a statement renewing the invitation for the following year and incorporated a resolution erasing all criticism from the regents' record. the situation which faced his successor was a delicate one. the removal of dr. tappan had created a storm which grew rather than decreased, and president haven found an unfriendly community and a hostile student body awaiting him. every effort, in fact, was being made to secure the re-election of dr. tappan as soon as the new board of regents was in authority. president haven, however, who had known nothing of the circumstances which led to the removal of dr. tappan when he accepted the presidency, showed great wisdom and tact in this emergency. he won the respect of every one by an announcement that he did not intend to stay unless re-elected by the new board, and appealed for harmony and good feeling in the face of what was to all a difficult situation. at their first session the new board of regents considered the recalling of dr. tappan. floods of letters had been received from alumni, students, and friends of the university, advocating such action, but the regents felt that this course would be unwise as it would have involved practically a reorganization of the whole faculty. the personal character of the trouble which resulted in the removal of dr. tappan, emphasized later by an injudicious statement issued at the suggestion of some of his friends, would have rendered such a course almost inevitable. dr. haven was not a man of the powerful caliber of his predecessor but he proved a most satisfactory administrator during a trying period. of a more conservative temper, he devoted himself to caring for the immediate affairs of the university rather than the problems of future development. he was born in boston, november , , and was graduated from wesleyan university in . after a few years spent in teaching, he entered the ministry of the methodist church, but resigned in to accept the professorship of latin in the university. like his predecessor, he had an extraordinary ability as a speaker, though he was more given to epigrams and felicities of expression, with which his speeches fairly sparkled. his characteristic humor, quoted by professor winchell in his memorial address, is illustrated by the following passage: might not a parasite on the back of an ox ... having found out by actual measurement the circumference of the ox, and by mathematical calculation, the diameter of the ox, and having ascertained that as he inserted his proboscis into the hide of the animal, say the sixteenth of an inch, it gradually and regularly grew warmer, infer, in like manner (as the geologist) that the center of the animal was red hot lava! [illustration: henry philip tappan, ll.d. ( - ) the first president of the university, - (from a bas-relief by karl bitter in alumni memorial hall)] [illustration: erastus otis haven, ll.d. ( - ) president of the university, - ] [illustration: henry simmons frieze ( - ) professor of latin, - acting president of the university, - , - ] dr. haven, in spite of his active denominational ties, was a strong supporter of the non-sectarianism of the university. "i maintain," he said, "that a state university in this country should be religious. it should be christian without being sectarian," and again, "those questions upon which denominations differ--however vital they may appear--should be left to their acknowledged teachers outside the university." in his general policy he faithfully followed the paths which had been laid out for the university's development; and despite predicted disaster he saw a great increase in her material welfare and her standing in the academic world during the six years he was president. within four years the attendance practically doubled from in - to , in - . this was due to the great and somewhat disproportionate growth of the two professional schools, which were now well under way, and to the reaction following the falling off of students during the civil war. in a school of mines was announced, but it did not prove successful and was soon absorbed in a department of mining engineering which in turn failed to survive. in - a latin and scientific course was established, substituting modern languages for greek as cultural studies, an innovation which speedily proved popular and widely imitated. a course in pharmacy was first given in , though it did not become a department for some years. the library also grew from , volumes in to , in , including one gift to the law library of volumes. other gifts increased the scientific resources of the university. this growth in students and in the scope of the curriculum made additions to the buildings and equipment imperative. the medical building was enlarged by a new section, erected at a cost of $ , , one-half of which was raised by the townspeople of ann arbor by general taxation; while an addition to the observatory and its general renovation cost $ , , an expense again defrayed by ann arbor and detroit citizens. a much needed addition to the chemical laboratory was also made, and one of the dwelling houses on the campus was made into a hospital. the financial situation during most of this period, however, was threatening. the great increase in the cost of living which followed the civil war was making existence difficult for the whole university. the total income was but $ , , while the average professor's salary was only $ , . up to this time the state had contributed nothing to the university for its support, aside from the loan made in , though it was glad enough to bask in the reputation which the great and growing institution brought to the commonwealth. the university, in fact, had grown beyond its resources, and something had to be done. the regents accordingly took the university's case to the legislature, which granted, in , a tax of one-twentieth of a mill on each dollar of the taxable resources of the state, yielding a prospective income of about $ , annually--provided, however, that a professor of homeopathy be appointed in the department of medicine and surgery. this actually proved worse than nothing, for it increased tenfold the difficulties of the university and precipitated a long and violent discussion which nearly disrupted the medical department. the regents were not compelled to take the money; so they postponed action and sought to evade the issue by proposing to establish a department of homeopathy in some other place than ann arbor. but this was held illegal by the supreme court and the matter was again postponed. at the end of two years, partly at least as a result of president haven's masterly statement of the university's plight before the legislature, a new law was finally passed giving the university not only an annual subsidy of $ , for the two ensuing years, but granting also the sum that had accumulated for two years as a result of the first act. thus was the university saved once more. the board was not only enabled to bring the university's facilities into correspondence with its rapid growth; but more to the point, it could now increase the salaries of the faculty so that full professors in the literary department at last received the $ , originally provided in . this relief was of the utmost importance. still more significant was the fact that a new policy was inaugurated by which the necessity of state support for the university was recognized; support which has never since been withheld, for the tax was successively increased to one-sixth of a mill in , to one-fourth in , and finally in to the present three-eighths of a mill. at last michigan, in the fullest sense of the term, became _the_ university of the state of michigan. this was the culmination of president haven's administration. a few weeks later he resigned to accept the presidency of northwestern university, a school maintained by his own denomination, where he doubtless felt there were wider opportunities in his chosen field. his resignation was accepted by the regents with regret and the declaration that the success of the university during the preceding six years "to a large extent had been due to his learning, skill, assiduity, and eminent virtues," a statement which was given added force by an unsuccessful attempt to have him return during the interregnum of two years that followed. he died in salem, oregon, august , . the regents were not able at once to find a successor to president haven, so professor henry s. frieze, who held the chair of latin, was appointed acting president. this position he filled so successfully for two years that he was asked informally whether he would accept the presidency. the choice, however, fell in turn upon professor julius h. seelye of amherst college and president james b. angell of the university of vermont, both of whom visited ann arbor but afterward declined the appointment. meanwhile the good fortune which led to the selection of dr. frieze as acting president was shown by two important measures which were the outstanding features of his administration. for many years there had been a growing sentiment in favor of the admission of women to the university, which had been steadily resisted by the students, faculties, and regents. president haven had come to see its inevitability, particularly in a state institution, and perhaps its advisability, but successive discussions had only postponed action from year to year. so it was not until january , , that the great step was taken in the following innocuous resolution: _resolved_, that the board of regents recognize the right of every resident of michigan to the enjoyment of the privileges afforded by the university, and that no rule exists in any of the university statutes for the exclusion of any person from the university who possesses the requisite literary and moral qualifications. [illustration: the two main buildings of the university about (from an old photograph)] great was the opposition, particularly from students and faculties. the medical department was especially concerned and even organized an elaborate duplication of courses with an increase of $ in professorial salaries, measures which later proved unnecessary. one month later, on february , , the first woman was enrolled in the university; miss madelon l. stockwell, now mrs. charles k. turner of kalamazoo. she was the only woman student until the fall term, when eleven others entered the literary department, three the department of pharmacy, eighteen the department of medicine, and two the department of law, with four graduating the following june. tradition has it that they had a hard time at first. they were treated with indifferent courtesy, college journalism had its fling at them, many boarding places were not open to them, and in fact life was made as unpleasant as possible. but they had good friends in the president and in many members of the faculties; they asked no favors, and they gained the education on a masculine plane they sought. the experiment proved successful, as the roster of michigan alumnæ will show; and it was not long before co-education became the rule in all american colleges save the older institutions of the east. michigan now, as we have seen, was a state institution in reality as well as in name; but the educational arch of which she was the keystone was not yet completed. the earlier close connection between the university and the schools of the state, contemplated when the branches were established, had proved impossible of realization, and the union high schools which soon succeeded them were tied to the university only incidentally and indirectly through the influence of such teachers as had been students at the university. their graduates came in increasing numbers, it is true, but they were admitted by examination upon the same basis as the graduates of any school. the acting president saw the need of a closer relationship, which would not only strengthen the high schools, but would relieve the university of its elementary courses by eventually making the high schools the equivalent of the german gymnasia; in effect the present junior colleges, the establishment of which we are now witnessing in all the larger high schools. professor frieze therefore proposed that special faculty committees be sent to examine the character of the work in the high schools of the state. if this were approved, a certificate stating that a proper preliminary course was satisfactorily completed, would admit any student to the university without examination. this simple plan was severely criticized by some educational authorities of the time as revolutionary and as a lowering of standards. it soon justified itself, however, and has come to be the general practice; in fact, it has also been extended to cover a reciprocal arrangement on the part of all the leading state universities as well as many of the privately endowed institutions. again michigan led the way. the growth of the university continued undiminished, and soon the need of a large auditorium became increasingly apparent, to say nothing of more offices and class rooms. the legislature therefore voted in the sum of $ , for the erection of the present main section of university hall lying between the two original wings, the first buildings of the university. this included a large auditorium, seating nearly , persons, with a chapel and the necessary offices and recitation rooms on the first floor. the tower, which was the striking feature of this building, was replaced in by the lower and much safer dome of the present time. the ability and success with which dr. frieze had conducted the affairs of the university was publicly recognized by the board of regents at the end of his term, and it was on his advice that the invitation was once more extended to his former pupil at brown university, dr. james b. angell; this time with successful results. chapter v president angell and president hutchins dr. angell, fresh from his work in the east as professor of modern languages at brown university, war-time editor of the _providence journal_, and president of the university of vermont, came to michigan eight years after the departure of president tappan. the faculty of thirty-five which greeted him was a brilliant company, though small in comparison with a roll over ten times as long when he resigned his office. the catalogue of shows , students in the university at that time; at the end of his term of office there were , . the thirty-eight years of his administration not only covered a significant period in the history of american education but it was as well a critical time in the life of the university. in the years between and the university showed, once for all, that the experiment involved in its establishment, the popularization of education and the maintenance of a school system and a university by the state, was not only justified but even more, it was extraordinarily successful. while the university might have developed much as it has without the guidance of president angell, it may be questioned whether it would have been as effective as a leader in the new movement. the principles which underlie the state university system were stated well by the founders, who incorporated the fundamental idea of popular education in the first constitution of the state, and michigan's first great president, chancellor tappan, tried his best to make them practical. but he was ahead of his time, and it was not until president angell took the helm that there was progress towards a true university. when he came michigan was still in many respects little more than a collection of colleges. it was the work of dr. angell to build, and to build well, upon foundations already laid; to harmonize, with practical idealism and diplomacy, the advanced ideals of the university with the slower progress of the commonwealth. while it has come to be no reproach upon the fame of dr. tappan that he failed in just this particular, it is the great achievement of dr. angell that he succeeded. he made michigan the model for all succeeding state universities. the new president was born in scituate, r.i., january , , of good new england stock. throughout his youth he lived the simple life of a country boy, attending the village school, the academy of one isaac fiske, a quaker pedagogue,--until he was ready for more advanced studies at the academies of seekonk, mass., and north scituate. this early training, in his later estimation, furnished the best possible instruction, because it involved personal attention from special instructors, a good old-fashioned method which the rapid development of this country has made almost impossible, yet a practice for which he stood consistently as far as possible throughout his whole career as an educator. in speaking of his early schooling he said that "no plan had been marked out for me; being fond of study and almost equally fond of all branches, i took nearly everything that was taught, merely because it was taught." his health as a boy, however, was delicate, giving small promise of his hale and hearty fourscore years, and he spent perforce two years, from fourteen to sixteen, on a farm. as to the value of this experience, far from uncommon in the lives of many men eminent in the history of this country, he said, "i prize very highly the education i received then. i learned how much backache a dollar earned in the field represents." he prepared for brown university at a "grammar school" in providence, where he studied under henry s. frieze, destined to become his immediate predecessor in the presidency of michigan. he was graduated from brown, with highest honors, in . this early new england training was particularly fortunate for one who was to come into such close relationship with the pioneer settlers of michigan,--new englanders to a very large extent. equally fortunate was his later training. his first residence abroad, where he acquired the familiarity with modern languages which fitted him for his first professorship, had been preceded by a year as assistant in the library at brown university; then he became tutor, and later a student of civil engineering in the office of the city engineer of boston. in fact, he spent this period to such advantage that later, upon his return from europe, he was given the choice of a professorship either in civil engineering or modern languages, an evidence of the wide range of his interests. he finally chose modern languages as his subject, and entered upon his career as a teacher, where he developed the highest qualifications. he remained at brown for seven years. many articles and reviews published in the _providence journal_ justified his selection in as the editor of that paper, a position which he held throughout the civil war with singular distinction. in , dr. angell was offered the presidency of the university of vermont, and he accepted it. he took charge of the university when its fortunes were at a low ebb, and the future was not bright. it was due to the administrative ability of the new president as well as to his ripe experience and culture that the day was saved and vermont prospered, intellectually and financially, during the five years of his administration. of his decision to come to michigan, dr. angell said twenty-five years later: "while, with much embarrassment, i was debating the question in my own mind whether i should come here, i fell in with a friend who had very large business interests, and he made this very suggestive remark to me: 'given the long lever, it is no harder to lift a big load than it is with a shorter one to lift a smaller load.' i decided to try the end of the longer lever." james burrill angell was inaugurated president of the university of michigan in june, . from that time his life was the life of the university except for interludes of diplomatic service in china, turkey, and upon various commissions. his diplomatic career, though only incidental to his life work as an educator, showed that he possessed the necessary qualifications for what might well have been a very distinguished career in other fields. at the time of his appointment to china as minister plenipotentiary, diplomatic relations in the east were decidedly indirect and characteristically oriental. it had just taken germany two years to conclude a rather unimportant commercial treaty, and upon his arrival at peking his colleagues in the diplomatic service laughed at him for supposing that his one year's leave of absence would suffice for his far more important mission. yet the revision of the burlingame treaty, restricting the importation of cheap coolie labor into this country, which he sought, was accomplished within two months. another important commercial treaty relative to the importation of opium was likewise completed at the same time. he was also successful in his mission to turkey in and as a member of the alaska fisheries and other international commissions. but his heart was in his work at ann arbor, and thither he always returned despite flattering temptations to enter diplomatic life. a great opportunity lay before him when he took up his new duties and he recognized it. it was his task to bring the state, exemplified in particular by a not always sympathetic legislature, and by a board of regents of continually varying complexion, to a realization of the true function of a university supported by the state. he must arouse the enthusiasm for education and learning which he knew lay deep in the hearts of the people of michigan. as professor charles kendall adams, later president of cornell and wisconsin, said: "what was called for first of all was the creation and dissemination of an appreciative public opinion that would produce, in some way or other, the means necessary for the adequate support of the university." so well did dr. angell accomplish this purpose that of late years he loved to dwell, in his speeches before the alumni, upon what he chose to call the "passion for education" on the part of the people of the state, forgetting utterly the yeoman service he performed all his life toward bringing about that same regard for popular education. it is true that the foundation and declaration of the educational ideals of the west cannot be ascribed to him. nevertheless he must be regarded, more than any other one man, as the successful pilot who avoided the difficulties which the very novelty of the situation presented. the comparative freedom from precedent offered an unrivaled opportunity to try new theories in education, and was a continual temptation to try policies which must have proved too advanced for the place and the time. [illustration: alumni memorial hall] a survey of the educational system in the west at the time he came to michigan may be of interest. as regards the number of students, quality of work, and the eminence of the men upon her faculties, michigan stood far in advance of other state institutions. this very pre-eminence, however, threw a greater responsibility upon the new president. lacking precedents, he had to make them for himself, so that the place of the state university in the educational world today is in great degree the measure of success he had in dealing with the practical problems which confronted him throughout his extraordinarily long term of office. when he came to michigan there was only one other state university of any size, wisconsin, although several others had already been established. according to the report of the united states commissioner of education for , none of them except michigan, and possibly wisconsin, were in anything like a flourishing condition. while michigan had, all told, , students, of whom were in the literary department, wisconsin had only , omitting a preparatory department of students. minnesota had but students with in the preparatory department, while kansas enrolled . no figures were given for illinois, which was then the illinois industrial university, and nebraska, both of which had been established for several years. yet michigan, although she was well in the lead in point of numbers as well as in the strength of her professional schools, was far from realizing her possibilities. it would, of course, be a rash assertion to say that she has realized them now. but it is safe to say that no state has maintained more truly the type of the well-rounded university, a large college of liberal arts, with traditions of culture and scholarship which began with its very foundation, surrounded by a ring of effective professional schools. two years after he came the present system of revenue from the state was first made operative. this came in the form of an annual proportion of the state taxes, fixed at first at one-twentieth of a mill on every dollar of taxable property; a proportion which continued for twenty years. since then it has been increased several times until it is now three-eighths of a mill on every dollar; it netted the university in , the last year of his administration, $ , instead of the $ , of . the total income of the university for that year was $ , , as against $ , . received during his first year. it was perhaps on the more strictly academic side of the development of the university that dr. angell's peculiar genius as an administrative officer was most apparent. when he came, he was forty-two years of age, and in professor hinsdale's words, "brought to his new and responsible post extended scholarship, familiar acquaintance with society and the world, administrative experience, a persuasive eloquence, and a cultivated personality." this urbanity and extraordinary ability as a speaker won for him from the first a place in the hearts and in the imaginations of the people of the state. but the most vital administrative task which faced him was to make michigan a true university as distinguished from a college. he had to correlate and concentrate the various departments, and make them complete by making a place for effective graduate work. certain revolutionary measures, such as the admission of women, the first tentative steps toward free election of studies, the introduction of a scientific course, had been instituted by his immediate predecessors; it became his duty to make them a success. almost contemporaneous with dr. angell's inauguration as president was the introduction of the seminar system of teaching, in effect a further application of the foreign methods; not only should the teacher be an investigator and searcher after truth, but the student as well; and more important still, the student should be taught how to carry on original investigation himself by means of seminar classes where student and teacher worked together on original problems. with all these innovations under way, dr. angell found many other opportunities for the introduction of new ideas in education--some of them as startling and as revolutionary as certain of the earlier experiments. these included a modification of that traditional course of classical studies, which can be traced back directly to the middle ages. the establishment of the latin and scientific course, which dropped the requirement of greek, was the first step; this was carried further in by the establishment of an english course in which no classics were required. the scientific course also underwent further modifications during this year ( - ), which was characterized by many changes regarded then as radical, though they do not strike one so nowadays. a still more revolutionary step was taken by throwing open more than half the courses to free election, permitting some students to shorten their time in college, and enabling others to enrich their course with other than the prescribed studies, heretofore compulsory and admitting of almost no variation. all these changes resulted in an immediate increase in attendance, almost percent the first year they went into force. as a direct result of dr. angell's recommendation the first chair in the science and the art of teaching in any american university was established in , coming as a necessary corollary to the intimate relation maintained and encouraged by the university between itself and the high schools of the state. in this department was empowered to grant certificates permitting any student possessing one to teach in any high school in the state. the graduate school practically came into being during his administration, as there was really nothing worthy of the name of graduate work before, in spite of the heroic efforts of president tappan. it was established as part of the literary department. when he first became president both the law and medical schools consisted of two courses of lectures of six months' duration, with no severe examination required for admittance. at present they require three and four years of nine months each, as well as two years of work in the literary college. president angell's administration, however, was by no means all smooth sailing. the question of finances, for one thing, was always with him, particularly during his first years, when deficits were regularly reported and as regularly taken care of by special appropriations of the legislature. the situation became particularly acute in and as a result the scale of salaries for the president and the faculty was reduced materially, in the president's case from $ , to $ , . the increase in the value of money following the panic of was given as an excuse for this action. questions of student discipline also disturbed these early years. the eternal rivalry between the freshmen and sophomore classes, with its attendant rushes and hazing episodes, was growing stronger every year, until in the fall of the report that thirty freshmen had been "pumped," a more or less self-explanatory term, stirred up enemies of the university throughout the state. in april, , three freshmen and three sophomores were suspended for hazing. this aroused the student body. the two classes concerned met at once and some eighty-four students signed statements that they were equally guilty. the faculty, after giving these students a week of grace to withdraw their names, finally suspended eighty-one of the signers. two problems which arose in connection with the medical school also proved most embarrassing. throughout the history of the university there has been a disposition on the part of some members of the medical profession to advocate the removal of the school to detroit. this question first arose in and was definitely settled at that time in favor of a united university. the matter came to the fore once more in when it was proposed to move only the clinical instruction to detroit. dr. angell took a vigorous stand in opposition and by a careful and well-reasoned statement of the case convinced the regents of the inexpediency and impracticability of such a measure. though echoes of this project are even now heard occasionally, dr. angell's masterly and diplomatic course at this time assured, apparently once for all, the integrity of the university in ann arbor. two members of the medical faculty, however, were so committed to the program for removal that they continued the agitation until their resignations were requested by the regents the following year. a further difficulty arose over the establishment of a department of homeopathy, which had long been the subject of agitation. the regents postponed action from year to year and refused to appoint two professors of homeopathy in the department of medicine as directed by an act of the legislature. in this course they were sustained by the courts. but in the legislature authorized the establishment of a homeopathic medical college and made a permanent appropriation of $ , for its support. the board then gave in and proceeded to organize the college, to the great concern of the members of the regular medical faculty, many of whom were threatened with professional ostracism, since they were expected to give several preliminary courses to the students in the new college. the venerable dr. sager, who was then emeritus professor, even thought it necessary to resign all connection with the university. though for a few years the position of the medical men was difficult, the situation eventually adjusted itself as the new department grew. the most trying period of dr. angell's long administration, however, were the years from to , when a comparatively trifling discrepancy in the books of the chemical laboratory developed into a struggle which almost disrupted the university. the story of the trouble, which is generally known as the douglas-rose controversy, is too long to be told here. in its beginning it was a bit of carelessness on the part of dr. douglas, the director of the chemical laboratory, in checking over the accounts of his assistant dr. rose. the latter was charged with petty defalcations over a long period of years, involving eventually a total of $ , . dr. douglas was an episcopalian, dr. rose a methodist, and the friends and fellow churchmen of the two men rallied to their support. the board of regents became sharply divided. political influence was used and the state legislature became involved through an investigating committee which, after a long session, reported in favor of dr. rose, who had in the meantime been dismissed from the university. dr. douglas was then likewise dismissed. the university finally brought suit against the two men for the recovery of the laboratory deficit, which resulted in fixing dr. rose's liability at $ , . , eventually covered by a one-half interest in the beal-steere ethnological collection, offered by mr. rice a. beal and mr. joseph b. steere, ' , afterward professor of zoölogy. dr. douglas was charged with the balance of about $ , , which, however, was practically covered by sums which had been advanced by him for university and laboratory expenses. eventually dr. rose was reinstated as a result of continued agitation, though his connection with the university was not for long; while dr. douglas, by a decision of the supreme court, to which the case was carried, was completely exonerated; a number of the initials on the disputed vouchers were pronounced forgeries, and some $ , and heavy costs were returned to him by the university. this was officially the end of perhaps the greatest period of disturbance in the university's history, a struggle which was in every way a loss, in prestige and internal unity even more than financially. that the growth and development of the institution continued almost unabated through these years proves the fundamental strength and momentum attained by the university in less than forty years. but neither the successful handling of such administrative problems as are suggested in the preceding paragraphs, or even the improvement in the equipment and personnel of the university, represent rightly the real work of president angell. his greatest influence lay in his dealings with the students, and through them, upon the educational ideals of the west. and it is precisely this influence, quietly acquired and characteristically wielded, that represents what is perhaps his greatest claim upon the consideration of the future. no one who had the privilege of hearing him speak failed to respond to the quiet persuasiveness of his presence and the charm of his personality. there are some persons in whom is inherent a certain magnetic mastery over numbers. he had this to an extraordinary degree. merely by rising he could bring absolute stillness upon a cheering throng of students or alumni, and with a few words, quiet but distinct, he could rouse to a remarkable pitch that sentiment known as college spirit. his whole figure was expressive of a benign goodness, illuminated most humanly by the worldly wisdom of an old diplomat. his ability to deal with those who came to him on various errands was remarkable. this is amusingly illustrated by the experience of one man who went to him to present his claims for an increase in salary. his memories of the interview were most delightful but exceedingly hazy as to the matter in question. his only distinct impression was that the interview ended with himself on the door-mat earnestly discussing ticknor's "history of spanish literature" with his host, who had shown him to the door. during the latter years of his life dr. angell published a book of reminiscences which was most favorably received and widely noticed. one well-known journal, however, remarked that it was rather "naïve," a criticism which greatly delighted the man who had met the diplomats of china and turkey on their own ground and defeated them. [illustration: james burrill angell, ll.d. ( - ) president of the university, - (from a copyright photograph by a.g. gowdy)] many honors came to dr. angell in the course of his long life, as was inevitable. his scholarship was universally recognized. he received the degree of ll.d. from brown university in , columbia university in , rutgers college in , princeton university in , yale university in , johns hopkins university in , the university of wisconsin in , harvard university in , and the university of michigan in . he was a member of the american philosophical society of philadelphia, the american antiquarian society of worcester, the american academy of arts and sciences of boston, and the american historical association, of which he was president in . dr. angell was a charter member of the american academy at rome. for many years he was also regent of the smithsonian institution at washington. he was always a leader in the congregational church and presided at the international congregational council which met in boston in september, . this body was composed of delegates from all parts of the world and represented the scholastic and ecclesiastical organization of the church in the persons of its most distinguished members. all through his career, dr. angell gave evidence of certain characteristics which had definite effects upon his policy as president. professor charles h. cooley, ' , has characterized the especial qualities which made for his success as "his faith and his adaptability." dr. angell always believed in the tendency of the right to prevail, and was willing to wait with a "masterly inactivity," avoiding too much injudicious assistance. he was always able to maintain a broad and comprehensive view, the attitude of the administrator, and was faithful in his belief in the higher power which guides the destiny of men--and universities. his diplomatic genius, the combination of teacher and man of the world, enabled him to keep in close and sympathetic touch, not only with the student life about him, but also with the difficult problems of an ever-growing faculty. he always showed himself surprisingly shrewd, yet withal charitable, in his judgments of men and their character, a qualification which enabled him to follow a _laissez-faire_ policy until the proper time. often his penetration and insight, in analyses of current problems and questions, which might be supposed not to interest so particularly a man of his years, surprised his young associates and gave evidence of the wonderful vitality, the spirit of youth, which lived within him. ann arbor was long accustomed to his familiar figure on his invariable morning constitutional, walking with an elastic, springy step and a ruddy freshness in his complexion which almost belied his gray hairs and his well-known age. he passed few blocks without a word to some one, for a simple, kindly interest in those about him was one of his chief characteristics. it was his essential democracy which kept him for so many years in personal relations with his students, an interest which never flagged until the last, and which was shown by the close track which he always kept of the alumni of the university. for the alumni, he always bore that simplest and most beloved of academic titles, "prexy." no gentler tribute has ever been paid than the words of his former pupil, professor charles m. gayley, ' , now of the university of california, in the commemoration ode, read at the quarter centennial of dr. angell's presidency: "for he recks of praises nothing, counts them fair nor fit: he, who bears his honors lightly, and whose age renews its zest--" to james burrill angell must be given a pre-eminent place among those who have made advanced learning for the young people of the land a matter of course. more than any other one person he helped to give to this country one of her proudest distinctions, the highest percentage in the world of college men and women. president angell's long administration of thirty-eight years came to an end october , , when he resigned what had become a heavy burden to become president-emeritus. even now we cannot properly estimate how distinguished that service was. he was then eighty years old and had given the university the best that was in him. the death of his wife, sarah caswell angell, in , was a blow from which he never recovered. she was the daughter of president alexis caswell of brown university, and her sympathetic co-operation and especial interest in the women of the university was no small factor in his success. for seven years after his resignation he lived in the home on the campus he had so long occupied, loved and honored alike by students, faculty, and alumni; and watched with interest and appreciation the development of the university under the new leader. here he died on april , . no tribute to a great leader was ever more fitting than the long double file of students that lined the whole way to forest hill on the day he was laid to rest under the simple monument which marks his grave. no effort was made immediately to find a successor. dean harry burns hutchins of the law school, who had once before served as acting president during dr. angell's absence in turkey, was asked to act again in that capacity. this he did so successfully that on june , , he was unanimously elected to the presidency. he accepted, but upon the condition, expressed in his letter of acceptance, that he serve but five years. the new president assumed his duties when the tide of the university's progress was at the ebb. it is no disparagement of his predecessor to say that for some years the affairs of the university had been allowed to take their course with little aggressive action; his period for vigorous measures had passed. there was much therefore that needed to be set in order in the academic establishment and to this the new executive set himself immediately. president hutchins is the first graduate of the university to become its president, for he received his degree in at the same time dr. angell delivered his inaugural address. he was born at lisbon, new hampshire, april , , and came to michigan in , the year he entered the university. after his graduation he was for one year superintendent of the schools of owosso, michigan, after which he returned to the university as instructor in history and rhetoric, becoming assistant professor in , a position he held for three years. in the meantime, however, he had been preparing himself for the practice of the law and in resigned his academic duties to enter active practice in mt. clemens. he was recalled to the university in as jay professor of law, a position which he held so ably that when the trustees of cornell university were looking for a man to organize a law department four years later their choice fell upon him. this work he undertook and completed with great success, remaining dean of the cornell law school for seven years. in he was once more recalled to his alma mater as dean of the department of law, a position he resigned to become the fourth president of the university. for this task he was peculiarly fitted, not only through his previous executive experience and his intimate knowledge of the university, but also by those qualifications which had made him so long a leader in the faculties of the university. an unusually dignified presence and somewhat judicial manner only conceal a rare simplicity, directness, and kindliness revealed to every one with whom he comes into personal contact. he has the rare qualification of a real and sincere interest in the affairs of those with whom he is dealing, and the kindly sympathy, invariably shown toward every one with whom the wide range of his duties brings him into contact, inspires universal respect and affection, even from those who have on occasion disagreed with his policies. moreover, he is always ready to listen with open mind on any subject, willing to be convinced, and what is more to act quickly upon conviction. emphatic in stating and enforcing his conclusions once they are reached, he is always careful of others' opinions. it is not yet the time nor have we the perspective to view adequately president hutchins' administration. it has been a period in michigan's history as distinct in most respects as those of his predecessors. while he followed the academic traditions established in former administrations he devoted himself particularly to the unification and co-ordination of the university as a whole, to the establishment of the necessary financial support on a firmer and more adequate basis, and to the cultivation of more intimate relations with the alumni. though his influence in the academic life of the university has perhaps never been so personal and compelling as that of his predecessors, largely because the rapidly increasing numbers of students and faculties alike make the close relationship of an earlier era impossible, the university has not only marched in the ways long established, but has grown and expanded under his sympathetic guidance and with the momentum of her past, until she has come at last to fill in, in great part, the slender lines of the sketch made by president tappan and the early fathers. this is no small achievement. the policy first inaugurated in president angell's time of requiring a combined course in the literary college and the medical school for all medical students was extended during president hutchins' time to the law school and the homeopathic medical school, while the course in the college of pharmacy was increased to three years and in the college of dentistry to four years, with an ever-increasing emphasis on the desirability of preliminary work in the literary college. these measures, though warmly advocated by the respective faculties, did not come without opposition. the tendency of the time was unmistakable, however, and the university has been strengthened accordingly. other significant actions taken during president hutchins' administration were the establishment of many special courses leading to degrees such as public health, aeronautical engineering, and municipal administration, and special curricula in sanitary, automobile, and highway engineering, fine arts, and business administration. the special summer courses in library methods were introduced just before he took office, and have become an important part of the summer curriculum. it is also not amiss to note that the first three women to hold professorships in the university were appointed in . it was also during president hutchins' administration that the present effective university health service came into being. this resulted from a series of recommendations made by a committee of students which were presented to the regents in november, . these were immediately approved and by october, , three university physicians, including one woman, undertook the systematic care of the health of the student body. at present the staff includes four doctors, besides two nurses and assistants, who give their whole time to this important work. the service is maintained in its own building, a remodeled dwelling house at the rear of hill auditorium, where a free dispensary is open five hours daily. prescriptions are filled at the health service pharmacy in the chemistry building, while provision for the care of seriously sick students is made at the university hospitals ordinarily at no expense to the student. the cost of the maintenance of this service is supported by a small charge included in the annual fees. not the least of the many effective measures taken during president hutchins' administration was the establishment of the graduate school as a separate department of the university. for many years it had been maintained as a part of the literary college, or department, as it was then, and was administered by a committee appointed from the literary faculty. this anomalous position of the graduate work in the university eventually gave rise to suggestions for a change from many different sources, particularly from the research club, an organization of many of the leading men in all the faculties, which came to the attention of the president when he took up his new duties. he at once recognized the desirability of enlarging the scope of advanced study and it was with his active co-operation and hearty support that the new school was created with professor k.e. guthe as its first dean. the growing cordiality between the university and the other educational institutions of the state is a significant development of late years. this is evidenced by the establishment with several of them of combined courses, which enable their students to pursue a portion of their preliminary work in the smaller school. this spirit of co-operation has also been most effectively advanced through the creation by the university of a series of state college fellowships with a stipend of $ each, to be held each year by especially chosen graduates from each of ten colleges in michigan. the establishment of extension courses, with the aim of bringing the university into a closer relationship with the people of the state, has also come as the result of the recognition by president hutchins of the real need of such co-operation. starting at first from a desk in his own office, from which members of the faculty were sent to deliver lectures before various bodies about the state, the work speedily grew into a department under the charge of professor w. d. henderson, ' , as director. at the present time several special courses in literature, history, philosophy, and economics, corresponding exactly to similar courses given in the university are offered in various cities of the state, as well as three hundred lectures by different members of the faculty. in addition the university has undertaken the training of teachers of industrial subjects under the congressional provision known as the smith-hughes bill, which provides for the training of teachers in agriculture, industrial subjects, and home economics. for its share in this work the university receives annually, partly from the government and partly from the state, the sum of $ , . this work is carried on, not only at the university, where it is under the charge of professor george e. meyers, ottawa college, ' , but in detroit and grand rapids as well as other extension centers, under charge of special professors of industrial education. likewise the cordial relations between the university and the high schools of the state have developed consistently as is sufficiently shown by the appropriation of $ , made by the legislature for the establishment of a demonstration school for the training of students who are preparing themselves as high school teachers. the university under president hutchins was thus particularly happy in its relations with the people of the state. this is especially true of their representatives in the legislature. from time to time he laid before them the needs of the university so effectively that we now have, largely as the result of his efforts, the series of buildings erected recently, including the natural science laboratory, the heating plant, and the new library, probably the best arranged and most convenient in its appointments in the country, as well as the projected university hospital, to cost eventually $ , , , and the demonstration school. in addition he secured from the legislature in an appropriation of $ , to cover the deficit due to the extraordinary war-time expenditures, when the cost of everything was doubled and the income from fees materially lessened, and even more important, an additional $ , for two years to cover an increase in faculty salaries. this item was later superseded by an increase in the valuation of the property in the state, made by the state board of equalization, which added over $ , to the annual income of the university. thus was the university saved from what easily might have been a disastrous situation arising from the threatened loss of many members of the faculty. no event of recent years is of more fundamental importance than this material aid which came to the institution at so critical a period. no less important and encouraging in their promise for the future have been the gifts of the graduates which have resulted in no little measure from president hutchins' efforts to stimulate the interest and support of the alumni. the former students of the university have been bound to their alma mater as never before; they have been brought to see that it is their responsibility and privilege to aid the university in many ways impossible to the taxpayer. the hill auditorium, the martha cook building, the newberry and betsy barbour halls of residence for women and the michigan union, to which over , alumni have contributed over a million dollars,--a record perhaps unparalleled in any university,--to say nothing of scores of other benefactions, are examples of this new spirit on the part of the alumni which president hutchins has done so much to foster. the continued increase in enrolment from , in to , in - , with a total of , in - , is also an evidence of the effectiveness with which the university has continued to perform its mission, though this continued influx of students brings with it responsibilities and difficulties which have taxed the physical resources, and the ability of the faculties. happily the increase in income granted in is an augury of a better era, if the growth for the next few years is not too overwhelming. [illustration: harry burns hutchins, ll.d. president of the university, - (from a copyright photograph by j.f. rentschler)] president hutchins desired to resign the presidency in , at the end of the term fixed by him in his letter of acceptance, but the regents were unanimous in their desire to have him remain in office. he again asked to be relieved of the duties of the office in , but once more action was postponed and it was not until march , , that his resignation was finally accepted with the regret of the regents, who expressed "their sincere appreciation of his wise, efficient, and devoted services in behalf of the university." this was to take effect june , . the board thereupon took immediate steps to secure a successor to president hutchins, but were at first unsuccessful, and once more prevailed upon him to remain in office. this he consented to do reluctantly and only because of his interest in the institution he had served so long and faithfully, postponing yet another year his well-earned rest. several noteworthy celebrations have served to emphasize the university's progress. two of them marked her semi-centennial and her seventy-fifth anniversaries, comparatively brief periods, perhaps, when contrasted with harvard's celebration of her two hundred and fiftieth year, shortly before michigan signalized her fiftieth, but symbolizing nevertheless an extraordinary and impressive transformation; the progress of a little backwoods college into one of the greatest of modern universities. this was the inspiration that underlay these two occasions, made peculiarly significant through the congratulations and messages of good will borne by distinguished ambassadors from other institutions, and through elaborate memorials sent by the faculties of european universities, to whom the university's accomplishment was a greater marvel than it was to those more familiar with the conditions which had brought it into existence. the fifth of june is the natal day of the university and therefore both celebrations were most appropriately held during the commencement week of the anniversary years, and . a commemoration oration, in which president angell surveyed with wise sympathy and a just pride the university's record was the special feature of the first celebration. somewhat more ambitious was the seventy-fifth anniversary which took place twenty-five years later. owing to the fact that hill auditorium was still unfinished, and the old university hall was by no means large enough to shelter all who desired to attend, a special tent was erected near the gymnasium for the commemoration exercises. the hon. lawrence maxwell, ' , of cincinnati delivered the principal address, a review of the university's history. the special guests and numerous representatives from other universities were tendered a reception and dinner in the university library, at which president andrew d. white, of cornell, held the place of honor upon the program as a representative of the university's earlier days. the whole celebration was in no small part a tribute to the two elder statesmen, dr. angell and dr. white, who had played so great a part in the drama of american education which the occasion symbolized. dr. angell's own share in the history of the university was also marked by the celebration on june , , of his twenty-fifth year of service as president. as was inevitable the exercises were a series of personal tributes to dr. angell, in which the congratulations and felicitations of regents, faculties, and teachers of the state were fittingly expressed. a particularly graceful tribute was the "commemoration ode" by charles m. gayley, ' , of the university of california. of an entirely different character was the great "national dinner," designed to celebrate the university's services to the nation, held in the ballroom of the hotel astor in new york, february , . this was one of the greatest alumni dinners ever held by any university, as there were nearly eight hundred alumni present, including a large delegation from the university, and from detroit and chicago, mr. justice william l. day; ' , of the united states supreme court, and some twenty-eight members of both houses of congress. earl d. babst, ' , the general chairman of the committee in charge, acted as toastmaster of this gathering, the spectacular character of which was emphasized, not only in the speeches, songs, and college yells, but also by a huge painting of the university campus filling a good part of the wall above the speaker's table. on december , , it was announced that marion leroy burton, president of the university of minnesota, was to become the fifth president of the university on july , . this announcement was a great surprise, as his name was only one of many which had been discussed as a possibility by those interested, but the decision was most favorably received by the university body and the alumni. the new president is a young man, but his record of accomplishment has great promise for the future. he was born in brooklyn, iowa, august , , and was therefore forty-five years old at the time of his election. his earlier education was received in the schools of minneapolis and at carleton college, northfield, minnesota, where he was graduated with the degree of a.b. in . after some years spent in teaching he eventually entered the yale graduate school, where he received his doctorate in . two years later he was elected president of smith college, but spent a year in travel abroad before taking up his duties at northampton. he remained at smith until , when he succeeded dr. george e. vincent as president of the university of minnesota, the position he resigned to accept the presidency of michigan. he comes to his new task as did his predecessors, dr. tappan and dr. angell, with a vision for the future of the university. he believes, as they did, that in the state university lies the future of education in this country, and michigan, with her strategic position between the east and the west, the prestige of her years, the wide distribution of her students, and the proved loyalty of her great body of alumni, offered him a field which he could not well refuse. he has before him the prospect of many years of service, for he is only three years older than was dr. angell when he first came to michigan. dr. burton was officially inaugurated president of the university on october , . his formal acceptance of his office was made the occasion of a significant and stimulating educational conference, which lasted for three days. some two hundred representatives of the leading american universities and educational bodies listened to the discussion of vital academic and administrative problems of the modern state university during the five sessions, which covered the general topics; "educational readjustments," "administrative problems," and "constructive measures." the inauguration banquet was held at the michigan union on the evening of october , . president a. lawrence lowell of harvard, president e.a. birge of the university of wisconsin, president harry a. garfield of williams college, and the hon. thomas e. johnson, superintendent of public instruction, were the speakers on that occasion. [illustration: marion leroy burton, ll.d. president of the university of michigan, -] chapter vi literature, science, and the arts as the university grew, the first faculty of two members gradually increased, though for years the roster was far from impressive. what this first faculty lacked in numbers, however, it made up in character and ability. one has only to read the whole-hearted and loving tributes of early graduates to discern the powerful personalities which inspired them. it is true that for the most part they were scholars of an older school, content to hand on the classical learning of the contemporary college course, rather than original investigators. but how well they performed this task! they inspired a real enthusiasm and love of knowledge for its own sake in those they taught, and furnished them, as well, an ideal for right living--all for five hundred dollars a year. we of a later generation cannot honor them too much. about these men, strongly individualized in the minds of their students, have clustered stories which have become almost classic. sharply contrasted in particular characteristics, they have lived as vivid personalities for future college generations in the memories of those students, "who studied syllogisms under the noble whedon, who polished greek roots for the elegant agnew, who bungled metaphysics to the despair of the learned ten brook, who murdered chemistry under the careful douglas whose experiments never failed, and who calculated eclipses of the moon from the desk of williams, the paternal." this characterization by a member of the class of ' is paralleled in a more caustic estimate of a somewhat later faculty by a member of the class of ' who speaks of "boise the precise, frieze the effusive, williams the plausible, and white the thinker." always first in any reminiscences of the early days was professor george palmer williams, the first real member of the faculty, always known to his students as "punky," possibly, as professor d'ooge suggested, because of the "dryness of his wit." freshmen were even known to address him as "professor punky," only to be pardoned with a never to be forgotten kindliness when they discovered their awful mistake. professor williams was a graduate of vermont ( ) and came to the university from the pontiac branch to take the professorship of natural philosophy. he was especially loved, not only for his fatherly kindness and genuine sympathy that won the confidence of his students, but also because "the college student pays unstinted admiration to a witty teacher, for no teacher ever had more ready wit and such genuine humor." the rev. theodoric r. palmer of the class of ' , who for ten years was michigan's oldest graduate, told how professor williams on discovering a goose occupying his chair remarked: "i see you have a competent teacher," and wished the class "good morning," leaving them to discover the point of their joke. professor williams' strong religious spirit did not prevent an apt employment of examples from the scriptures on occasion, as his rebuke to an overgrown and too active freshman showed: "sir, you remind me of jeshurun; the bible says 'jeshurun waxed fat and kicked.'" but in the class room he was traditionally lenient. one student who found himself unable to fit his carefully prepared notes and the examination questions together, finally handed them both in and was passed, but only because it was the "wrong year"; "i condition one every other year and if i conditioned you i would have to have you again next year." professor williams served the university long and faithfully, and only resigned his active work in . in the alumni established a williams professorship fund which eventually amounted to nearly $ , . this eased his last years until his death in at the age of years. although the fund was subsequently greatly lessened by very careless administration, it now amounts to something over the original sum and is administered by the regents in the form of a retiring allowance, the holder being nominated by the alumni association. the rev. joseph whiting, yale, ' , under whose charge was the classical training of the six youngsters of that first class, was a man of different type. a fine scholar, he made greek and latin "glow with life and beauty," and by his distinguished bearing formed a happy complement to the "jovial and rotund" williams. his death while he was serving his term as the annual president just before the first class was graduated, was recognized as a great loss by the students, as well as by the regents, who acknowledged "his urbanity and gentleness of manners," and "his knowledge of character and other properties which especially fitted him to act the part of a governor and counselor of youth." professor douglass houghton died during the same year, . the services of these two men, as well as those of charles fox, professor of agriculture, and dr. samuel denton of the first medical faculty, are commemorated by the little weather-beaten monument with the broken shaft, which has doubtless aroused the idle curiosity of thousands of students, who have never taken the trouble, however, to decipher the latin inscriptions which set forth the life records of these early professors. in dr. abram sager, a graduate of rensselaer polytechnic institute ( ), who later became the first dean of the medical faculty, came to the university as professor of zoölogy and botany. he was then about thirty-two years of age and had for some time been connected with the state geological survey as botanist and zoölogist. his contributions to the university while in that position formed the foundation of the present zoölogical collection. one of his students speaks of him as "of exceedingly sensitive mind and heart and of very high and pure morality." a professor of intellectual and moral philosophy, the rev. edward thomson, pennsylvania, ' , was appointed in , but served only one year. he was succeeded by the rev. andrew ten brook, madison university, ' , who took a vigorous part in the university's life until his resignation in , not to return until as librarian--and historian of the university's early days. professor ten brook was of the baptist persuasion, exceedingly well read, particularly in the literature of his chair. ordinarily in his classes he was master of the situation, "so long as he had dugald stewart's metaphysics before him," but when discussion became free in his classes and "scholastics were let loose" one of his thought students they "got a little the better of him." that he was a shrewd and honest observer with remarkably little personal prejudice--even in memories of trying times, is shown by his book on "american state universities" which offers much that is fascinating to those interested in the first days of the university. [illustration: a general view of the front of the campus showing university hall, including the old north wing, with the law building in the background] in the same year silas h. douglas, m.d., who studied at the university of vermont, was appointed assistant to dr. douglass houghton, professor of chemistry, mineralogy, and zoölogy, who never took up the active duties of his chair. dr. douglas speedily became one of the "strong men" of the faculty and created the chemical laboratory which lent so much prestige to michigan in its early years. he was of a systematic and orderly temperament whose experiments before the class always came out brilliantly. his careful business-like methods were greatly appreciated by the regents and he was entrusted with the oversight of the construction of the south college when it was erected in . so successful was he that he saved some $ , over the cost of the first building and had enough bricks left besides to build a large part of the medical building which was completed in the same year. those who knew him best supported him loyally in the great dispute which arose over his administration of the affairs of the chemical laboratory and their confidence in his uprightness and sterling integrity was justified by the final decision in that most unfortunate case. these were the men who taught the first class that was graduated from the university in . the same year saw two additions to the faculty, the rev. daniel d. whedon, hamilton, ' , who was elected to the chair of logic, rhetoric, and history, and dr. john h. agnew, dickinson college, ' , who assumed the professorship in the classics left vacant by the death of dr. whiting. both had a prominent share in university affairs for a few years. professor whedon was a methodist clergyman, lank and angular in form and feature with a "considerable sprinkling of vinegar at times in his ways of expressing himself," but, according to our oldest living graduate, "his commanding presence, imperative logic and _sesquipedalia verba_, always used with mathematical precision, hammered truth into us and clinched it." professor agnew has been described as a greek from head to foot, the exact opposite of dr. whedon, extremely careful in his dress and appearance and correspondingly neat and precise in the expression of his thoughts. he represented the presbyterian and congregational element in the university. the reasons for the resignation of these two professors in have already been suggested in the lack of unity and the sectarian rivalries of their time. perhaps the most picturesque figure of this early group was louis fasquelle, the first professor of modern languages, whose widely used text-books contributed not a little to the prestige of the university. when he came in , his chair was almost a new field in an american college. only a single term in french was given at first and in fact neither he nor dr. sager, charged with the scientific course, were required to give their whole time to their university work for some years. it is somewhat suggestive too, that both spanish and italian were offered in the university before a course in german was announced in . professor fasquelle was educated at the famous �cole polytechnique in paris, but was obliged to leave france on account of his participation in the revolutionary movement of that period. as professor in the university he proved "peculiar, but very learned and efficient." the stories of his difficulty with the english language are many, and most of the classic stories told of various members of the french faculty by successive student generations were originally told of him. he was the first "infiddle," though he was always punctilious in attendance at chapel, which he adjourned on one occasion because the "praying professor" did not appear. his "vocabul'-ary" was good, but in the words of the time-honored song, "he went up on his emphas'-is." the new régime of dr. tappan witnessed the establishment of a different tradition. the former deference to denominational precedent was definitely abandoned and increasing stress was laid upon scholarly as well as personal qualifications. the new president took the chair of philosophy left vacant by the resignation of professor ten brook, while the old chair of ancient languages was speedily divided. james r. boise, brown, ' , who already enjoyed a growing reputation as a scholar, became professor of greek, while the rev. erastus o. haven, wesleyan, ' , afterward the second president, became professor of latin. professor boise though of a delicate physique possessed great force and impressed the students with the absolute necessity of getting their greek lessons, _ruat coelum_. his insistence on discipline and high standards in recitations had a profound influence on the mental habits of those in his classes. professor d'ooge, ' , his successor, remarks of him that "probably no teacher of those days got so much downright hard work out of his pupils." alvah bradish was also appointed to the chair of fine arts at this time, but without compensation, and, though he apparently lectured occasionally, the course soon disappeared from the catalogues, not to be revived for fifty years. the name of the rev. charles fox also appears momentarily as a professor of agriculture, a department also destined to quick extinction with his death in less than a year, in spite of the president's best efforts, for the legislature had already taken the preliminary steps toward the establishment of a college of agriculture at lansing. the strength of president tappan's policy is shown in the group of men he appointed to professorships--leaders as well as scholars. among the first was alexander winchell, wesleyan, ' , whose versatility was shown by the range of his teaching as well as by his long list of published works. he came to michigan in as professor of physics and civil engineering, but within two years was transferred to the chair of geology, zoölogy, and botany, which he held until his resignation in to accept the chancellorship of syracuse university. he returned to michigan in as professor of geology and paleontology, and ended his days in ann arbor in . with a personality vigorous and powerful, if somewhat unyielding, he was always a factor in faculty affairs, though he was not so happy in his relations with the students as some of his colleagues and therefore does not figure so prominently in their reminiscences. he has been described as a sober, earnest, eloquent, sometimes shrewd and witty but very absent-minded, scholar whose "beautiful and even eloquent language led many to an admiration and love for sciences." his work on the michigan geological survey of which he was twice director, and his life-long effort for the reconciliation of science with religion, brought wide recognition to the university. a totally different personality was dr. henry simmons frieze, brown, ' , who came to michigan the next year as professor of latin language and literature, in place of dr. haven, who assumed the professorship of history and english literature. no name on michigan's long faculty roll has been more honored than his. he brought to the university not only well-grounded ideals of true scholarship, but also a broad culture, not too common in those days, and an inspiring interest in literature and art which left a deep impression. it was such spirits as dr. tappan, dr. frieze, and andrew d. white, who was also of that early company, that set for the university standards in academic life and ideals which have never been lost, and which enabled michigan to take her place with such extraordinarily little delay as one of the country's great educational forces. unhampered by the formalism and traditions of the eastern universities of that time, these men found here an opportunity for the establishment of the progressive methods of the better european universities. the services of dr. frieze as acting president for the two years preceding president angell's election are mentioned elsewhere. he was once more called upon to be acting president during the year dr. angell was in china in and again for a few months in . but these were only interludes, for his influence during his long professorship, where he easily stood _primus inter pares_, must be the gauge of the high favor in which he was held by students and faculty alike. among the many facets of his genius was a remarkable ability as a musician, and the impetus he gave the musical life of ann arbor resulted in the organization of the musical society and the naming of the frieze memorial organ in his honor. andrew d. white tells us, in his "autobiography," that he found him one of the most charming men he had ever met,--simple, modest, retiring to a fault, yet a delightful companion and a most inspiring teacher. "so passionately was he devoted to music that at times he sent his piano away from his house in order to shun temptation to abridge his professorial work, and especially was this the case when he was preparing his edition of virgil. a more lovely spirit never abode in mortal frame. no man was ever more generally beloved in a community; none, more lamented at his death." hardly less important was the inspiration and support dr. frieze gave to the study of art through his contributions to the university's art museum. this dates particularly from a gift he made of books, engravings, photographs, and copies of statues and paintings, purchased abroad in with the unexpended balance of his salary, amounting to $ . this was the real beginning of the university's art collection. the same day in june, , that witnessed the appointment of dr. frieze, saw the election of dr. franz f.e. brünnow, a graduate of the university of berlin, as professor of astronomy and director of the new observatory. he too was destined to have a profound influence upon the future of the university though his years in ann arbor were comparatively few. dr. brünnow had already gained a european reputation as a scientist before he decided to come to america, which he did largely upon humboldt's advice, and because of his desire to use the astronomical clock and meridian circle which were made in berlin under his direction for the new observatory in ann arbor. the long list of distinguished astronomers who have been students at michigan may be said to trace their academic lineage back to his acceptance of this position. his successor, james c. watson, was his pupil and professor c.k. adams in his memorial address on professor watson said: "during the senior year the professor of astronomy lectured to watson alone. and i remember years afterwards hearing professor white say to one of his historical classes that the best audience any professor ever had in this university was the audience of dr. brünnow when he was lecturing to this single pupil." dr. white dwells with particular appreciation on the little musical circle formed by dr. frieze, mrs. white, and dr. brünnow, which may well have been the original impulse for the future development of musical interests in the university and the community. dr. brünnow's quiet simplicity, which led those "who knew him best to love him, most," sometimes led to humorous situations, as on the occasion when president tappan requested dr. brünnow to find some one to take his place at morning prayer the next day. this commission was performed with teutonic literalness, for each of the professors interviewed was greeted abruptly with the somewhat startling question, "professor, can you _bray_?" he returned to europe at the same time dr. tappan left the university, but his influence remained in the work of his students and the scholarly traditions he established. andrew d. white, yale, ' , came as professor of history and english literature in . his influence was only less vital than that of dr. tappan and dr. frieze because his active service with the university was to last but six years. he was a very young professor, indeed--only twenty-four--but he had had the best of training in france and germany and was inspired by a vision of a chair of history alone, unencumbered by any allied, or supposedly allied, subjects; something apparently unknown elsewhere, certainly at yale, his alma mater. he tells with relish in his "autobiography" of the attentions paid him by the students. as soon as they caught sight of him at the station they asked him if he were going to enter the university. of course he was. they immediately proceeded to "rush" him, not discovering that he was the new professor of history until he signed the hotel register. his students were often older than he was and his experiences were many, particularly when he had it out with one student whom he had sized up as a ring-leader in class disturbances. this man was always elaborately innocent when trouble was brewing, but the young professor was sure he was right in his suspicions as to the seat of the trouble. finally he delivered an ultimatum: "i see either you or i must leave the university." the student pleaded not guilty but professor white insisted, suggesting that the regents might feel the same as he in the matter. after some diplomatic passages, in which the student seemed not unimpressed by the importance given him, he acknowledged that perhaps he had been a little foolish and suggested that they try to live together a little longer. he afterwards became a strong friend of the young teacher and later fell at the head of his brigade at gettysburg. the success with which professor white and his contemporaries labored among their students is shown by his later statement that from among them came senators, congressmen, judges, professors, lawyers, heads of great business enterprises, and diplomats. one became his successor in the professorship of history and later in the presidency of cornell, and a well-known american historian of his time. another became his predecessor in the embassy to germany. professor white left ann arbor in , partly because of business interests, partly because of his election to the new york state senate and the presidency of cornell university. with these men as leaders michigan boldly embarked on a series of departures from educational precedents. though the time was not ripe for graduate study, its desirability had been recognized emphatically in the annual catalogues. in their class rooms several of the faculty endeavored to do more than follow the accepted textbooks, through lectures, assigned readings, and exercises designed to develop the individual powers of each student. professor white was particularly fertile in these expedients. the claims of comparatively new subjects, foreign to the traditional curriculum, were recognized in chairs of history, english literature, the modern languages, and above all the sciences, where true laboratory work was gradually introduced until michigan had under professor douglas what was probably in its early years the largest chemical laboratory in any american university. the new scientific course, which was established within the literary department and not as a separate school, was particularly significant of the progressive spirit of this early faculty. this came to be so well recognized that dr. angell remarked in his inaugural address that the drift of intelligent opinion had been for twenty years towards some of the positions early adopted by the university, such as elective studies and larger opportunities for the study of history, modern languages, and the natural sciences. he also took occasion to suggest that the university would always have to be in a measure dependent upon the alumni, since the legislature would never become so generous in its appropriations as to make private gifts undesirable or unnecessary. while the liberal policy which laid the foundation for this expansion of the university's field may properly be said to have been formed during president tappan's administration, it was continued and wisely expanded under his successors. president haven's first years were difficult, but he had the support of his colleagues and was fortunate in the appointment of the new members of the faculty necessitated by the reorganization which ushered in his administration. one of the first of his appointments was that of dr. brünnow's favorite pupil, james c. watson, ' , to succeed him as professor of astronomy and director of the observatory. professor watson's brilliant work had already attracted wide attention, he "was bagging asteroids as though he lured them with a decoy" though he was at that time still a very young man, and his methods as a teacher somewhat peculiar. he paid scant attention to those not vitally interested in his subject, and, as one chronicler observed, showed the folly of a set course of studies and contributed in this way not a little to the eventual adoption of the elective system in the university. his lectures were sometimes brilliant and always lucid, though he was not exacting in recitations or in examinations. the story is told of his passing one student in an examination who had died earlier in the year; he had merely taken the name from the roll prepared the first day of the semester. whatever were professor watson's personal qualifications, however, the long list of eminent astronomers who were his pupils during the years from to are ample evidence of his genius, for they include such names as those of his successor professor harrington, ' , otto j. klotz, ' _e_, of the observatory of the dominion of canada, monroe b. snyder, ' , director of the philadelphia observatory, robert simpson woodward, ' _e_, president of the carnegie institution, john m. schaeberle, ' _e_, astronomer in the lick observatory from to , and george cary comstock, ' , director of the observatory of the university of wisconsin. edward olney, whose spirit still lives in the memory of older graduates, also came at this time. he was, unlike most other members of the faculty, for the most part a self-made scholar of whose ability as a teacher one former student rather ruefully remarked that the "students knew something about mathematics when they got through with him." he was always a prominent figure in the shaping of university policies and to him no small measure of credit is given for the diploma system of admission from the high schools in ' and the elective system of ' . the year brought the appointment to professorships of two men, already mentioned, whose reputation eventually became nationwide. the first was charles kendall adams, who afterward became president of cornell university and the university of wisconsin. he was graduated from the university with the class of ' , and after some years as instructor and assistant professor followed andrew d. white in the chair of history. the other was moses coit tyler, yale, ' , professor of rhetoric and english literature, whose "history of american literature," published before he left michigan in , to go to cornell, as well as many later works, gave him an established place as an authority in this field. professor boise resigned the chair of greek in to accept a similar place at the university of chicago. it is said that his reason for the change was, in part at least, his desire to give his daughter, alice boise, an opportunity to matriculate in an institution where women were enrolled. while living in ann arbor she had already attended unofficially at least two classes, and was probably the first woman to recite in the university. professor boise was succeeded by professor martin l. d'ooge, ' , whose fine enthusiasm for the best in classical culture and his genius for friendship were long with the university. for several years before his death in , professor d'ooge was, with dr. angell, one of the few links which tied the present faculty to the era of those earlier leaders. but the names of all the hundreds of members of the faculties, who came in ever-increasing numbers after this period, cannot all be mentioned, though many have played important rôles in the growth and development of the university. no record of the faculty, however, can be left without mention of the rev. benjamin f. cocker, m.a., wesleyan, ' , who succeeded dr. haven in the chair of mental and moral philosophy in , a strong and vital figure, of english birth but a citizen of the world, who at one time nearly lost his life at the hands of cannibals in the south seas. he and his family arrived in america penniless, but his ability as a thinker and preacher soon made him a place and eventually a professorship in the university, where he was long remembered. he was succeeded by professor george s. morris, dartmouth, ' , who had come to the university in as professor of modern languages, a man of totally different caliber, not so rugged and picturesque but more sensitive and profound, the first real scholar in the modern sense in the department of philosophy. upon his death in he was succeeded by the eminent philosopher john dewey, vermont, ' , who was followed in turn in by robert mark wenley, who came to michigan bearing the highest honors of the university of glasgow. within the department of philosophy has also developed the special chair of psychology, held by professor walter b. pillsbury, nebraska, ' , who came to the university in as instructor in the subject. of these men it may be said that they have all contributed their share to the singularly high place the study of philosophy and metaphysics has continued to hold, even in this utilitarian age, among the students of the university. elisha jones, ' , who became assistant professor of latin in and associate professor in , was also a teacher to whose memory long generations of students pay tribute, not only for their introduction to latin through his textbooks, but for his fine simplicity and enthusiasm for his work. at his death in his widow established a fellowship which for many years aided many embryo classical scholars. professor frieze, the head of the department, outlived him and was succeeded by francis w. kelsey, rochester, ' , whose labors in behalf of the classics, and as president of the american school of classical studies at rome, and the archeological institute of america, have been widely recognized. associated for long years with professor d'ooge in the department of greek was albert h. pattengill, ' , who died in . he was another extraordinary teacher, whose strong personality will long be remembered, while his love of outdoor sports will be honored by generations of athletes whose interests he served unselfishly throughout his lifetime. the resignation of charles kendall adams brought another loved personality to the university, richard hudson, ' , whose gentle peculiarities only endeared him to his students. he succeeded professor d'ooge as dean of the literary college in . he was a most conscientious teacher who believed in the meticulous presentation of facts in his lectures, though one student at least found that after a long series of lectures about the "low countries," "flanders," and the "spanish cities," something else was needed, when confronted by an examination on the _history of belgium_. his method of teaching was his own but effective, though many alumni will appreciate his remark to a young instructor, as he poised his right forefinger in midair and cleared his throat, "i wonder if you have any mannerisms that would make you conspicuous before a class?" professor hudson not only gave his library to the university but also left a legacy of $ , for the establishment of a professorship in history. another popular figure of a generation not too long ago was andrew c. mclaughlin, ' , the son-in-law of dr. angell, now professor of history at the university of chicago. upon the retirement of professor hudson in , claude h. van tyne, ' , professor of american history since , became head of the department. in the department of english and rhetoric professor tyler was succeeded in by isaac n. demmon, ' , who had been assistant professor of rhetoric and history since . professor demmon's service in the university, which did not end until his retirement as emeritus professor, and his death, in , was long and self-sacrificing. he left a monument to his interest in the library in several special collections, particularly in the dramatic and shakespearian libraries, while his knowledge of the university's history and his remarkable acquaintance among the alumni have been invaluable in the editing of various editions of the alumni catalogue, and the revision and extension of professor hinsdale's "history." in fred n. scott, ' , became head of the newly created department of rhetoric. as occupant of this chair professor scott, in addition to his scholarly work, evinced by many books and articles, has been an inspiration, guide, and father confessor to hundreds of students and alumni whose interest lay in literature and authorship. in modern languages, the task dropped by professor fasquelle at his death in was continued by edward payson evans, ' , until and then by george s. morris until his acceptance of the professorship of philosophy in . edwin lorraine walter, ' , was then elected to the chair. in the department was divided and calvin thomas, ' , became professor of germanic languages and literature, to be succeeded, after his call to columbia university in , by george a. hench, lafayette, ' , who lost his life three years later in an accident in the white mountains. max winkler, harvard, ' , the present occupant of the chair, eventually succeeded him. after professor walter lost his life on the bourgogne in , the chair of french was filled by arthur g. canfield, williams, ' . when the new chair in the science and art of teaching was first established in , william h. payne was appointed as the first professor. he was an experienced teacher in the secondary schools of the state and contributed much to the eventual success of the new department. after he resigned in to become chancellor of the university of nashville, burke aaron hinsdale, a graduate and for some time president of hiram college, ohio, and an intimate associate of president garfield, was elected to succeed him. under professor hinsdale's strong and vigorous guidance, the department rapidly advanced to a recognized place in the curriculum. though his bearing was somewhat austere and overwhelming, he could unbend, as was proved on one occasion in the library when his booming voice brought an admonition from an official. just then an influential member of the library committee chanced to appear. he proved a greater disturber of the peace than professor hinsdale, who, nudging his companion, slyly inquired, with the suspicion of a grin, "why don't you tell _him_ to keep quiet?" professor hinsdale was distinguished by his prolific and scholarly writings and left a monument in his "history of the university," which will long be recognized as the standard for the period up to . his death occurred in that year, and the chair thus left vacant was occupied by allen s. whitney, ' , whose title was changed in to professor of education. after the resignation of professor watson in , the chair of astronomy was occupied by mark walrod harrington, ' , until ; later he became president of the university of washington. he was succeeded by william j. hussey, ' . since the death of professor olney in , the department of mathematics has been under the charge of wooster w. beman, ' , a member of the faculty since , whose name now stands first as to length of service on the academic roster. albert benjamin prescott, ' _m_, who eventually succeeded dr. silas h. douglas as director of the chemical laboratory, became assistant professor of chemistry in . he organized the course in pharmacy three years later, becoming professor of organic and applied chemistry and of pharmacy in . in he became dean of the new college of pharmacy and in director of the chemical laboratory. upon his death in he was succeeded as director of the chemical laboratory by edward demille campbell, ' , who had been professor of chemical engineering and analytical chemistry since . after the retirement of professor williams in , charles k. wead, vermont, ' , became acting professor of physics, to be succeeded in by henry smith carhart, wesleyan, ' , who held the chair of physics and the directorship of the physical laboratory until his retirement in . his successor was john oren reed, ' , who became also dean of the literary department in . upon dean reed's death in the professorship of physics passed to harrison mcallister randall, ' , who became director of the physical laboratory in . [illustration: the university observatory the original building at the right] [illustration: hill auditorium] [illustration: the chemistry building] [illustration: the natural science building] at the end of professor winchell's first period in the university in ' , the several subjects which comprised his professorship were divided. the chair of botany passed to eugene woldemar hilgard, ph.d., heidelberg, ' , who was succeeded two years later by volney morgan spalding, ' , as instructor in botany and zoölogy, becoming professor of botany in . upon his resignation in the chair was occupied by frederick charles newcombe, ' . the work in zoölogy passed to joseph beal steere, ' , who became an assistant professor in , after five years of travel in the interests of the university in south america, china, and the east indies, where he collected some , specimens for the museum. he became professor of zoölogy in , and retained the chair until , when he was succeeded by jacob e. reighard, ' . william henry pettee, harvard, ' , assumed the work in mineralogy in under the title of professor of mining engineering. in addition to his work in his own subject, he served from to as editor of the university calendar and advisory editor of other university publications. edward henry kraus, syracuse, ' , who occupies the chair of mineralogy at present, first came to the university in and succeeded to the chair in . when professor winchell returned to the university after his term as chancellor of the university of syracuse, he became professor of geology and held that position until his death in , when he was succeeded by israel cook russell, new york university, ' . upon professor russell's death in , william herbert hobbs, worcester polytechnic, ' , was called to the chair from the university of wisconsin. though courses in economics were given in the university almost from the first and; in fact, with international law, formed the special field of work assumed by dr. angell for some years, the department of political economy as such was not organized until after henry c. adams, iowa college, ' , who came to the university as a lecturer in , accepted the chair of political economy in . the first step toward a chair in sociology came with the appointment in of charles horton cooley, ' , a son of judge thomas m. cooley, of the first law faculty, as assistant professor of sociology, from which position he rose to a full professorship in eight years. a separate chair of political science was not created until , when jesse siddall reeves, amherst, ' , came as the head of the new department. the department of music had its first beginning with the appointment of calvin brainerd cady, oberlin, ' , as instructor in . he became acting professor of music in , but resigned three years later when albert a. stanley, leipzig, ' , came as the head of the department and a few years later director of the university school of music, now closely associated with the work of the university though not in any way a part of it. after the disappearance from the faculty roll of the name of the detroit portrait painter, alvah bradish, who apparently gave a few lectures on fine arts during the period from to , no work in fine arts was given until the appointment of professor herbert r. cross, brown, ' , in . the work in elocution and oratory was definitely established with the appointment in of thomas c. trueblood, m.a., earlham, ' , who had for some years held a lectureship in the university, as assistant professor of elocution and in as full professor of oratory. the chair of semitics and oriental languages, held since by leroy waterman, hillsdale, ' , was first established in when james a. craig, mcgill, ' , came as professor of oriental languages, a title which was changed to semitic languages and literatures and hellenistic greek the following year. following the example of yale and cornell, michigan established a department of forestry in , and called filibert roth, ' , to fill the chair thus created. for some time courses in forestry had been given in connection with the work in botany, but the growing interest in the preservation and conservation of america's timber resources made more intensive and systematic training seem desirable. a few years later, in , a course in landscape design was established, which shortly became a department under the charge of professor aubrey tealdi, a graduate of the royal technical institute of livorno, italy. the history of the development of special courses and degrees in the university, though interesting and suggestive, can only be given here in a brief outline. as dr. angell remarked in one of his reports, the governing board has been distinguished for the boldness and originality of its policy, making frequent changes in traditional college usages, some of which were freely criticized at the time by those who afterwards approved and even adopted them. we have seen how the university departed from the dead level of contemporary college practice in establishing scientific courses, and the admitting of those who were not seeking a degree as special students. a few years later, in , came the first indication of one of the principal differences between the old university and that of the present time--the system of elective studies. the concession was a very small one, it must be acknowledged, one-third of the work in the senior year; but it was a break in the dike. this was all that was allowed for fifteen years, or until , when all the studies of the senior year except philosophy became elective. the establishment of an english course in - , leading to the degree of bachelor of letters, which consisted largely in the study of modern languages and history, and aimed to co-ordinate with similar high school courses, formed another break, which was emphasized by a modification and revision of the other courses and a change from the latin and scientific to the latin course. almost half the work required for a degree now became elective. this action was far-reaching in its effect; not only was there an immediate increase of almost twenty percent in the number of students, but due to it, curiously enough, can be traced the subsequent rise of a true graduate school. the principle of general election of studies was gradually extended until the required work was decreased to certain introductory courses in latin, greek, modern languages, rhetoric, history, mathematics, and sciences, according to the special fields chosen by the student. the special degrees of b.s., ph.b., and b.l. were abolished in and all graduates of the literary department were granted a degree of a.b. after that time, though the b.s. was later restored. of late there has been a reaction toward more formal programs of study, with an increased emphasis on certain introductory work which must be observed in planning the course necessary for a degree. but the great latitude left to the student in the choice of his work still remains. the growth of the graduate school should also be noted, for upon this the standing of the university as a center of learning must eventually rest. in spite of dr. tappan's efforts to introduce "university" courses, michigan was long a college rather than a university, so much so that president haven discouraged the use of the word "undergraduate" when "graduate" students were almost non-existent; while the opportunities offered them, except possibly in astronomy and chemistry, where the facilities were unusual for that period, were only those of a high grade college curriculum. but the leaven was working, in two particulars especially; the seminar method of teaching and the development of the elective system. the first seminar was held by professor charles kendall adams in in some of his courses in history. he was followed a little later by professor moses coit tyler in english literature, and in time by most of the other departments. this, with the corresponding laboratory methods in the teaching of the sciences, had a profound influence on the growth of scholarly ideals in the university. michigan was in all probability the first american institution to naturalize these products of continental universities. the broadening of the course in - , with its great increase in electives, enabled the members of the faculty to increase the scope of their work and to expand their courses. as an immediate answer there came an ever increasing demand for true graduate work, not only from graduates of the university, but from those of other institutions as well. this movement grew so rapidly that the number of advanced students enrolled increased from four in to in , when a graduate school was formally organized in connection with the literary department. this was expanded some twenty-five years later into an entirely separate department, or school, following the revised nomenclature of , of which professor karl eugen guthe, marburg, ph.d., ' , of the department of physics, became the first dean. upon his death in the summer of he was succeeded by professor alfred h. lloyd, harvard, ' , of the department of philosophy. thus graduate work in the university came into its own. at last the ideals of president tappan, who admitted the first graduate student in , were in some measure at least realized; though the real results of his labors did not show for many years after he left. throughout all the early period the general attitude towards advanced work was decidedly haphazard and casual; the degree of doctor of philosophy was not given until , when dr. victor c. vaughan, the present dean of the medical school, was one of the first recipients; while the ph.d. as well as the m.d. were sometimes given as honorary degrees. this attitude toward graduate study, however, was by no means confined to michigan, for the systematic regulation of advanced courses has been comparatively a recent development in all american universities. the first organization of the school under a graduate council within the literary department, was therefore a great step in advance, however anomalous its position,--a graduate school practically controlled by an undergraduate faculty,--though there were, it is true, certain representatives of the professional departments on the council. nevertheless the work grew rapidly after this time. not only was there a steadily increasing enrolment, but there was a distinct increase in the number of advanced courses, as well as in the time given by teachers to graduate instruction and to research work, which greatly strengthened the prestige of the university as a center of higher education. the final establishment of the school as a separate division of the university naturally gave a decided impetus to this development. a suite of offices was set apart for the administrative force; special encouragement was given to the publication of the results of their work by members of the faculty, particularly through such agencies as the university humanistic series, and similar series in other fields, while fifteen university fellowships were also established, as well as the state college fellowships mentioned above. in addition a number of fellowships have been privately established by individuals and corporations, ranging from the classics to paper-making. during the last few years there have been in all between thirty-five and forty-five fellowships ordinarily available. the enrolment in the school reached in . there was naturally a falling off during the war, though by the year - the enrolment had once more reached . of this number were registered in the summer session, were women and were graduates of other institutions than michigan. the history of the university library has been closely associated, as is only natural, with the growth of the literary college, and it is proper to include a word about the library in this place. the appointment of the first librarian in did not make a library, and for many years the fine but small collection of books gathered in europe by professor gray was housed in different places about the campus and was used only as a circulating library--open for one hour each week for the use of the professors and students. however a note in the library regulations to the effect that: "the present instructors are of opinion that there are very few of the books in the library which would be useful to students," seems to limit even this function of the little collection. all this was changed in when the whole north wing was set apart as a museum and library. here for the first time, the books were properly shelved and arrangements made for their daily use in an adequate reading-room under the charge of dr. tappan's son, john l. tappan, who took charge as the first real librarian. he arranged the books scientifically and began the first card catalogue. almost at once the library sprang into a new place in university life. not only did president tappan make the library one of his first interests, but the regents came to realize the desirability of regular support. this inaugurated a period of ever-increasing growth, which has placed the library well to the front among american college libraries. progress at first was rather slow, only about volumes were added each year up to , when the librarian reported that there were almost , volumes in the collection. not very large even then; but the rate increased from that time, rapidly, and at the present time the library numbers some , volumes including the departmental collections. in the legislature was brought to see the imperative need of an adequate library and made a special appropriation of $ , , which was renewed every two years, and even gradually increased, until in the amount appropriated was $ , , with a grand total over a period of fifteen years of $ , . these biennial appropriations ended in with the increase of the mill-tax from one-twentieth to one-sixth of a mill. this enabled the regents to double the income of the library, making it $ , annually. the income increased gradually until the library budget of was over $ , , of which $ , represents the approximate cost of books; the balance being spent for the salaries of the large staff which is necessitated by a library of this size. [illustration: the new library] upon the completion of the first law building in the library was given new and better quarters where it remained until the old library was completed in . this was at the time considered the last word in a college library and was dedicated with special exercises at which an address was given by dr. justin winsor, librarian of harvard university. for thirty-five years this building, situated at the center of the campus, with its picturesque twin towers rising above the ivy-covered apse, served the university well. here was not only the center of academic life, but from one of the towers the campus clock chimed the hours and quarters for the convenience of the students. in the end, however, the old building proved inadequate and unsafe for the valuable collections it housed, in spite of an increase in stack capacity in . the building was therefore finally removed to make way for the new library, completed in , which, through its perfect adaptation to the purposes for which it is designed, is considered the most conveniently appointed and successful college library in the country. the building will accommodate over one million volumes and there are definite plans for future extension which will house over three-quarters of a million in addition. the stack wing of the old library was incorporated in the building, permitting the gradual erection of the new structure in such a manner that the use of the books was not interfered with at any time. the new library was formally opened on january , , with an address by mr. r.r. bowker, the editor of _the library journal_, as the principal feature of the programme. the building cost, completed and furnished, $ , , of which amount the sum of $ , was especially appropriated by the state legislature. after the resignation of the first librarian, the rev. henry colclazer, in , the charge of the library was passed around from one member of the faculty to another until the appointment of john l. tappan in , nominally the eighth, though in reality the first librarian. he was followed by datus chase brooks, who held the position one year, when the rev. andrew ten brook, who had once before held the title during the year - , returned to the university as librarian in . not only were the affairs of the library well cared for during his administration, but he also found time to write his "history of state universities," which gives the only adequate picture we have of the beginnings of the university, by one who shared their trials and triumphs. upon his resignation in raymond cazallis davis, ' -' , a.m. (hon.) ' , succeeded him, contributing greatly during the twenty-eight years of his administration towards the establishment of the library on its present effective basis. in this effort he was supported by the advice and co-operation of professor isaac n. demmon, who was for thirty-seven years a member of the library committee. theodore wesley koch, harvard, ' , became librarian in , coming from the library of congress in washington. it was his main effort to popularize the use of the library among the students and faculties, through making the reading-rooms more attractive and the books more accessible. the library of congress was again called upon for his successor after he resigned in , when the present librarian, william warner bishop, ' , came in time to give his experience and administrative ability to the planning and construction of the new library building. to him in no small measure is due its acknowledged success as a working library which has won the praise of all practical librarians throughout the country. chapter vii the professional schools and colleges the first steps toward the establishment of a faculty of medicine and surgery were taken in . the medical building was not completed, however, until two years later, and the formal opening of the new department did not take place until october , . on this occasion abram sager, the first president, or dean of the faculty, as we should now call him, delivered an address to ninety matriculates, at a time when there were only sixty-four students all told in the literary department. the period was propitious for the installation of a strong school, for although there were a few struggling medical institutions in the west, the vigorous growth of the new department showed how inadequately this part of the country was served in medical education. the entrance requirements were simple; a fair high school education, with latin and greek sufficient for the understanding of medical terms. for graduation, at least three years' study with a reputable physician was required; but this might include the two six-month courses of lectures which comprised the work of the department. even this very slender medical preparation was not required of college graduates, or of students who had already practised medicine four years, for whom one course was deemed sufficient. a thesis was also necessary for graduation, and tradition has it that in a few cases during the earlier days of the department, they were actually written and delivered in latin. special attention was given to laboratory work in chemistry and anatomy, though for the most part the training was given through lectures and quizzes. the conservatism of the literary department in educational methods here also found its parallel, even in the comparatively new sciences. the introduction of clinical methods came slowly, though the growing city of ann arbor furnished many opportunities for actual diagnosis and treatment. the lack of practical facilities for study was early recognized, however, and within a few years some of the members of the medical faculty established a school for clinical instruction in detroit, which eventually led to the first effort for the removal of the school mentioned in the last chapter. in spite of this difficulty the department grew so rapidly that within ten years it had an enrolment of matriculates and graduates; more students than were enrolled at yale, harvard, or virginia, the leading medical schools of that day. the growth came so rapidly, in fact, that it proved embarrassing and the regents experienced great difficulty in finding accommodations for the students. in an addition was made to the original medical building which more than doubled its capacity and in one of the professors' houses on the north side of the campus was fitted up as the first university hospital. by latin and greek had been dropped from the requirements for admission; a possible backward step which was more than counterbalanced three years later by the extension of the annual course of lectures to nine months. finally in an extra year was added to the course. the long roster of the medical faculty has included many distinguished names, of which but a few can be mentioned, and none with the detail their services to their profession and to science deserve. the first faculty consisted of the two recruits from the literary department, dr. sager, who became professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children, and dr. douglas, who assumed the chair of chemistry, pharmacy, and medical jurisprudence in the new school; as well as four other members, moses gunn, who was a graduate of geneva medical college, , professor of anatomy and surgery; samuel denton, castleton medical college (vermont), ' , a former regent, who became professor of the theory and practice of medicine and pathology; j. adams allen, middlebury, ' , professor of therapeutics, materia medica, and physiology; and r.c. kedzie, ' _m_, demonstrator of anatomy, who later was for nearly forty years professor of chemistry at the michigan agricultural college. dr. sager, the first dean of the department, was one of its most learned and versatile members; so thoroughly possessed of the scientific spirit that his abilities were not always appreciated by his students, or, it must be confessed, by his colleagues. of his ability as a practitioner "a few of the older residents of ann arbor speak reverently and lovingly." dr. gunn, who had charge of the anatomical laboratory, the first laboratory to be established in the university, deserves, in the opinion of dr. vaughan, the present dean of the school, to be called the founder of the department. this honor, however, might properly be divided with dr. zina pitcher of detroit, who, as a member of the first board of regents, was responsible for the early introduction of the teaching of medicine in the university. but dr. gunn was on the ground as early as , and from the first he labored earnestly and effectively in the organization of the new department, which was beset by many difficulties, particularly in his own field, where the problem of finding adequate material for the study of anatomy was almost insuperable for many years. many are the hints given in the reminiscences of the older men of the practical ways this difficulty was met, but for the most part the matter is shrouded in a discreet silence. dr. gunn was of a commanding character and presence and his "trained hand dared to do many operations, the landmarks of which were not then described in the works on surgery." he soon gave up his work in anatomy and was succeeded in by dr. corydon la ford, geneva, ' , a sensitive and earnest teacher, who had a way of "making dry bones and anatomical tissues of absorbing interest." it is said of him that in his day he probably taught more students than any other teacher of anatomy. occupying hardly a lesser place than dr. ford in the memories of the older medical graduates was his factotum, gregor nagele, better known as "doc" nagele. as an immigrant just landed, he helped in the construction of the old medical building and remained to become for years the presiding genius of the department, and, through his long association with dr. ford, an unofficial demonstrator of anatomy to the "boys." dr. denton, another member of that first faculty, was long remembered by his students because of his high hat and his buck-board wagon, as well as by his belief in the medical efficiency of alcohol; in which he came into violent conflict with one of his confrères and eventual successor in the professorship of pathology and theory and practice. this was dr. a.b. palmer, a graduate of the college of physicians and surgeons in , who in succeeded dr. allen, the first of the original faculty to go. dr. palmer was a conspicuous personage in ann arbor for many years, energetic in public welfare and a lover not only of his profession but of his professorship and its duties. one of his students remarks: "he would have been willing to get up in the night and lecture if asked, so enthusiastic was he in his efforts to help the student." he was the first member of the medical faculty to apply for leave of absence that he might study abroad. that was in . [illustration: the engineering building] [illustration: the medical building] other appointments of particular importance in the earlier years of the medical department were those of samuel g. armor, missouri medical college, ' , who became professor of the institutes of medicine and materia medica in , and of albert benjamin prescott, ' _m_, who entered the same year upon his long term of distinguished service in the chemical laboratory and later the department of pharmacy, loved and honored by many generations of students. changes in the personnel of the faculty were frequent, however, and few men remained long enough to identify their lives wholly with that of the university. when dr. sager retired as emeritus professor and dean in , dr. edward s. dunster, new york college of medicine and surgery, ' , was appointed to his chair, and held it until his death in . dr. palmer succeeded dr. sager as dean, but in , the position passed to dr. ford, and then, in , to dr. victor c. vaughan, mt. pleasant (mo.) college, ' ; m.d. (michigan), ' , the first graduate of the school to become its dean. he has been a member of the faculty since , serving as professor of physiology and pathological chemistry and assistant professor of therapeutics and materia medica. as the growth of the school continued and as the field of medical knowledge widened, new laboratories and professorships were continually becoming necessary. the early history of the anatomical laboratory has been touched upon. dr. ford remained in charge until , when he was succeeded by dr. j. playfair mcmurrich, toronto, ' , who did much for the advancement of the scientific study of anatomy until his return to toronto in , when george linius streeter, union, ' , assumed the chair. he resigned in , and dr. g. carl huber, ' _m_, professor of histology then became director of the anatomical laboratories. mention should also be made in this place of the services of dr. george e. fothingham, ' _m_, professor of ophthalmology from to , who for some years was connected with the department of anatomy and drafted the first good anatomical law. courses in histology were given as far back as but the emphasis on scientific methods did not come for many years, and the courses in both histology and physiology were long taught solely by lectures. in , however, the legislature appropriated $ , for a laboratory in those subjects and dr. c.h. stowell, ' _m_, was appointed instructor, becoming assistant professor in . about the same time a separate chair in physiology was created with dr. henry sewall, wesleyan, ' , as the first professor. under dr. sewall the physiological laboratory grew rapidly; new apparatus was purchased and many valuable researches were conducted, not the least of these being the proof, published in , that pigeons might be immunized against rattle-snake poison,--one of the first cases of the production of an artificial immunity. the two departments were again united in under dr. william h. howell, johns hopkins, ' . he was succeeded in by dr. warren p. lombard, harvard, ' , who held both professorships until , when dr. huber, at that time assistant professor of anatomy, was made director of the histological laboratory, becoming junior professor in and professor of histology and embryology four years later. a laboratory in electro-therapeutics was opened in , the first of its kind in america, largely through the efforts of dr. john w. langley, harvard, ' , m.d. michigan, (hon.) ' , professor of general chemistry at that time; but the subject did not become a compulsory part of the course until the appointment in of dr. william j. herdman, ' , who had been a member of the medical faculty since , as professor of nervous diseases and electro-therapeutics. practical instruction in pathology was inaugurated in under dr. herdman and dr. victor c. vaughan, but the beginnings were modest and laboratory work only became incorporated in the course in under dr. heneage gibbes, aberdeen, ' , called from london as professor of pathology. even then the quarters were extremely limited and the laboratory was moved several times before its final establishment in the present medical building in . in dr. george dock, pennsylvania, ' , professor of the theory and practice of medicine and clinical medicine since , succeeded dr. gibbes in the chair of pathology but resigned it in to dr. aldred scott warthin, ' _m_, (indiana, ' ), who became also director of the pathological laboratory. a request from the state board of health led to the opening of a hygienic laboratory in , with the threefold object of instruction, research, and the examination of suspected food and water, with dr. v.c. vaughan, who had come to the university in as an assistant in the chemical laboratory, as its first director. the first officially recognized laboratory of clinical medicine was established by dr. dock, when he came to the university in , with the purpose of carrying out the instrumental investigation of disease, and teaching the technique of diagnosis. this was followed the next year by demonstration courses in the different branches of medicine and surgery. dr. dock was succeeded, upon his resignation in , by dr. a. walter hewlett, california, ' , who returned to leland stanford, jr. university after six years' service. a surgical laboratory, established soon after dr. charles de nancrède, pennsylvania (m.d.), ' , came as professor of surgery, speedily proved its educational value, and increasing facilities were offered students for the demonstration of surgery on bodies and on animals, with the same care taken as to antiseptics, asepsis, and dressings as in actual operations. dr. de nancrède retired in , and in dr. hugh cabot, harvard, ' , succeeded to the chair. a laboratory in experimental pharmacology, still another instance of a brand new venture on the university's part, was established in under dr. john jacob abel, ' . he only remained two years, however, and was succeeded by dr. arthur r. cushny, aberdeen, ' , of london, under whom the new laboratory assumed its present important place. dr. cushny returned to the university college in london in and the professorship of pharmacology eventually passed to dr. charles w. edmunds, ' _m_, at present secretary of the medical school. as the result of long effort on the part of dr. herdman, who held the chair of nervous diseases, a state psychopathic hospital, the first of its kind in the country, was established at the university in under the joint supervision of the regents and a state board, affording a practical laboratory and clinic for students specializing in nervous diseases. it has been under the direction of dr. albert m. barrett, iowa, ' , professor of psychiatry since . the old make-shift hospital on the campus was enlarged in , but it was never able to overtake the ever-increasing demand, and a new building eventually became imperative. this came in , when the present hospital, soon fated to go the way of the first, was erected northeast of the campus on the hills above the huron river. designed to accommodate about eighty patients, it has been enlarged again and again, until finally in the state appropriated over a million dollars for an entirely new building, which will cost eventually three times that sum, to be completed in . not only will this new hospital accommodate nearly six hundred patients under the far more exacting requirements of modern hospital practice, but it will also be by far the largest hospital controlled entirely by a medical school and maintained for the sole benefit of the people of a state. the medical course was finally increased in to four years of nine months, while the entrance requirements were placed on the same basis as the admission to the classical or scientific courses in the literary department. at the same time a "combination" course enabled the student to graduate from both the literary department and the medical school in six years. the final evolution of the curriculum up to the present time came in when this combination was made compulsory. this meant that at least two years' preliminary work in the literary college was required before the student was permitted to enter the medical school. in a new medical building was completed at a cost of about $ , , to provide the class rooms and laboratories for the work of the first two years. it contains two amphitheaters, two lecture rooms, and the laboratories of hygiene, bacteriology, physiological chemistry, anatomy, histology and embryology and pathology, as well as the pathological museum. to the great regret of many medical alumni, and in fact all who loved the relics of the university's first days, the picturesque old medical building with its simple greek portico was razed in . it had been considered unsafe for some time, and stood abandoned and unused at one side of the new building. although the original university act called for a law department, and even gave it first place in their scheme for organization after the literary college, the favorable time for its establishment did not appear for nearly twenty years. there were already a number of law schools in operation elsewhere, one of them at the university of pennsylvania dated as far back as ; but for the most part legal education was haphazard and primitive. candidates for the bar ordinarily prepared for practice by reading in a lawyer's office, a good old method that perhaps has some merits, but one which did not, save in the case of a teacher of exceptional qualifications, give a uniform preparation or an insight into the principles of legal philosophy. as the general level of education advanced, however, the advantages of some systematic instruction in law became more and more apparent, and it was not long after the establishment of the university before demands for a law school began to be heard. this sentiment grew, in spite of the conservatism, and even active opposition, of the lawyers of the old school who believed the established office method of education the only practical one. [illustration: panoramic view of the old hospitals] [illustration: the new hospital building (from the architect's plans)] [illustration: the law building] finally, in spite of the financial problem involved, the new department was formally opened in october, , with an entering class of ninety-two students. it had long been assumed that only one professorship would be required; but when the board really faced the problem it had a wider vision, and the first faculty consisted of three men. these have sometimes been called "the great triumvirate," judge james v. campbell, st. paul's college, ' , of the state supreme court, who became marshall professor of law, with common and statute law as his field; charles i. walker, a practising lawyer of detroit, kent professor of pleading, practice and evidence; and thomas mcintyre cooley of adrian, who came as jay professor of equity jurisprudence, pleading, and practice. these men had all been trained through the usual course of "reading" in a lawyer's office--all the higher education they received, with the exception of judge campbell. never has a law school started under more favorable auspices, certainly never with such a faculty. to the learning and personal character, as well as to the ability as teachers, of these three men thousands of graduates of the school ascribe their remarkable success in later life. judge campbell, the first dean, was characterized by his wide, accurate, and scholarly knowledge; while the refinement of his literary style and his stimulating personality made him one of the most delightful of lecturers. professor walker was the type of man who was willing to sacrifice one day a week out of a large and remunerative practice for the education of young men in his profession. his interests extended beyond his legal labors, for he was well known through his scholarly investigations in the early history of the state. his courses, which might so easily have been perfunctory, were on a par with those of his distinguished confrères, stimulating and profound and sometimes punctuated with a dry wit, well illustrated by his epigram that "some men live by their practice and some by their practices." thomas m. cooley, the youngest one of this group and the only one to make his home in ann arbor, probably, in his later years, gave more distinction to the university than any other teacher upon its long rolls. he became known, not only nationally but internationally, for his great work on "constitutional limitations" which will probably always be the standard work on the american constitution. this appeared in . he was also the author of many other books, including a "history of michigan." during his service of twenty-one years on the state supreme bench, the court acquired a national reputation. at the time of his death he was a member of the first interstate commerce commission. his home, which stood on the site the union now occupies, and which for nine years was used as the union club house, was long a center of the intellectual and social life of ann arbor. one of his pupils, william r. day, ' , now of the united states supreme court, says of him: "here was a man of world-wide fame as a jurist--the author of a book which is at once the greatest authority upon the subject of constitutional limitations upon our government, and a classic in legal literature--whose recreations seemed to consist in change of occupation, and whose energies seemed never to tire." the enrolment in the new school grew with even greater rapidity than had that of the medical school during its first years. by the law school, as it came to be known after , had given , degrees, almost equaling the , granted up to that time by the literary college and more than double the , degrees granted by the medical school. the balance of attendance, however, has been with the literary college since , when the requirement in the law school was increased to three years. it must be understood, too, that any comparison of this character between the law and the literary departments can only be on a quantitative basis, for the traditional four years' work had always been demanded in the literary college; whereas in early days, the law course consisted only of two terms of lectures of six months each, with only one requisite for admission; that the candidates should be eighteen years of age and of good moral character. nevertheless these early students stood well in respect to ability, some "were already practising lawyers, and others were on the verge of being admitted to the bar"; men who came to take advantage of the lectures before entering definitely upon practice. only seniors were quizzed, but they were quizzed on junior as well as senior subjects, while at the end an oral examination was given. if this ordeal was passed satisfactorily and an acceptable thesis presented, the candidate received his ll.b. professor hinsdale in his "history," in speaking of these earlier years, said: "a feebler organization and a looser administration could hardly have held the school together. indeed, if the mark of a school is to be found in organization and administration, then this was hardly a school at all; but if such mark is to be found in the ability of teachers, the value of the instruction given, and the enthusiasm of students, it was a school of high order. in a word, it was the professors and the conditions, not organization, administration, and discipline, that made the school what it was." since , when it was announced that students henceforth were expected to be well grounded in at least a good english education, the requirements in the law school have been gradually raised; in fact one may almost trace the reflection of the increasing requirements in the fluctuating attendance. following a requirement that an examination in ordinary high school branches must be passed by all students except those who had completed a high school course, the standard of admission was made in the same as for the admission to the old b.l. course in the literary department. in the two annual terms which had heretofore made up the course were lengthened from six to nine months; and in a graduated course of instruction was introduced, resulting in the separation of the two classes which, up to that time, had always recited together. in , after due notice, a third year was added. the last and perhaps most far-reaching steps in the history of the law school were taken in , when one year in the literary college was required, and in , when another year was added, making the law course one of five years. other significant advances have also been made of late years; the establishment of the special degree of j.d. (juris doctor) for exceptional students, and particularly the addition of an optional sixth year of special studies for those who wished to carry their work further, leading to the degree of master of laws. with these changes in the requirements has come also a revolution in methods of teaching and even in the fundamental policies of the school. there are three methods ordinarily applied in teaching law; the lecture, the textbook, and the study of selected cases. the early courses were almost entirely lectures, textbooks not appearing until , while the study of cases, used somewhat even at the very first, has now become the principal method of establishing legal principles. the question is largely one of the aim of a school, whether to make the student familiar with the actual rules and practice in the different parts of the country so that he will be able to take up his profession, if only in a limited way, at once; or whether to emphasize fundamental principles and the evolutionary character of the law, which can best be discovered from the study of decisions and cases, in order to prepare for the far more significant and useful career open to one who has the background, as well as the ordinary rules of law, upon which to base his actions. president hutchins, when dean of the law school, emphasized this when he said: "the law school of today should teach and should encourage the study of law in its larger sense." this policy has been consistently developed by the present dean, henry m. bates, ' , who not only insists on the higher mission of the law school in this regard but also believes it "must not only train men to be effective lawyers adhering steadfastly to high ethical standards, but it must also instil into them a strong sense of responsibility to the community, and those ideals of service which are among the oldest and finest but, perhaps, sometimes forgotten traditions of the bar." the faculty of the law school has always remained relatively small in proportion to the numbers of students--largely because of the methods of teaching, and the absence, inherent in the subject, of any laboratory save the practice court. a fourth professorship was created in and named after the hon. richard fletcher of boston, who had given his legal library to the university. this was occupied in by charles a. kent, vermont, ' , who was dean of the department at the time of his resignation in . the fletcher professorship has been held since by judge victor h. lane, ' _e_, ' _l_. a tappan professorship was established in , an honor acknowledged with great pleasure by the first president, then living in switzerland, and was held for four years by the hon. alpheus felch, bowdoin, ' , one of the most distinguished citizens of the state, who had served as united states senator, governor, and regent. the professorship passed eventually to henry wade rogers, ' , afterward dean of the yale law school, and in to henry m. bates, ' . mr. walker resigned in and judge cooley in , though the latter continued to give lectures on special subjects and remained on the faculty as professor of american history and constitutional law. judge campbell became the first dean of the department but resigned in , when he was succeeded by judge cooley. after the latter gave up his active duties charles a. kent became dean, to be followed by henry wade rogers, ' , in ; jerome c. knowlton, ' , in ; and harry burns hutchins, ' , in . the present dean, henry m. bates, ' , succeeded dr. hutchins when he was elected to the presidency of the university in . the law library, which contains over , volumes, is the largest of the departmental collections. in addition to judge fletcher's early gift of eight hundred volumes, two other considerable gifts have added to its resources, the buhl collection, presented by mr. c.h. buhl of detroit in , with a fund of $ , for additions to it, and the library presented by judge s.t. douglas of detroit in . the library now occupies a large room at the south end of the second floor of the present law building. the first courses of the law school were given in the old chapel in the north wing, or mason hall, where the law library was installed with the general library above. this proved a most unsatisfactory arrangement for the growing school and in a new law building was dedicated on the northwest corner of the campus. this building in turn quickly became inadequate for the needs of the still rapidly expanding department. some relief was given in by using the chapel in the new university hall, and again in , when the university library which had been housed up to this time in the law building was moved to its new quarters. the law building was remodeled and enlarged in and a second time in , when it was almost completely made over into its present form. the college of engineering, the fourth of the larger divisions of the university, was in fact the last to be established, as it was not until that the regents authorized its organization as an independent department with professor charles e. greene, harvard, ' , as its first dean. the history of the course in engineering, however, is almost as old as the university, and really begins with the designation of a chair in civil engineering and drawing in the article authorizing the university. that was as far as the matter went, however, for the first fifteen years, or until the appointment of alexander winchell in as professor of physics and civil engineering. physics is the science upon which the profession of the civil engineer rests and the two subjects were closely associated in those days of small beginnings. there is little to indicate that professor winchell or his successor to the chair in , william g. peck, west point, ' , did much to advance the engineering half of their charge. but with the coming of devolson wood as assistant professor, immediately upon his graduation in from rensselaer polytechnic, the cause of engineering was properly presented to the students. though the fourth institution in this country to offer courses in engineering, the first two students were not graduated until , so that actually michigan became the sixth institution in america to grant degrees in that branch of scientific training. professor charles s. denison, whose long service in the university began as an instructor just before professor wood's resignation, pays a tribute to his sturdy and at the same time genial character, his powerful intellect, and singularly virile influence on his students. he showed remarkable energy and administrative ability, in spite of many difficulties and a general lack of understanding of his aims in technical education, characteristic of those days. it is told of him that he even recommended an adaptation of one of the professors' houses on the campus to the needs of the work in engineering, exactly thirty years before it was actually done. while he was here a course in military engineering was organized in and he delivered a course of lectures on that subject, but after the war it was abandoned. a similar fate overtook the school of mines established in - , owing to the desire of the residents of the northern peninsula to have a state institution in that section, although a number of degrees in mining engineering were granted. a course in mechanical engineering was also authorized by the regents in , one of the very first to be organized in this country, but the degree was abolished two years later and the course was merged with civil engineering. one of the last acts of professor wood, before his resignation to accept a similar chair at stevens institute of technology, was to present to the regents a detailed plan for a school of engineering and technology as a fourth department of the university--foreshadowing the action taken twenty-three years later when engineering was made a separate department in the university. the appointment of charles ezra greene, harvard, ' , mass. inst. technology, ' , in marks a definite period in the history of this department. he found himself associated with two other men who had been instructors for a short period under professor wood, j.b. davis, ' _e_, assistant professor of civil engineering, who became professor of geodesy and surveying in , and charles s. denison, vermont, ' , who was to be in later years professor of stereotomy, mechanism, and drawing. these men saw the department grow almost to its present proportions, and, as the first faculty, formed a most harmonious combination of unusually varied elements. professor greene was a scholar and scientist who had a wide reputation as an engineer and an author; professor davis, on the contrary, was a practical man, a genius, whose love of the outdoors and fatherly care of his "boys" even extended to their "rubbers" on wet days, while his homely and wise sayings endeared him to every student. professor denison was a bachelor, small and very particular in personal appearance, who was long known by the students as "little lord chesterfield," but an able teacher who was loved for his big heart and his very mannerisms. a course in mechanical engineering was again inaugurated in when mortimer e. cooley, annapolis, ' , assistant engineer, u.s.n., was detailed to the university by the navy department and became the first professor of mechanical engineering. in he resigned from the navy and definitely cast his lot with the university, becoming dean of the college of engineering in february, , after the death of professor greene in october, . at the same time professor davis became associate dean and maintained an intimate and paternal care over the students until his retirement in . the department of electrical engineering was organized in , under the charge of henry s. carhart, wesleyan, ' , professor of physics, and one instructor, george w. patterson, yale, ' , who became the first professor of electrical engineering in may, . in a course in naval architecture and marine engineering was created with herbert c. sadler, glasgow, ' , as the first professor. the following year the first degree was conferred in a new department of chemical engineering, and in edward demille campbell, ' , became head of the new division as professor of chemical engineering and analytical chemistry. the first plan for the university called for a professorship of engineering and architecture, but no attention was paid to the latter subject until the appointment of w.l.b. jenney, to the professorship of architecture in . appropriations failed, however, and the chair was discontinued in , not to be revived until , when a department of architecture was organized under the charge of emil lorch, a.m., harvard, ' , with the two departments associated under the title of the department (later colleges) of engineering and architecture. within recent years special courses have been organized leading to degrees in architectural engineering, chemical engineering, and aeronautical engineering, as well as special groups of courses in such branches as sanitary, transportation, automobile, hydro-mechanical, industrial, and gas engineering and paper manufacturing. a reorganization of the numerous degrees given at one time in the engineering college has now reduced the degrees to two, b.s. in engineering and b.s. in architecture. [illustration: the engineering quadrangle] originally the work in engineering was centered in what is now the old south wing of university hall. the first building on the campus used exclusively for the engineering courses was the first section of the engineering laboratories built in - , as the result of the insistence of dr. frieze, then acting president, that an unexpended appropriation of $ , be used immediately. at short intervals further additions were made and in the building, now known as the engineering shops, assumed its present form. in a further extension of the work in engineering was required, and the adjacent campus residence was remodeled for the purpose. this proved inadequate almost before completion and in the construction of the present engineering building was authorized. standing across the southeast corner of the campus and with the diagonal walk carried through it under a picturesque archway, this is one of the university's largest buildings and forms, with its two wings, and the engineering shops and the old heating plant, a square known as the engineering quadrangle. it was completed in , but a further addition was necessitated in , so that it now has a floor space of about , square feet, and cost with equipment about $ , . in the basement of the long wing which extends down east university avenue is the naval experimental tank, feet long and feet wide, in which models of various types of ships are tested by the department of marine engineering. the only other tank of this character in the united states is at the washington navy yard, and the facilities of the university's tank, therefore, were used extensively by the government during the late war. the development of the college of pharmacy, actually the fourth separate department in the university, is closely interwoven with that of the department of chemistry. its history has already been in part suggested in the references to the growth of the chemical laboratory and the appointment of dr. prescott as the first dean of the department, or later, college, of pharmacy. at first the study of chemistry was presented only in lectures and a few simple demonstrations. dr. douglas, however, was among the pioneers in this country in realizing that the way to teach the subject was to help the students perform their own experiments, and accordingly he established a small laboratory for special students in the medical building. from this grew the idea of a laboratory building which was finally completed in october, , at a cost of $ , , the first building erected in america for this purpose, with facilities which were, in president tappan's words, "unsurpassed by anything of the kind in the country." even then it proved almost at once too small, and a long series of enlargements came at intervals of about five years, until finally the new chemistry building was completed in . all the work in chemistry in the different departments was, from the first, provided for in this building, with no distinction between academic and professional students except such as the special courses require. the work in pharmacy grew naturally with the department of chemistry. following its establishment in , the course eventually grew into a separate department, which became independent in . the school prospered under the wise and scholarly administration of its first dean, dr. albert b. prescott, and it was soon recognized as one of the best in the country. the early entrance requirements were only a good knowledge of the english language, but soon a high school course became requisite. the curriculum, which at first consisted of two years' work, was eventually lengthened to three years in - , leading to the degree of ph.c; while for a regular four years' course a b.s. in pharmacy is granted. upon the death of dr. prescott in , dr. julius o. schlotterbeck, ' , succeeded him as dean of the college. dr. schlotterbeck died in , and professor alviso b. stevens, ' _p_, became dean until his retirement in . the inauguration of a department of homeopathy in the university, which, as has been noted, did not come without a struggle, was finally effected in ; though only after long opposition from the medical faculty and the regular medical profession throughout the state. the first faculty, which was appointed soon after the legislature finally authorized the establishment of the school, was composed of dr. samuel a. jones, pennsylvania homeopathic medical college, ' , of englewood, n.j., who was dean and professor of materia medica and therapeutics, and dr. john c. morgan, pennsylvania medical college, ' , who took the chair of theory and practice. dr. jones soon became one of the most interesting and stimulating figures in the life of the university. small and spare in physique, he possessed an extraordinarily keen mind and an interest in literature and learning far beyond the limits of his profession. his library, which was particularly rich in material on thoreau and carlyle, became upon his death in one of the valuable acquisitions of the university library. the faculty grew slowly as new students came, though the department never became as large as the older school, the record enrolment being in . the department eventually found that the original quarters in one of the two professorial residences on the north side of the campus, to which a long wing had been added at the rear, were inadequate, and in the present homeopathic hospital was erected opposite the northeast corner of the campus. to this a nurses' home was added later, and in an adequate children's ward. an effort made in by dr. h.l. obetz, cleveland homeopathic hospital college, ' , at that time dean, to amalgamate the two schools proved unsuccessful, and eventually led to his resignation and a reorganization that necessitated the resignation of the remainder of the faculty. a law passed in the same year by the legislature reversing its previous position and directing that the school be removed to detroit, was successfully resisted by the regents on the same ground that had already been urged in the case of the regular school. dr. e.c. franklin, m.d., university of new york, ' , followed dr. jones as dean in . dr. t.p. wilson, western homeopathic college, ' , succeeded him in and dr. h.l. obetz in . after the reorganization in mentioned above, dr. wilbert b. hinsdale, hiram college, ' , the present dean, was appointed, and the later and more untroubled history of the school may be said to date from that time. [illustration: the dental building] [illustration: the homeopathic hospital and children's ward] though the incorporation of a dental college in the university was suggested as far back as , the first steps were not taken until when the michigan state dental association requested the establishment of a dental course as soon as possible. this was supplemented two years later by a similar petition to the legislature on the part of a large number of citizens of the state, which led to the appropriation of the sum of $ , for each of the next two years for the establishment of a department of dentistry in the university. the regents thereupon took action in , establishing the college, and in addition to the facilities offered by the medical department and chemical laboratory, created two professorships in dentistry. a little later dr. jonathan taft, ohio college of dental surgery, ' , of cincinnati, was appointed professor of principles and practice of operative dentistry and dr. john a. watling, ohio college of dental surgery, ' , professor of clinical and mechanical dentistry. the precedent of long standing in the other professional departments was followed, both in the matter of entrance requirements and the course, which consisted for many years of two terms of six months. this was lengthened, however, in to nine months and in a third year was added. the dental college first occupied a portion of the homeopathic building on the north side of the campus; later it was removed to one of the old professors' houses on the south side which had been enlarged and fitted up for its reception. upon the removal of the university hospital from the campus in , the building it had occupied, which it may be remembered was an adaptation and extension of one of the residences on the north, became the home of the school. never well adapted for this purpose and becoming entirely too small with the rapid growth of the college, a new building eventually became necessary. this led to the construction of the present dental building, one of the most completely equipped structures for the purpose in the united states. it was dedicated in may, , and cost, with equipment, over $ , . the department has grown consistently from the first year, when the attendance was twenty students, the lowest in its history, to in - . dr. taft was dean of the college from to the time of his death in . dr. cyrenus darling, ' _m_, of the medical school then became acting dean, resigning active work four years later to be succeeded by dr. nelville s. hoff, ohio college of dental surgery, ' , professor of prosthetic dentistry since , who received the full title in . upon his resignation in , dr. marcus l. ward, ' _d_, succeeded to the position. the summer session was first established by the regents in as a separate division of the university. courses in the summer had been given since under the direction of a committee from the faculty of literature, science, and the arts, but the regents had assumed no real responsibility for this work and the fact that the chairman and all the members of the committee, save one, were of the rank of instructor indicates the minor place it assumed in university affairs. with a reorganization in under the chairmanship of professor john o. reed, ' , of the department of physics, a new life was given to the school. from that time it grew rapidly, until in the summer of it had an enrolment of almost , , including students in the law school, medical school, engineering college, and a summer library course, though the majority, of course, were enrolled in the literary college. when professor reed became dean of the literary department in , professor john r. effinger, ' , became dean of the summer session. after the death of his predecessor, he in turn became dean of the literary college, and edward h. kraus, syracuse, ' , professor of mineralogy, who had been secretary, took his place as administrative head of the summer session. chapter viii a state university as a center of learning michigan's position as a state university has been strongly reflected in its ideals and policies. it could not be otherwise. but this relationship, the source of its strength in many aspects, has also carried with it certain dangers. the university has a two-fold function: it must teach the youth of the state and the nation; but to do this effectively, it must also aim to do its share in enlarging the field of knowledge by encouraging scholarship and research on the part of members of the faculties as well as by a certain proportion of the more advanced students. it is this latter function that is too easily overlooked in the demand for the ordinary and more "practical" courses which necessarily form so large a part of the modern curriculum. yet even the most elementary college work cannot be given properly unless the instructor is in touch with the latest developments and discoveries in his own field, and this familiarity only comes through research, on his own part or by his colleagues. but more than this the university, if it be worthy of the name, owes it to the state to be a leader and a guide in the development of the highest cultural standards; it should be a reservoir upon which the people of the state can draw for truth and guidance in the difficult problems of modern life. this cannot come without a strong emphasis on original and productive scholarship. it has always been one of the sources of the university's strength that this fact was understood, almost from the first, and that the claims of true scholarship and research have been increasingly recognized. it has been shown that in its first years michigan was to all intents a replica in the west of the older and conservative colleges of the east; though there was a certain idealism and progressive spirit that tempered even then this recognition of long-established precedent. the west was liberal and disposed to create its own institutions upon a new basis, so that when the new ideals in education began to make themselves felt, about the middle of the nineteenth century, michigan was ready for them. with the coming of dr. tappan the movement, already foreshadowed by the legislature in the very terms under which the university was organized, gained a new impetus and effective guidance, and it was not long before a remarkable series of constructive measures in the interest of higher education began. most of them have been mentioned elsewhere, but it may not be amiss to suggest some of them once more; such as the emphasis on modern science, with the parallel classical and scientific courses within the academic department; the wide range of elections eventually introduced; the early inauguration of professional and graduate schools; the introduction of seminary and laboratory methods; the admission of women; the diploma system of admission from the high schools; and the recognition of the claims of special students. until within recent years also, the university had no marking system. the students were merely "passed," "not passed," or "conditioned." this undoubtedly stimulated interest in study and scholarship for its own sake in the case of many students, though, in the absence of any of the usual college honors it encouraged a certain level of mediocrity in others. the change in the system and the introduction of the phi beta kappa society and similar organizations after resulted in a marked alteration in the attitude toward study and has undoubtedly raised appreciably the general level of scholarship. thus, though the university throughout its whole history necessarily has had to recognize the first claims of the students for instruction, often of a somewhat elementary character, there have always been influences which have kept the ideals of higher scholarship constantly in view. in the older days the idea of research in its modern sense was hardly understood; but as the atmosphere of european learning began to pervade american academic life the double function of a true university came to be more clearly recognized. not only were facilities for research developed, but the scientific spirit, which refused to accept the limitations long established, and sought new truths, or new interpretations of old principles, became the order of the day. this was the ideal of michigan's first president. but in his time the need for less advanced work was too pressing, the foundations had to be laid; though his efforts bore fruit long after he left, the victim in part of his high ideals of scholarship. even in his time, however, certain steps were taken, aside from his effort to inaugurate true graduate study, which had a vital bearing on the development of research work in the future. these came through the establishment of the astronomical observatory and the chemical laboratory. dr. brünnow, the first professor of astronomy, came to michigan inspired by a prospect of scholarly leadership and the results of his investigations and those of his pupil and successor, professor watson, gave to the university a world-wide reputation among scholars. the same was true, though perhaps to a lesser degree, of the department of chemistry, whose little laboratory, the first separate building for that purpose in america, attracted advanced students from all quarters--the enrolment of special students sometimes reaching seventy, of whom at least some were doing work corresponding to the graduate courses of the present time. the students of this department as a whole have had a profound influence upon the development of the industrial and commercial resources of the state. with the succession of dr. haven to the presidency, the emphasis was thrown almost entirely on the immediate and practical problems of general instruction. he was not a scholar in the modern sense, as was dr. tappan, and the university's first requirement was fairly obvious. but the higher function of the university was not forgotten by the leading men of the faculty. president hutchins tells how he was drawn to michigan in from his hillside farm home in vermont by the reputation of michigan's faculty. he had become greatly dissatisfied with the educational facilities offered in the east, though he did not know exactly what he wanted to do. just at this time his father returned from a business trip in the west and reported that he had found the right place for him in the university of michigan. the young man replied, "oh, i know about ann arbor." the father was somewhat surprised and asked how that happened. "well," said michigan's future president, "i have noticed that the editor of the virgil i study is professor frieze, at ann arbor, and in greek there is a professor boise; my french textbooks are by professor fasquelle; while in mathematics my books are by professor olney. it seems to me that must be a pretty good university." so despite dire warning, from his grandmother as to the dangers from the desperadoes of the west, to say nothing of the indians, he came to michigan; drawn by the scholarly work of the men of that early faculty, as were hundreds of other students. it will of course be suggested that this work on the part of the faculty was not "research" in the modern sense, though it was just as truly "productive scholarship." and it was what was so regarded in those days. besides it was evident that the university was amply fulfilling one of its great functions in laying the foundations for the present system of higher education. the teachers of the secondary schools as well as the colleges looked to these strong men for guidance and they found the support they needed. their books were the necessary basis for the training of future scholars. the gradual broadening of the university curriculum and its effect upon graduate study has already been mentioned. there was one development, however, which deserves special mention here. this was the inauguration of the so-called "university system." president tappan had laid down the principle that a student should be able to study "what he pleases, and to any extent he pleases," and gradually the university had made such a course possible through the introduction of electives and the admission of special students, a privilege that was greatly appreciated by many students of mature years, who, after entering as special students, often remained to take a degree. in there came a third step in the removal of any fixed requirement as to the last two years of work. such students as elected to follow the new plan known as the "university system," were permitted to select, subject to approval, the general lines of study to be pursued during this period with a prescribed examination at the end. this work was to be in charge of a committee composed of the professors in the subjects chosen, and was designed to give the students the advantages of such specialization as was suitable, as soon as practicable. the plan, however, did not prove popular, most of the students preferring the credit system; but the scheme "constituted for a time the constitutional basis of the graduate school, in so far as that school had any real existence." probably the same general purpose, as far as preparation for the professions was concerned, was served at a later period by the combining of the literary and medical, and later, the law courses, enabling the student to begin his professional studies after his second year. elsewhere such specialization as seemed desirable was attained after , through the regular elections, when practically the whole curriculum was thrown open to general election, subject of course to a certain sequence of courses. the professional departments have had a marked influence upon the university's standing as a center of learning. this is particularly true of the medical school, which naturally emphasized the value of scholarly training and investigation from the first. it is probably not an exaggeration to say that it was the impetus given by the medical faculty which was responsible for the high reputation the university enjoyed from the first, particularly in the sciences. to this fortunate development the two recruits from the literary faculty, dr. sager, who had been professor of botany and zoölogy, and dr. douglas, who served as professor of chemistry in both departments, contributed especially, though the influence of the other members of the medical faculty, more interested perhaps in the strictly professional aspects of their work, cannot be overlooked. these men were alive to the value of original investigation, their field offered too many opportunities to be neglected by scholars of their caliber, and it was therefore in the medical school that the first research laboratories were developed. as the numbers in the medical department and its prestige increased, this influence grew, so that it may be said that for many years the strongest impulse toward research and the highest scholarship, particularly in the new fields of science, came from the men of the medical faculty. nor has this influence ever weakened, though the eventual establishment of advanced courses and the recognition of research in all departments has tended to make it less conspicuous than in the early days. [illustration: the interior of hill auditorium] [illustration: interior of the main reading room in the new library] with the law department it was somewhat different. the old-fashioned conception of the law as a formal body of doctrine, fixed and unchangeable, tended in itself to limit original effort, though judge cooley's great work, with its high scholarship and profound learning, added greatly to the reputation of the university. of recent years, however, there has been a change in the attitude towards the teaching of law. it has come to be recognized that our law is a changing and developing force, and that the adaptation of fundamental legal principles to the advancing demands of modern society, both through legislation and through judicial decision, furnishes a field for research and investigation which demands the highest type of scholarship and training. the modern law student seeks the principles of his science through a careful study of the cases themselves, and no longer accepts a dogmatic statement of the law as laid down in textbook and lecture. this change in the legal curriculum, which is little less than revolutionary, is really based upon scholarship and research on the part of every student, and is reflected in the preoccupation of every law student in his work. gone are the days when the law department was the resort of those who could not succeed in the other departments. in more practical and especially industrial fields the college of engineering has also contributed its share, though it was considered a part of the literary department throughout all its early years. while its aim is to train men in technical branches, the field of investigation has been by no means neglected, even if the questions studied have largely borne specifically upon such problems as railway and steel construction, the functioning of various types of engines, marine design, the various forms of the utilization of electrical energy, and the many applications of science to industry undertaken by the department of chemical engineering. that this work has been appreciated is evidenced by the increasing number of fellowships for original research maintained by many private corporations, and by the suggestion and tentative establishment in of a general department of industrial research maintained through co-operation by the manufacturers of the state with the faculty of the engineering college. it is specially stipulated that the results of whatever investigations are made under these auspices are to be made public for the benefit of the people of the state, irrespective of the source of income. this developing spirit led to the formation of a research club which has had a profound though quiet influence in the growth of scholarship in the university. the club meets at stated periods in the histological laboratory in the medical building, a fact in itself significant of the strong support the organization has always had from the medical faculty, and ordinarily listens to two papers, contributed by members. the aim is to present the problem under consideration clearly and with as little emphasis as possible on its technical aspects, a purpose often more successfully realized, according to some of the members, by the men who have been especially successful in their particular fields. the distinguishing mark of this organization is its general and inclusive character; similar clubs elsewhere are more apt to emphasize certain particular and related subjects, and to that extent fail to represent effectively the united scholarly effort of the institution. many of the papers first read in the research club have formed the basis of reports published subsequently in the proceedings of scientific bodies which have attracted wide attention. particularly noteworthy have been the celebrations of the anniversaries of distinguished scholars and authors, the significance of whose life and works has been emphasized in the papers presented before the members. similar in aim is the junior research club, whose membership is composed of the younger men of the faculties of the university. with the reorganization of the graduate school in , there came a new emphasis on the publication of works of scholarship by the university. within a short time several series of "university of michigan studies" were established; and to these new volumes are continually being added, which have contributed greatly to the university's place in the world of learning. though certain other universities, notably harvard, cornell, and chicago, had previously established similar series, michigan has been well to the fore among american universities in thus systematically giving to the world in adequate form the results of certain aspects of the work carried on within her walls. particularly in certain cases she has been peculiarly fortunate in the extraordinary value and significance of the original material thus published. the first series established was known as the "humanistic series," issued under the general editorial supervision of professor francis w. kelsey of the department of latin, who has been indefatigable in securing material and funds for this work. the publications in the present list of sixteen volumes include three on roman history and philology made up for the most part of monographs by various members of the faculty, or graduates of the university, two edited by professor henry a. sanders, and one by professor c.l. meader. another volume deals with "word formation in provençal" and is by professor edward l. adams. somewhat different in scope are two volumes on greek vases, or "lekythoi," by arthur fairbanks, at one time professor of greek in the university, and now director of the boston museum of fine arts. five volumes in this series have dealt with various manuscripts and objects of ancient art in the collections of the late charles l. freer of detroit. the two by professor sanders, dealing with four very early biblical manuscripts, which include deuteronomy and joshua, the psalms, the four gospels, and fragments of the epistle of paul, aroused worldwide interest among scholars when they appeared, particularly as they were accompanied by sumptuous volumes of photogravure fac-similes prepared by mr. freer and distributed by the university to the leading libraries throughout the world. as these manuscripts, which were discovered in egypt and are among the very earliest known, were thus made available for study in a way heretofore almost unknown, the university gained incalculably. other volumes in the series include descriptions of certain coptic manuscripts, documents from the cairo genizah, some eastern christian paintings in the freer collection, and a gold treasure found in egypt. translations of ancient scientific and mathematical treatises by professors john g. winter and l.c. karpinski are also to be found in two other volumes of this series, while certain studies in roman law and administration by professors a.e. boak and j.h. drake and a discussion of "greek themes in modern musical settings," by professor a.a. stanley, bring the volumes issued down to the present time. accompanying this series are a number of humanistic papers, including a discussion and symposium on the value of classical training in american education, and a biography of professor george s. morris by professor r.m. wenley. two volumes in a scientific series have also appeared: "the circulation and sleep," by professor j.a. shepard of the department of psychology, and "studies in divergent series and summability," by professor w.b. ford of the department of mathematics. two volumes of the publications of the astronomical observatory, dealing with the spectroscopic investigations for which the observatory is now particularly well equipped, have also appeared. also to be noted are four numbers of a series of publications by the physical laboratory and seventy-two "occasional papers from the museum of zoölogy," as well as four volumes in a "university of michigan historical series," including "a history of the presidents' cabinets," "the english rule in gascony, - ," "the color line in ohio," and "the senate and treaties ( - )," (the last by professor j.r. hayden), and two volumes in a series of economic studies. a "history of the chemical laboratory," by professor e.d. campbell, should also be mentioned. from time to time there have been issued compilations of the publications of members of the university faculties. these have shown an ever-increasing body of books, articles, and reviews which may be taken as another concrete evidence of the activity of the members of the faculty in their various fields. the first two of these lists were issued through the medium of a little informative sheet issued for the university for some years by the alumni association, known as the _news-letter_. the data were far from complete but the published total was not unimpressive. later the university library took up the work, while the last two lists of this character were made by dean a.h. lloyd, of the graduate school, as regular university bulletins. these cover the period from july , to june , and include over one hundred volumes exclusive of ordinary handbooks and textbooks. these two lists give some , titles. while it is impossible to mention even a small portion of the publications of more than usual interest during the last fifteen years, there are a few that may be mentioned as evidence of the influence of the university in the world of letters and scholarships. these, omitting numerous textbooks and aside from the volumes issued in the university humanistic series and others, include, "the acropolis at athens," ( ), by professor m.l. d'ooge; "the will to doubt, an essay in philosophy for the general thinker," ( ), by professor a.h. lloyd; a series of works on psychology by professor w.b. pillsbury, including "attention," ( ); "the psychology of reasoning," ( ); "the fundamentals of psychology," ( ), and "the psychology of nationality and internationalism," ( ). professor r.m. wenley, head of the department of philosophy has also written a number of books which include, "modern thought and the crisis in belief," ( ); "kant," ( ); "the anarchist ideal," ( ); and the "life of george s. morris," ( ). professor r.w. sellars of the same department has written, "critical realism," ( ); "the essentials of logic," ( ); "the essentials of philosophy," ( ); and "the next step in religion," ( ), while professor d.h. parker is the author of two volumes entitled "the self and nature," ( ), and "the principles of �sthetics," ( ). the department of history includes on its faculty a number of men whose books have attracted more than a passing attention. professor c.h. van tyne has written among other books, including several textbooks, "the loyalists in the american revolution," ( ), and "the american revolution," ( ); while others to be mentioned are professor a.l. cross, whose "history of england and greater britain" appeared in ; professor u.b. phillips, "the life of robert toombs," ( ), and "american negro slavery," ( ); and professor e.r. turner, "the negro in pennsylvania," ( ), and "ireland and england, in the past and at present," ( ). professor henry c. adams has written a number of books on economics and accounting, particularly "american railway accounting," ( ). it is worthy of note that he spent two years in china installing a system of railway accounting for the chinese government. other volumes which should be noted are: "social problems," ( ), by professor charles h. cooley; "characteristics of existing glaciers," ( ), and "earth features and their meaning," ( ), by professor william h. hobbs; "the hindu-arabic numerals," ( ), by professor l.c. karpinski, and the "catalogue of the stearns collection of musical instruments," ( ), prepared by professor a.a. stanley. by far the greater portion of the publications of the medical faculty take the form of monographs, articles, and reports in the various monographic series and medical publications--dr. vaughan lists such items in the years between and . in the law school several books on different subjects have been issued by members of the present faculty including professors r.w. aigler, evans holbrook, e.n. durfee, e.c. goddard, and e.r. sunderland. particularly to be noted is "the history of contract in early english equity," ( ), by the late professor willard t. barbour. most of the books issued by the members of the engineering faculty have been primarily textbooks, though many of them have been based upon extended investigations in the subjects presented. two volumes by professor fiske kimball, formerly of the department of architecture, "thomas jefferson, architect," ( ), and a "history of architecture," ( ), are especially noteworthy, however. some of the results of the scientific investigations made by members of the faculties are published in the form of reports issued by the government or state, or by various scientific bodies. thus we have several volumes of reports issued by professor e.c. case on the results of his work in the fossil beds of the southwest, under the auspices of the carnegie institution; several statistical reports, the work of professor james w. glover, including "highway bonds," u.s. department of agriculture, , and "u.s. life tables," ( ) ( ), issued by the department of agriculture; a "biological survey of the sand dune region of saginaw bay," by professor alexander ruthven, ( ), issued by the michigan geological and biological survey, and a number of extended reports on the valuation of public service corporations, by dean m.e. cooley and professor h.e. riggs, in the transactions of the american societies of civil engineers, and various other bodies. as has been suggested a great portion of the scientific investigations of the members of the faculty of the university is reported in the form of monographs and briefer articles in various journals and special publications, and for this reason the names of many men of national and even international repute do not appear in the lists of those who have published books. many of their publications also have taken the form of textbooks, some of them exceedingly important, but the list is so long that it would be impossible to do justice to all in a short survey. of the men in the literary college whose reports and articles are given in the recent bibliography a few may properly be mentioned. thus the work of professor moses gomberg, whose researches in the chemistry of triphenylmethyl won for him in the prize from the new york branch of the american chemical society for the most distinguished work of the year, has been given to the world since in the form of relatively short papers, some eighteen in all. professor e.d. campbell, in addition to the "history of the chemical laboratory of the university," has reported his investigations, largely in the chemical composition of steels, in eighteen papers. professor william j. hussey and professor ralph h. curtiss have published respectively fourteen and seventeen papers, though many of them have been included in the 'publications' of the observatory. professor hussey has also made a number of reports in spanish of his work in the observatory at the south american university of la plata. other members of the literary faculty whose total publications might be mentioned are professor e.c. case, of the departments of geology and paleontology, seventeen; professor a.f. shull, zoölogy, twenty-two; professor william h. hobbs, geology, twenty-six; professor a.h. lloyd, philosophy, twenty-one; professor fred newton scott, rhetoric, fifteen; and professor h.h. bartlett, botany, thirty-one. almost every member of the medical faculty has made many contributions to various medical journals. the university bibliography includes twelve papers by professor a.m. barrett, eighteen by professor c.d. camp, eighteen by professor d.m. cowie, fifteen by professor g. carl huber, eighteen by professor f.g. novy, twenty-two by professor reuben peterson, twenty-six by professor u.j. wile, and thirty-nine by professor a.s. warthin. in the law school dean henry m. bates is represented by eleven papers and professor ralph w. aigler by twenty-six. the dental college is represented by nineteen papers by professor russell w. bunting and eleven by professor c.j. lyons, while the homeopathic medical school shows three books and eighteen articles by professor w.a. dewey. during the late war the abilities of such members of the faculty as were not in active service and the facilities of the university laboratories for research were employed widely by the government. the faculty of the department of chemical engineering entered government service almost to a man and an entirely new teaching force had to be secured. many technical questions, including those connected with poison gas warfare and the development of the government nitrate plants, whose erection was under the charge of professor a.h. white, as lieutenant-colonel in the army, were investigated in the chemical laboratories. the department of physics carried on extended researches in co-operation with the bureau of standards in washington. many special problems were investigated in the medical laboratories, as in the department of anatomy, where a study of the repair of peripheral nerves after severance was instituted by dr. g. carl huber, first under the national research council, later under the office of the surgeon general, which sent several medical officers to the university for purposes of instruction and to assist him. dr. stacey r. guild, instructor in anatomy, also made some valuable experiments in war deafness. special investigations were carried on in the bacteriological laboratories under dr. novy, in the pathological laboratory under dr. warthin, and in the psychopathic hospital, where dr. barrett, while training successive increments of medical officers every six weeks, carried on special investigations in mental disorders arising from the war. as was to be expected the technical training of the professional staff of the engineering college and the resources of the laboratories were employed extensively by the government. this was particularly true of the department of marine engineering, where professor h.c. sadler studied the important problem of standardized types of ships, until he became head of the bureau of design with the shipping board, when his work in the naval tank was carried on by professor e.m. bragg. it cannot be claimed of course that this record in scientific inquiry and advanced scholarship will equal what has been done in certain other universities, whose riper traditions and great endowments have enabled them to carry on special investigations, establish research professorships and support publications, which have thus far proved impossible for a state institution, whose first obligation rests in its relations with the people of the commonwealth. nevertheless michigan has been happy in this, as in so many other respects. the liberality and sympathetic understanding of the public opinion upon which the success of the university rests fundamentally, have enabled it to develop scholarly ideals and a recognition of true scholarship which have given michigan a high rank among american universities. this fortunate and early recognition of the highest mission of the university was made possible only through co-operation on the part of the regents, who, as the governing body, have been able on the one side to encourage scholarly ideals in spite of the occasional lack of appreciation of the university's aims on the part of some individual members of the board, and, on the other, to secure and preserve the university's freedom, threatened by the efforts of the state legislature to interfere with its affairs. this relationship of the regents to the maintenance of the university, and to the state, has had a very important effect upon the development of higher learning and research and may therefore properly be outlined at some length in this place. the university has been truly fortunate for the most part in the men who have composed the governing body. there have been times, it is true, when relations between the regents and the faculties have been far from ideal, but it is no less true that the history of the past eighty years will show a remarkable spirit of co-operation and harmony between the two bodies. otherwise the university could not have become what it is. while the regents for the most part have not been men primarily interested, or trained, in educational matters, they have taken their duties seriously and have been unselfish in their service for the institution, with no reward for their labors save the honor inherent in their office. they have sought earnestly to understand the problems before them, and, in whatever measures they took, to keep always before them the welfare of the university as a whole. with the ever increasing numbers enrolling as students and the consequent well-nigh irresistible pressure for elementary and the so-called "practical" courses, they have been strong enough and wise enough, and sufficiently sympathetic with the scholarly preoccupations of the leaders of the constantly growing faculties, to maintain and encourage the higher aims of the university as a center of learning. it is true that the board is sometimes criticized for taking upon itself functions which might with propriety rest with the faculties and their administrative officers, but there is at least a legal justification for this in the legislative provisions upon which the powers of the board of regents rest. thus in the act of march , , the regents are empowered to "enact laws for the government of the university," and to appoint the professors and tutors and fix their salaries. the number of professorships was specified and fixed at thirteen; though it was provided in the first organization that; the regents shall so arrange the professorships as to appoint such a number only as the wants of the institution shall require; and to increase them from time to time, as the income from the fund shall warrant, and the public interests demand; _provided, always_, that no new professorship shall be established without the consent of the legislature. the immediate government of the several departments was to rest with their respective faculties, but; the regents shall have power to regulate the course of instruction, and prescribe, under the advice of the professorship, the books and authorities to be used--and also to confer such degrees and grant such diplomas as are usually conferred and granted in other universities. the regents were also to have the power of removing "any professor or tutor, or other officer connected with the institution, when in their judgment the interests of the university shall require it." this specification of the powers and duties of the regents was repeated with some modifications in the act of april , , which followed the revision of the constitution of . the constitution itself merely stated that the regents "shall have the general supervision of the university and the direction and control of all expenditures from the university interest fund." these are the general provisions upon which the relations between the regents and the university body are based. in practice the faculty has come to have a greater degree of autonomy in certain directions than might be suggested by a strict interpretation of these measures, while in most cases the "advice of the professorship" is sought and followed readily and sympathetically in so far as is warranted by the financial situation, as it appears to the board. the university faculties are organized first by departments, with one member as head; the schools and colleges are also organized under the separate deans to carry on their own work, while the general organization of the whole faculty rests in the university senate, composed of all members of professorial rank, including assistant professors. in addition there is a smaller body, known as the senate council, composed of the deans and one other representative of the different schools and colleges as well as the president, a secretary, and the chairman of the committee on student affairs. to this body are referred many questions of importance for immediate action or reference to the regents. the independent position of the board of regents as the governing body of the university has not gone unquestioned by the other divisions of the state government, and a series of decisions and judicial interpretations of the constitutional and legislative acts regarding the university have been necessary to establish the powers of the regents as a separate branch of the state administration. fortunately for the university these are now well recognized. the first decision arose through the efforts of the legislature to compel the regents to establish a professorship of homeopathy in the university, and a _mandamus_ action was brought in to compel the university to carry out the provisions of a clause to that effect, inserted in the organic act of the university in the years before. this was unsuccessful, though not on the ground that the act was unconstitutional but because one elijah drake, who brought the action, was not connected with the university and was not, therefore, privileged to sue for the writ. the question was brought up again in , this time by the regents, who sought to secure the payment of the $ , granted to the university upon condition that they establish a professorship of homeopathy, by authorizing a school of homeopathy in detroit. again the court failed to grant the request. two years later the question came up once more in its first form, in an effort to compel the regents to establish the proposed department. the regents argued; if the legislature could require the appointment of one professor, it could require the appointment of another, or any number of others. if it could say what professorships should exist, it could say what professorships should not exist, and who should fill professors' chairs; moreover, if it could regulate the internal affairs of the university in this regard, it could do so in others, and thus the supervision, direction and control which the constitution vested in the regents would be at an end.... either the legislature had no power of the kind, or it had unlimited power; either the regents were the representatives of the people who elected them, or they were servants of the legislature.[ ] [footnote : from hinsdale, _history of the university of michigan_, p. .] again, however, there was no decision; the constitutional status of the university was undecided. but in a decision did establish that the people of the state, in incorporating the university, had, by their constitution, conferred the entire control and management of its property upon the regents, and had thereby excluded all departments of the state government from any interference with it. the property of the university was state property it is true, but it could only be administered by the board of regents as a separate division of the state administration. finally in it was definitely decided that the legislature had no constitutional right to interfere in or dictate as to the management of the university. the question was once more the homeopathic issue, which took the form of a legislative action to compel the regents to remove the school to detroit. this time the regents reversed their earlier policy and the measure was stoutly resisted by the board. judge claudius b. grant, ' , in delivering the opinion of the supreme court, laid down the principles now accepted as governing the relations of the university and the legislature. the board of regents, he maintained, was the only corporation whose powers were defined in the state constitution, whereas in the case of every other corporation established by the constitution it was provided that its powers should be defined by law. "no other conclusion was, in his judgment, possible than that the intention was to place the institution in the direct and exclusive control of the people themselves, through a constitutional body elected by them." otherwise the regents would become merely "ministerial officers" with no other duties than to register the will of the legislature. the independent status of the university has also been more firmly established in late years by other legislative enactments and decisions. as early as it was recognized that the regents had power to hold and convey real estate, though they had no authority over the land granted by congress for the support of the university, nor over the principal of the fund established through the sale of that land. in such property was declared exempt from taxation, and in the board of regents was declared to be alone responsible under contracts made by it for the benefit of the university. in the new constitution of the regents were given the right of eminent domain, and on a number of occasions since that time have been able to acquire "private property for the use of the university in the manner prescribed by law." it is difficult to see how the growth of the university during the past twelve years with its constantly expanding building program could have taken place without this salutary check upon the exorbitant demands of property owners in the neighborhood of the campus. this financial autonomy of the regents, once an appropriation is made by the legislature, has not gone unquestioned, however, particularly by the auditor-general. the university fund from early years has been borrowed by the state which until paid the original interest rate of seven percent. the auditor-general then decided that the legal rate of six percent should be enforced. the matter was laid before the supreme court, however, and the old rate was restored. in it was definitely ruled by the attorney-general that "the auditor-general has no authority to refuse to audit and pay vouchers for real estate purchased by the board of regents," and subsequently in , the supreme court maintained that the "judgment of the regents as to the legality and expediency of expenditures for the use and maintenance of the institution" could not be considered "subordinate to that of the auditor-general." the powers of the regents have also been strengthened by other rulings of the attorney-generals of the state. thus in the power of the regents to determine student fees was declared not subject to legislative control, while in the same freedom in the matter of the determination of entrance requirements was conceded. the board was also declared in free from the application of an act of the previous year providing for the approval and regulation of salaries in the various state institutions. the university has thus been as fortunate in the development of its relations with the state as it has been in its internal growth. though there have been many critical times, the movement has always been forward. the regents have been careful and conservative in their relations with the legislature, but they have insisted upon the independence of the university and have been sustained in this position with increasing firmness by the supreme court. the legislature has shown an ever-increasing friendliness toward the university and has never refused to come to the aid of the institution, whatever its views as to the constitutional questions involved in the establishment of the university. this was shown as never before by the legislature, which not only granted to the university appropriations amounting to $ , , , but gave it by the unanimous vote of both houses, a thing which had never happened before. the legislature even included one item for which the officers of the university had hardly dared hope to have favorable action at that session. with its constitutional status so well established; with the legislature so ready to co-operate in furthering the best interests of the university, with its curriculum continually expanding, though wisely and not too rapidly, and with an ever-increasing emphasis on the highest ideals of scholarship and service, there is every promise for a future of greater usefulness and effective service for the university. we, who love the university of michigan for what it has accomplished, for what it is, and for what it may become, may well look for a development through the coming years that shall be a fitting continuation of the remarkable success of the great experiment involved in its establishment. chapter ix student life although the life of the student in the earliest days of the university had a bucolic simplicity almost unimaginable to the undergraduate of these days, it was not without its sterner side. the rev. theodoric r. palmer of the class of ' , who entered the university in , thus emphasizes the contrast between those times and the present: but twenty-five years had elapsed since the first steamship crossed the atlantic and the first ten miles of passenger railway in the united states had been laid but fifteen years. the telegraph was a recent invention ... electricity was a plaything, and electrical engineering unknown. nothing will point this contrast better, perhaps, than the mere fact that the michigan central, which had only reached ann arbor a year or so before, was running one train a day between detroit and _dexter_. most of the students we may assume, therefore, rode into town on horseback, as he did, with their gear behind them, or perhaps took advantage of the several stage lines which centered in ann arbor. they found a little town charmingly situated in forests and farm clearings, lying for the most part in the valley of the huron, though gradually reaching out toward the university, from which a few houses could be seen along the western side of the country road which now is state street. the campus, which for years "looked like a small farm," was surrounded by a fence with a turn-stile on the northwest corner. this was often broken and was finally replaced by a series of steps, over which the students passed to their boarding houses in town after their morning recitations and their afternoons of study. in time this stile gave way to posts with room enough between for a man, "but not for a cow." early hours were imperative, for kerosene or "coal-oil" was practically unknown in the forties, and candles and whale oil were the sole source of illumination, while the wood yard, always mentioned with deep feeling by every alumnus of that period, was the source of heat. time went according to a bell mounted on a post at the rear, which seemed to have been a prolific source of student humor. it was turned upside down in winter and filled with water, with a corresponding vacation the following morning; the clapper was stolen; and finally in dr. tappan's day it was even carried away, post and all. the president, however, was a match for the jokers and simply announced that as the bell was a convenience which the students did not seem to need, classes would be held henceforth without the usual call. as the regulations were very strict as to attendance and four unexcused absences a matter for the higher powers, it was not long before a student rose in chapel and requested permission to reinstate the campus time-piece,--which was graciously granted. there are stories innumerable of donkeys and geese appearing in unusual places and of the chapel on one occasion being filled with hay, while once a whole load of wood, wagon and all, was laboriously set up on the roof of the college hall. on another occasion a number of students, waiting for their recitation period, corralled a herd of cows grazing on the campus, and so thoroughly frightened one calf that he rushed into the open door of the building as the safest refuge. some one shut the door instantly, and when professor winchell's class-room door was opened, in rushed the badly demoralized animal. the effect may be imagined. professor winchell always thought it a "proposed and deliberate insult," but, as the historian of the incident in the "class-book" of ' observes: "any one will at once perceive that no one was to blame but the calf, who lost his presence of mind." all this humor, however, was rather elementary; for the most part life was sufficiently sedate, and the pranks ordinarily far from atrocious. in the earliest days the term fees of $ . covered the cost of rooms in the dormitories, while the cost of board ranged from $ . to $ . a week. h.b. nichols, a student in , gave his father the following,-- account of monies, by me expended. in it i put an estimate of the term tax at $ . . it is $ . - / and divided as follows, viz: room rent, $ . . janitor's fees, $ . . wood bill $ . - / and hall tax for damages to the buildings, viz. brokens doors and windows, $. , making in all the sum of $ . - / . last term $ . . so you see it is all a humbug for the catalogue to say the charges will range from $ . to $ . per year, as it will not be less than $ . to each student, or $ . to each room and if a student rooms alone his charges will be $ . per year! as for his boarding place: i changed or rather left mrs. andrews and went ... to professor ten brook's. i like it so well at the prof's that i have remained there since. lest you should be unwilling, or perhaps fearful for my health, i would say that the prof. has kindly offered me his horse to use every morning or as much as i please. a ride on horseback is exceeding good exercise. especially when a horse is as hard to ride as the prof's is wont to be. do you recollect a sorrel steed you sold to mr. dan stowell? prof's horse's movements are just about as _convenient_ as that one's were. my objection to boarding at a public boarding house, is, that no regard is paid to the rules of politeness and _good_ manners. every one for himself, is the motto. not so in a private family. mrs. ten brook is a very accomplished lady and the prof. is not much behind her in that respect. they set a _good_ table, not a very _rich_ one, but rather a plain one. in the morning, buckwheat pancakes and maple molasses, besides potatoes and sausage. at noon, 'steak,' sometimes fish. the professor charges shillings for board. i like _him_ of all the prof's, the best. what would a student nowadays think of a menu like that for $ . a week? the first boarding club was established in in the house, not far from the ancient "cat-hole," of one mrs. o'toole, "a pretty good all-round cook, whose forte was apple dumplings" served daily. the steward was charles kendall adams, ' , while other members were walter w. perry and byron m. cutcheon of the class of and martin l. d'ooge of the class of . recreation was not a part of the earlier curriculum and athletics were unknown under that name, though feats of strength, jumping, lifting dumb-bells, the heavier the better, and foot-races, were common. perhaps that woodyard and the favorite games of one-old-cat and wicket, a modification of cricket, were sufficient substitutes, occasionally varied by a fishing trip on the huron or a walk to ypsilanti, whenever the necessary permission from the authorities to leave ann arbor was forthcoming. social opportunities came largely through the relations of the students with the townspeople and their lovely daughters, particularly at the popular church socials. many of the brightest and most beautiful local belles came from "lower town," or north ann arbor, a most important section at that time,--some even lived nearly a mile beyond the old long bridge at the foot of broadway hill. to them the new students were invariably introduced; the wise ones surrendering all rights, so that when the social was over, it was only natural for the new men to ask for the privilege of escorting them home; something of an ordeal on a winter night. the old wooden viaduct over the tracks was known in those days as the "bridge of sighs." of conviviality there was comparatively little in the earliest days, though occasionally some students succumbed to the beer and wine of the german townspeople. a certain drinking bout in , however, had most serious consequences; one student died as the result, and this, with the resultant expulsions, seems to have had a very restraining influence for some years. societies or other groups often went down to a mrs. slack's restaurant, where they were served by a pretty waitress named "rika"--whose only claim to fame lies in the reminiscence of those undergraduates of ' who were her patrons. but for the most part the life of the university was lived in a sane and wholesome atmosphere. the students were almost all from farm homes; they were used to the simple life and were in earnest in their efforts for an education. they were watched with a paternal eye by the faculty and duly admonished at the two daily chapel exercises, long a part of university life. their hours were carefully provided for; their courses were compulsory; and their attendance at classes insured by numbers on the class-room benches which had to be duly covered. for this, the shawls that the students wore in the late fifties seem to have been popular--several students, plus shawls, were able to conceal many gaps if the monitor were not too observant. throughout the earlier years there was a great emphasis on public speaking, for which ample opportunity was given in various "class exhibitions." these were inaugurated by the sophomores in with a programme of four orations, four dissertations, four essays, and one poem. the same class continued the precedent the next year, followed by succeeding junior classes, so that these exhibitions became an institution, long supported not alone by the students but by faculty and interested citizens as well. the end did not come until when the last junior exhibition was held. the first class-day was held by ' in the spring of their junior year, but it was celebrated informally and not taken very seriously until when the first real exercises took place in may at the beginning of the "senior vacation." the place was the old presbyterian church, which seems to have been the favorite auditorium. the "presentation" of the class was made in greek by professor boise, while president haven replied in latin. in one at least of these first class-day programmes the oration and poem only were public, while the history and prophecy were submitted to the class at a convivial session at the popular hangsterfer's. the place which these early platform efforts took in the life of those days is shown by two incidents. the first is related by gen. w.h.h. beadle, ' , later president of the university of south dakota, who tells how an address by "one student" in , denouncing the iniquity of the mexican war as begun and waged for the extension of slavery, called him to the attention of the abolitionists, one of whom asked him if he would care to take a "long ride on a good horse." he would of course, and did, carrying a message to a quaker farmer in lenawee county, whose home was a station of the underground railway. andrew d. white also describes with reminiscent pleasure how he groomed one of his students to defeat a local politician, known as "old statistics," who was characterized by his senatorial aspirations and his carefully appropriate garb, tall hat, blue swallow-tail and buff waistcoat with brass buttons. the wrath of this worthy, as a disciple of henry clay, had been aroused by the teachings of professor white, who at that time was opposed to a protective tariff, and a public debate was to clinch the discussion. the result was a complete victory for the young david, who had the audience with him from the first, to the immense chagrin of his pompous opponent. the annual commencement exercises were usually held in one of the local churches and sometimes, after , in the hall of the union school building, though nowhere was there an auditorium large enough to hold all who wished to attend,--a situation not changed, in fact, until the erection of hill auditorium in . upon one occasion women were admitted an hour earlier than men, a bit of partiality which drew a protest against such injustice and a reference to the perfectly good space wasted through the necessities of the prevailing crinolines. one class, at least, that of ' , held its exercises in a great revival tent, especially imported from chicago and set up after a week's strenuous exertion on the part of the students. the programme consisted of short orations by the graduates, who were democratically placed on the programme with no reference to standings. the increasing size of the classes led eventually to a faculty selection of certain speakers to represent the students. in class participation was abolished and the practice of inviting distinguished men to give the commencement address was inaugurated. the old practice of giving the seniors a vacation period in which to prepare their speeches also came to an end with this change. the traditional rivalry between classes in the university existed from the first and many were the lessons taught the upstanding freshmen, with natural retaliations on the sophomores. to this was added a natural inter-departmental rivalry which came with the establishment of the professional schools. the "medics" and the "laws," however, soon grew strong enough to take care of themselves and were in fact for many years largely in the majority. and with this growth of class and departmental spirit, which increasing numbers brought, the rushing and hazing episodes in the seventies and eighties became more serious--not so much because of their dangerous character in themselves, as for the opportunity they gave to unfriendly critics of the institution. the usual student, however, yields to no one in his love for his alma mater and time and again it has only been necessary to point out the real danger to the university arising from such practices to bring about their abandonment,--until the next crop of hazers has to go through the same process of education. this inter-departmental rivalry, which was most intense about , naturally led to many escapades. one picturesque incident resulted when ran a flag bearing the class numerals to the top of the university flag-pole, and left it to sweep the skies with the halyards cut. a western sharpshooter was enlisted from the ranks of the law department and the offending emblem was brought down on the second shot, to the great satisfaction of the "laws." less excusable was the method the class of took to immortalize its victory over the "laws" by painting the class numerals prominently on the soft sand-stone of the law building, of which traces remain to this day for those who know where to look. the guilty class was made to feel mightily ashamed of itself for a while, but in after years it has proudly borne the title of "human skunks" conferred upon it at the time. mass action has always been a favorite method of student expression. of this the organized "bolting" of the years just after the war is an example. this went on to such a degree that it became necessary for the faculty to pass a resolution stating that "in the absence of an instructor, his class shall be expected to remain until at least five minutes after the ringing of the bell." apparently this did not stop the practice, and suspension or dismissal were threatened in . this rule was drastically applied in when a large number of freshmen and sophomores, who had found van amburgh's circus more attractive than their classes, were actually suspended. it is not difficult to trace in this affair the origin of the song popular to this day, though its application has been long forgotten: we are going to the hamburg show to see the elephant and the wild kangaroo;-- and we'll all stick together, through rain or stormy weather, for we're going to see the whole show through. this ended that epidemic and bolting henceforth became individual and not collective. the burning of "mechanics" was also a popular rite, which in its earlier days celebrated the completion of the course in physics under professor williams. this time-honored ceremony took the form of a procession of solemn officials which escorted the "corpus," borne on an elaborate bier, to a place of judgment, where it was condemned most impressively and executed with elaborate rites. the "corpus" was well guarded,--on one occasion at least by eight juniors armed with bayonets,--from the sophomores, who were infuriated by the fact that the head of the intended victim, a skull furnished from medical sources, was crowned by a mortar-board, the sophomore class insignia. a formal trial followed, presided over by a pontifex maximus, in which a judex, an advocatus pro, and an advocatus con participated, with the foregone result that the culprit was sentenced to be hanged, shot, and burned; a decree carried out on a gallows and bonfire previously prepared in spite of the sophomores' best efforts. this annual fracas assumed a particularly lurid character in and the printed program was especially objectionable, a fault quite characteristic of those days. the night had been a wild one and when it became known that dr. tappan was to discuss the matter the next morning in chapel, there were many misgivings. to every one's surprise, however, "there was no touch of reprimand in voice or word. in a sympathetic and familiar way, he began to talk about college songs." he told how he had once been greeted, upon opening his mail in sweden, by a copy of the song "where, oh where, is doctor tappan?" an evidence of student interest in his whereabouts which had cheered and inspired him mightily. then, as merely incidental, and by way of contrast, he referred in mild tones to the obnoxious print of the night before,--"no moralizing but a salutary and effective talk, which was greeted by hearty cheers." thus far we have been considering the student life of a university which, judged by modern standards, was small and comparatively homogeneous. the student of those days knew every one in college. the professors were able to take a personal interest in all their pupils; even the president made it a point to know every one by name. all this has been changed within the last twenty-five years. where in the student enrolment was only about , , it increased to , in and to , in , and this rate of growth has continued almost unbroken up to the present time. the result is that now there are nearly , students on the campus during the college year, and with the extraordinary increase which has followed the late war, there is every prospect of this growth continuing. in itself this is good evidence of the university's success as a center of education; but these increasing throngs of students bring many difficult problems, not the least of which is the necessity of finding an adequate supply of teachers, class rooms, and laboratories. equally, life in the university becomes more complicated. the ideal simplicity of academic life, the intimate contact between fellow-students and between students and faculties, is all too easily lost in the leveling tendencies which numbers make inevitable. this is the great danger of the large university--but a peril that has been recognized and has been met with at least some degree of success. the student organizations, fraternities, and clubs, which have multiplied to so remarkable a degree, are perhaps the first and most important student reaction. many if not most of these organizations have some connection with individual faculty members, either through alumni on the faculty or through honorary members, and this forms a basis at least for some extra class-room relationship. sometimes, on occasion, a certain restraint on the part of the faculty becomes inevitable, and the establishment of a committee on student affairs, originally a committee on "non-athletic" relations, created some fifteen years ago, has resulted. this committee has accomplished much towards directing student activities into proper and worthwhile channels, though the ghost of the classic charge of unwelcome paternalism arises occasionally. the only answer necessary is the evident improvement in the general standards of all student organizations and the mere fact that they have, for the most part, continued to exist through several student generations; no little accomplishment in itself, when one remembers the almost automatic rise and fall of these societies in the early days. if the university and particularly the faculty has been concerned with these problems, incident upon the university's growth, so have the students themselves. they have seen the necessity for constructive effort and have established such agencies as the student council and the inter-fraternity council among the men, and the corresponding judiciary council and pan-hellenic association among the women. above all, the university has profited by the two great organizations which have been the most effective expression of student life and ideals,--the michigan union and the women's league. while the fundamental control of the student body rests, as it always has, with the faculty, the students have almost always shown themselves ready and able to deal with questions of a certain type more promptly and effectively than the faculty. this is evident by the good record of the student council since its organization in . the members of this body are elected during the last half of their junior or the beginning of their senior year, and are usually the strongest men in their classes, though not necessarily the most popular or the best students. most of the council's work has had to do with student customs, the regulation of old, and the establishment of new, "traditions," a paradoxical procedure perhaps, but a source of much that is picturesque. of these traditions, none has been more acceptable than the custom of requiring freshmen to wear the little gray caps, or knitted toques in the winter, with a button at the top, signifying by its color the college or school of the wearer. no more inspiring or beautiful ceremony occurs in university life than the annual "cap-night" celebration when the student body meets in "sleepy hollow" near the observatory, about a great bonfire, to watch the burning of the caps, and the formal initiation of the freshmen into the responsibilities of college life. the dance of the freshmen about the fire and the showers of caps falling into the flames (they have been sent to the belgians the last few years), combined with the vigor and idealism of the speeches which follow, all conspire to produce one of the most stirring and impressive events of the year. of more fundamental importance has been the council's regulation of the irrepressible freshmen-sophomore rivalry, which long took the course of medieval hair-cutting forays, sometimes, as in , carried on even within the sacred precincts of the library. the reform came through the establishment in of a series of inter-class contests. particularly picturesque are those held in may, which include a tug-of-war across the huron river, a series of obstacle relay races, and a massed battle about a six-foot push ball on ferry field as the finale. while not entirely innocuous, these games form an apparently necessary and acceptable safety valve for the exuberances of class spirit. the upper-classman is most sensitive to the good name of the university; to him the dangers of undue newspaper notoriety are quite apparent, and thus through the council the students themselves have been able on the whole to control successfully what is always a difficult and delicate question for university officers. hardly less important among the council's functions is the management of various undergraduate occasions, mass-meetings, campus elections, and inter-class athletics, demonstrations where trouble might brew without the guidance of wiser heads. more than once when a mass of under-classmen has seemed on the verge of a dangerous explosion, the members of the council have intervened quietly and effectively. ordinarily, this modesty has been characteristic of the council's work. a similar regulation of the affairs of the women is exercised by a judiciary council organized at the suggestion of the university senate in . of all student organizations, however, the michigan union has accomplished the most toward promoting the best interests of the student body since its establishment as a general organization in . to those who are only familiar with the union of later years, the name will almost inevitably suggest the building rather than the organization. the new club house, practically completed in the first months of , is naturally the obvious embodiment of the union which strikes the observer upon first acquaintance. it cannot be emphasized too strongly, however, that the building is, after all, but the home of an organization. this is the essential fact which has never been forgotten by the officers of the union. their efforts from the first have been to make it, both as an organization and as a building, of practical service for michigan's immense student body, which without the resources of a large city, needs peculiarly such headquarters for all its wide and varied interests. perhaps the most concise definition of the union is contained in the preamble of its present constitution: to establish a university social and recreational center; to provide a meeting place for faculty, alumni, former students and resident students of the university; and to help in fitting michigan men for the performance of their duties as good citizens. it is the union as a _body of students_, using the building as a means to promote the best things in college life, to bring about a closer co-ordination of all university activities, and a more sympathetic co-operation between the undergraduates, faculty, and alumni, that must justify the money and energy spent in this great departure in american college life,--for there is nothing in any american university today that approaches the union in size or the scale upon which its activities are planned. [illustration: the michigan union] the need of such a building had long been felt by the students before the first discussion on the part of the members of the senior society, michigamua, led to a call which brought representatives of all the leading organizations in the university together in the spring of . the idea proved popular at once, though it was again the organization, and not the somewhat remote prospect of a building, that won support. from the first the union aimed to be an expression of student life as a whole and almost immediately, side by side with an active campaign for a building, it undertook to correlate and to unify the interests of the students in the different departments, classes, and organizations. the alumni, too, were knit into a body which aimed consistently to recognize the claim of the university to the regard and loyal support of every michigan man. the student council was established at the inspiration of the union soon after its organization. some years later a similar movement inspired by the union resulted in the establishment of the university health service through a series of recommendations made by a committee of union members to the board of regents. mass meetings and smokers were held and a great annual dinner was initiated the first year, at which the ideals of the university and the aims of the union were discussed. funds were raised for the portrait of president angell by william m. chase. musical shows and carnivals were held, not merely to raise money for the union, but to bring the student body together in one absorbing interest. in december, , judge cooley's old home on state street was purchased, to be used temporarily as the union club house and eventually to be replaced by the present building. the house was altered extensively,--two dining-rooms were installed, together with other features of a club, and for nine years it served the university well, though its facilities became increasingly inadequate as the mass of students grew. not for one minute, however, was the need for a greater building forgotten, and through mass meetings, alumni dinners, and university publications, the alumni were educated as to the aims and ideals of the organization and the vital need of a building which should adequately serve as the center of the life of the thousands of men in the university. all this was not accomplished without opposition, which centered largely in the rival claims of the committee charged with the raising of funds for alumni memorial hall. fortunately this misunderstanding faded away when the memorial building was completed in and the purpose of the union became better understood. this long effort among the alumni eventually began to have its effect and for several years before the actual campaign for funds for the union was launched, alumni everywhere were asking: "when are you going to ask us to contribute toward the new union? i want to do something." yet the actual result of the campaign, when it was finally launched in , was in many ways a great surprise. within a little over a year some $ , was subscribed and work on the new building was begun. the most remarkable aspect of this response was the fact that no large subscriptions were made,--$ , was the largest. in fact the majority of the subscriptions came in the form of $ life memberships which not only made the graduates of the university participants in an institution concerned with the fundamentals of university life, linking students, teachers, and alumni in a common cause, but gave the graduates a home in ann arbor to which they could return as of right, asking no favors. it is doubtful if any large undertaking in any university has ever been more widely supported by general alumni subscriptions. the declaration of war in , and the almost immediate increase in building costs, made more difficult the completion of the building, though a supplementary campaign in increased the funds to over the million dollars originally asked for. even this proved inadequate and when the union was finally opened in the fall of , there was still some $ , to be raised, secured by a mortgage on the building. this, in effect, represented the increase in the cost of building during the war. the completion of the union was felt to be a vital matter and while the wide-spread interest of the alumni in the building made it practically certain that the necessary funds would be forthcoming within a few years; to delay until the full amount was in hand would have been disastrous. during the abnormal years of - , $ , alone was added to the building fund through student life memberships, while the following fall over $ , more was pledged this way, a practical evidence of undergraduate interest and support. the union is peculiarly a michigan product. it stands not only on the site of judge cooley's old home but also on that of the boyhood home of the architects, irving k. pond, ' , president of the american institute of architects in and , and his brother allen b. pond, ' . strong and masculine in all its lines, the building throughout is a consistent interpretation of the artistic faith of the architects, who have been bold enough to break with overworn conventions in the design and have made it peculiarly an expression, in its whole conception as well as in its finest details, of a distinctly american spirit. a suggestion of the english collegiate gothic style in its larger forms was deliberately chosen as typifying the fundamental source of our institutions; but in the general treatment, particularly in the simple, modern, truly american masses and details, which are everywhere full of a refined and delicate symbolism, the building is an interpretation of the underlying spirit of american democracy. that the architects have been successful no one can deny who has seen the union and has felt the rugged beauty of its central tower, which became at once the striking feature of ann arbor's skyline. the building is necessarily large; it is feet in all across the front and feet deep, with four stories, a basement, and sub-basement. in addition to other usual facilities of a large club, it contains a swimming pool (not completed in ), a bowling alley, an immensely popular cafeteria for men, known as the tap-room, a woman's dining-room with a separate entrance, a billiard room, with twenty-five tables, a large banquet and assembly hall, by feet, for dinners, dances, and large gatherings, besides innumerable smaller rooms which can be used either for dinners or for class and society meetings. there are in fact dining-room accommodations for over , guests at one time. offices and various headquarters for campus organizations are also included as well as one feature particularly welcome to alumni, some sleeping rooms accommodating visitors. thus the union has realized its ideals. while the success of the union is due to the continued and self-sacrificing efforts of hundreds of michigan men, students and alumni alike, special recognition will always be due dean henry m. bates, ' , of the law school, whose strong support and practical idealism as a member of the board of directors from the very earliest days carried the project through many dark periods, as well as to the energy and enthusiasm of homer heath, ' , manager of the union building from the first, to whom is due in no small degree the successful outcome of the campaign for the building, and its final completion. the control of the union is vested in two organizations; a board of directors composed of students, faculty representatives, and alumni, which has in general the supervision of the activities of the union as an organization, and a board of governors, created upon completion of the building, composed of the student president of the union, one member of the board of regents, the financial secretary appointed by the president of the university and four members appointed by the board of directors of the alumni association, to have financial control of the building and organization as a corporation. with the opening of the university in , when the enrolment exceeded by , the previous record attendance in , the union entered upon a new and more effective period of service, not entirely equipped and ready, it is true, but sufficiently prepared to justify at once the vision of those responsible for the result. even without any endowment it demonstrated from the first that it could be maintained as an essentially self-supporting concern.[ ] [footnote : a careful estimate, made in october, , showed that an average of , persons daily passed the doors of the union. some , persons were also served daily in the tap-room or cafeteria, in addition to the regular dining-room service.] as the union served the life of the men in the university, other agencies have come to do the same for the women. long before the union was even thought of, the women's league maintained headquarters in the parlors of barbour gymnasium, which, with sarah caswell angell hall and the adjoining gymnasium, served the women well. these, with the three recently constructed halls of residence, including the martha cook building, perhaps the most beautiful and luxurious dormitory ever built in an american university, will go far towards answering the social needs of the women. they have at least made the general scale of living conditions far more favorable for the girls of the university than for the men, who for many years have been sadly in need of the facilities offered by such a building as the union. fortunately there is every prospect that some dormitories for men will be forthcoming in the near future. the religious life of the students has never been neglected, though the careful non-sectarianism of the university led it at first to be regarded with suspicion by the various religious bodies of the state, and their opposition, sometimes veiled, and sometimes open, proved embarrassing. it has been shown how this sentiment was met by a prevailing clerical complexion in the faculty and an emphasis on daily chapel exercises which were maintained long after the practice of considering religious affiliations as one of the prime professorial requisites was abandoned. this emphasis on the proper observance of the sabbath is rather amusingly illustrated in the regular practice in those days of having the monday greek lesson consist of a chapter of the greek testament; it being no sin to study the scriptures on sunday. from which we might gather that in some essentials, such as sunday study, the student of was true grandfather of the undergraduate of today. every effort was made to make college regulations a substitute for home influences, and the members of that first faculty were all remembered for their kindly and paternal relations with the students. it was largely because of the personal qualities and wisdom of these men that the institution was able to steer successfully between the dangers of religious indifference and sectarianism. [illustration: the doorway of the martha cook building] the changes from those stricter days have come gradually and as a reflection of the spirit of the age; the scientific and not the ecclesiastical spirit rules, with the result that the student is left more to his own devices in ordering his life. the discipline of the old days would not be tolerated now and any tendency towards firmer regulation of undergraduate life is often resented. the break came first, perhaps, in a new spirit of independence which followed the fraternity crisis in . this was emphasized by the fact that the students in the professional schools were excused from compulsory church and chapel attendance, a discrimination which did not fail to react upon the literary undergraduates. the rule still held, however, until ; though the sunday monitor who checked church attendance had long disappeared. daily prayers were maintained until when they were succeeded by semi-weekly vesper services, which, in turn, were eventually discontinued. current opinion upon this gradual change is possibly reflected in the statement made in by president angell: where, as at the university of michigan, the average age of the freshman on entering college is . , it is at least open to discussion whether the spiritual welfare of undergraduates will be promoted by their being driven to religious services under fear of the monitor's mark. a religious census made in showed that of approximately , students, , were church members or church adherents, and that students had become clergymen or missionaries. a similar census of the men in showed that of a total of , , , were church members, while others expressed some church preference. this included all forms of belief. these statistics seem to indicate that there has been very little change in this respect in the last twenty-five years, though some decrease in church attendance would not be surprising in view of the great increase in students and the less homogeneous character of the student body. no one familiar with the student life today, however, will question the vitality and effectiveness of the religious influences which reach the students through the various churches and religious organizations of ann arbor, particularly in view of extensive plans now under way for further co-operation on the part of the churches. the passing of the old chapel in the religious life of the university was marked by the growing strength of religious bodies among the students. the strong religious spirit of the early faculty was reflected by their encouragement of an organization known as the union missionary society of inquiry, which followed the great missionary movement of the first part of the century, and served as a rallying point for undergraduate religious life. this organization, however, according to professor hinsdale, was "anything but an unmixed blessing, either to the institution or to the students," though in what particular is not disclosed. there also existed from earliest days, a sunday morning service which the students conducted in the chapel. the old missionary society came to an end in , to be followed by the students' christian association, which soon became one of the most effective factors in university religious life. it was the first association of this character organized in any american college, and through what may be regarded as a fortunate accident in its name the opportunity for membership was left open to women students upon their admission twelve years later. this brought to it a powerful reinforcement. the association professed no creed, the members merely pledging themselves to religious character and work. the meetings were held at first on the fourth floor of the old south college, but this proved inadequate and with the coming of president haven, the association was established in a room especially fitted up for it on the first floor. eventually these quarters in turn became too small, for, at the time of the semi-centennial celebration of , when the need for a new home for the association was discussed, the membership of was far too large for this room. a movement for a new building arose, therefore, which led to a successful appeal to the alumni; though it was not until june, , that the students' christian association building which stands on state street almost directly across from university hall was formally dedicated. the total cost was about $ , and of this amount mrs. helen h. newberry of detroit gave about $ , ; the building being known as newberry hall in honor of her husband, john s. newberry, of the class of ' . from this time the work of the students' christian association, now carried on under far more favorable circumstances, expanded rapidly. a further extension of the religious life of the university came in , when a university y.m.c.a. was established by some members of the students' christian association who had become dissatisfied with the older organization and desired, moreover, to become associated with the strong international y.m.c.a. body. this new organization found a home eventually in mcmillan hall on the corner of state and huron streets, where it grew in influence with the student body until the time seemed to many propitious for a reorganization of religious work among the students. this was effected in through the incorporation of the old students' christian association into the y.m.c.a. and y.w.c.a. with separate headquarters in mcmillan and newberry halls respectively, although the old title, students' christian association, was nominally retained. mcmillan hall was eventually taken over by the tappan presbyterian association, the owners of the building, and the resulting need for new quarters for the men led, in , to the successful solicitation of funds for a new y.m.c.a. building. two years later, on march , , the new building, known as lane hall in honor of judge v.h. lane of the law school, who has been president of the association for many years, was formally opened. it stands on the corner of state and washington streets, and represents an outlay of approximately $ , , of which amount $ , was contributed by the rockefeller foundation under the provision that a like amount be raised within a certain period. it was designed by william a. otis, _e_, of chicago. dignified and simple in its general architectural lines, it is a distinct addition to the public buildings of ann arbor, and in many respects represents a new style of building for a y.m.c.a. this results from the fact that it is designed primarily to serve only the religious interests of the students, and does not aim to assume the broader social functions of the union or the physical training supplied in waterman gymnasium. grouped around the large hall or lobby in which the work is centered, are rooms for the officers of the association and offices for the pastors of the ann arbor churches. a large library and adjoining study is also situated on the first floor. a small but most attractive auditorium, seating some persons, occupies the second floor, with a dining-room and four class rooms at either end. the basement contains a social or club room and additional class rooms. [illustration: lane hall the university y.m.c.a. building] [illustration: newberry hall the university y.w.c.a. building] [illustration: newberry residence for women] [illustration: barbour gymnasium for women] a final modification of the religious activities in the university in resulted in an approximate return to the plan of organization of the old s.c.a., under which the association became a clearing house for all the churches within the university community. under this plan all students who are church members become _de facto_ members of the association, and, as far as their church affiliations permit, of the y.m.c.a. and the y.w.c.a.; while the two buildings, lane hall and newberry hall, are considered exchange centers for all the churches and religious organizations, including the jewish student congregation. no single factor in the life of the university has been more effective than the close relationship of the faculty and students with the town, an entente which has been carefully fostered by the ann arbor churches. a large proportion of the faculty have always been church members, and this has led to very active efforts to reach the students through the employment of student pastors, and the establishment of several church guild houses, which include harris hall, protestant episcopal; mcmillan and sackett halls, presbyterian; and tucker memorial, baptist; all on huron street, while across from university hall is the catholic chapel which was remodeled from the old home of professor morris. there is also every prospect that a number of new church buildings of this character will be erected in the immediate neighborhood of the campus within a few years. michigan students have many songs which celebrate not only the delights and care-free charm of college life but also their regard for their university. some of them are among the most inspiring and beautiful of all the great body of melodies which our american colleges have inspired. they have become an essential of undergraduate life and bear most effective witness to the sentiment of love and loyalty which, though often hidden, binds the student to his alma mater. always first among michigan songs is "the yellow and the blue," written by charles m. gayley, ' , now of the university of california, when an assistant professor of english in the university. it first appeared in a pamphlet entitled "songs of the yellow and the blue," published in . this collection included a number of songs which have always been favorites, by professor gayley and professor fred n. scott, ' , for which the music, in many cases, was written by dr. a.a. stanley. the words of "the yellow and the blue," which are set to the air of balfe's "pirate's chorus," are as follows: sing to the colors that float in the light; hurrah for the yellow and blue! yellow the stars as they ride thro' the night, and reel in a rollicking crew; yellow the fields where ripens the grain, and mellow the moon on the harvest wain; hail! hail to the colors that float in the light; hurrah for the yellow and blue! blue are the billows that bow to the sun when yellow-robed morning is due; blue are the curtains that evening has spun, the slumbers of phoebus to woo; blue are the blossoms to memory dear, and blue is the sapphire, and gleams like a tear;-- hail! hail to the ribbons that nature has spun; hurrah for the yellow and blue! here's to the college whose colors we wear; here's to the hearts that are true! here's to the maid of the golden hair, and eyes that are brimming with blue! garlands of blue-bells and maize intertwine; and hearts that are true and voices combine;-- hail! hail to the college whose colors we wear; hurrah for the yellow and blue! the popularity of the old song to dr. tappan and the other members of the early faculty, adapted from the old church tune: "where, oh where, are the hebrew children?" has been suggested. it is probably one of the oldest of michigan songs, and has survived through a succession of student and faculty generations; though now it is one of the least of many, and is only heard in the variation,-- where, oh where, are the verdant freshmen? they've gone out from their prescribed english, safe now in the sophomore class, and so on. most of the songs of earlier days are now forgotten. in - the _palladium_ offered a prize of $ for the best original song, and of the two which were considered of equal merit, one at least survived for many years and was sung at all great university occasions. it was set to the air of the marseillaise, and the first stanza is as follows: come, jolly boys, and lift your voices, ring out, ring out, one hearty song; praise her in whom each son rejoices, and let the notes be loud and long. 'tis alma mater wakes the spirit, and prompts the strain of harmony-- oh, sing to her triumphantly! the glorious theme--do ye not hear it? hurrah! hurrah! ye sons by alma mater blest! all hail! all hail! her honored name, the pride of all the west! professor gayley wrote several other songs which have long been deservedly popular. one of them, "birds of a feather," arranged by professor stanley to the "eton boating song," is as follows: o whiles we tell of rushes,-- o whiles we sing and sup,-- and sip the wine that flushes, in hebe's amber cup, and toast the maid that blushes and smiles, and then looks up, and toast the maid that blushes, and smiles, and then looks up! in sad or singing weather, in hours of gloom or glee; birds of a feather we haunt the same old tree,-- and sing, sing together, o michigan, of thee! another song by professor fred n. scott which was popular for many years, usually known as "ann arbor, 'tis of thee we sing," has fallen from its former esteem, because it was sung to the tune of "the watch on the rhine." the words of the first verse are as follows: ann arbor, 'tis of thee we sing, from thee our choicest blessings spring; accept the tribute of our song, o alma mater, wise and strong. we love thy classic shades and shrines, we love thy murm'ring elms and pines; where'er our future homes shall be, our hearts, our hopes are all with thee. two of michigan's most beautiful anthems, it must be confessed with regret, have come of late upon somewhat evil days. the reason probably lies in the smaller proportion of students of classical training. yet "laudes atque carmina" cannot be surpassed in the sonorous beauty of professor gayley's words and the majestic exaltation of the air, written by dr. stanley. laudes atque carmina, nec hodie nes cras, sed omnia per tempora,-- dum locum habeas, tibi sint dulcissima, o universitas; at hostes, pol, perniciter eant _eis korakas_. chorus: o gloria, victoria, o decus omnium, o salve universitas, michiganensium, michiganensium. o clara universitas,-- nec merum caecubum, nec flores nimium breves, nec nard' assyrium,-- at gloriam, victoriam, vovemus merito; nos tui cives, juvenes, tui perpetuo! scarcely less beautiful though apparently somewhat too full of classical allusions for the taste of the modern undergraduate is the "goddess of the inland seas," the words of which, by professor gayley, are set to an old air by joh. peters. sing no more the fair aegean, where the floating cyclads shine, nor the honey'd slopes hyblaean, nor the blue sicilian brine, sing no storied realms of morning rob'd in twilight memories,-- sing the land beyond adorning, with her zone of inland seas. lo, the sacred fires of knowledge in thy temple are enshrined,-- through the cloisters of thy college choruses eternal wind! and all other incense scorning, michigan, they bring thee these hearts of ours, and songs of morning, goddess of the inland seas. the foregoing songs are all of a somewhat earlier generation. to these one more should be added. "the friar's song," sung for many years by "the friars," a convivial student club which was eventually suppressed. the organization has lived, however, in the memories of many graduates and in the words and music of this song which was composed and written by the members as they drank and sang around their long table. the words are credited to harold m. bowman, ' . where no one asks the "who" or "why"; where no one doth the sinner ply with his embarrassments of guile; where's ne'er a frown but brings a smile, and cares are crimes,--'tis sin to sigh, 'tis wrong to let a jest go by, and hope is truth, and life is nigh, the bourns of the enchanted isle-- in college days. then raise the rosy goblet high,-- the singer's chalice,--and belie the tongues that trouble and defile; for we have yet a little while to linger,--you and youth and i, at michigan. many beautiful songs have been added to the university treasury by the various michigan union operas, of which not a few have survived the ephemeral popularity of the generations which witnessed the performances. these include, "when night falls, dear," from "michigenda," by roy dickinson welch, ' , who also furnished the music for "a faithful pipe to smoke," from "culture," the words for which were written by donal hamilton haines, ' . the opera "koanzaland," by donald a. kahn, ' -' , with the music by earl v. moore, ' , furnished two good songs, "in college days" and "michigan, good-bye" (with the collaboration of j. fred lawton, ' ), while "contrarie mary" furnished a second "friar's song," by robert g. beck, _l_, and willis a. diekema, ' . all these songs, and many others, are now collected in a song-book. two ever-popular marches celebrate michigan's prowess in athletics. "the victors," by louis elbel, ' -' , never fails to thrill a michigan man when the band comes on the field, ushering in the team to its great strain: hail! to the victors valiant, hail! to the conq'ring heroes, hail! hail! to michigan, the champions of the west. though these words are somewhat too grandiloquent for all occasions, the same spirit which inspires the students to bare their heads and sing "the yellow and the blue" at all the great football games, whether in victory or defeat, prompts the band to head the students' march back from the field to the stirring strains of this university march, whether its sentiment is justified or not. hardly less popular is the football song, "varsity," written by professor earl v. moore, ' , for which the words were furnished by j. fred lawton, ' . varsity, down the field, never yield, raise high your shield! march on to victory for michigan, and the maize and blue. oh, varsity, we're for you, here for you, to cheer for you,-- we have no fear for you, oh, varsity. nor should another exceedingly popular song of the present time be overlooked: i want to go back to michigan, to dear ann arbor town, back to joe's and the orient, back to some of the money i spent. i want to go back to michigan to dear ann arbor town,-- i want to go back; i've got to go back,-- to michigan. this song has also been popular at minnesota, it is said, where, during the long period of michigan victories in football which was at last broken in , it was sung with the same words but in a somewhat different spirit. the official colors of the university are maize and azure blue. blue was used officially by the university from early days; but it was not until the class of chose the maize and azure blue as emblematic of the university that the names of the colors were definitely fixed. as for the colors themselves, they have varied widely, and it was not until that the exact shades were determined by a committee appointed by the university senate. there is little doubt but that originally the colors were a deep blue and the accepted color of indian corn or maize, as is shown in the ribbons on old diplomas and dance programmes. but gradually the colors faded; the blue particularly, from almost a navy blue to a "baby blue," while the maize became an expressionless pale yellow. these colors were entirely ineffective for decorations, and made it necessary for the athletic association to employ shades entirely different from those generally regarded as the true university colors. it is quite possible that a misinterpretation of the words of the song "the yellow and the blue" had something to do with the alteration from the original brighter colors. an inquiry into what "azure blue" really was, soon revealed the fact that it was generally defined as the clear blue color of the sky or of the sea reflecting it, and was further described as that of the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli. cobalt and prussian blue were also given as synonyms. with this clear definition in mind, the committee was able to fix the colors, and michigan now has a clear deep blue and the yellow of indian corn, with the exact shades officially fixed by samples preserved among the university's records. chapter x fraternities and student activities clubs and societies, organized for almost every conceivable purpose, lay and academic, have always played an important rôle in undergraduate affairs and have formed the most characteristic avenue for self-expression outside the class room. many, if not most, of these organizations have had only a brief existence. others, in one form or another, have continued through long periods, and have often exercised a strong, though not always an obvious, influence in the whole fabric of university life. within the last twenty-five years, too, athletics have come to have a predominant interest, but this aspect of student life at michigan will be discussed in a separate chapter. aside from the organizations which have accompanied this overwhelming preoccupation of the masculine student, probably the most conspicuous evidence of the gregarious tendencies of the undergraduate have been the fraternities, and following the introduction of co-education, the sororities, as they soon came to be called. after the great struggle between the faculty and the fraternities which culminated in , the fraternities came to have an acknowledged place in undergraduate affairs. new chapters soon followed after the first three had made their place secure and within thirty years or so several of the older societies had grown sufficiently in prestige, and particularly in alumni support, to begin the practice of owning their own fraternity houses that has now become the rule. the first thought, nowadays, of any newly established fraternity is to find ways and means for building or buying a chapter house. at first, nearly two-thirds of the students were fraternity members; but the extraordinary growth of the university soon reduced the proportion of fraternity men. this came partly as a result of the relative slowness of the national bodies to establish new chapters in competition with the societies already on the ground, and partly because of the reluctance of the fraternities themselves to increase the size of their chapters or to take in students from the purely professional schools. for these reasons the percentage of fraternity men was reduced to about one-third the total number of students, a proportion which remained fairly constant for many years. the rise of fraternities in the professional schools and the comparatively recent establishment of many new fraternities, however, has brought the percentage up somewhat, though the growth in general attendance during the same period has prevented any marked increase in the relative numbers of fraternity members over the "independents." following the establishment of the first three fraternities, chi psi and beta theta pi in and alpha delta phi in , whose early adventures have been noted, some twenty-eight other general fraternities have been established. among the first of these were delta kappa epsilon, ; sigma phi, ; zeta psi, ; psi upsilon, ; beta theta pi, which had lapsed and was re-established in ; delta tau delta, , re-established ; phi kappa psi, ; delta upsilon, ; sigma chi, ; phi delta theta, , re-established in ; sigma alpha epsilon, , and theta delta chi in . since this list has been more than doubled and includes the re-establishment in of phi gamma delta originally established in , and alpha tau omega first established in and re-established in . [illustration: the tug of war across the huron the freshman losing in the annual freshman-sophomore contests] [illustration: four society houses psi upsilon sigma phi phi delta theta collegiate sorosis] there are now thirteen sororities in the university. the establishment of the first one caused great amusement among the fraternities. this was kappa alpha theta, which came in but fell by the wayside six years later and was not revived until . the second arrival on the scene, gamma phi beta, came in , followed by delta gamma in , and collegiate sorosis in . the first professional fraternity to be established was phi delta phi, a law fraternity, which organized its parent chapter in the university in . it was not until that the medical fraternity, nu sigma nu, and the dental fraternity, delta sigma delta, established their alpha chapters at michigan. since that time fourteen more professional fraternities have appeared. these fraternities, together with the three house clubs, trigon, emerites and monks, which in effect are maintained as fraternities, bring the total number of these organizations in the university to sixty-four, with an estimated active membership of something over , university men and women. the first fraternity to establish a chapter house was alpha delta phi, which occupied in the college year - , the old "octagon house," later the home of professor winchell, on the site of the present hill auditorium. the present psi upsilon chapter house on the corner of south university avenue and state street was, however, the first chapter house built for that purpose. it was erected during the year - and preceded by four years the erection of the old alpha delta phi house, the second fraternity house to be built. sigma phi occupied, in , the old home of professor moses coit tyler, on the beautiful site of the present chapter house. the delta kappa epsilon house was built in ; the old governor ashley property on monroe street was bought by delta upsilon in ; zeta psi bought the property on which the present house stands in ; while phi kappa psi bought, in , the picturesque millen property on the triangle between washtenaw and hill streets they had occupied for ten years, one of ann arbor's landmarks which has only recently been removed to make way for a new chapter house. at the present time practically all of the fraternities either own or rent chapter houses; ordinarily purchasing the property with alumni assistance, and issuing mortgages, largely held by the alumni, or the national organization, for any unpaid balance. a comparison of this record of fraternity establishment with similar figures from other universities will show that michigan was one of the first of the larger institutions in which the fraternity system took deep root. student life at michigan has always been colored by it, and the mass of students, from the first, has been divided into fraternity and non-fraternity elements; an unofficially recognized distinction which has had far-reaching effects in all student affairs, particularly class-elections, student athletics, journalism, and general society membership. the "independent" suffers no particular social disability, save as he misses the pleasant club life of the fraternity. often, if he is a man of marked ability, he finds his independence a distinct advantage in college affairs, for non-fraternity men have always been in sufficient majority to see that the choice positions go to the "independent" representatives. within the fraternities, too, there has always existed a division between the older and the more recent organization which was, for a long time, almost as marked as the division between fraternity and non-fraternity men. this came through the rivalry that arose between two groups of fraternities. the first, known as the "palladium," took its name from an annual, first published in , which came to represent the interests of nine fraternities in college up to , while a second group was made up of the fraternities established after that date. the break came through the establishment of an "anti-secret" fraternity, delta upsilon, which the older fraternities refused to recognize though it later assumed a passive rôle, and became merely non-secret. this organization, however, with the addition of the new fraternities as they were established, formed an opposition to the older societies who stubbornly maintained their control of the _palladium_. this continued until when the _palladium_ finally absorbed the _castalian_, the annual of the independents, and _res gestae_, the law annual, and became at last a representative university publication. although in the name was changed to the present _michiganensian_, the spirit of the old "palladium," as an inner ring of fraternities, still existed, particularly in the administration of the annual junior hop, which had been a definitely organized student event at least as far back as , and had been preceded by a similar ball given by the seniors since . the older fraternities long maintained an exclusive control of the junior hop. but in the out-fraternities and the independents protested to the regents, who sustained their contention, that the hop, given in the university buildings, should include representatives from the entire junior class. the palladium fraternities refused to participate, and that year two "hops" were given, one by eight fraternities in toledo, d.k.e. not being represented, and one in the gymnasium by the more recent fraternities and the independents. the question arose again the next year but was eventually settled by a plan of organization admitting representation upon the committee from all fraternities and the independents in rotation. the establishment in of an inter-fraternity conference marked a further step in the relations of these organizations to the university. for some time "the fraternity situation," as it was usually spoken of, had been increasingly unsatisfactory. ideals of scholarship were low, or non-existent, in practically all of the fraternities. the junior hop had become so uncontrolled and extravagant that the faculty had abolished it,--while "rushing" methods, particularly the practice of pledging boys long before they were ready for college, called for drastic action. this was strongly recommended by the committee on student affairs in its report, and the fraternities were accordingly given notice to "clean house." the result was the establishment of the inter-fraternity conference and the adoption of a constitution just in time to avoid decisive action by the university authorities, but not without great opposition from the palladium group. the most striking provisions of this constitution are: the abolition of premature pledging through a provision that all pledging must be done in ann arbor and not before the tenth day previous to the opening of classes; the prohibition of any freshman living in a fraternity house, a rule since modified; and most important of all, a provision that no initiate shall have less than eleven hours of credits of at least c grade, and that no student on probation or warning shall be initiated. the sororities took similar action in a provision limiting the amount and character of the rushing and establishing a fixed day for the extending of "bids" to be sent out from one central office. these efforts have all had a most favorable effect on fraternity scholarship and general deportment, which has been further stimulated by the publication of a scholarship chart showing the exact relative standing of all the fraternities and house clubs in the university. this has revealed a gradual rise in the average of fraternity scholarship, though few fraternities, it must be acknowledged, have ever exceeded the average for the whole student body, which is between c and b grades. there is significant evidence of the success of co-education, too, in the fact that few sororities have ever fallen below this average. the publication of this chart has at least had the effect of establishing a healthy rivalry among the fraternities as regards avoiding the last place on the list, whatever their attitude may be as regards first place; while the scholastic standings of the various fraternities proved their value immediately as an argument with prospective initiates, something almost inconceivable fifteen years ago. the unequivocal evidence furnished by these charts has also led to numerous investigations and subsequent action on the part of the alumni of many of the fraternities. student journalism, though it reflects in the rise and fall of paper after paper the changing complexion of successive student generations, is, after all, one of the best mirrors of undergraduate life. it is no surprising matter, therefore, even though it is to be regretted, that no student journal has survived from the university's earlier period, although the _michiganensian_ has a gallery of ancestors which, at least, establishes its lineage. in the very earliest period, whatever literary efforts there were, were lost or preserved only in the manuscript papers of the early literary societies, which provided the only practical outlet for the student who wanted to write. paper and printing were too expensive for actual publication, so it was not until june, , that the first real student paper appeared, with the impressive title of _peninsular phoenix and university gazetteer_, a semi-annual four page sheet whose first page was devoted to lists of university officers and secret-society members, while its existence as a gazetteer was justified by a very few "connubial" items. the title of this publication was truly prophetic for its successor, _the university phoenix_, arose from its ashes the following november,--in the form of an eight-page monthly, the first number of which was largely devoted to a long editorial, an article on the university museum of arts, and another on the detroit observatory. this was published by green and company, an organization which consisted of one s.b. green, a student of the class of ' who was a printer, and a non-existent company, though it was supposed to have the support of the three literary societies. another publication which had appeared between the two issues of the _phoenix_ was the one issue of the university _register_. though a list of fraternity men was published in all of these sheets, the fraternities were not satisfied and decided to establish a paper of their own. thus was born, in , the _palladium_, a four-page paper which for some time appeared semi-annually. as the first issue was apparently listed as number , it is probable that it was considered the reincarnation of the _phoenix_. in the issue for december, , the editor reveals the fact that copies were printed at a cost of $ . it was then a booklet of less than pages, bound in glazed paper, with almost no literary matter included, although the first number did contain a "freshman song," the first bit of michigan undergraduate verse. eventually, as we have seen, it became part of the _michiganensian_. the _palladium_ was not long without a rival, which came with the establishment of the _independent_, "a small quarterly of some forty violently written pages," illustrating "not only the bitter feeling between the societies and the independents, but also the hostile attitude of students towards the faculty." it lasted for just four issues and was succeeded by the _university magazine_, which quietly died after one gasp, leaving the independents with no representation until when the _castalia_ appeared. this survived through five issues, not to appear again until when the independents revived it as the _castalian_, also merged in in the _michiganensian_. a combination of two publications which followed the old _castalia_ in , the _university chronicle_, an eight-page fortnightly of sometimes "rather hot discussions," and the _university magazine_, which had been a most creditable student enterprise, produced one of the long-standing student papers, the _chronicle_, the first number of which appeared in september, . for the first few years of its existence, it was one of the best college papers in the country, though it made great capital of the hostile attitude of the students towards the regents and professors and undertook to speak boldly of "the evils that have crept into the university through the mismanagement of the regents." it appeared at first as a large -page pamphlet, three columns to the page. at the same time the _chronicle_ was established, a sophomore annual appeared, _the oracle_, which had a long and checkered career as a champion of co-education. this triumvirate of student journals held sway with only occasional rivalry until a disputed election in resulted in the establishment of a new fortnightly, the _argonaut_, as a rival to the _chronicle_. this journal became a weekly in . the two soon became the organs of opposing fraternity factions, and assuming a political rather than a literary character, lost ground rapidly. an eventual consolidation did not save them and the last number of the combined journals appeared in . they were succeeded by two new ventures, the _daily_, which was started in september, , still with us as an institution in undergraduate life, and the _inlander_, whose long and honorable, if somewhat spasmodic, career as a literary magazine only came to an end finally in . _wrinkle_, michigan's first humorous paper, appeared in and was immediately popular. it survived until , when it also died of inanition, to be succeeded after a few years by the present _gargoyle_ of varying merit. with the first discontinuance of the _inlander_, about the same time _wrinkle_ died, the student body was left with only the _daily_ and the _michiganensian_ as unsatisfactory vehicles for purely literary efforts, save occasional fugitive sheets which usually passed away almost before they appeared. in the _inlander_ was re-established but seemed unable to make a place for itself and was succeeded in by the present _chimes_. of departmental publications only the _technic_, established by the engineers in , is still in existence and thus may honorably claim to be the oldest student journal in the university. uncertain and varying as the careers of most of these publications have been, they have filled their place in the student scheme of existence; at least they have given valuable experience to their amateur editors and publishers and have been a needed vehicle for the expression of student opinion. the long list of editors includes the names of many alumni who have made their mark, not only in the world of letters, but in many other fields. the papers that survived longest usually lived by virtue of their independence; those that died, did so because they filled no recognized need or were too crude or too conscientiously academic. of the present-day publications, the _daily_ and the _michiganensian_ are apparently fixtures. the _daily_ sometimes tries all too apparently to ape the defects and not the merits of the greater journals and suffers from a constantly changing personnel and lack of experienced editors, but it is improving and benefiting through a certain degree of co-operation with the classes in journalism in the university. the editor and business manager are given a salary and are subject to close supervision by the board in control of student publications, which has so wisely administered the affairs of the various papers that a fund of some $ , has been saved towards the establishment of a university press. the same is true of the _michiganensian_, which has come to be of impressive bulk, and is usually on the whole a well edited and printed annual reference book with numerous illustrations and data concerning all of the student organizations. a directory of students in the university is also published under the supervision of the board in control as well as a tri-weekly paper, the _wolverine_, by the students of the summer session. the alumni publication, the _michigan alumnus_, which first appeared in , will be mentioned in a later chapter. interest in public speaking and debating has existed almost from the first days of the university, though it was only after the establishment of the department of oratory that instruction began to be given systematically and consecutively. before that time, some elocutionary training had been given by professor moses coit tyler in combination with his work in english literature, and later by president hutchins, then instructor in rhetoric and history, who introduced what was then known as the junior debates. these were continued by his successor, isaac n. demmon, who was to become in a few years professor of english literature. the great increase in the work in composition and public speaking which came with the broadening of the course of study in , however, led to the abandonment of these debates and instruction in the subject fell to a low ebb until professor trueblood came in to give one-third of his time to this work. his success in this field eventually led to his appointment as professor of oratory in . but if the powers that be were slow to recognize the desire of the students for instruction in public speaking, there were many more or less unofficial avenues for those who desired to give vent to their oratorical impulses. two escape valves existed almost from the first, the old literary societies, and the class exhibitions and commencement programs which have been mentioned. the first literary society, phi phi alpha, was organized in , to be followed, after an internal struggle in the older society, by alpha nu, which has survived to the present time and has long been the oldest of student organizations. adelphi, the other existing society, was not started until shortly before the demise of phi phi alpha in . the traditional programmes of these societies were largely orations, essays, and concluding debates in which such momentous questions as, _resolved_: that the benefits of novel reading will compensate for its injuries. _resolved_: that we have sufficient evidence for belief in ethereal spirits. _resolved_: that brutes reason. _resolved_: that woman has as much influence in the nation as man. _resolved_: that students should not form matrimonial engagements while in college. these societies also maintained literary papers. phi phi alpha had the "castalia," alpha nu, the "sybil," and adelphi, "the hesperian." in they established a series of prize contests, debates for sophomores and juniors, and orations for seniors. for these first and second prizes were awarded at public exhibitions, which never failed to arouse great interest. this traditional emphasis on public speaking has been maintained consistently down to the present time, and many distinguished alumni of the university have been numbered among the contestants. for many years the two societies alpha nu and adelphi have occupied two rooms on the fourth floor of university hall, the only student organizations entirely independent of faculty patronage thus recognized. why they have not come to occupy the prominent place that two similar organizations hold at princeton, the clio and whig societies, whose two marble temples are one of the distinguishing marks of princeton's campus, is a matter for speculation. probably the fact that princeton long remained a college while michigan early became a university with a more inclusive curriculum, will best explain it. as it is, however, these societies have in the past done a great service for the university and deserve to survive. they are not, however, the only student organizations which have had exercise in public speaking as their reason for existence, for many such have come and gone, only to be remembered by their own student generation and by the heavy weight of their classical names. such were a multitude of debating clubs which sprang up in the " 's" under such impressive titles as "homotrapezoi," "philozetian," "panarmonian," or, in the law department, the less pretentious "douglas," "clay," and "lincoln" societies which were the forerunners of the present jeffersonian and webster societies. a latter-day organization has been the long popular "toastmaster's club" which aims to perpetuate the doubtful joys of after-dinner oratory. other means of self-expression for those oratorically bent, were those formal exhibitions of which the long-popular annual junior exhibition was the most prominent. nowadays, the only vestige of student participation in programs of this character remains in the annual class day exercises. another organization which stimulated interest in platform speaking was the students' lecture association, which was until recently one of the most successful undergraduate enterprises. it was organized in september, , and continued for nearly sixty years to bring distinguished and sometimes, judged by later-day standards, undistinguished speakers before student audiences. it ceased to exist in , but only after the broadening interests of the university began to attract to ann arbor many prominent visitors whose addresses have been usually given free of charge, while at the same time the multiplication of other forms of entertainment lessened the attractions of the traditional lecture course. but an association which, in its day, brought to ann arbor such men as emerson, bayard taylor, horace mann, wendell phillips, theodore parker, henry ward beecher, winston spencer churchill, henry m. stanley, wu ting fang, and presidents harrison, mckinley, cleveland, and wilson, played no minor rôle in university life. that the privilege of hearing some of these speakers was not always properly appreciated is shown by the comments of the editor of one of the local papers on a lecture by emerson. the subject of the lecture was "human beauty," rather a singular subject, it strikes us, from so homely a man as mr. emerson. mr. emerson is not a pleasing speaker--in fact, is an awkward speaker, and yet he demands the utmost attention of every hearer. with the gradual organization of the department of oratory, public speaking soon came to have a recognized place among student interests, and eventually inter-collegiate debates and contests were organized to stimulate student interest. these were first inaugurated by the oratorical association, which, soon after its establishment in , issued an invitation to neighboring universities to form an oratorical union. this resulted in the northern oratorical league, which has long maintained an annual series of inter-collegiate contests and debates. the representatives of the university are selected only after several contests and preliminary debates in the various societies, with an average of at least fifty candidates participating. michigan has always maintained a leading position in this form of undergraduate activity and of the twenty-nine inter-collegiate contests in which she has taken part she has won nine first honors and four second honors. the university has also participated in some sixty-four inter-collegiate debates, of which she has won forty-two; her nearest rival being northwestern, with nine victories. eleven of these debates were won in succession, and twenty-four by the unanimous decision of the judges. this form of inter-collegiate rivalry has been greatly stimulated by a medal and testimonial of $ given to the winner of the annual university contest by the chicago alumni and by similar prizes to the winners of the inter-collegiate contests and debates. interest in the drama on the part of the students was of comparatively slow development, though in recent years it has come to be one of the most conspicuous "student activities." while a "shakespeare club" existed as early as , the stage did not hold a particularly high place in public regard in the university's earlier years, and good plays were seldom seen in ann arbor. the celebrated actress, mrs. scott siddons, gave several recitals in the seventies, while a performance of _hamlet_, given in by lawrence barrett, was received with the highest praise. his visit gave an impetus to dramatic affairs and led to the organization of a barrett club which gave a performance of _dollars and cents_ in --the first recorded amateur dramatic performance in the university. but it was not until two years later that the university's dramatic history may be said to have begun with the two commencement plays, the _adelphi_ of terence, given in latin under the direction of professor charles m. gayley, ' , and racine's _les plaideurs_, in french, under assistant professor paul r. de pont of the department of french. from that time on interest in college dramatics steadily increased. professor de pont, whose interest in student life never flagged, took a leading part in the presentation of several plays, and one opera, gilbert and sullivan's _iolanthe_ ( ), by companies of students and faculty members. largely through his efforts a university dramatic club was organized in and gave such plays as _a scrap of paper_ ( ) and _the memoirs of the devil_ ( ), which "caused the student body to sit up and take notice." plays of this lighter character were all that were attempted until , when another latin play, plautus' _menaechmi_, was given so successfully under the direction of professor j.h. drake, ' , that it was later presented in chicago. this was the last effort in classical drama until twenty-six years later, when the _menaechmi_ was repeated with great success in hill auditorium on march , . this was followed in by euripides' _iphigenia among the taurians_, given by the students in greek, for which special music in the ancient greek modes was written by dr. a.a. stanley. the old dramatic club was eventually disbanded in the early ' 's, only to be succeeded by another student organization, the still existing comedy club, which has had a varying career. soon after its organization it became an exceedingly close corporation among certain fraternities and confined its offerings to light comedies and farces of the type that offered no great difficulties, such as _the private secretary_, _all the comforts of home_, and _my friend from india_. a reorganization of the club in made membership dependent upon real ability, and since that time farquahar's _recruiting officer_, ( ); barrie's _admirable crichton_, ( ); gogol's _inspector_, ( ); percy mckaye's _scarecrow_, ( ), and barrie's _alice sit by the fire_, ( ), are fairly representative of the plays given. the reorganization of the comedy club came largely because of the successful efforts of the deutscher verein and the cercle français, to give a series of the best plays in german and french literature. the list of these productions has been a long and creditable one, those in german including, after their first performance, _der hochzeitsreise_ by benedix, in ; _die journalisten_, ( and ); _minna von barnhelm_, ( ); _egmont_, ( ); and _der dummkopf_, ( ). since the french circle made its début in , with _les deux timides_ by labiche, and molière's _le bourgeois gentilhomme_, several other comedies by molière have been most successfully given; as well as beaumarchais' _barbier de seville_, ( ); rostand's _les romanesques_, ( ); and pailleron's modern comedy _le monde ou l'on s'ennuie_, ( ). somewhat different from these revivals of the best in dramatic literature, have been the far more popular michigan union operas, written and produced almost entirely by students. originally designed as a means for raising funds for the union, always needed, particularly in the earliest days, they speedily became an institution in undergraduate life. all the librettos, with one or two exceptions, have been the work of students, and the same is true of the music, which has often developed an extraordinary vein of undergraduate talent. in fact, more than once it has been the music which has given these operas their chief merit. save for one war-time emergency, when university women participated, the entire cast has always been recruited from the men of the university and the burlesque of the "chorus girls" has always been one of the perennial charms of the opera in undergraduate estimation. the first opera, given in , was entitled _michigenda_ and became instantly popular, not only because of its novelty and the excellence of its music, but also because its plot was built about the local color of undergraduate life, a precedent which, unfortunately, has not always been followed in later operas. the opera, _george did it_, was artistically as well as financially the most successful of the union's productions. five or six performances are usually given in ann arbor, and of late years a trip during the spring vacation through the cities of michigan and occasionally to chicago has drawn large audiences of alumni and others, attracted by the real merit and novelty of this student effort. not to be outdone by the men of the university, the junior class women have also, for some years, presented a similar extravaganza which, though not open to the general public, is always noted for its cleverness and real humor. for some twelve years also a feature of the commencement program has been the annual play given by the senior girls, usually on tuesday evening of commencement week. the list of plays presented includes, _she stoops to conquer_, ( ); _the knight of the burning pestle_, ( ); _cranford_, ( ); euripides' _alcestis_, ( ), in which the classical entrance to alumni memorial hall was used most effectively; _prunella_, ( ); _the piper_, ( ); and in , percy mckaye's _a thousand years ago_. within recent years, "masques," an organization of university women, has given unusually artistic performances of pinero's _the amazons_, ( ), and barrie's _quality street_, ( ). the department of oratory has also interested itself in the drama and is responsible for several well-considered presentations of such plays as galsworthy's _silver box_; kennedy's _the servant in the house_, ( ); ibsen's _pillars of society_, ( ); and masefield's _tragedy of nan_, ( ). contemporary interest in pageantry has likewise not been without its effect in the university, as was shown by a praiseworthy though perhaps over-ambitious pageant, _joan of arc_, given under the auspices of the woman's league on ferry field in , and a less elaborate but more effective celebration of the shakespeare centenary two years later, entitled _the queen's progress_, given in hill auditorium. the cosmopolitan club, composed of the foreign students, has also taken advantage of the same spacious stage to give two elaborate entertainments in and , an _all-nation review_, and _the magic carpet_. this brief outline of student dramatic efforts in recent years reveals a multiplicity of interested organizations as well as a wide variety of offerings. necessarily this has given rise to rivalries and sometimes inadequate preparation, though it has stimulated a vital and intelligent interest in the drama as an actual form of artistic expression. one of the greatest needs these student actors and their faculty directors experience, is a university theater which will, in effect, be an actual dramatic workshop. these conditions have led to the recent organization of a university dramatic society, composed largely of members of the faculty and a few students, whose aim is to correlate the work of the various dramatic organizations of the university and to arouse interest in the project for a campus theater. as a producing organization it made its bow in december, , when, with the co-operation of the michigan union, it produced a most finished performance of reginald dekoven's operetta, _red feather_. the first mention of any musical organization in the university occurs in some reminiscences of the class of . winfield smith says that the flute was very popular in those days, and that "several could be heard in different rooms when the windows were open on a summer evening." a quartette orchestra was organized by john s. newberry, ' , while the first vocal music was started by fletcher marsh, of the first class to graduate, in , which "rapidly developed into a good chorus." dr. nathaniel west, ' , tells of the fine singing in the chapel exercises of his time, with "excellent support from a university band of nine pieces." with evident pride he confesses: "this hand used to slide the trombone and sometimes the cornet." interest in music apparently continued and was actively fostered by professor frieze after he came to the university. an exceptionally fine musician himself, he presided at the organ in one of the local churches for many years, and took every occasion to encourage good music among the students. the early numbers of the _palladium_ and its rivals mention many ephemeral musical organizations beginning in with a nine-piece orchestral club, "les sans souci." evidently the name was too much for this modest effort and the same or a similar organization appears as the "amateur musical club" the following year. the same issue of the _palladium_ also lists a university choir of four persons. after that time hardly a year passes without vocal and instrumental musical organizations in some form; in we have the "junior glee club," and the "sophomore �olians," while in a "cremona club" appears. in - the first "university glee club" of eight members was organized and in , the senior year of its members, it gave some twenty-six most successful concerts throughout the state. they appeared in university caps, apparently something entirely new, as some thought they were members of a fire company, while others "mistook them for arabs from forepaugh's circus." the example set by this successful club, to which belongs the credit of elevating and popularizing college songs, was not immediately followed, however, and there were several years when the glee club was dormant. with its effectual revival in , the history of the university glee club has been continuous to the present time. it was supplemented in - by the banjo club and in and by the mandolin club--and after that time the triple organization went by the name of the university musical clubs. the first extended trip was taken in when the organization visited several michigan cities, and also chicago, madison, minneapolis, and st. paul. in the trip went as far afield as salt lake city, an extensive itinerary which crippled more than one cash balance. since that time, under more careful management, several most successful trips have been made to the pacific coast. the various university orchestras and musical clubs supplied the university's needs until, in , the university band was organized. this suffered a precarious existence, though much appreciated by the students, until in the regents made an appropriation for its support which enabled it to blossom out as one of the most creditable college bands in any american university. not only does it play at all football and baseball games, but it has come to be indispensable during such occasions as the annual commencement. though not strictly a student organization, the university musical society and the choral union, since their organization in - , have had as their main object the musical welfare of the student body, and so successful have they been in their effort, that ann arbor has become one of the musical centers of the country. the modest concerts first given by the choral union, composed largely of students, prepared the way for the establishment in of the annual may festival, which has become an established event of the university year under the energetic and able direction of dr. a.a. stanley, who has well accomplished the task he set himself when he came to ann arbor in , to create a true musical atmosphere in the university of michigan. the number of concerts given under the auspices of the choral union, including the may festival concerts, now totals . the gregarious club-forming habit, as we have seen, began as far as the university is concerned almost with the admission of the first class. a list of such organizations might be compiled from old _palladiums_ and _michiganensians_, but it would be to little purpose. in most cases these societies have been ephemeral, and if they did survive their own generations, they soon lapsed into pale shadows, or faded away, with no one to mark their passing. there are certain societies, however, which have been in existence some time, that serve to mark a definite trend in undergraduate life, though most of them reflect not so much scholastic attainment as personal popularity. the most conspicuous of these is "michigamua," a society which was organized in as an all-senior organization. it has always stressed the indian tradition in its practices and names, and has made a picturesque ceremony of its annual "rope-in" of new members, who are surrounded on a certain day in spring with a howling band of painted braves. similar societies in other departments and classes soon followed, and we now have the "griffins," another all-campus society; "druids," senior literary; "sphinx," junior literary; "vulcans," senior engineering; "triangle," junior engineering; "archons," junior laws; "galens," medical; "alchemists," chemical students; "craftsmen," masonic students; "quarterdeck," marine engineering; as well as several similar societies among the women, notably the "senior society" and "mortarboard." as for the real "honor" societies, those whose membership is in itself an academic honor, there are several whose members are selected with faculty co-operation. these are best illustrated by phi beta kappa, the oldest inter-collegiate organization, which was established at michigan only after long opposition centering about the introduction of a marking system, the absence of which was long a special characteristic of the university. in spite of this, many alumni were elected at the time of its establishment in , upon the special recommendation of older members of the faculty whose co-operation had been requested. five years before the time when phi beta kappa was established, sigma xi, a similar organization, was inaugurated as a recognition of excellence in science. tau beta pi in engineering likewise came in the field in . there followed quickly, after this auspicious start, the following societies, most of them of national scope; alpha omega alpha, in the medical school; tau sigma delta, in architecture; phi lambda upsilon, in chemistry; the order of the coif, and also the woolsack, in the law school; phi sigma, in science; pi delta epsilon, in journalism; iota sigma pi for women specializing in chemistry; and phi alpha tau for students in oratory. analogous to these distinctions are the annual appointments to the editorial board of the _law review_, open to the best senior students in the law school. a society organized by upper classmen in , "quadrangle," for many years maintained outstanding scholastic ability as well as a certain degree of popularity as qualifications for membership. its traditions have perhaps changed somewhat through a too great, though perhaps inevitable instructorial complexion and the abandonment of its original emphasis on literature and the arts. among the women a similar association is found in "stylus," a society established in . similar societies, which emphasize the literary and scientific interests of their members, are the university branches of the american institutes of electrical and mechanical engineers, the "prescott club" of students in pharmacy, the "architectural society," the "commerce club," and another women's society, "athena." for some years there was a marked tendency in the university to form sectional clubs, such as the "rocky mountain," "new york," "pennsylvania," and "new england" clubs, usually with their own house and dining-room, organized somewhat on the example of the fraternities. the impulse, however, has lapsed somewhat, though the foreign students in the university still maintain the "cosmopolitan club," a very active organization with national affiliations, as well as a "chinese students club," a "south african union," and a "nippon club." in the earlier years the students came almost entirely from nearby towns in michigan, many registering from little hamlets now almost forgotten. by , however, almost one-third of the total of students in the academic department were from outside the state, some even hailing from as far as new england. ten years later almost half the enrolled were from other states than michigan, with a sprinkling from canada. the same was true of the , students in , though by this time practically all sections of the country were represented--even california. less than half the students in were from michigan, out of a total enrolment of , , a condition that also held true in , when the proportion was , out of , . but by michigan was again sending more than half the students in the university, , out of , ; and the same was true in with , out of , and again in with , out of , . professor hinsdale in his "history" publishes a significant little table showing that in the ratio of michigan students to the population of the state was one to , . this ratio was increased slightly ten years later and then dropped to one in , in , one in , in , and to one in in . the census shows one in . the enrolment of foreign students in the university is also significant. aside from students registering from canada, who came almost from the first, the first appreciable showing of foreign students came in the eighties, with nine enrolled in . in there were forty-three including twenty-one from japan, but ten years later the number had dropped to nineteen. this was due partly to the fact that there were only seven japanese students, while the seven from porto rico and two from hawaii were no longer "foreign." the total, excluding fourteen from the united states dependencies and twenty-five from canada, was sixty-eight in . of this number eleven students were from china; a little band which grew to thirty-six in , when they formed no inconsiderable proportion of the foreign students enrolled, strongly organized for social and educational purposes and affiliated with similar organizations in other universities. japan sent eighteen and south africa twenty-eight the same year. aside from these, seventy-four were registered from canada and fourteen from porto rico, the philippines, and hawaii. of late years there has also been a marked increase of students from central and south america. chapter xi athletics michigan differs in no respect from other american universities in the general and, some would have it, the extravagant interest in outdoor sports which have come to be defined under the general term "athletics." this emphasis on contests and games of strength and skill is universal and is woven into the very fabric of student life in all our universities and colleges. we cannot therefore avoid the conclusion that it is an inevitable and characteristic expression of the american spirit. it is only natural for the sons and grandsons of the men who settled this country to take an interest in wholesome and vigorous sports; in fact it would be a sad commentary on the degeneracy of the modern generation if such an expression of their inheritance were not evident. but a distinctively american attitude towards sport is also manifested in the intense personal and university rivalries developed, the very rock upon which the modern system of inter-collegiate athletics rests, no less than in the genius for organization and systemization which has, within the last twenty-five years, made organized athletics such a tremendous factor in the life of all american universities. whatever changes the future is to bring in the development and control of inter-collegiate athletics, our universities cannot very well escape the fundamental fact that they have become an integral part of our university system, and that, rather than attempting a change by radical measures, they can best correct any present abuses by wise regulation, by a constant effort toward a modification of the present overwhelming emphasis on the one game, football, and above all, by a consistent encouragement of universal participation on the part of the students in some form of college sport. this, in fact, is the latest development. it is not so much a reform as a return to older traditions, from which we have departed only in comparatively recent years, as the following review of michigan's athletic history will show. this survey is offered, however, not so much because of its relation to the general development of the present-day attitude toward sports in american universities as because it may have particular interest for every michigan graduate, whether he counts himself a radical or a conservative in matters athletic. it goes without saying that there was almost no thought of organized sport in the early days. nathaniel west, ' , once told the washington alumni, that "among our athletics were various forms of activity--the foot race from a quarter to a half mile,--baseball, a few rods from the stile,"--and what will seem certainly a novel event to a modern athlete,--"sawing our own wood and carrying it upstairs." edmund andrews, the president of ' , has also left a record of his time. athletics were not regularly organized, nor had we any gymnasium. we played base-ball, wicket ball, two-old-cat, etc., but there was no foot-ball nor any trained "teams." there was mere ex tempore volunteering. we had jumping wickets in the same way. fencing and boxing were totally neglected. the huron river furnished little opportunity for boating. this we may take as a fair picture of athletic activities for many years. cricket was undoubtedly the first sport to be organized in the university, as the _palladium_ for - gives the names of the eight officers and twenty-five members of the "pioneer cricket club," while the regents' report for june, , shows an appropriation of $ for a cricket ground on the campus,--the first official recognition of athletics in the university. the game of wicket, which was a modification of cricket, was played with a soft ball five to seven inches in diameter, and with two wickets (mere laths or light boards) laid upon posts about four inches high and some forty feet apart. the "outs" tried to bowl these down, and the "ins" to defend them with curved broad-ended bats. it was necessary to run between the wickets at each strike. the need for a gymnasium was speedily recognized, but the agitation for it among the students continued for thirty years before the present building was finally completed in . the first gymnasium was an old military barracks which was transformed into a gymnasium of a sort about the year . it stood near the site of the old heating plant at the side of the present engineering building, and as it was very open to the weather, resting only on poles sunken in the ground and with a tan bark floor, it was used only in warm weather. the apparatus consisted of a few bare poles, ropes, and rings. even this make-shift was short-lived, for in the class of ' erected a "gymnasium in embryo" described by a graduate of ' as "two uprights with a cross-beam and ropes dangling from eye-bolts--the remains of some prehistoric effort towards muscular development," which was to be found "back of the museum";--otherwise the old north wing. mark norris, ' , thus pictures the comparatively primitive state of athletics in the university of his day: the athletic side of the university was almost wholly undeveloped in . there was no organization and no chance for systematic work. the absence of a gymnasium and practice ground will account for this. football was a contest between classes, and a mob of to men on a side chasing the pig-skin over the campus was a sight to make the football expert of today go into convulsions. we had a little base-ball of the "butter fingers" type. at one time we had a boat-club, which navigated the raging huron above the dam in a six-oared barge. but with the opening of the year the old rink, later to become the armory, was fitted up as a gymnasium and a great impetus was given to all athletic interests, which by this time were beginning to be organized. as a natural result the student demand for a real gymnasium was becoming more and more vociferous. as far back as the _university chronicle_ had voiced the sentiment in a two-column editorial, in which the writer thus describes the awful state of the university, when the only form of exercise was the opportunity to,-- walk around two or three squares, down to the post office and back to our rooms again. this already has become a melancholy task; but we must choose it, or its sadder alternative,--the old buck-saw. true there are students among us who _will_ have exercise if cramming professors are ever so vexed. they will not study on sunday; they escape to the woods, admire nature--desecrate the sabbath. they find relaxation at the billiard table, make effigies in the night to be burned in the morning, remove side-walks, dislocate gates, or arm-in-arm parade the side-walk singing: "happy is the maid who shall meet us." by the efforts of the students resulted in a fund of something over $ , . the legislature that year almost gave the necessary appropriation for a gymnasium provided the students contributed what they had raised. but the project finally fell through and it was not until , when joshua w. waterman, of detroit, long a patron of sports in the university, offered to give $ , , provided a like amount be raised from other sources, that the building became assured. three years later waterman gymnasium was at last completed at a cost of $ , . toward which sum private donors had contributed $ , . . the $ , which the students eventually raised through so many years of effort were used for equipment. the new "gym" was feet long by feet wide, with a running track in the balcony of laps to the mile. these accommodations proved ample for many years; but the recent growth of the student body finally made an increase in space imperative, and in an extension of feet was added at each end, making the main floor feet long with a ten-lap running track. [illustration: waterman gymnasium for men] the interest in all forms of outdoor athletics, which was developing rapidly by , made an athletic field no less necessary than a gymnasium. the corner of the campus where the gymnasium now stands, which, from the earliest days of baseball had been devoted to athletics, was crowded and inconvenient, even for practice games; while the old fair grounds in the southeastern part of the city were not under university control, besides being ill-adapted to college games. the streets and campus were popular for impromptu games, although the arm of the law was unduly active in the spring, and "the batting of balls" was conspicuously forbidden on a sign which long decorated the south wall of the museum. the regents recognized this need of a great playground, however, and purchased what is now the south ten acres of ferry field in , though it was not opened to the students until . this went by the name of "regents' field" until , when the hon. d.m. ferry of detroit gave an additional twenty-one acres lying between the old field and the university, and furnished funds for the present impressive entrance gates and ticket offices, since which time it has been known by the name of the donor. subsequent purchases of neighboring property have increased the total to nearly eighty acres. though this is by no means all in use at present, thirty-eight acres are graded, drained, and enclosed on three sides by a high brick wall. two great stands, one of concrete, accommodate nearly , spectators at the "big games," while an attractive club house at one end furnishes accommodations for the players and members of visiting teams. an effective student athletic organization was only less tardy in making its appearance than the long-awaited gymnasium and athletic field. in contrast to the modern student journals, the earliest files of the _chronicle_ are distinguished by their exceedingly rare references to athletic events, and then only in a very occasional modest item giving the immodest score of some class contest, such as the baseball game between ' and ' on may , , when the score ran to . shortly after this time came the first student athletic organization, informally known as the "baseball clubs" which became the baseball association in . a similar football association was organized in and continued until when both clubs were merged in the first athletic association of the university. this was the organization responsible for the student fund for the gymnasium. but successful as the new organization proved in financial matters, it soon fell into the almost inevitable desuetude of so many student undertakings and finally, in , fell "victim of the football and baseball teams which it sought to control." its successor was the present athletic association, organized in through a consolidation of all the athletic interests in the university. this association was long maintained almost exclusively by the students whose voluntary membership was marked by a little "athletic button" of varying design, without which no student in good standing with his fellows would be seen. with the establishment of a general athletic fee, or "blanket tax," by the university in , which admitted the student to all athletic events and was paid with the other university fees, and with the growing influence of the board in control of athletics, the character of the athletic association gradually changed. however, the organization still continues to elect its officers and board of directors, who elect the three student representatives on the board in control from a list of six nominated by the board. the student managers of the athletic teams are now appointed by the coach, the captain of the team and the retiring manager. since the general direction of the affairs of the athletic association has been in the hands of two men, charles baird, ' , who was appointed graduate director of athletics in that year, and phillip g. bartelme, a former member of the class of ' , who succeeded him in , and now holds the title of director of outdoor athletics. the first attempt at organized collegiate sport in the university dates from the time of the civil war, for it was in that baseball was first introduced among the students. two men are given the credit, john m. hinchman, ' -' , who had been a member of the detroit club, and e.l. grant, ' , who as a freshman became interested in accounts of the game as it was being played by a few clubs in and around new york. with some of his friends he wrote for information in the spring of , and later ordered bases, balls and clubs, and proceeded to lay out a diamond on the northeast corner of the campus which was afterward maintained by the university. baseball in those days differed considerably from the present game; the pitcher was restricted to an underhand delivery; the catch of a foul bound meant an "out"; strikes were not called; and bases on balls were unknown; while owing to the straight-arm pitching, the batting was much heavier and the scores larger. there was not much of a team in , but the effort resulted in the organization of the first university baseball club in the spring of , with hinchman, who was the catcher, as president and captain. the members of the team had no uniforms and paid their own expenses, as no admission was charged for the games. while the opposing teams and the scores are not on record, the nine was judged highly successful and was very popular. in the fall of the team defeated jackson, ypsilanti, and dexter and was in turn defeated by a team from lodi township near ann arbor. general interest in the game was evidently spreading rapidly. in the club was groomed for the championship of the state; student subscriptions were solicited; class nines were formed to give them sufficient practice, and the dignity of white uniforms was at last attained. finally the team, accompanied by seventy supporters,--it was long before the day of "rooters,"--traveled to detroit and met the detroit champions. the game lasted three hours and a half, included six home runs, and was won by the university with the wholly satisfactory score of to , detroit being unable to hit blackburn the university pitcher sufficiently, though, judged by modern standards, his record was not exactly a "shut-out." a return game, however, played in the fall resulted in the defeat of the university to , while the final game of the series, a year later, ran to eleven innings with the university finally winning to . soon after this the detroit team disbanded and for some years baseball languished in the university; partly because of the lack of opponents for so redoubtable a nine, and partly because the first enthusiasm for the game had waned. interest revived somewhat in , but aside from inter-class games the only available opponents were mostly professional clubs from the neighboring towns, who were ordinarily outclassed by the college men. with the abolition of the old straight-arm pitching in and the calling of strikes established, the extravagant scores began to be materially reduced. michigan's first inter-collegiate baseball game was with wisconsin on may , . it was played at ann arbor and resulted in a victory to . this game came as a result of the formation of an inter-collegiate baseball league, composed of michigan, wisconsin, northwestern and racine, in which the varsity easily won the championship. unsatisfactory arrangements for the traveling expenses of the team, however, caused michigan to withdraw from the league the next year and the nine was forced once more to fall back upon the professional and semi-professional teams in neighboring cities. oberlin appeared upon the schedule in and michigan agricultural college twice defeated the varsity the following year. but if these years saw no remarkable schedules, the team was, nevertheless, steadily improving. the fielding average of the ' team was . ; and though less can be said of the batting, two members, mcdonnell, ' , and mcmillan, ' -' , had averages of . and . respectively. the _chronicle_ also was jubilant over the financial success of the ' season which left a surplus of $ in the treasury, after "elegant new suits" had been purchased. confidence in the ability of the team led to the first eastern trip in , which resulted in a close and exciting to victory over cornell at ithaca, may . from this time on cornell and other eastern colleges appeared with fair regularity in the schedule. games with harvard and yale were arranged in , and every candidate was pledged to strict training after february first under peter conway, a famous national league pitcher. the trip resulted in a creditable record; and although the game with yale was lost to , only three hits were scored off the pitcher, codd, ' , a record for the varsity almost as welcome as a victory. the game with harvard, won to , was peculiarly satisfying to the tired team, which had already played six games, and had had, in the words of captain codd, "as hard a course of training as any university team had, up to that time, ever undergone.... we had given our eastern antagonists a pretty good 'practice game,'" (the harvard manager's term). conditions were reversed the following year when yale was defeated to , but harvard won to . michigan returned to her western rivals in and was almost uniformly successful for several years. an eastern trip in was less fortunate, for it resulted in an unbroken series of defeats from vermont, dartmouth, harvard, princeton, and cornell. the spell with cornell was broken, however, in , when michigan won a decided victory to , at detroit, and had some revenge for previous defeats. e.c. shields, ' , ' _l_, center field and captain of the team that year, has described the winning of this game as the "most satisfactory moment" of his athletic career; the team was the best michigan had ever had, and the game after the first few innings became a successful struggle on the part of the pitcher, sexton, ' _m_, and his team-mates to make it a "shut-out." since that day michigan has more than broken even in her games with cornell. baseball at this time was genuinely popular; all of the classes in the literary department as well as many in the professional schools had their own teams, which not only gave the varsity good practice but played in a league among themselves, while the fraternities also had a league of some years' standing. this popularity of the national game was soon to pass, however, with the increasing vogue of football, and it has never regained the pre-eminent place it held in student favor during the period which ended in , though, it has always had many enthusiastic followers. the year ' saw an especially strong team, which not only was successful in the west but at least divided honors on the first eastern trip of some years. particularly spectacular was the final game with illinois which won the championship. michigan had already won two out of three games, but with a victory in the last of the series illinois saw a chance to claim the western honors. in the sixth inning illinois had men on second and third and no one out. guy miller, ' , ' _l_, otherwise known as "sox," was put in as pitcher, and though he had won a hard game the day before, he struck out the next two batters. the last man was put out easily, and miller held the rest of the game safely, with a final score of to . two fairly successful years followed, marked, however, by a uniformly disastrous eastern trip in . then followed in "the most unsuccessful baseball season in years," though the end came with a victory over cornell, to , largely through the efforts of michigan's greatest all-round athlete, neil snow, ' , in the last contest of his athletic career. he was responsible for six of the seven runs, bringing in three men with one three-base hit, while he himself managed to score on a poor throw. a final defeat from illinois the following year just missed the championship of the west for michigan. it is worthy of mention that it was at this game, on which many undergraduate hopes were centered, that the custom of singing "the yellow and the blue" in defeat as well as in victory was inaugurated. the western championship rested with michigan in and again in , but this was destined to be the last time for many years. much of the success of these two teams was due to frank sanger, ' _l_, who was considered the best college pitcher in the west. with begins another story. michigan was now out of the conference and there began a progressive decline in interest in baseball. many small colleges soon appeared on the schedules, and in the south began to figure prominently in the earlier season games. a few games with eastern colleges relieved the monotony, but the results were far from being always satisfactory. two interesting games with the japanese students of keio university ended the season of . while the university won both games with scores of to and to , they demonstrated how apt the oriental has been in picking up the fine points of the great american game. some amends for an unsuccessful season were made on june , by a thrilling to victory over pennsylvania before the thousands of guests and alumni who had gathered to celebrate the university's seventy-fifth anniversary. the painstaking efforts of branch rickey, who had been coach of the team since , and later became manager of the st. louis american league team, began to show results in . the following year michigan, in spite of no significant western games, had some justification for claiming the national championship through victories in two series of games with cornell and pennsylvania, the acknowledged leaders of the east. this record was due in no small part to the prowess of one player, george sisler, ' _e_, who, from his first season in , showed the extraordinary ability that made him not only michigan's greatest baseball player but one of the best all-round players in the history of the game. while in the university he alternated as pitcher and left fielder and was captain of the team in . this was the year carl lundgren began his successful career as baseball coach. an unexpected weakness in critical games and an unfortunate discussion over professionalism were probably the reasons for the poor success in of what was essentially an unusually competent team, while a nine composed almost entirely of inexperienced players counted heavily against the record. with the declaration of war in the spring of all forms of athletics were suspended. the value of outdoor sports, as a means of developing the physique of the future soldier, as well as the powers of leadership and co-operation so necessary in military service, was not at first recognized, and only after the baseball and track seasons of were long past was a more reasonable attitude toward collegiate athletics inaugurated as a result of an earnest plea on the part of the government that, as far as practicable, they be re-established. michigan's return to the western conference early in was marked by her first undisputed baseball championship since , the team winning nine out of ten conference games played. this record was practically repeated in , the varsity winning all but one out of a schedule of thirteen games, and that one not with a conference college. the season was equally satisfactory. football was introduced in the university a few years after the establishment of baseball. the first record of a game appears to be the following notice in the _chronicle_ of a game played on april , . the first foot-ball match in the university of late came off on saturday last, between the fresh and sophs. seven goals, or byes, or tallies, or scores, or something--we are not _au fait_ on foot-ball phraseology--constituted the game, which was won by the freshmen, the sophs coming out second best each time. foot-ball is a new institution on the campus, but bids fair to be popular, at least on cool days. this was not strictly the first appearance of the game, as the sophomore class in had secured a football, and the resulting impromptu contests had aroused some patronizing comment in the college paper. but this first effort was short-lived, and the sport went "to a grave too cold by far." that this death was "greatly exaggerated" is suggested by the paragraph quoted. as a matter of fact football steadily grew in favor from that time, although in its earliest years it was by no means the game we know now. there seemed to be no hard and fast rules, at least not according to the michigan practice of the early ' 's. it was largely, or more properly, entirely, a kicking game, with any number up to thirty on a side. this made it particularly popular as a vehicle for class rivalries, and we have record of one game in in which forty-two sophomores were defeated by _eighty-two_ freshmen, though the result was different when the two sides were equalized in a later contest. the number of participants in class games was not always limited to eleven players as late as - . the number of goals requisite to win a game also varied, depending upon a previous agreement of the two sides. the popular attitude toward football, and the status of athletics in general is amusingly suggested in the following paragraph which appeared in the _chronicle_, october , : the base-ball ground is well filled on these pleasant afternoons. the games of foot-ball, base-ball and cricket are played at the same time. it is quite laughable for an outsider to witness the consternation of the players of the two more scientific games when the mob engaged in the other sport comes towards them. by all four classes had their teams and the four captains formed a loose football organization, which became a football association the following year. modern football, the rugby game, was introduced in by charles m. gayley, ' , better known to generations of michigan students as the author of "the yellow and the blue," and now professor of english in the university of california. no inter-collegiate games were played, however, until may , , when michigan defeated racine at white stocking park, chicago, to , in what was probably the first inter-collegiate contest in the west; certainly no game had ever attracted such attention or drew such crowds as this one. i.k. pond, ' , in after years to be the architect of the michigan union, made a touchdown in the first half, and a goal from the field by de tar; ' , ' _m_, accounted for the balance of the varsity's score, while a safety was all that was permitted to racine. in the autumn of the same year michigan played a tie game with toronto at detroit. four cars filled with students accompanied the team and demonstrated the growing popularity of the rugby game. the team fully deserved this support, for the canadian eleven was more experienced and even the _chronicle_ acknowledged that they excelled in almost every part of the game. the following fall michigan won a second game at toronto, to , much to the disgust of the canadians. for some time there had been a growing demand for a series of games with eastern colleges. as a result michigan's first invasion of the east came in the fall of . the outcome was far from discouraging, in view of the inexperience of the michigan eleven and the greater interest in the game in the east; for though the varsity was uniformly defeated, the scores were by no means overwhelming. the game with harvard was lost to , and those with yale and princeton, to and to . [illustration: ferry field from the new stand, showing the gates and the club house] inter-collegiate football was dormant the following year, but in november, , a second eastern trip resulted in another clear demonstration of the greater advantages the game enjoyed in the seaboard colleges. the game with yale was a decided defeat to ; but harvard barely avoided a tie with a to score; wesleyan won to , while the one victory for the west was over stevens institute to . the harvard game was the greatest disappointment as michigan, with a much better team than in the previous game, had hoped for victory. all the circumstances, however, were unfavorable. the only possible schedule called for a game with yale the preceding day, and a series of new rules were flashed upon the team as the only ones under which the easterners would play. the game, which was played november , was an exceedingly close one, however, and the first half ended with neither side scoring, and most of the play in harvard's territory. a failure to kick goal following a score by harvard in the second half still left hope, though harvard repeatedly saved her goal by kicking. finally a harvard man ran out of bounds on michigan's twenty-five yard line and the ball was thrown out from that point according to the rules then in force. michigan secured it and by using the one trick play in her repertoire, the time-honored fake run, prettyman, ' , the manager of the team, started off with killilea, ' _l_, as his interference _behind him_, as the rules then demanded. the opposing full-back was ready for them, but just before the tackle the ball was passed to killilea, who went on for the touch-down while prettyman went head-on into the harvard full-back, calling "down" in accordance with the plan. the harvard umpire insisted that the ball was "down" where prettyman had been tackled, and the referee ordered it back to the middle of the field and then called the game on account of darkness. the michigan team arranged immediately to stay and play another game the next day. but instead of playing, harvard pleaded faculty interference and paid a $ forfeit. an eleven that could play yale one day, harvard the next, and then be ready for a third game, made a profound impression, however, and created great respect for western grit and sportsmanship. after this venture into the lime-light there came several years of comparatively minor games, due largely to the fact that few teams were available as competitors. for many years albion had a regular place on the schedule and was regularly defeated, save in , when it won for the first and last time. the chicago university club, the windsor club, the peninsular club of detroit, and notre dame were the principal opponents until the first game with cornell in . the result of this contest, to in favor of cornell, was discouraging, but in a second game the following year the varsity managed to score five points against cornell's twenty. this score came as the result of a long field goal by james duffy, ' _l_, who three years previously had won the first varsity medal for breaking an inter-collegiate record, with a drop-kick of feet - / inches, surpassing yale's previous record of feet, five times before he was satisfied. a new era in the history of football at michigan began in , when with a fair schedule and an experienced coach, frank crawford (yale, ' ), ' _l_, the systematic development of a team began; though it was not until several years later that football assumed the undisputed supremacy it now holds as a college sport. cornell won twice that year and gave michigan her first experience with "real interference and fast play." michigan took her first western trip the following year. the team was coached by frank barbour, a classmate of crawford's at yale, and for the first time played a complete schedule with the leading universities of the west, wisconsin, minnesota, northwestern, and chicago, with varying success. the varsity lost most of her principal games in , minnesota winning for the last time in twenty-seven years, though a final victory over chicago, to , was some compensation for the earlier defeats. the autumn of saw the beginning of a long series of remarkably successful seasons, which lasted with one or two partial relapses until . these twelve years were not only michigan's "golden age" of football, as far as the game itself is concerned, but also one of the longest series of almost uniformly successful seasons in the history of any of the larger american universities. it is true that a decisive defeat from cornell, to , marred the early season in , but a second game, to , redeemed the record. this was michigan's first victory over a rival of long standing. the team was a formidable one, equally strong on offense and defense, and included such well-known names in michigan's football annals as h.m. ("mort") senter, ' -' , _m_' - , end; gustave h. ("dutch") ferbert, ' , end in ' and later half-back; g.r.f. ("count") villa, _l_, tackle; f.w. ("pa") henninger, ' , guard; and "jimmy" baird, ' , quarter-back. w.l. mccauley, princeton, ' , who had entered the medical school, proved his ability as a coach during this and the two succeeding seasons. previous to this time there had been little supervision of athletics on the part of the faculty, and no attention was paid to the composition of the teams or the academic standing of the players. when the general athletic association was organized in , an advisory board of three non-resident alumni and four faculty members was established, though at first it had slight influence. the faculty members were becoming impressed, however, with the significance of the growing interest in athletics all over the country and realized the necessity of some form of effective supervision. up to this time there had been no real distinction in the west between professional and amateur. the question came home to michigan as the result of a disclosure that two men on the track team were sub-freshmen, not yet in college, although they entered the following fall. the athletic board promptly requested the resignation of the captain of the team and published the facts. the faculty was also aroused. the result was the organization in of the board in control of athletics, which ordinarily has had the final word in the administration of athletic affairs since that time. it is at present composed of four faculty representatives, elected by the university senate, three alumni, appointed by the regents, three students appointed by the directors of the athletic association, and the director of outdoor athletics. the year , therefore, aside from the beginnings of a real football team, was important also because it saw the awakening of the faculty to its responsibility in athletic affairs, and a corresponding growth in the whole university body of higher ideals of inter-collegiate sport, with the university "started fairly and squarely on the road to athletic cleanliness." the movement thus inaugurated resulted in the establishment of the western inter-collegiate conference on february , . this is a body composed of representatives from the athletic boards of seven (later ten) leading mid-western universities, which has aimed from the first, not only to regulate and standardize the conditions of all forms of inter-collegiate athletic competition but also to maintain a high ideal of amateurism in college sports. the formation of this body, which soon came to be the most powerful influence in the west for clean athletics, was due in no small part to president angell, who was instrumental in calling the first meeting, as well as to dr. c.b.g. de nancrède and professor albert h. pattengill, the michigan representatives at that first meeting. professor pattengill's interest in outdoor sports was lifelong. his was the moving spirit in the conference through many years; and to him, more than to any other, michigan owes, not only the present effective organization of athletics, but the securing of ferry field and its equipment. the records of the football teams of and were quite overwhelming for those days, points to their opponents' in and points to the next season. the only disappointments were a to defeat from harvard in and a to victory for chicago in . a season of uninterrupted victories in was again cut short by a defeat from chicago to in the last game. chicago had now come to occupy the chief place on the schedule and the seeds of that rivalry which was later to prove so unfortunate in western inter-collegiate affairs were already being sown. an unbroken series of victories marked the season, with the championship of the west decided by a thrilling to victory over chicago. at the end of the first half in this game the score stood to ,--a touchdown for michigan and a goal from the field by chicago's great punter, herschberger. one of the most spectacular runs in michigan's football history came in the early part of the second half when c.h. widman, a freshman, broke through between left end and tackle, ran down the field sixty yards, broke away from the chicago full-back, and squirmed across the remaining five yards for a touchdown. chicago's subsequent touchdown made the score a close one but left the championship, the first in three years, with michigan. the center on this team, w.r. cunningham, ' _m_, was michigan's first player on an all-american team. this team had been coached by a number of the older players, a system that was followed again in , but with no brilliant success. a change came in when langdon lea, of princeton, took charge. he instituted some revolutionary changes and insisted on the fundamentals of the game,--always the weak point of western football. the season, however, was not a great success, and in the final game with chicago, coach stagg, with his famous "whoa-back" formation, was able to take advantage of michigan's weakness in backing up the tackles, and won with a score of to . the record for the following year was very different. fielding h. yost, who received his football training at the university of west virginia and lafayette, was called to michigan from stanford and entered upon his long and successful career as michigan's football coach. not only has he proved himself time and again a master of football strategy, but his insistence on the highest ideals of sportsmanship has been one of the strongest factors in the development of clean athletics at michigan. the new coach undeniably had good material to work with in his first team. most of the men comprising it had been well trained in the finer points of the game by his predecessor and included such exceptional players as captain hugh white, ' _l_, tackle; curtis redden, ' _l_, end; neil snow, ' , full-back; harrison s. ("boss") weeks, ' _l_, quarter; and everett sweeley, ' , half-back; while to this list were added that year martin heston, ' _l_, one of the greatest backs in the history of the game; the center, george gregory, ' _l_; and the old reliable guard dan mcgugin, ' _l_. this team under yost's astute and resourceful direction proved invincible, and became one of the greatest elevens in the history of football. whether it could have dealt successfully with the eastern champions will always be a question, but it certainly found little effective opposition in the west; for the final record showed an uninterrupted succession of victories with not a point scored against the team. the total tells the story, points to ; with the university of buffalo beaten by the extraordinary score of to . the final game of the season was played with stanford at pasadena, california, on new year's day, . the quality of the team was shown by the fact that they won by a score of to in spite of the fact that they had been in training for four months, and left michigan in zero weather to play in what was to them a summer heat. snow was given a place that year on caspar whitney's all-american team, while walter camp selected snow, weeks, heston, and bruce shorts, ' _l_ (tackle), for the all-western team. except for the fact that the eleven was scored upon twice, once by case and once by minnesota, the record in was much the same as in , points to their opponents' . although there were many changes in the team the following year, there was a consistent development of team-work, which, combined with heston's extraordinary ability in carrying the ball, enabled michigan to go through the season with only one score against the team, in a tie game with minnesota. the team, though it was scored upon three times, was also uniformly victorious under the leadership of heston, who was twice given a place on camp's all-american, as well as his all-time all-american team chosen in . the championship passed to chicago, however, though the team was scored upon only by the two points which lost michigan the final game with chicago. this defeat came as a result of an error in judgment which cost michigan a safety instead of the touch-back that might easily have changed defeat into at least a tie. the following men composing this team were very generally selected for all-western honors; thomas s. hammond, ' _l_, half-back; joseph s. curtis, ' _e_, tackle; and henry f. schulte, ' , guard, who were members of the and elevens, and adolph ("germany") schulz, _e_' - , center. not a little credit for the record of this team must also be given to the captain, fred s. norcross, ' _e_, while john c. garrels, ' _e_, end, destined to hold a record only second to niel snow, as an all-round athlete, and walter ("octy") graham, ' _e_, who proved extraordinarily active at end and later at guard, in spite of his pounds, first won their "m's" as players on the eleven. meanwhile a change had come in michigan's relations with the other universities composing the western inter-collegiate conference which eventually led to her withdrawal from that body, and brought to an end for some twelve years all competition with her natural rivals in the west. this action applied to all forms of inter-collegiate sport, but the agitation centered almost exclusively about football and may therefore be properly mentioned in this place. for some years there had been developing throughout the country a powerful opposition to inter-collegiate football which began with the introduction of the rugby game. the old-time open game had been replaced by powerful mass-plays, dangerous to limb and even to life. the conditions under which the "big games" were played had little reference to wholesome college life, the essential amateur spirit was fast disappearing, rivalries were becoming bitter, as was the case between michigan and chicago, and in fact the whole academic spirit was threatened by the exaggerated emphasis on this one phase of college sport. michigan took the initiative for a reform, through a letter from president angell, calling for a meeting of representatives of the leading western universities in chicago in january, . all the institutions represented at this meeting were unanimous in the feeling that drastic measures were necessary; wisconsin even asked for the abandonment of the game for two years. the result was a series of demands for fundamental reforms, including the abolition of the training table and excessive gate receipts, a modification of the professional coaching system, and finally a provision that no freshmen should be allowed to take part in inter-collegiate contests, and that no student should participate more than three seasons. this action was a bomb-shell whose fragments disrupted the student and alumni bodies of all the western conference colleges. criticism became intense, but eventually all the nine conference colleges accepted the new rules with certain amendments except michigan, where a four-year contract with yost made special difficulties. the student body and many alumni felt aggrieved at a clause in the new rules which made the three-year playing rule retroactive, thereby barring out several of the most prominent players, including garrels, after their junior year. they therefore demanded that michigan sever her relations with the west and seek her future opponents among eastern universities. implicit in the whole discussion also was the question as to whether the faculty was to have the last word in the control of athletics. this was the fundamental demand of the conference, while the effective opinion at michigan favored a broader control by students, faculty and alumni, in which the final decision was to rest with the board of regents. this view was accepted by the regents; changes were made in the organization of the board in control of athletics which limited the authority of the faculty, and michigan, by simply refusing to abide by certain of the rules of the conference, automatically ceased to be a member in . for twelve years, to , michigan put to the test the conviction of the students and many alumni that michigan could find satisfactory opponents elsewhere than in the conference. the result was not encouraging, for on the whole these were lean years. the football schedules proved unsatisfactory and though michigan won her share of games, interest and enthusiasm waned correspondingly, while the baseball and track teams suffered even more. henceforth the principal opponents were pennsylvania, cornell, syracuse, and for a time vanderbilt. during the seasons of and the team was defeated in the principal games, though one player, schulz, not only won a place on camp's all-american team in , but was also the second michigan player chosen on his all-time all-american. things went a little better in and . pennsylvania was finally defeated and minnesota, who appeared temporarily on the schedule for two seasons, as a result of her desire to play michigan and her own dissatisfaction with the conference, was twice defeated and michigan was able to claim the rather empty honor of an unacknowledged championship of the west. albert benbrook, ' _e_, guard on these two teams, was given an all-american position by walter camp. for the first time since cornell appeared on the schedule in and defeated the varsity, but lost in turn the following year; a record for the two years which was just reversed with pennsylvania. both teams were decisively defeated in and pennsylvania again in , but a game with harvard on soldiers' field in resulted in an honorable defeat for michigan with a score of to . though harvard had not been particularly effective up to that time the michigan team made a strong impression, and john maulbetsch, ' _p_, left-half, was placed on practically every all-american team as a result of his work in this game. the unsatisfactory basis under which michigan was maintaining her relationship with the east was shown, however, by harvard's unwillingness to play a return game in ann arbor the following year. this was perhaps fortunate as events turned out, for michigan was unusually weak in and the record was not much better, with defeats from both cornell and pennsylvania. ever since michigan had taken her stand on the conference, there had been vigorous discussion, but the unanimous approval necessary for a return was absent. the unfortunate end of the football season, however, led to a renewal of the discussion. eventually the board in control passed a resolution giving the faculty, as represented by the senate council, a veto over the actions of the board. this was eventually approved by the regents and the way was open to resume athletic relationship with the universities of the west in the fall of . though the ban on inter-collegiate athletics which followed the declaration of war in april, , had been raised before the football season at the urgent plea of the war department, the team was seriously weakened by the enlistment of many of its best players. this happened everywhere, however, and michigan came through the schedule with fair success, though defeated by northwestern in the one conference game of that year. but in war-time conditions were felt more severely, particularly in the general disorganization incident to the s.a.t.c. régime, while the ravages of the influenza epidemic multiplied the difficulties. nevertheless michigan managed to survive the season not only undefeated but with some claims to the western championship. the record in was very different, however, with defeats in all the conference games played save with northwestern, a disgrace which was at least partially retrieved by the eleven, which lost a hard-fought battle with illinois by the honorable score of to and won from chicago, to , and minnesota, to . though informal running, jumping, and hurdling matches as well as wrestling and boxing always had a certain degree of popularity among the students, track athletics, as a form of inter-collegiate sport, was not organized until football and baseball had been recognized for some time. a university athletic club was organized in , with the captains of the running and jumping squads among the officers, though no public contests were held, apparently, until when the first "athletic tournament" took place on the fair grounds. this was followed in june, , by the first field day, with the -yard and -yard dashes, standing long jump, baseball throw, ten-mile walk, and a fencing contest among the principal events. the next year saw two such tournaments, under the auspices of the football and baseball associations respectively. the merchants of ann arbor gave prizes for these contests, some contributing medals, while one firm gave two boxes of cigars and another "the best hat in the store." by the program became very elaborate, some twenty events were scheduled with records of one hour and minutes for the ten-mile walk, - / minutes for the three-mile walk, and . for the half-mile run. such events as a standing jump backwards, a three-legged race, and passing the football and punting also found place on the programme, which was concluded by a rugby match. particular interest was taken at this time in running, and it is told by one of the members of the football team that almost defeated harvard in that an impromptu race at buffalo, while they were waiting for a train, went a long way toward defraying the expenses of some of the men, who were paying their own way. the outstanding track athlete of the day was fred m. bonine, ' _m_, whose record in sprints led michigan to enter the inter-collegiate athletic association, where he won the -yard dash in - / seconds at new york in . this was michigan's first and last effort for some years; and track athletics had a fluctuating career until the northwestern inter-collegiate athletic association, composed of michigan, wisconsin, minnesota, and northwestern, was organized in . the first field day of this organization was held june , , with michigan the winner with points against for wisconsin, her closest competitor. michigan did not again win first honors until , and then, after taking third place in , she held the championship banner for five successive seasons, to , and once more in . during this period the varsity was also very generally winning dual meets with cornell, wisconsin, and illinois, though she lost to chicago in and . michigan also won the four-mile relay race at the pennsylvania relay meet for six successive years, to , and made the best record of any university entered in the track events scheduled at the same time. after the eastern inter-collegiate meet necessarily came to hold first place in the schedule, and here also michigan always made a creditable record though never succeeding in taking first place. the team returned in with second honors, and then held third place for five successive years, to , with pennsylvania, yale, and cornell usually leading in different years. the varsity fell behind, however, in and . owing to war-time conditions no meets were held in , but michigan's return to the conference fold was marked by two successive western championships in and . this long and honorable record in field sports has been made possible by consistent encouragement of well-rounded teams in which all branches were carefully developed, through the extraordinary ability of keene fitzpatrick, perhaps the greatest athletic trainer and track coach in the country. his acceptance of a similar position at princeton in was a great loss to michigan, where he had served for sixteen years. as early as michigan held several western records. the first of michigan's all-round athletes was john f. mclean, ' , who not only won regularly the hurdles and broad jump, equaling or bettering the western records, but was also half-back on the football team. charles dvorak, ' , ' _l_, also held the western record in the pole vault, while archie hahn, ' _l_, speedily developed into one of the country's greatest sprinters, equaling several times the world's record in the -yard dash of - / seconds, which still stands. he returned to the university in as trainer of the various athletic teams. neil snow also completed in his remarkable record of eleven out of a possible twelve "m's" open to him, by tying with another michigan man, barrett, in the high jump at the conference meet, and taking second in the shotput. nelson a. kellogg, ' , came decidedly to the fore in in the long-distance runs, and ended his college career with a record of . - / in the two-mile. the organization of a cross country club in was directly responsible for the long list of relay victories at philadelphia. the team, composed of h.p. ramey, ' _e_; h.l. coe, ' _e_; i.k. stone, ' ; and floyd a. rowe, ' _e_, set the world's record for the four-mile and lowered it again in to minutes - / seconds, while the individual members of this team were almost invariably to be counted on as point winners in every meet. john c. garrels, ' _e_, is also to be reckoned among the great all-round athletes; not only was he one of the best men on the football team but he was a consistent winner in all the track meets, taking first in both hurdles and second in the shotput at the eastern inter-collegiate in . among more ephemeral stars of this period was ralph rose, who remained in college just long enough to set the record in for the hammer throw at feet inches and for the shotput at feet inches. the records of two men, ralph craig, ' , and joseph horner, ' , were the striking features of the next few seasons, craig winning the two dashes in the eastern inter-collegiate in , equaling the record in both, while horner won first in the discus, second in the shotput, hammer throw and broad jump, and third in the high jump. harold l. smith, ' , also won the two dashes in and took a first and a second the following year, almost equaling craig's record. michigan's two conference championships in and were assured by the extraordinary ability of carl johnson, ' , who took three firsts in and four in , breaking his own record with a broad jump of feet inch, setting a new record for the high jump of feet - / inches and winning both hurdles, thus gaining of michigan's - / points, a performance never equaled in a major inter-collegiate contest. the particular favor with which football, baseball, and track athletics have always been regarded has not prevented a healthy interest in other sports. though cricket and wicket died somewhere about , for the _chronicle_ remarked in that not "even the ghost of a cricket bat" had been seen for two years, and football "was in its decline," baseball was exceedingly popular and a general interest in boating was developing which promised to "equal if not supplant it in popular favor." shells were purchased, entertainments for the new boating association were given, and for a time the new sport flourished. but the nautical resources of the huron and whitmore lake were all too slender and after a few years the enthusiasm died, though occasionally talk of a varsity crew springs up. tennis came into vogue about . an association was established as early as and we have it, once more on the _chronicle's_ carefully qualified authority, that "athletics in general have given way to lawn tennis to a certain extent." the tennis association was merged, with the other separate athletic bodies, into the general athletic association in , and by when michigan first participated in the western inter-collegiate tennis matches, the members of the team were awarded the varsity letter. henry t. danforth, ' ; h.p. wherry, ' ; r.g. st. john, ' _l_, and reuben g. hunt, ' _l_, were members of the four teams which led the west in the years from to , the last championship until , when walter wesbrook, ' , captured the singles, and with nicholas bartz, jr., ' , the doubles at chicago. the return to the conference also gave a great impetus to the development of basket ball as a major sport. though michigan's first teams have not been remarkably successful, the players are now awarded the varsity "m," and interest in the contests is growing rapidly, partly because the game itself is fast and exciting, demanding even greater quickness and stamina than football, and partly because the season fills in the interval between the end of the football and the opening of the baseball and track seasons in the spring. a swimming team has also been organized under a competent coach, but it is probable that no great progress will be made until the completion of the tanks in the union and the gymnasium. the women of the university have not been far behind the men in the development of athletics. not only have they always been loyal supporters of the university in inter-collegiate contests, but they have their own organized athletic interests which have been no small factor in the development of the distinctive life of the women in the university. this has come largely through barbour gymnasium, completed in , and the palmer athletic field for women, which was purchased some twelve years later. the gymnasium, as its name implies, was largely made possible through a gift of property in detroit valued at $ , , by the hon. levi l. barbour, ' , ' _l_, of detroit, regent of the university from to , and from to . the building eventually cost $ , . , and includes not only the gymnasium proper, by feet, completely equipped, but also two large parlors and a series of offices, the headquarters of the women's league, as well as a small auditorium and stage above, seating about persons, named in honor of the president's wife "sarah caswell angell hall." palmer field was made possible through two gifts, the first of $ , from the hon. peter white, regent from to , and the second of $ , from ex-senator t.w. palmer, ' , of detroit. it comprises a rolling six-acre tract, just south of the observatory, and therefore within easy walking distance of the gymnasium. these gifts not only ensured systematic physical training for university women, but also quickly led to a broader interest in sports for women, as is shown by the pictures of three women's basket-ball teams in the _michiganensian_. since that time there has been a continuous and consistent development under competent instruction, with special emphasis placed on basket ball and such outdoor sports as cross-country walking, hockey, baseball, tennis, swimming, and archery, all of which are supported by a women's athletic association. during the war also a drill company was organized under officers of the s.a.t.c. in closing this review of the development of athletics in the university it may not be amiss to emphasize the fact that the present status of collegiate sport is not without its inconsistencies and dangers. there is real peril for _mens sana_ in an overdeveloped _corpore sano_. the general and healthy interest in all forms of outdoor sport of earlier days has been all but lost in this era of specialization. nowadays the varsity team too often is far from being the apex of a pyramid whose foundations lie in a widely distributed and wholesome interest in sports for their own sake. too often we have the spectacle of high-school students coming to our universities with their careers all made for them, because of their ability in athletics, bringing with them a spirit of professionalism utterly foreign to university ideals. and yet all this has come as a natural result of the heritage of the american college student, of enterprise, resourcefulness, and love of outdoor life and sports. the ideal, of course, is a general participation of all students in some form of outdoor games, and toward this those who have the best interest of inter-collegiate athletics at heart are working. a department of intramural athletics has been established for some time, which seeks to develop a general interest in all kinds of sport;--tennis, for which ferry field is admirably equipped with eighteen courts, boxing, gymnastics, swimming, cross-country running, hockey, indoor baseball and hand-ball, to say nothing of an increasing emphasis on class and fraternity football, base-ball, and basket-ball teams. the difficulty which faces those who seek to develop this programme to its utmost lies in the attitude of many students and alumni, whose sole interest in the university is to see that she maintains winning teams. they fail to see that there is more in the annual "big game" than nine or eleven supreme athletes brought together to "represent" the university. fortunately there are many more who view the whole question in its proper perspective, men who are no less thrilled by the contagious enthusiasm of the annual big games, and who recognize them as an inevitable and not undesirable factor in our college life, but who seek to bring athletics into a sane and wholesome relationship with the academic life of our universities. that is the principal consideration which underlies all the discussions which have arisen in the past and which are inevitable in the future,--as long as american youth, on the one hand, maintains its vigorous and enterprising spirit, and our universities, on the other hand, insist on their prerogative as institutions where fundamentally the things of the spirit must rule. chapter xii town and campus it was a happy stroke of fortune that fixed ann arbor as the location of the university of michigan. a literal interpretation of history may suggest that politics and speculation had their share in the selection of the site, but these factors might have operated quite as easily in favor of some other michigan village. the fact remains that ann arbor was chosen. this assured to the university an individuality and an opportunity for self-realization that might have been lost if a town destined to a more rapid expansion had been selected. it has given michigan a special character among most of the larger american universities and has had a vital influence on the development of the institution, which has grown proportionately far more than the town. the result has been that ann arbor has become one of the most attractive academic centers in the country, with a distinctive charm in her homes and shady streets, that strikes the visitor no less than the beauty of its location and the dignity of many of its public buildings. ann arbor lies in the rolling country of southern michigan, thirty-eight miles west of detroit, in the quietly picturesque valley of the huron river. the university and a good part of the present town lie upon the top and slopes of a gentle hill which falls away to the valley levels on all sides except toward the northeast. from this situation arises one of the characteristic features of ann arbor; the ever-present glimpses of distant hills covered with rolling farm lands and woodlots, toward which almost any of the longer streets lead the eye. at the time the university was established the flow of immigration from the east was at high tide. ann arbor had already become one of the progressive and settled communities of the new state; but farther to the west other districts were constantly being opened and towards them a steady stream of settlers pressed on. one of the early inhabitants of ann arbor has given us a picture from his boyhood memories, of the long line of wagons filled with household goods and drawn by horses and oxen, which sometimes stretched along the pike as far as the eye could reach. the men who drove these wagons and the women who rode above with the youngest of their little families were not adventurers; they were essentially home-seekers. their strong fiber was shown by their energy and courage in seeking thus to better their condition in this new country, which at last had in prospect means of communication with the seaboard states through the erie canal and the railroads soon to be built. it was settlers with this stuff in them who gave to the university of michigan the support that spelled success instead of the failure which had attended many similar efforts. the very name, ann arbor, recalls an idyll of pioneer life. it sketches in a picture that is no doubt more charming than the bitter mid-winter reality faced by the first two families, whose tents were pitched in a burr-oak grove beside a little stream flowing toward the nearby huron. john allen of this party, a vigorous young virginian, was the driving force which first turned the tide of settlement toward ann arbor. by chance, on his way west, he met e.w. rumsey and his wife in cleveland and induced them to come with him to michigan. they drove overland and arrived at the site of their future home some time in february, . a tent and sled box set over poles with blankets for sides formed the first dwelling, and here some months later allen welcomed his wife, whose name was ann. mrs. rumsey's name also happened to be the same, and when in the spring the grape vines spread their leaves over the neighboring trees, these first settlers found a little natural arbor, which they called, doubtless at first in jest, "ann's arbor." the name persisted, however, and it was formally adopted by general acclamation at a celebration held on the fourth of july, , when some three hundred persons sat down to a dinner at rumsey's coffee-house. so far had civilization progressed in a little over a year. by that time there were nine log houses in the little settlement, which had already begun to take its place as one of the way-stations in the general tide of westward travel. for some time, however, communication with detroit was difficult, and it was not until two years before the university was opened that the long-awaited railroad actually reached ann arbor. therefore, for many years the little settlement had to be largely self-supporting. such water power as the huron could furnish was quickly developed; sawmills, gristmills, and a little later, woolen mills arose at favorable sites, the ruins of which are still to be seen where the relics of the dams now serve as hazards for the venturesome paddler. the first tendency of the inhabitants was to settle on the rise above the little stream; known as allen's creek, which furnished the water supply for the earliest pioneers. this rivulet, practically hidden nowadays, runs through the city on a course roughly parallel with the ann arbor railroad tracks. the site of the burr-oak grove and the original encampment was almost certainly on the hillside on the south side of huron street, a block or so west of main street. this was reported to be an old dancing ground of the pottawatomies, and an indian trail used to run to the huron along the stream. rumsey built a log cabin on this spot immediately and established in it a resting-place for travelers, known far and wide as the washtenaw coffee house. the second building was erected by allen on higher ground at what is now the corner of huron and main streets. it was painted a bright red and the place for some time went by the name of "bloody corners." at one time the two apartments of the little log house held fourteen men and twenty-one women and children, divided into family groups by the simple expedient of hanging blankets. in what seems now an incredibly short time life was moving in organized channels. a store was opened in september, and others soon followed; more buildings were erected; a physician or two swelled the population; in a little over two years a county court was established; and finally, in , the village was incorporated. for many years the little town was divided into two separate districts by the huron river, and a determined effort arose to make the section on the north side the main business and residential quarter. this was not to be; though the old business blocks still stand across the broadway bridge, and many of the finer homes of that period, now falling into decay, remain on the hills along the turnpikes to plymouth and pontiac. it was probably not until the location of the university was fixed that the center of ann arbor's population began, very slowly at first, to turn to the south and east, and mounted the slopes of the hill upon which the university stands. certain it is that for years the campus was practically in the country, and only gradually did the dwellings of the townspeople rise in the neighborhood. aside from the university there was nothing east of state street, except an old burying ground and one dwelling, occupied by the ubiquitous pat kelly, whose freedom of the agricultural privileges of the campus made him quite as important a financial factor of the community as the members of the faculty he served. to the north was a district known as the "commons." professor ten brook tells how he was accustomed every sunday morning on his way to church in lower town, to strike across this open place to the ravine just west of the present hospital buildings up which glen avenue now passes. coming out on fuller street, the river road, he passed the old kellogg farmhouse, the only home until within a few blocks of the church across the river. lower town was but little smaller then than in these days; it had its own schools as well as churches and when ann arbor received a city charter in it held aloof for some time. the original settlement about the court-house square extended no further to the west than allen's creek for many years, while there was little to the south of the present william street save scattered farmhouses and a large brickyard. [illustration: a view of ann arbor across the valley of the huron--the hospital buildings with the university beyond] in the beginning ann arbor was solely a farming community, a character it retained essentially until the increasing number of manufacturing plants in recent years has somewhat changed its aspect. the first inhabitants were almost entirely new englanders, true yankees in faith, resourcefulness, and business enterprise. but it was not long before immigrants of another type began to arrive; south germans, who had left their native land to seek homes in the freer religious and political atmosphere of the new world. they speedily became an important factor in the growth of the town, as the business names on main street nowadays show; almost all borne by descendants of the early german settlers, who have for the most part identified themselves wholly with their new home. this was revealed by the recent war. while there were some who, through a sentimental attraction for the home of their fathers, stimulated by the unscrupulous efforts of germany's representatives, were actively pro-german in their sympathies or at least violently torn between their love for the old home and loyalty to the new land, there were many others, probably the majority, who were out and out loyalists on every occasion, and who by spoken word and action proved their unhyphenated americanism. the brave record of the ann arbor men in the civil war, and in france a half century later, where several of foreign parentage lost their lives, is ample proof of the solid qualities in this element among ann arbor's first inhabitants. whatever their parentage or creed, the dwellers in the little double community saw to it from the first that, at least in some measure, the religious and intellectual needs of the people were satisfied. there is evidence that occasional religious services were held in , but the first church, the presbyterian, was not established until august, . for some years it was migratory in its meeting places, passing from a log schoolhouse to a room in "cook's" hotel and finally in to the first church built in ann arbor, an unpainted log structure by feet on the site of the present church on huron street. the other denominations quickly followed this example and by there were six churches to serve the needs of the , inhabitants of the village, as well as the surrounding countryside, including the first lutheran church for the german-speaking settlers in michigan. the journalist also appeared on the scene in this prologue to the drama of the university's history. less than six years after the arrival of the first settlers, the first number of the _western emigrant_ appeared on october , . like all country journals of that period it was far more interested in national politics and even foreign affairs than local events; any one who searches for a chronicle of the daily life of those times finds scant reward in the columns of these papers. even so important an event as the first meeting of the regents is dismissed with a brief paragraph which throws no light on many interesting questions raised by the official report of that gathering. yet such slender sheets as this, which eventually became the _state journal_, and its democratic contemporary, the _argus_, established in , furnish a picture of the life of those times in unexpected ways that would greatly surprise their editors, whose duty, as they saw it, was chiefly to guide the political opinions of their readers by strong and biting editorials, by long reports of legislative actions and by publishing the speeches of the political leaders of their party. the enterprise and industry of the community shows up well in advertisements, where every form of trade suitable for such a growing community found representation. one merchant advertised some packages of fine dress goods from the east in a long and alluring list anticipating the great celebration over the arrival of the railroad; another firm, whose specialty was "drugs, paints, oils, dye-stuffs, groceries," offered its wares "for cash or barter, as cheap if not cheaper than they can be procured west of detroit." cook's "hotel" announced a few years later that it had been "greatly enlarged and fitted up in a style equal to any public house in the place," and that its location in the public square was "one of the most pleasant and healthy in ann arbor." the editor of the _argus_ in revealed the secrets of his business office in the following double-column notice: wood! wood! those of our subscribers who wish to pay their subscriptions in wood will please favor us immediately. professional ethics was not quite so tender a subject in those days as it is at present, for john allen announces in that he maintains a law office for the convenience of his clients where he may be sought in consultation, while "doct. s. denton," whose subsequent standing as regent and professor was unquestioned, announces on april , , that he has removed his office to the court house in the south room on the east side of the hall. those who call after bed-time will please knock at the window if the door is fastened. it is noticeable also that even at this time, ten years after the village was founded, the spelling, "ann arbour," is followed in numerous places while the _argus_ in its headline gives it, "ann-arbor," with a hyphen. as with religion and politics, as represented by the newspapers of the day, so with education. it is not improbable that one of that group of nine log cabins which was ann arbor in housed a primary school; certainly a school taught by miss monroe was under way that year at the corner of main and ann streets. this was at first a private venture and was housed in various places, but in it was finally moved into a brick building,--on the jail lot, of all places!--and became a public enterprise. the children in the community were all small in those days--there were only children between five and fifteen years in --and it was not for some years that a need for secondary schools was felt. the first academy was established in where greek and latin and the "higher branches of english education" were taught. this was soon discontinued, to be succeeded by an academy in the rude building which served the presbyterian church. although this particular school was short-lived, its successor soon came to be known as the best in the territory and numbered the sons of many prominent detroit families among its pupils. several schools came in , including an experiment some distance out what is now packard street, known as the manual labor school, in which the pupils paid a part or the whole of their expenses by daily farm work. the misses page also maintained for many years a very "genteel" young ladies' seminary, long reckoned a most substantial and worthy school, where not only the classics, moral philosophy, and literature were taught, but also heraldry,--an eminently useful branch in a pioneer community! the lower town district as well was not without its schools and an academy. provision was also made for pre-collegiate training during the first years of the university. so it would appear that on the whole ann arbor was well provided with schools from its earliest days. the discontinuance of elementary work in the university, however, and a consolidation of the schools of the two districts finally led to the establishment of the union high school in . the first building was erected at a cost of $ , on the present site of the high school and was opened to students in , while most of the ward buildings were built during the sixties. close association with the university undoubtedly strengthened the ann arbor schools, and the high school soon became, in practice, a preparatory school for the university, particularly after the organic connection between university and schools through the diploma system became effective. this enabled the ann arbor high school to become one of the best secondary schools of the state with an attendance for many years far exceeding the normal enrolment in other cities of the same population. while the townspeople have always shown their pride in the university and their interest in its welfare, ann arbor has not escaped entirely the traditional rivalries between town and gown. the village had a flourishing civic and commercial life before the first students came; even after it was established, the university for years was comparatively small and made no great place for itself in local affairs, as one may easily surmise by the rare references to it in the early newspapers. the members of the faculty, however, were welcomed from the first as leaders in the community, though perhaps less can be said for the students, whose irrepressible spirits often led them to carry things with a high hand. nor was the younger element in the town blameless. the result was an occasional crisis which was sometimes serious. the indignation meeting of the citizens over the modification of the building program, as well as the similarly expressed support given the students in the fraternity struggle of , were mentioned in the first chapter, and evidence a more cordial entente than is suggested by a serio-comic squabble in between the students and the teutonic element in the town, long known as the "dutch war." the original trouble appears to have started in this case with the students, though it was probably the outgrowth of old animosities between them and the rougher and foreign elements in the town. for, despite vigorous efforts on the part of the president and faculty to enforce the law against the sale of liquor to undergraduates, many student difficulties were to be traced to popular downtown resorts maintained largely by the german inhabitants. on this occasion the trouble started at "hangsterfer's," in an altercation between two students, who were making themselves unpleasant, and the proprietor of the place. the next night the students returned in force and demanded free drinks, and, upon their being refused, precipitated a general mêlée in which clubs were used and even knives were drawn. in the end, the unfortunate owners were chased to the outskirts of town by the uproarious students. bad feeling followed this episode and one night six uninvited students broke into a ball at "binders's," where they surreptitiously helped themselves to the refreshments--presumably liquid. one of them was captured and only released after planks had been brought to batter down the brick walls of the building and a squad of medical students, armed with muskets, had arrived on the scene. warrants were sworn out for the six the next day, but the officers were foiled by exchanges of clothing, by the culprits never eating in the same place twice, by their substituting for one another in recitations with the tacit approval, apparently, of their instructors, and by concealment in the observatory, or, in the case of three of them, in a regent's house. finally two students were sent down to the scene of the battle to buy liquor, and with this as evidence, a sufficient case against the proprietor was secured to induce him to withdraw his complaints. this ended the "war." equally objectionable to the ann arbor citizens, though more excusable perhaps, was the standing protest of the students at the condition of the wooden sidewalks in the town, whose improvement apparently formed no part of the programme for civic betterment on the part of the good but conservative burghers. the students therefore constantly took matters in their own hands and about once in so often the offending rickety planks went up in flames. the class of ' thus celebrated after its examinations in the spring of . their raid on the sidewalks had been unusually comprehensive and the city fathers became thoroughly aroused. arrests were threatened, and serious trouble was certain, when acting president frieze settled the matter by paying the $ damages out of his own slenderly lined pocket. this the offending class eventually made up to him by laying a tax upon its members, doubtless to the great disgust of the innocent ones, "who thought bad form had been displayed somewhere." this experience, however, by no means ended the practice, which continued down to the present day of flag and cement. the _chronicle_ once even took occasion to point out certain places where-- if the freshmen _insist_ upon celebrating their transition state by the customary hints to citizens in regard to side-walks, etc., we think we cannot do better than call their attention to a wretched collection of rotten planks which lie along the fence on division street, not far from william. the local police force has always been fair game for the students, a position "he" (to use the long-standing quip) did not always appreciate. gatherings of students in the streets were at one time looked upon with great disfavor, while the daily "rushes" at the old post-office, before the days of carrier delivery, were particularly prolific sources of trouble. the office before was especially inconvenient, and when the officers, warned by previous trouble, proposed to allow students to enter only one at a time, which meant that many would go without their mail, a disturbance threatened at once, and several were arrested. the next night matters proved even more serious; the fire-bell called out the state militia, who charged with fixed bayonets and wounded several persons. a dozen students were jailed indiscriminately but no one could be found to prefer charges the following morning. suits for false imprisonment were brought against the city and mayor but were eventually discontinued on the advice of judge cooley. in november, , even more serious trouble arose following another series of arrests for post-office "rushing." during the evening sounds of rifle shots were heard, and the students, already excited, scented more trouble. they gathered in a great crowd in front of the house where the firing had occurred but found that it was only a wedding celebration. then, with characteristic good nature, they called for a speech, but their intentions were misinterpreted, and when the militia, who had attended the wedding in a body, marched out the students followed them with jokes and jeers. finally the militiamen lost patience and charged with clubbed guns, and one quiet student who had been apparently only a spectator, was felled to the ground and afterward died of his injury. the sergeant in charge of the soldiers was also seriously injured. in this instance the students were guilty of nothing but noise, while the militia were acting entirely contrary to the law. nevertheless, though eight men were arrested, the blame could not be fixed on any one man. the governor of the state, however, disbanded the company for its unsoldierly conduct. [illustration: along the huron a glimpse of ann arbor's park system] while the growth of the university of late years would suggest a corresponding increase in such troubles as have been described, the actual development has been quite otherwise, and serious clashes between students and townsfolk have been very rare in recent years. there have, it is true, been occasional raids on street-cars and signs; students have been arrested for playing ball on the streets; and sometimes political meetings have been disturbed. one of the most amusing incidents of this character was an address given by w.j. bryan in from the portico of the court house. wild cheering greeted him as he rose to speak, which lasted for at least fifteen minutes. at first he was obviously greatly flattered; then he began to suspect something was not quite right and majestically raised his hand for silence. instantly every student waved his hand in response, and the exchange was continued for some time. meanwhile the police force was busy dragging off to jail any unlucky student on the outskirts of the crowd they could lay hands on. when the speaker was at length able to make himself heard his first words, somewhat unfortunate under the circumstances, were, "if i were an imperialist i would call out an army to suppress you. but i am not." it may be said, therefore, that in spite of these occasional troubles the relations between town and gown have been on the whole surprisingly normal and friendly when we consider that at present over one-fourth of the total population of ann arbor during term-time is composed of students. this cordial relationship is undoubtedly fostered by the fact that all the men and many of the women outside the fraternities, live in rooms rented from the townspeople. the extent to which this system has developed is probably unique in any american university of the same size. only very recently has there been any modification of the tradition, in the erection of women's dormitories and a promise of similar buildings for the men. while this arrangement is not ideal in many ways, for the students do not always secure the clean and attractive quarters they are properly entitled to have, it has been undoubtedly a great advantage to the university in relieving it of the expense and trouble of maintaining dormitories, at a time when every dollar of resources, to say nothing of the energies of the officers, was necessary to maintain the university's work. it is only natural, however, that many disputes between students and landladies should arise, particularly when the rooming and boarding houses are not supervised by the university: this is the case with the men. for some time the women in the university have been allowed to live only in approved rooming houses. the health service has also undertaken to inspect all the student boarding houses in an effort to ensure wholesome food and to maintain a definite standard of cleanliness. whatever the minor sources of friction that have arisen between the students and townsfolk of ann arbor, however, the substantial friendliness of the citizens and their pride in the university have always been one of its great assets through its years of development. the promoters of the hastily organized land company through whose efforts ann arbor was made the site of the future university builded better than they knew. their venture was probably not a particularly profitable one, for the rapid growth they had expected did not materialize. but their prompt action and foresight assured the institution a normal and healthy environment comparatively free from political and commercial influences. there are, undoubtedly, certain advantages which come to the modern university in a larger city, which becomes in a way a laboratory for various forms of scientific investigation; but the disadvantages are no less obvious. the life of the students becomes more complicated; social distractions and amusements are apt to offer too great temptations; the simplicity of academic life is lost; while the personal relations between faculty and student become more perfunctory. thus by her very situation michigan has been able to retain, in spite of her extraordinary growth in recent years, something of that fine flavor of college life which has always been the essence of our best academic traditions. in the first days the campus was only a backwoods clearing with lines of forest oaks on the east and south, the fence-rows of the rumsey farm, and from it the stumps of the original forest trees had to be removed before the university was opened. for many years it was, to all intents, a farm lot upon which a few scattered buildings were to be seen. the early regents and faculty were necessarily occupied with pressing practical problems, and the first steps toward rendering the campus more attractive were very casual and ineffective. the sum of $ was given dr. houghton for the planting of trees in but action was delayed because of pat kelly's wheat, and when eventually the trees were planted--tradition has it they were locusts--they were soon destroyed by insects. andrew d. white describes the campus when he came to the university in as "unkempt and wretched. throughout its whole space there were not more than a score of trees outside the building sites allotted to professors; unsightly plank walks connected the buildings, and in every direction were meandering paths, which in dry weather were dusty and in wet weather muddy." yet as early as the forlorn condition of the campus began to be officially noticed; appropriations of small sums were made from time to time for trees and shrubs and a scheme for the laying out of avenues and walks and the planting of groups of trees was adopted. unfortunately, the trees came before the walks, and as they were all of quick-growing varieties the effort did not go far. nevertheless a vision of the traditional academic grove appeared in the report of the visiting committee of that year, which recommended that "regard should be had, in making the selection, to the cleanliness, desirability, symmetry, and beauty of foliage of the trees to be planted" and observed that "the highway of thought, and intellectual development and progress, much of which is parched and rugged, should, as far as may be, be refreshed with fountains and strewn with flowers." truly, an alluring picture! the faculty, however, somewhat more practical, insisted on walks, protesting that they were "obliged before clear day to wend their way to their recitations through darkness and mud." a similar plan was undertaken in when citizens, students, and faculty all joined in the work, the citizens to set out a row of trees on the farther side of the streets outside the campus, while the students and faculty were to do the same on the campus side. five hundred trees were thus set out within the grounds while an equal number was added through an appropriation by the regents. but apparently small success attended these efforts, for few of these trees have survived. it was with the coming of the young andrew d. white, as professor of history, with his youthful enthusiasm and memories of the "glorious elms of yale," that the first effective effort for the improvement of the campus began. he says, in his autobiography: without permission from any one, i began planting trees within the university enclosure; established, on my own account, several avenues; and set out elms to overshadow them. choosing my trees with care, carefully protecting and watering them during the first two years, and gradually adding to them a considerable number of evergreens, i preached practically the doctrine of adorning the campus. gradually some of my students joined me; one class after another aided in securing trees and planting them, others became interested, until, finally, the university authorities made me "superintendent of the grounds," and appropriated to my work the munificent sum of seventy-five dollars a year. so began the splendid growth which now surrounds those buildings. his example was doubtless infectious, for the ann arbor citizens continued their tree-planting efforts around the outside of the campus in the spring of , while a group of sixty trees presented to the university were set out inside. the seniors of ' left a memorial in the shape of concentric rings of maples about a native oak in the center of the campus, one of the few survivals of the original forest growth, which has since become known as the tappan oak, and is now marked by a tablet on a boulder placed there in later years by ' . many of these maples still survive, though all traces of the circles are lost. the juniors also set out another group further to the east, while professor fasquelle planted a number of evergreens east of the north wing to balance a similar group of professor white's at the south. the maples outside the walk on state street were also the gift of professor white and were balanced by a similar row of elms on the inside, given by the faculty of the literary department. this general interest in campus improvement did not escape the regents and successive appropriations, though comparatively small, continued the work until michigan now has, in the words of the father of the movement, written forty-six years after his work was undertaken, "one of the most beautiful academic groves to be seen in any part of the world,"--a monument to him and to the students of his time. the development of the building program, if a thing so haphazard can go by that name, was less fortunate for the university. only in very recent years has there been any appreciation of the need of some degree of uniformity and planning for the future. many of the present buildings have been evolved, as the needs of the university grew, rather than planned, while others have been built to suit the tastes of certain officers, or the special needs of the departments concerned, with no reference to the larger unity which has come to be recognized as so necessary in any group of buildings. some of the oldest buildings have gone; in particular the two residences on the north, which became the old dental college and the homeopathic school in their last incarnations, while the picturesque old medical building followed them a few years later. the two on the south still survive; the president's house, though often remodeled, still retains its old lines, but the adjacent building, now known as the old engineering building and used largely for instruction in modern languages in the engineering college, has lost all semblance of its former character. [illustration: the university campus in the seventies] [illustration: the campus elms] similarly the law building has undergone many transformations, while the old chemistry building, now used by the departments of physiology, materia medica, and economics as make-shift quarters, has lost through successive additions almost all trace of that first little laboratory which exemplified the progressive spirit of the university in her early days. the new chemistry building on the north side was completed in and cost with equipment about $ , . it is four stories high, feet long by feet wide, and is built about two interior courts. the building contains two amphitheaters, laboratories for organic and qualitative chemistry, metallurgy, physical chemistry, and gas analysis, as well as the college of pharmacy. just beside it to the west rises the largest building on the campus, the natural science building, which houses the departments of botany, geology, forestry, mineralogy, zoölogy, and psychology. this building, which was something of a departure in laboratory construction when it was completed in , is built upon the unit system, and consists essentially of concrete piers, whose uniform spacing divides the rooms and laboratories into equal units, or multiples, with practically the total width between piers opening into windows. this is, in effect, a modern adaptation of the old gothic principle, though it emphasizes the horizontal and lacks entirely the buttresses and pinnacles which gave the medieval church builders their inspiration. it marks, however, a new era in laboratory construction, for not only are the laboratories flooded with light, but they are carefully designed for the purpose for which they are to be used. it is also to be noted that each department is installed in a complete section of four floors, from basement to top. the building, which cost $ , , has about , square feet of floor space and like the neighboring chemistry building is built about an open court. the same principle of construction has also been followed as far as practicable in the new library building. other buildings on the campus which have not been mentioned elsewhere are the physics laboratory, the museum, and tappan hall. the physics laboratory was built in - . within twenty years it proved inadequate and in an addition costing $ , became necessary, which contains among other features a well-equipped lecture room accommodating four hundred students. until the completion of the larger lecture room in the natural science building this was in great demand for many university lectures. tappan hall, a class-room building, in a portion of which the department of education now has its headquarters, was erected in - and stands near the southwest corner of the campus just at the rear of alumni memorial hall. the university museum was erected in and stands between university hall and alumni memorial hall. it is far from being the most successful of the university buildings architecturally, and as it has been for some time entirely inadequate for the collections it houses, it will not be many years before the need for a new museum will be presented to the legislature. in addition to the offices of the curator, professor a.g. ruthven, morningside, ' , and his staff, the building contains the university's zoölogical and anthropological collections, very popular with casual visitors to the campus. the former includes a fine exhibit of mounted mammals and some , birds, as well as reptiles, fishes, mollusks and insects, in all of which particular effort has been made to show forms native to the state. the anthropological collection includes the entire exhibit of the chinese government at the new orleans exposition in , as well as many items from china and the philippines, collected by the beal-steere expedition. the collections in geology, mineralogy, botany, materia medica, chemistry, the industrial arts, and the fine arts are to be found in the natural science building and other buildings devoted to these special subjects. for many years the original forty acres of the rumsey farm were more than ample for the needs of the university. the observatory, the first building to find a place apart from the campus, was set upon its hilltop some distance northeast, because of the need of clear air and quiet; advantages now almost lost in the proximity of the hospitals, heating plant, and railroads that portends an eventual change in location. the observatory has grown rapidly since its establishment by dr. tappan in . the building was last remodeled and enlarged in when a reflecting telescope, with a - / inch parabolic mirror, largely made in the shops of the university, was installed. in light gathering power this instrument is in a class with the lick and yerkes refractors, and it is at least as effective in astronomical photography, the purpose for which it was designed. the new brick tower, with its copper-covered dome, rises sixty feet above the basement and is forty feet in diameter. just beyond the observatory, on the crest of the hills defining the huron valley, is the largest group of university buildings off the campus, the old university hospitals, which are to be replaced in by the new hospital, ground for which was broken in september, . following the erection of the first building in an office building was added in to be followed rapidly by other sections, including a children's pavilion erected in , known as the palmer ward, the bequest of the widow of dr. alonzo b. palmer, who also left $ , for the maintenance of free beds in it. the entire group of buildings numbers ten, including the state psychopathic hospital. the new hospital is to be one of the largest and most completely equipped in america. it is composed of a series of wings taking the general form of a double letter "y" connected at the stems, with a smaller office building in front and a larger wing containing laboratories, operating and class rooms at the rear. the building is feet long and six stories high with provision for an additional three stories at some future time. it is built of reinforced concrete upon regularly spaced piers, and is similar in construction to the natural science building. the work of the homeopathic department is centered in its fine hospital building with an adjacent children's ward and nurses' home just off the northeast corner of the campus. the dental building, erected in , is situated to the west, just across the street from the gymnasium. it contains many laboratories and lecture rooms, as well as an operating room fitted with eighty dental chairs. of the other buildings off the campus, the new union, hill auditorium and the three dormitories for women are the most conspicuous. the union, with its magnificent tower and imposing yet withal beautifully proportioned masses, has been mentioned as the dominant architectural feature of state street. hill auditorium, which was made possible by a bequest of $ , left by regent arthur hill, ' _e_, of saginaw upon his death in , forms one of the unique features of the university's equipment. despite its seating capacity, with the stage, of over , , it has almost perfect acoustic properties, so that a whisper from the stage can be heard in any portion of this great hall. its completion in enabled the university at last to bring the great part of the students together under one roof upon such occasions as the annual convocation, the official opening of the university in the fall. the problem connected with the admission of relatives and friends of the graduating classes to the commencement exercises, which had proved exceedingly troublesome for many years, was also at last ended; while the musical interests of ann arbor, particularly the annual may festival, immediately found an opportunity for further expansion in this hall, whose advantages as a concert hall were praised by every visiting musician. the building, which is finished in tapestry brick and terra cotta, stands opposite the natural science building on north university avenue. in addition to the great auditorium, it contains offices and class rooms, a dressing-room for choruses, and a great foyer across the front of the second floor, where the stearns collection of musical instruments, one of the finest in america, is installed. the great organ from the chicago world's fair is also placed in this building as a memorial to professor henry s. frieze, the pioneer in michigan's development as a musical center. the university now has four dormitories or halls of residence for women. two of them were completed in ; the martha cook building on south university avenue, given by the cook family of hillsdale, in memory of their mother, and the newberry hall of residence on state street, a memorial to helen handy newberry, the wife of john s. newberry, ' , given by her children. the martha cook building is probably the most sumptuous and complete college dormitory in america and cost something over $ , . it is an unusually beautiful example of tudor gothic, always a favorite style for college buildings. simple in its main lines it reveals an extraordinary perfection in detail as well as comfort in its appointments and a richness in decoration which cannot but have its happy influence on the one hundred and seventeen fortunate women who live there. less elaborate but equally attractive as a home for the seventy-five girls it is built to accommodate is the newberry building, which, though smaller and simpler in its architecture, embodies every essential found in the larger building. it is of hollow tile and stucco and cost about $ , . similar in general plan and appointments, though built of brick, is the adjacent betsy barbour dormitory, which was completed in , the gift of ex-regent levi l. barbour, ' , ' _l_, of detroit. it stands on the site of the old ward school building on state street, used for many years by the university as a recitation building, and soon to be razed now the new dormitory, just to the rear, is completed. alumnae house, the fourth girls' residence hall, was, as the name implies, furnished by the alumnae of the university. it was made over from a quaint old dwelling on washtenaw avenue at a cost of about $ , , and accommodates sixteen self-supporting students. a final group of buildings, very necessary in an institution so large as the university, is composed of the heating and lighting plant, the nearby laundry in the one-time ravine at the east of the old "cat-hole," and the university shops and storehouse a little distance south. the old power house near the engineering building was abandoned in when the new plant, situated on a lower level than the campus and reached by a spur from the railroad, was ready for service. it cost approximately a third of a million dollars, and furnishes heat, compressed air, electrical energy, and hot water to the campus and adjacent buildings through a series of tunnels nearly ten feet high which extend as far as the union, half a mile across the campus. aside from the smaller and the more temporary buildings and the many dwelling houses on property recently acquired, the buildings of the university number about forty. this does not include the buildings occupied by the y.m.c.a. and the y.w.c.a., or the psychopathic hospital, the titles to which do not rest with the board of regents. though the buildings on the campus have not, until very recently, been placed with any careful relationship to a general scheme, and exhibit a very unfortunate lack of architectural harmony, in certain features the campus gives promise of better things in the future. some of the buildings have real beauty, though it is too often lost in an unfavorable environment. charming details are to be found here and there, while the green canopy of the elms and maples planted sixty years ago helps to give our academic field a real distinction. fortunately the center of the campus has been left comparatively free of buildings, save for the rambling old chemistry building, now used by the departments of physiology and economics, and the plain but imposing bulk of the new library building, a fitting center whence paths diverge in every direction to the halls and laboratories along the avenues that mark the outer confines of the campus. lack of funds and the imperative need of room, and yet more room, for the thousands of new students, has severely limited the regents in the matter of adornment of the buildings erected in recent years, which have all tended to conform to one type, simple, dignified in their very rectangular bulk, and relieved only by patterns in tapestry brick and terra cotta trimmings. within recent years, too, the new buildings have been carefully placed, not only with reference to the present campus, but also the inevitable northeastward growth of the university toward the hills lining the river. for some time the regents have been acquiring scattered parcels of property as occasion presented, and now own a good share of the land in the triangle bounded roughly by hill auditorium, the university hospitals and palmer field, an area twice as large as the present campus. in addition there is the university arboretum and botanical gardens, a large area south and east of forest hill cemetery, which is now linked up by boulevards with the rapidly growing system of city parks. a formal entrance to the campus in the form of a double driveway, laid out in accordance with a plan prepared in by professor emil lorch of the department of architecture, and known as the mall, passes between the chemistry and natural science buildings. this forms practically a continuation of ingalls street between hill auditorium and a future companion, possibly a new museum, which will eventually be built to the east on the other corner. the impressive vista thus formed leads the eye to the massive façade of the new library, though the campus flagstaff, some distance in front, now marks the actual end of the new driveway. the architectural emphasis of the campus is thus being turned to the north, but the western, or state street side still remains the accepted front, dominated by the old-fashioned but nevertheless stately bulk of old university hall. within a short time state street has become, through the fortunate removal of several unsightly old survivals of earlier days, one of the most beautiful of academic avenues, flanked on one side by the campus, with its trees, broad spaces and dignified buildings, and by a row of public buildings on the western side, which, though sadly lacking in uniformity, are yet for the most part impressive and substantial. these include the congregational church, the two halls of residence for women, the older newberry hall, a number of fraternity houses, and particularly the commanding beauty of the michigan union. it is fortunate for the university and the community that the problem of the future development of the institution in relation to the city is being carefully considered. the expansion of the campus to the north and northeast is now established, and it is probable that at some future period the mall, lined with monumental buildings, and laid out in co-operation with the city, will extend to the river. ann arbor has already taken far-sighted measures in establishing a series of boulevards and parks along the river with connecting links which will eventually encircle the town. the extensive university properties in the arboretum and botanical gardens, which cover the hills defining the ravine extending from the river to geddes avenue, and join the present enlarged university grounds at the observatory, form part of this system. plans are now under consideration for a rearrangement of streets, which will afford easier access from the campus to the hospitals and the boulevards and river drives. these will give to this portion of the future university grounds an irregularity and picturesqueness wholly lacking on the flat hilltop occupied by the present campus. one of the difficulties in this plan is the old "cat-hole," the end of a ravine, whose steep hillsides extend from the river practically to the northeast corner of the campus. though this unsightly boghole has been gradually filled in, it still forms a blot on the landscape which might, nevertheless, with a little effort and comparatively small expense, be transformed into a charming open air theater. this in fact has been recommended by mr. frederick law olmstead, the landscape architect, who has made an extensive study of the whole problem for the city and the university. it is fortunate for the university that this plan for the future, tentative though it may be at present, is actually a part of a large scheme for the improvement of the city, suggested by mr. olmstead. ann arbor is fast becoming one of the most beautiful little cities in the country, with winding streets, shaded by noble maples and elms and many of the original forest oaks, and lined by substantial homes, charming in their simple architecture and setting. this development came at first, as was natural, largely from the faculty, but an increasing number of families from detroit and elsewhere have of late come to make ann arbor their permanent residence, attracted by the unusual beauty of the city and the advantages afforded by the university. the sightly range of hills along the huron between ann arbor and ypsilanti and about the new barton pond, two miles to the north and west of the city, recently developed as a water-power site, are soon to be dotted here and there with comfortable and attractive country homes, which promise to change the entire character of ann arbor's environs. the little country town of the past is fast disappearing. with these plans rapidly evolving there is every reason to hope that, at no distant period, the university may find an imposing physical setting more in keeping with her standing among american universities. the present is an era of transition; as yet she has hardly had time to adjust herself to the extraordinary growth of the last ten years; still less to realize all the problems it involves. but it requires no great vision to see the university of the future occupying at last the heights overlooking the huron valley which that unfortunate decision at the first meeting of the regents denied to her in . chapter xiii the university in war times michigan has had a most honorable record in the three wars in which the country has been engaged since the first class was graduated. though two of her early graduates were veterans of the mexican war, it was not until the civil war that the opportunity came to show what kind of citizens of the republic were in the making in this pioneer state university. the catalogue of lists only graduates. yet the number of michigan men who served in the civil war was within a few of , . this number of course includes many students who left never to return and many who entered the university, particularly the professional schools, in the years immediately after the war. practically half of the members of the classes of ' , ' , ' , and ' served in the war, and ' alone lost seven members out of twenty-two in service. the college men of the sixties were no less ready than their grandsons in . feeling ran high in the university during the period just before the civil war. the students were nearly all strong and vigorous products of pioneer life, good hunters and rifle shots, with a love of individual liberty and free speech. many were studying for the ministry. anti-slavery sentiment was all but unanimous, except for the one or two students from the south, but few could be called out and out abolitionists. it is difficult nowadays to understand the sentiment which led to the mobbing of an abolitionist speaker, parker pillsbury, some months before war was declared. he knew from personal experience that the south was arming and came to urge the citizens of the north to prepare for the struggle. yet when he attempted to speak in ann arbor a mob collected and would have none of his advice; they stormed the little free church on north state street, driving audience and speaker out of the rear windows and gutting the building. similar troubles were threatened when wendell phillips was advertised to speak on abolition a month or so later. in view of the first experience, there was great difficulty in finding a hall, but finally the trustees of the old congregational church decided that if the building "must be razed to the ground, let it go down in behalf of free speech and the great cause of liberty." the class of ' also decided that free speech must be protected, and on the appointed evening was present in force with hickory clubs, twelve members in front and more scattered about inside. while the church was packed there was no demonstration, though the mob "howled outside." most of the students who heard phillips that night left confirmed abolitionists, and some were among the first to take up arms. to us, nowadays, the state of public opinion at that time seems almost incomprehensible. few of the individual members of those mobs were in real sympathy with the south, but party affiliations were strong and, in the words of judge cheever, ' , who describes these troubles, they were held back from openly showing abolitionist principles by "their fear that an open contest would lead to the destruction of the government." within a year a good part of the rioters were in the union army. throughout the troubled period preceding the actual outbreak of war, president tappan was circumspect in his public utterances, and was considered conservative on the slavery question though he presided at the wendell phillips meeting. the professorial radical of those days was the young andrew d. white. he was in closer touch with the students than his colleagues, and his personal influence and brilliant lectures on modern history swept his students on into bold opinions and resolute action. when sumter was fired upon the university was aflame at once. although it was sunday when the news of the surrender came, there was no thought of services. a platform of boxes and planks was raised on the court house square and dr. tappan was sent for. upon his arrival, bible in hand, he found a large and a serious gathering awaiting him. heretofore president tappan had permitted himself to say little, though his students were thrilled occasionally by some remark which showed how keenly alive he was to the great issues of the time. now he could speak. after reading some heroic passages from the old testament, he spoke, in the words of gen. w.h.h. beadle, ' ,-- with mind and heart and soul in heroic agony, as if long-formed opinions and long silenced feelings now burst into utterance.... in all michigan's history this was the great historic occasion. the contemporaries of dr. tappan are unanimous in their judgment of his extraordinary ability as a speaker, to which a majestic figure and magnificent voice no less than his logic and apt illustrations contributed. but on this day he made the effort of his career. from that time the university was whole-heartedly for the union and the war. [illustration: the captains of the three student companies in charles kendall adams, ' . captain of the university guards isaac h. elliott, ' . captain of the chancellor greys albert nye, ' . captain of the ellsworth zouaves] student companies were organized at once; and the tappan guards under charles kendall adams, ' , the chancellor greys, under isaac h. elliot, ' , and the ellsworth zouaves, under albert nye, ' , who died at murfreesboro in , formed a university battalion which enrolled practically every student in the university. this was not the first effort of the sort, however, for five years before professor w.p. trowbridge, a graduate of west point, had organized the first university battalion, with uniforms and arms furnished by the government, and had managed to have a small building erected as an armory, which was later to become the first gymnasium. this experiment was short-lived and came to an end when professor trowbridge resigned the following year. with the organization of the new battalion the duty of drill master fell upon joseph h. vance, the steward of the university, who was also assistant librarian. the president set apart a room at the south end of the south college, and there the students, in sections of fifty, drilled for an hour each day. the old muskets had been called in by the government some time before, and sticks were perforce the ordinary armament. this drill continued for the rest of the year and for most of . the men who thus received their preliminary training were to be found later in practically every corps and division of the union army. these military efforts, however, did not satisfy the more restless spirits and many left the university immediately, few of whom ever returned to finish their course. of the fifty-four who graduated with the "war class" of ' , twenty-four entered the service, in addition to eight who did not stay to finish their work, in all thirty-two out of sixty-two. the students in the two professional departments were no less eager for service, as is shown by the remarkable record of the medical class of ' , thirty of whose forty-four graduates saw active service. among the michigan men in the civil war at least twelve, eight of whom held degrees, rose to the rank of brigadier-general, three of them from the class of ' . of this number apparently only one, elon farnsworth, ' -' , actually commanded a brigade in battle. he was killed while bravely leading a hopeless charge at gettysburg. michigan's war records are full of stories of brave deeds, but few surpass the heroism of william longshaw, ' _m_, an assistant surgeon in the navy, who undertook to carry a line from his ship, the _nahant_, to the _lehigh_, which had run aground in the attack on fort moultrie. twice he was successful but the intense fire directed on his little boat by the batteries on shore cut the line each time. by this time longshaw found the wounded needing his attention and he gave over the task to another who made a third and successful trip. for this exploit longshaw was cited in general orders read from every quarter-deck in the fleet. he was killed while attending a wounded marine under equally heroic circumstances during the attack on fort fisher. while michigan men entered service from every union state, the largest number, naturally, were in the michigan regiments, particularly the twentieth michigan infantry, in which a large number of officers, including every one in the two ann arbor companies, were university men. in one year, november, , to november, , of the regiment's total enrolment of , were killed, wounded, or prisoners, while three times it lost almost fifty percent of all the men engaged, at spottsylvania, at petersburg, and finally at the assault on the crater, after which there were only eighty men and four officers left for duty. in another michigan regiment, the seventh, was capt. allan h. zacharias of the class of ' whose last letter, written on an old envelope and clutched in his dead hand, forms an imperishable portion of michigan's annals: dear parent, brothers and sisters: i am wounded, mortally i think. the fight rages round me. i have done my duty. this is my consolation. i hope to meet you all again. i left not the line until all had fallen and colors gone. i am getting weak. my arms are free but below my chest all is numb. the enemy trotting over me. the numbness up to my heart. good-bye all. your son allen. within a year after peace was declared a plan was under way for a memorial building in memory of the graduates of the university who had fallen in the war. a committee appointed by the alumni association presented the matter to the board of regents, but they were unable to take any action. the project was never forgotten, however, and was brought up year after year in alumni gatherings until in a committee under the chairmanship of judge c.b. grant, ' , a former colonel of the twentieth michigan, was appointed. this committee was so successful in its efforts that the memorial building was eventually dedicated in may, . a large tablet by the sculptor a.a. weinman bearing the inscription given on the following page, was placed, in june, , on the right wall just inside the entrance. a further investigation of the war records of the graduates of the university revealed many more names than were known when the tablet was designed, so that now the total in the morocco bound volume which is conspicuously placed in the building carries the records of , who served in the three wars. this hall erected anno domini - under direction of the alumni association by the alumni and friends of the university of michigan is dedicated to the memory of her patriotic sons who served in three of her country's wars namely two in the mexican war a.d. one thousand five hundred fourteen in the civil war a.d. - four hundred twenty six in the spanish war a.d. a record of their names and military history is deposited in the archives of the alumni association * * * * * the world will little note nor long remember what we say here but it can never forget what they did here-- lincoln at gettysburg though the number of michigan men in the spanish-american war was naturally much smaller, the total mounted to very nearly four hundred, of whom eight lost their lives, including one member of the rough riders, oliver b. norton, ' _m_, killed by a shell at san juan hill. the contingents from at least fifteen states included michigan graduates, but the greater number were to be found in the five michigan volunteer regiments, particularly the st and nd, though there were a number in the rd and th that formed with the th massachusetts the brigade commanded by brigadier-general henry m. duffield, ' -' , which was one of the few volunteer units to see active service in cuba. in the navy a large proportion of the michigan men were members of the michigan state naval brigade on the u.s.s. _yosemite_, of which dean m.e. cooley, at that time professor of mechanical engineering, was chief engineer. the _yosemite_ was a converted yacht used as a scout and convoy. within a month after going into commission she was assigned to the task of convoying some marines on the _panther_ to guantanamo. it happened that the first load was taken ashore on june by one of the boats of the _yosemite_ and it is said the first american flag was planted on cuban soil by a university of michigan member of the crew. later in june the _yosemite_ met a big spanish mail steamer, the _antonio lopez_, with ammunition and supplies for san juan and succeeded in beaching her under the fierce fire of the shore batteries and after attacks by three spanish gunboats, which were twice driven into the harbor. in addition to many graduates and students of the medical department attached to the different units, two members of the faculty, dean victor c. vaughan, divisional surgeon at siboney, and dr. c.b.g. de nancrède, surgeon of the th, saw active service in cuba as majors on the medical staff. their courage and devotion to duty were mentioned in the surgeon-general's report. michigan was also represented in the war cabinet by its leader, william r. day, ' , secretary of state, while the assistant secretary of war, a most important post in those exciting months, was george derue meiklejohn, ' _l_. judge day was also president of the commission which negotiated the peace at paris after the war, with cushman k. davis, ' , chairman of the senate committee on foreign affairs, as one of the other members. according to the latest available records there were at least , sons of the university of michigan in service during the world war. of this number over gave their lives for the principles for which america was fighting. at the seventy-fifth commencement, which came the year following the armistice, the university's service flag, which hung in hill auditorium, revealed the fact that at that time the names were known of , students and alumni in uniform. this figure mounted rapidly in subsequent months, though the difficulties of following the careers of many former soldiers through the period of demobilization have made it very difficult to obtain even an approximately correct estimate. this is particularly true in the case of thousands of students who left the university during the years and . an analysis of the figures given on the service flag showed that of the total , were known to be actually in service while , were in the university, enrolled in the army and navy units of the student army training corps. as these men were in uniform and regularly inducted in the two branches of service and would all have been sent overseas within a short time had the war continued, their names must be included. such are the bare statistics of michigan's part in the fight for the principles which have made america what she is. the war came slowly to the university. during the years just preceding the entrance of the united states there was probably no part of the world as little touched by the actualities overseas as the mid-western portion of the united states. the seaboard states felt it, in their commerce and other contacts with europe, far more than the vast central region, which had been favored with an unexampled wave of prosperity. so while america was at peace, the war spirit in the university was for the most part latent, far more so than in many of the universities of the east, where the implications and the realities of the war, which always come more vividly through personal relationships, led to more vigorous preparatory measures and many enlistments for service in the english, canadian, and french armies. the lessons the struggle on the marne, in flanders and gallipoli was teaching were by no means unheeded, however, and a strong movement for military training in the university developed as early as november, , when a petition signed by fifty members of the faculty, including the deans of the medical, engineering, and law schools, for the establishment of a military course in the university was presented to the regents. this had no immediate effect, however, and it was not until the university senate took similar action a year later that the movement was really inaugurated. the opinion was as yet by no means unanimous in favor of the plan, for a straw vote of the faculty showed for and against the general principle of military training for students, with a somewhat smaller majority in favor of making it compulsory. a similar vote among the students showed , for the plan and against it. in march, , the regents took favorable action on the project, though the course was not compulsory. several military companies and a naval reserve unit were organized immediately, and the students were encouraged to attend the summer camps at plattsburg and fort sheridan. it took over a year and the stimulus of the actual entry of the united states into the war to bring to practical completion the plan of the regents for voluntary training, with a course in military science instituted under officers designated by the war department. co-operation on the part of the government, too, came slowly. there was great difficulty in harmonizing the university system with the government plan for college military training which was embodied in general orders , establishing a reserve officers' training corps. many meetings took place between officers detailed by the war department and a committee, composed of the heads of various universities, of which president hutchins was a member, before a modification of the government program was eventually secured. this made the prescribed course more elastic, and put military drill wholly or in part in summer camps. inasmuch as the students under this plan could not be appointed reserve officers without examinations, it was not strictly the r.o.t.c. as originally contemplated by the government, but it was a practical solution. as a matter of fact most of these difficulties of organization vanished when the united states entered the war, on april , , in the general enthusiasm and eagerness to serve. the great practical question became a matter of the detail of a competent army officer to the university. meanwhile the students lost no time; little companies could be seen drilling everywhere on the streets. three hundred students stayed over the spring vacation and drilled for four hours every afternoon. by may men had been recommended for training camps, and had left the university to enlist. the regents also authorized the circulation of the , alumni and former students for the university intelligence bureau, and , replies, giving the qualifications of each individual for various forms of war service, were received. the engineering college announced seven preliminary courses in military science, while the medical school, with almost the whole faculty enlisted, foreseeing the need of surgeons turned its whole force to training the upper classmen, and the law school so arranged its programme that twelve hours a week were given over to drill. the upper class medical, engineering, and dental students were also enlisted as reserves while completing their courses. it was not until october, , that the officers' training corps really got under way, as a definite part of the curriculum. but once started the response was overwhelming. though the attendance in the university had declined by , , and the course was not compulsory, there were , enrolled by the end of the first week. to introduce this great body of embryo soldiers to the rudiments of military drill the government sent just one officer, lieut. george c. mullen, who had retired after some years' service in the earlier philippine campaigns. later came two sergeants, and another officer, lieut. losey j. williams. with this slender force, and the aid of a company of faculty men who drilled every night in order to prepare themselves as advisors, or "tactical officers" to supervise the student company commanders and with old rifles, michigan managed to "carry on," maintaining the largest, though owing to these difficulties probably not the most effective r.o.t.c. organization in the country. nevertheless it served a very useful purpose, as its continually dwindling ranks indicated; for the better men were leaving all the time for the numerous training camps which had been established in the meantime. of the who received commissions after the first course at camp custer only percent survived, but among these were all the candidates sent from the michigan r.o.t.c., twenty-two of whom were included in the first hundred. the university may also claim particular credit for the development of courses in army stores, which were first instituted by professor, later lieutenant-colonel, joseph a. bursley, ' _e_. this course, which aimed to fit men for the ordnance and quartermasters departments, grew through six successive increments every six weeks, to about men, and proved so practical and effective that similar courses were installed in other universities. in the same manner similar short courses were established in the engineering college for the training of mechanics, particularly in the maintenance and repair of gas engines. the first course of eight weeks began on april , , and prepared men for this important branch of the service. a detachment of men followed which included automobile repair men, general mechanics, gunsmiths, and carpenters. these men came as enlisted soldiers and were under the command of captain, later major, r.h. durkee. five old residences belonging to the university were transformed into barracks, while the still far from completed union was used as a mess hall. the laboratory facilities of the engineering college naturally proved inadequate for so large a number, and temporary buildings sprang up rapidly in every open space nearby, erected by the men in the detachments. in addition to the technical training given these men, who were not, however, enrolled as university students, various special courses were given in war aims which proved of great value in furthering morale. this whole effort proved so effective that the government desired to make a contract for the training of , men from october, , through july, ; but this was more than the university could care for, though it agreed to take , , including telephone linemen, and telephone electricians. the next step came in the establishment of the students' army training corps in the fall of . this was designed to correct the weaknesses, revealed under the stress of war-time conditions, in the old r.o.t.c., which in most universities did not furnish really effective military training for the emergency, particularly in the matter of discipline. the passing of the draft law also threatened the very existence of many of the private colleges and the plan to carry on university work and military training, side by side, while the students were actually inducted and under strict military discipline, seemed an ideal solution of a most threatening problem. michigan, therefore, in common with every other college and university which could muster the necessary one hundred students, became in effect a military academy with the opening of the university in october, , though of course there were many students not enrolled in the s.a.t.c., particularly the women, and the medical, engineering, and dental reserves who were completing their courses. the total s.a.t.c. enlistment was , , of whom , were enrolled in the army, and in the naval training corps; these were entered as regular students in the university, while , more in section b, the army mechanics course, were not considered university students. thus with the largest s.a.t.c. enrolment of any university in the country, michigan gladly devoted all her resources to the one supreme aim of training soldiers. practically every fraternity house was turned over to the war department as a barracks; the mysterious greek letters were dropped and henceforth they were known simply by number--officially at least. the sum of $ , was borrowed from the state war board to hasten the completion of the union sufficiently to serve as a mess hall and kitchen, and this together with a temporary building erected alongside accommodated some , men. the union also furnished sleeping quarters for student soldiers. the fact that michigan had a building so well adapted to the needs of the new situation was perhaps the principal factor in enabling the university to enter upon the programme so extensively. dean mortimer e. cooley of the engineering college was made regional educational director with the work in all the colleges and universities in illinois, indiana, and michigan under his charge, while some forty army officers, many of them recent graduates of training camps, were detailed to the university as officers in charge. difficulties arose everywhere from the very first, however. the plan, which was not definitely approved by the war department until a month before the opening of the colleges, was naturally not carefully worked out in detail. but this was a minor matter compared with a more serious defect in the general scheme. this was the lack of competent military officers, men with sufficient vision to co-operate effectively with the universities. the officers detailed were for the most part retired from active service, or recent recruits from training camps, and it was the exaggerated emphasis of things military on the part of the latter class that was largely responsible for the difficulty, noticeable from the very first, of maintaining any semblance of university work. the scheme provided for hours of class work and study ( hours of recitation with hours of preparation) and only hours of military drill; but the almost universal experience was that the military officers wholly misinterpreted the object of the plan and, with their strict control over their men, were able to discount, almost completely in some cases, the educational side of the programme. to add to the confusion, the onset of the influenza epidemic at just this time made the task of bringing order out of chaos almost impossible. nevertheless, by the time the end came with the signing of the armistice, measures were under way which might have saved the situation by curbing the complete ascendancy of the military officers, and restoring the scheme to its original essentially educational policy; for, in the original plan, the military features were to go only so far as to enable the authorities to select the best men for further intensive training at the officers' camps. [illustration: the students' army training corps drawn up before the michigan union (fall of )] [illustration: one of the fourteen-inch naval guns in france whose crews were largely composed of the michigan naval volunteers] this broad military programme was by no means confined to the students, as the whole curriculum of the university was necessarily almost wholly subordinated to the new scheme. many courses not included in the outline prescribed by the government, such as the classics, fine arts, and philosophy, were practically discontinued or given in a limited form to the few men not in service and the women students in the university. many members of the faculty abandoned their own subjects entirely and confined their work to the courses on war issues, which had come to form an important part of the new curriculum, or to elementary work in modern languages, especially french; german being for the most part anathema. this was a mistake; as one government inspector, himself a teacher of english, was accustomed to say emphatically, german was going to be needed even more than french; and so it turned out in the later days of the occupation of germany. nevertheless the decline of interest in the german language and literature, which had long been so carefully cultivated, as we can see now, by the german government, is one of the permanent results of the war; while there has been a corresponding increase in the study of french and spanish. throughout this period, the women of the university were far from passive spectators. special courses in household economics, conservation of food, french, journalism, and publicity and the principles of censorship, as well as a course in drafting in the engineering college were provided for them. the women of the faculty and town threw themselves indefatigably into red cross service, with the presidential residence on the campus, known as angell house, as one of the principal headquarters. a hostess house was also maintained in the parlors of barbour gymnasium for the families and sweethearts of men in the training detachments, while at one time the great floor of waterman gymnasium was used as a barracks. with the inauguration of the s.a.t.c., alumni memorial hall was taken over as a hostess house and maintained entirely by ann arbor women. likewise during the worst of the influenza epidemic, the terrors of which were multiplied by the constant arrival of stricken men in new detachments, and the lack of adequate hospital facilities for such an unforeseen emergency, the women gave themselves, and in some cases their homes, to the cause, and helped to save many lives. thus the university gave itself over unreservedly to winning the war. no one can measure how great actually and potentially that service was. but michigan's contribution was far from resting there. thousands of her sons, alumni and students, were in service, a goodly proportion with the forces in france and elsewhere and with the navy, while at least are to be represented by a gold star on the university's great service flag. though michigan officially remained aloof from active participation in the issues of the struggle before america entered it, she had many representatives in the fighting ranks. professor rené talamon, of the french department, who was spending his honeymoon in france, entered the french army in and saw active service in all the great earlier battles, winning the croix de guerre on the field. he remained in uniform throughout the four years and completed his record by acting as interpreter at the peace conference. frederic w. zinn, ' _e_ a student just graduated, was of that immortal company of americans in the french foreign legion, whose exploits have so often been told, and was one of the twelve survivors of a section of sixty. he was severely wounded in the champagne offensive and subsequently entered the french and later the american aviation services. there were also many michigan men scattered through the british and canadian forces, and at least one, stanley j. schooley, _e_' -' , was with the anzacs to the end at gallipoli. george b.f. monk, ' _d_, a lieutenant in the royal warwickshires, was killed in flanders, december , , while another dental graduate, john austen ogden, ' _d_, was killed in france. lieut. thomas c. bechraft, ' _l_, who enlisted with the canadians, was killed by a sniper at the great british attack on vimy ridge, april , ;--one wonders whether he knew then that america had entered the war; and theodore harvey clark, ' , died from sunstroke, september , , while serving with the y.m.c.a. in mesopotamia. of the little company of americans in the french ambulance service, among whom were a number of former students of the university, were the two hall brothers, sons of dr. louis p. hall, ' _d_, professor of dentistry in the university. richard nelville hall, ' -' , who later was graduated from dartmouth, was killed on christmas morning, , when his car was struck by a stray shell, the first american to be killed in the ambulance service. his brother louis p. hall, dartmouth, ' , michigan, ' _e_, later became a lieutenant in the french army, and eventually captain in the american expeditionary forces. it will thus be seen that michigan's share in the war did not await the entry of america among the allies, although it was not until the forces of the country were definitely enlisted that her real contribution, in men and services, was made. with the opening of the great training camps, the alumni, particularly those of more recent years, as well as the students of the university volunteered literally in thousands, and michigan was soon represented by men and officers in every branch of the service. they were in the first contingent of the expeditionary forces, the rainbow division, and figured prominently in the earliest fighting about the st. mihiel salient, at cantigny, and later with the marines at belleau wood. many were of course held in america, to their disgust, to train the new levies under the draft law, while others were assigned particular duties for which their special training had fitted them. thus we find michigan represented everywhere in the medical and dental corps, the early engineering battalions, the rapidly evolving work of the signal corps, the military intelligence and censorship divisions, gas warfare and gas defense, publicity, and perhaps above all, the aviation service, for which the young college man seemed peculiarly fitted. there were several michigan men among the first aviation sections in france; several were killed and others captured in early combats. the arrival of the later contingents brought michigan men with every division; they were everywhere in the argonne battle, they were with the famous "lost battalion," and with the american forces included in the british sectors, as well as among the engineers who helped to stop the gap after the disaster to the fifth british army. perhaps the most striking contribution michigan made towards winning the war was in manning the big naval guns which did more than any one thing to cut the german lines of communication through the gap by sedan between longuyon and montmedy. it is not too much to say that it was the work of these guns, in the hands of the men and officers recruited largely from the two naval divisions who left the university in the spring of , that formed one of the great arguments which led to the armistice of november . these two divisions of about seventy men each were organized in the fall of , and with the entry of the united states in the war were immediately mustered into service with professors j.r. hayden of the department of political science and orange j. mcniel of the engineering college as the commanding officers. for some time they were held in ann arbor, where they were quartered in the gymnasium, later going to the great lakes training station for further preparation. within a short time they were assigned to the various rifle ranges which were being established up and down the atlantic coast by major harllee of the marine corps and given intensive training in gunnery. so well did they show up in this specialized task, for intensive training in marksmanship was one of the navy's great needs, that little squads of the men were sent everywhere to install and open up new ranges. meanwhile the need of big guns on the french front was becoming more and more apparent and one officer, captain, and later admiral, plunkett bethought him of a number of great -inch navy guns which were not in use. he conceived the idea of mounting these on railway carriages and making great mobile batteries of them. at first he was laughed at; it was impossible to make heavy enough trucks to carry such a weight; and then, where were the expert men to man them? he replied that he knew where he could get the men and called in experts to design the carriages. the result was that in just fifty days the first gun was successfully fired from the railway mounting at the proving ground at sandy hook, by the michigan naval volunteers. when the guns were shipped to france all the michigan men available were sent with them and formed the effective nucleus of every crew. they wore the marine uniform with naval insignia and were under naval discipline throughout; they went "fore" and "aft" on the great trains which accompanied each gun, pointed their pieces to "port" and "starboard" and were rated according to navy ranking. their great task came when the guns with their equipment first landed at st. nazaire. not only was it necessary to assemble the guns, but also the locomotives and accompanying armored cars. all of this work was done by the men of the two units as officers and petty officers. when these guns finally got into action, they outranged every battery on any front and, striking at the german railway lines of communication, now from this point and then that, they threw the whole "neck of the bottle" toward which the american forces were driving into hopeless confusion. of the men in these two battalions over sixty percent received commissions, and of the others, almost all held high ratings as petty officers with responsibilities ordinarily only assumed by commissioned officers. with so great a number of michigan men with the expeditionary forces, the university was particularly interested in their welfare while "over there." from the first michigan took a prominent part in the establishment of the american university union in paris, of which president hutchins was one of the first board of trustees. professor charles b. vibbert, ' , of the department of philosophy was appointed director of the michigan bureau by president hutchins and was made one of the executive committee in paris. here he rendered most effective service to the hundreds of michigan men who used the club house, a large hotel in the heart of paris, as their headquarters. he was also assigned as his special duty, the promotion of friendly relations between the americans and the french people of paris, and so successful was he in this task that he was awarded the legion of honor by the french government. after the end of the demobilization period he remained in paris for a time as director of a permanent union which succeeded the war organization. two other representatives of the university, mr. warren j. vinton, ' , for some time professor vibbert's assistant, and assistant professor philip e. bursley, ' , one of the general secretaries, were on the union's staff. no review of michigan's record in the war would be complete without a word as to the share of the faculty. as never before this was a war of scientists and technically trained men. there was hardly a subject taught in the university which did not fit in somewhere, while the work of such departments as chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics, and the various branches of engineering, to say nothing of the schools of medicine and the colleges of dentistry and pharmacy, proved absolutely indispensable. long before this country entered the war dean m.e. cooley had offered his services to the government, when the crisis which he and many others foresaw, should come. in all there were members of the faculty in various forms of war service, a large proportion of them in uniform. among those to whom were assigned particularly noteworthy tasks were dean victor c. vaughan, ' _m_, of the medical advisory board of the council of national defense and later colonel on the staff of the surgeon-general in washington, where was also dr. walter r. parker, ' _e_, professor of ophthalmology, who as lieutenant-colonel in the medical corps had charge of head surgery. dr. udo j. wile, professor of dermatology, major in the medical corps, was among the earliest medical officers abroad, where he was in charge of the first american hospital in england, near liverpool. in the literary college, among the many who early entered service were jesse s. reeves, professor of political science, who entered the aviation service and later the judge advocates' department, holding the rank of major; peter field, associate professor of mathematics, who, as major in the ordnance department, had charge of the tests and ballistic computations, as well as serving as armament officer, at the sandy hook proving grounds; moses gomberg, ' , professor of organic chemistry, who as major in the ordnance service made valuable investigations, and professor h.r. cross of the department of fine arts, who held an important post with the red cross in italy. the men of technical training of the engineering faculty were especially in demand and practically every man in one department, that of chemical engineering was in service. alfred h. white, ' , professor of chemical engineering, became lieutenant-colonel in charge of the construction of the great government nitrate plants; walter t. fishleigh, ' , ' _e_, associate professor of automobile engineering, as lieutenant-colonel, was, with major gordon stoner, ' , ' _l_, professor of law in the university, in charge of the design and purchase of all the ambulances for the medical corps. lieutenant-colonel william c. hoad, professor of sanitary engineering, took charge of the sanitation of the big training camps. many other members of the faculty, in civilian capacities, gave no less valuable services to the government. professor herbert c. sadler, head of the department of marine engineering, became chief of the department of ship design of the emergency fleet corporation; james w. glover, professor of mathematics and insurance, was a member of the war risk board; dr. g. carl huber, ' _m_, professor of anatomy, carried on an extended series of investigations of the peripheral nerves, with the assistance of medical officers detailed to his laboratory by the surgeon-general; david friday, ' , professor of economics, was statistical advisor to the treasury department and later the telephone and telegraph administration, while dean henry m. bates, ' , of the law school, and professor h.c. adams, head of the department of economics, also at various times acted in advisory capacities at washington. francis l. d. goodrich, ' , was also reference librarian at the university of the american expeditionary force at beaune, france. with the end of the war every effort was made to bring the university back to normal conditions as soon as possible. the speedy demobilization of the s.a.t.c. made advisable the abandonment of the plan of a year of four quarters and the semester system was restored by february. the members of the faculty gradually returned during the year, and by the fall of everything was as usual, save for the extraordinary enrolment, which totaled , students on the campus during the year, with a grand total of , in all, including the summer session. this increase was largely due to the men returning from service to finish their abandoned work, or to take up a belated university course. eighty men who had been wounded were sent by the government rehabilitation division. such an unprecedented number of students, which was larger by , than ever before, naturally brought with it many difficult problems, particularly in living accommodations. these difficulties were aggravated by the sharp rise in room rent and board, which brought hardship in many cases and was only adjusted by the prompt action of the rooming bureau of the michigan union, which made a complete survey of the city and brought pressure to bear in cases of outrageous profiteering. equally difficult proved the question of teachers and class rooms in the university. this was only solved after many new instructors were engaged, a difficult matter at so late a period in the year, and the creation of many emergency class rooms. special credits were also given the men returning from service, in some cases as high as fifteen hours, equaling a semester's work, in recognition of their special war-time experience and training and the new earnestness and appreciation of what a university education meant, with which they returned to their class rooms and laboratories. university life speedily returned to its accustomed channels; only the service buttons, the modest ribbons in lapels, and khaki and blue overcoats remained to suggest the campus of a year before. so great was the reaction from things military that the re-establishment of the r.o.t.c. in modified form came slowly. eventually about men, largely from the freshmen and sophomore classes, were enrolled in the artillery and signal service units under the two officers detailed to the university, captain robert arthur and captain john p. lucas, who held the temporary rank of lieutenant-colonels in france. these courses promise much for the future, however, though during the university year the work is confined to technical training, with the drill to come in the annual summer camps which every man enrolled must attend. not only will men be continually in training as reserve officers, effective at once in an emergency, but also they will form a nucleus around which a really effective training corps for the general student body can be built at any time when the necessity arises. if this work develops as it should, and comes to form an integral part of university life, we shall have profited by one of the lessons of the great war, and with similar courses installed in all our great educational centers, america will be ready, as she was not in . chapter xiv the alumni of the university just at present michigan probably has the largest body of alumni of any university in the country. the total number of graduates in january, , was , , of whom , were living, while the total of graduates and former students was , . of this number , were known to be deceased. the number of addresses on the university lists at that time was , . there are several reasons for this large alumni body. in the first place few universities have many living graduates of the classes which graduated before ; michigan's oldest graduates at present are george w. carter, ' _m_, of boulder, colorado, and john e. clark, ' , professor emeritus of mathematics at yale. after her first few years michigan had as many students enrolled as most of the other institutions of that time, while the extraordinary growth of the medical and law schools in the period just after the civil war probably gave her the largest number of students in any university. this, with the great increase which has come to all universities and particularly the state institutions within the last twenty years or so, has given michigan an unusually large body of alumni. there are, however, a number of universities, notably columbia, california, and chicago, which have had a very large enrolment of late years, and it is not unlikely that within a few years their alumni catalogues will contain more names than michigan's. it may be remarked in connection with the relatively large proportion of those who have not received degrees, about percent of the total, that this number has been increased by war-time conditions, and that judging from former records it is about ten percent higher than in more normal times. michigan has always taken an especial pride in the fact that, although a state university, her student body has been recruited almost as much from the rest of the country as from michigan; while there has always been a not inconsiderable proportion of students from foreign countries. this national enrolment has had a broadening and stimulating effect upon the student body and has given the university a powerful influence throughout the country. her graduates are to be found in every state in the union, though they are probably proportionately stronger in the states west of the mississippi, whose development came just in time to attract the enterprising and vigorous youth who had his future to make and gladly seized the opportunity to grow up with the new country. michigan, with her low tuition charges, even for non-residents, and her equally moderate cost of living, has been also pre-eminently a college for students of limited means. thus, while there are many men of wealth among her alumni, they are almost all men who have made their own way, and have a position in their communities corresponding to their energy and proved ability. for some years the attendance from michigan, though it is somewhat greater now, has averaged percent. this is unusually significant when the great extent of the state is considered, particularly since most of the students from the northern peninsula usually pass through three other states to reach ann arbor. not less worthy of note is the fact that only about percent of the graduates of the university live within the state, proof positive that michigan, in sending her students abroad, is performing a great service for the country. the percentages of alumni in other states is also not without interest, for while the neighboring states of illinois and ohio claim about percent and indiana . percent, new york has percent of michigan's graduates, while pennsylvania has . percent, and california . percent. about . percent of michigan's former students, or , , live in foreign countries. of these are in canada, in china, in great britain, in south america, in africa, and in japan. of the united states dependencies, are in porto rico, in the philippines, and in alaska. these figures might easily be increased were the addresses of all alumni found, as there are, no doubt, a large number of "unknowns" in foreign countries. of the total number of graduates and foreign students for whom the university has addresses, , are men and , are women. this great body of alumni is in itself a powerful asset for the university; but the active interest and spirit of co-operation of the individual alumnus ordinarily needs a certain stimulus. this is supplied through the organization of the graduates into a general alumni association, as well as into local associations in most of the larger cities, and also through the organization of the various classes. this general scheme is followed in almost every american university, and forms one of the most significant of present-day developments. for the most part it is a comparatively recent evolution. though the graduates of the earlier american colleges had a certain influence on the policies and growth of their institutions, it is only within the last twenty-five years that these associations have become a factor of recognized importance in every university. in fact this development is so recent that its significance is not sufficiently realized, least of all perhaps by the alumni themselves; though the college president is apt to be very alive to the importance of the alumni in university affairs. the desire to perpetuate college friendships and to revive memories of college days was undoubtedly the underlying motive which first brought the former students together in these organizations; and not a few associations have progressed no farther in their activities. this is as true among michigan alumni clubs as elsewhere. but as university officers came to recognize other possibilities in these associations, efforts were made to secure their co-operation in many matters and especially financial assistance, in the establishment of funds for various purposes, the erection of new buildings and providing for certain types of equipment which might not properly come from the ordinary channels of college and university income. the michigan union, hill auditorium, the women's dormitories, and the clements library of americana perhaps best illustrate this type of alumni support. while in most cases the impetus toward this active co-operation and support on the part of the alumni came from the institution, in recent years the alumni have tended more and more to organize, not as an adjunct of the university administration, but as a body designed to formulate independent alumni opinion, and to make intelligent graduate sentiment really effective for the good of the institution. with this new phase of alumni activity came new elements--particularly the alumni secretary, maintained by the graduate body, the alumni journal, and the alumni council. this organization of college graduates is distinctly an american institution. there is little to correspond in continental universities, where they do not even have a real equivalent to our word "alumni." in great britain, the graduates of the larger institutions have some voice in the policies of their universities and, in the case of the scottish universities, they elect representatives on the governing body, as well as the chancellor and a representative in parliament. but the lists of alumni are kept up only for what are practically political purposes, and such developments as local alumni clubs, or class reunions, are unknown; while there is ordinarily small effort made to secure financial support. alumni co-operation has progressed so rapidly within the last quarter-century,--the period covering the life of the association at michigan under its present form,--that we are apt to forget how recent is this movement in american universities. to glance through the average college or university history one would imagine these associations sprang full-armed, with no preliminary throes of organization. suddenly we find the alumni asserting their desires in some important matter and thenceforth their voice has a recognized place in university councils. it is quite obvious that the significance of this movement among college graduates was not recognized for a long time. everywhere the graduates were slow in finding themselves; and it is safe to say that an efficient alumni sentiment was almost unknown until within the last fifty years. but the seeds had been sown. though yale began her remarkable organization by classes as far back as , and others may have followed her example, records of any further efforts in this direction are difficult to find until many years later. the first attempt at a general alumni organization seems to have been a meeting of the alumni at williams college at commencement time, in , to organize a society of alumni. the purpose of the proposed association was set forth in the following words: the meeting is notified at the request of a number of gentlemen, educated at this institution, who are desirous that the true state of the college be known to the alumni, and that the influence and patronage of those it has educated may be united for its support, protection, and improvement. this does not seem an unsatisfactory definition of the fundamental object of an alumni body of the present day. seventeen years later a society of alumni was organized at the university of virginia, where, with perhaps a characteristic southern emphasis on the social side of human relationships, the committee was instructed,-- to invite the alumni to form a permanent society, to offer to graduates an inducement to revisit the seat of their youthful studies and to give new life to disinterested friendships found in student days. other universities soon followed with similar organizations. harvard's alumni association was established in ; bowdoin and amhert came at about the same time, while the first alumni association at columbia was founded in . in the west an alumni association was started at miami as early as . the first years of these organizations were apparently a period of struggle, but the spirit that they represented grew, and eventually they made alumni influence everywhere effective to a greater or less degree, with the end not yet. at michigan, alumni organization has had a history similar to that in many other institutions. the university published a list of the first four classes as far back as , but the alumni did not become a united body until , fifteen years after the first class was graduated. this first association was characterized as "somewhat informal in its nature," but the usual statement of the object was forthcoming. according to the preamble of the constitution these were,-- the improvement of its members, the perpetuation of pleasant associations, the promotion of the interests of the university, and through that of the interests of higher education in general. this association was superseded in june, , by an incorporated organization, the "society of the alumni of the university of michigan," in which, notwithstanding its general name, membership was restricted to graduates of the collegiate department. a similar association of the law school was formed in and before many years all the departments had similar bodies. but the interest taken was more or less perfunctory, and in a consolidation of all the departmental organizations was effected, resulting in the present alumni association of the university of michigan, with ex-regent levi l. barbour, ' , ' _l_, as its first president. he was succeeded in june, , by william e. quinby, ' , of detroit, who was followed in turn the next year by regent w.j. cocker, ' . judge victor h. lane, ' _e_, ' _l_, fletcher professor of law, was elected president in , and so effectively has he served the interests of the alumni that he has been continued in that office for the past twenty years. two important steps were taken by the new association immediately upon its consolidation in . the first was the appointment of a general secretary to devote his whole time to furthering the interests of the alumni organization. ralph h. mcallister, a former member of the law class of ' , was first elected to this position, but was succeeded in january, , by james h. prentiss, ' , who was followed three years later by shirley w. smith, ' , at present secretary of the university. the present alumni secretary, wilfred b. shaw, ' , was appointed in october, . the purchase of the graduate journal, _the michigan alumnus_, established in by alvick a. pearson, ' , was another significant step. the _alumnus_ is one of the oldest graduate publications in the country, with the _yale alumni weekly_, established in , and the _harvard graduates' magazine_, a quarterly, which appeared a year later, its only predecessors. both of these journals are published by private corporations, as was the _alumnus_ at first. in thus creating an officer whose sole responsibility was to the alumni body and in maintaining an official alumni publication, michigan became a pioneer among western universities, and was only preceded in the east by pennsylvania, whose alumni organization had established her _alumni register_ and appointed an alumni secretary in . the plan of organization of the alumni association at michigan is very simple. the entire responsibility for the affairs of the association rests with a board of seven directors (originally but five), who elect the officers of the association from among their own number. two directors are ordinarily elected every year at the annual alumni meeting, held during the commencement season, at which any alumnus is entitled to a vote. the income of the association, except for a grant of $ a year from the university for advertising, arises entirely from the _alumnus_, which at present has a list of over , subscribers, who are considered as constituting the official membership of the association. this membership is in two forms, annual members and some , life members, whose thirty-five dollar fees have resulted in an endowment fund at present amounting to over $ , , the income from which is used for current expenses. since its establishment the _alumnus_ has grown steadily in influence, and may now be regarded, in some measure at least, as the official university publication. limited as it is by the necessity of pleasing a constituency widely varied in age and interests, it nevertheless makes it possible for a large proportion of michigan's graduates to maintain an effective and intelligent interest in the university. but the work of the association and its officers has not stopped with the _alumnus_. the local alumni bodies and the class organizations form important links between the graduate and his alma mater, and the sentimental ties, as well as the altruistic spirit engendered by these associations have a vital significance for the individual graduate and for the university. practically every class that leaves the university is organized for the purpose of perpetuating its college associations and many of the classes, particularly the earlier ones, have published extensive class-books and directories. every effort is made to return to the university for reunions at stated periods, especially on the twenty-five and fifty year anniversaries. for some years also many classes have followed a plan which brings four classes that were in college together back for a reunion at the same time. the value of these annual home-comings has always been emphasized by the alumni association, and so successful has it been in making the reunion season interesting and stimulating that the graduates return in great numbers, sometimes in a carnival spirit, and sometimes, as during the recent war years, with a sense of consecration and devotion. thus it was easy to pass from the gay fun of a burlesque commencement in hill auditorium, which was the feature of one reunion season, to the commemoration of dr. angell's life and services in , and the great patriotic meetings of and , which struck the deepest chords of alumni sentiment. no less effective in their own field are the many local alumni clubs in all the large cities throughout the country. this movement toward forming local bodies began in detroit in , and quickly spread, so that by the michigan graduates as far west as san francisco were organized. while the primary reason for the existence of these clubs is the maintenance of the social and sentimental ties inspired by the common love of their members for the university, stimulated usually by an annual dinner and, in many cities, by weekly or monthly luncheons, they have begun to discover means more positive and useful to justify their existence. from a vague, if none the less real, feeling of loyalty to the university it is an easy step to more aggressive measures. thus we find the local bodies interesting themselves actively in the university's affairs, organizing subscription campaigns for the union, raising funds for fellowships, and sending picked students to the university, interesting themselves in the ever-present athletic problems, and welcoming the president and other representatives from the faculties who come to tell them what their alma mater is accomplishing. more than this, some associations are perceiving broader implications in their organization as representative college men and women,--for the alumnae, too, have very active clubs,--and are seeking opportunities for civic and social service in their communities. at present michigan has nearly one hundred of these local organizations of alumni which may be considered active, while there are many more who only need to have some task set before them to bring them into an active and aggressive existence. it is only natural that, with this increasing participation of the alumni in university affairs, there should be an effort to provide some means for the effectual expression of their collective opinion. perhaps the earliest and most striking example of this movement was the provision in for the election of harvard's board of overseers "by such persons as have received the degree of b.a. or m.a., or any honorary degree," from harvard college. this effort, which came only after a long struggle, was duplicated in princeton, dartmouth, later cornell, and many other institutions. even some of the state universities, whose regents are either elected by the people, as at michigan, or appointed by the governor, as in other states, have made provision for direct alumni representation on their governing boards. though this is not true at michigan it is significant that of the eight members of the board of regents, six, walter h. sawyer, ' _h_, hillsdale; victor m. gore, ' _l_, benton harbor; junius e. beal, ' , ann arbor; frank b. leland, ' , ' _l_, detroit; william l. clements, ' , bay city, and james o. murfin, ' , _l_, detroit, hold degrees from the university and this proportion has held true for many years. the other two members of the present board are benjamin s. hanchett, grand rapids, and l.l. hubbard, harvard, ' , houghton. shirley w. smith, ' , also is secretary of the university. lacking the stimulus of direct representation in the governing body, the alumni of the state universities have directed their efforts toward strengthening the general alumni organization as the best available means of expressing the sentiment of an increasingly important portion of the university body. to further this desire alumni councils and other bodies with advisory powers have been established, though usually their status has been uncertain and their powers negligible, except as they voice a body of opinion which the university cannot afford to overlook. thus the michigan alumni advisory council, established some years ago, composed of representatives from the local alumni bodies, has been for various reasons far from an effective body, though it contains the germ of a force which may become active whenever a proper occasion may arise. more competent, because less unwieldy, is the executive committee composed of five members of the council and two chosen at large. this body, though it has only met semi-occasionally, has initiated several movements which have had a real influence on the relations between the university and the graduates. this has been particularly true in matters relating to alumni support for the union, and the problems arising in connection with its administration. in its earlier years the alumni association also undertook to keep up the alumni catalogue and maintained for some time a card index of the alumni. this task, however, eventually outgrew the resources of the association, and in the alumni catalogue was transferred to addressograph plates by a special appropriation, and its maintenance was made a part of the regular administrative work of the university, with a separate officer, closely associated with the alumni association, appointed to maintain the lists and edit the catalogues. the labor involved in keeping this list of over , names even approximately up to date may be judged from the fact that the catalogue office now includes four assistants as well as the director, mr. h.l. sensemann, ' , of the department of rhetoric. for some years the practice was continued of including in the annual calendar an "alumnorum catalogus," which began in with the names of the fifty-six graduates of the first four classes. the list eventually became too long, however, and in the first general catalogue was issued as a forty-page pamphlet which included names. four subsequent editions have appeared, in , , and , in addition to a privately published volume issued in . the slender pamphlet of became, in , a volume of , pages which recorded , names, while the catalogue of will be even more impressive. though the interest and enthusiasm of the graduates is expressed in many less spectacular ways, the amount of alumni gifts is the most available standard by which the effectiveness of this support can be shown. judged by this rough and ready approximation for a force which is in reality intangible and based on something finer and more spiritual than material gifts, particularly since it represents obviously only the sentiment of the few rather than that of the thousands who would do likewise if they were able, it shows nevertheless how responsively the university's alumni regard her call for their support. they have given their alma mater funds and property whose estimated value may be conservatively placed at from $ , , to $ , , . this includes many gifts of small sums for loan funds, fellowships, and investigations in special fields, as well as the income from these funds up to the present time. some of these gifts, too, are of such a character that no definite value can be placed upon them. the total amount of such special funds in the hands of the university treasurer, largely arising from alumni gifts, is $ , . . it should also be borne in mind that this does not include the many gifts which do not come from graduates of the university, such as the newberry hall of residence, the late charles l. freer's numerous gifts, including a fund of $ , for the study of oriental art, the lewis art collection, the stearns musical collections, waterman gymnasium and ferry field, or such buildings as newberry hall, now used by the y.w.c.a., and lane hall, for the university y.m.c.a. [illustration: the concourse or general lobby in the michigan union] two of the larger gifts to the university have come through collective effort on the part of the alumni. the michigan union, made possible through the $ , , raised by students and alumni, has been mentioned in another chapter. alumni memorial hall, which stands just across the street, is also largely the result of comparatively small gifts from hundreds of graduates. it is an imposing building of classical outlines, designed as a memorial of the men who served in the civil and spanish-american wars. it is intended to be at once an art gallery and the headquarters of the alumni association, which has a spacious reception room on the first floor and commodious offices in the basement, where the university club also has a large and well-furnished room. the building was completed in at a cost of $ , , of which $ , was contributed by the alumni, and was formally opened with an exhibition of oriental art and the work of modern american painters under the charge of the late charles m. freer of detroit, who loaned many of the pictures shown. other gifts arising from general alumni effort are the williams professorship fund and the alumnae hall of residence for women, given to the university by the alumnae; while faculty, alumni, and student efforts have been responsible for several paintings, notably the chase portrait of dr. angell, the portrait of dr. v.c. vaughan by gari melchers, and ralph clarkson's recent picture of president hutchins, which is to hang with dr. angell's portrait in the union. the greater portion of alumni gifts, however, have come from individual graduates. these include such monumental benefactions as the hill auditorium, for which a bequest of $ , was left by the late regent arthur hill, ' _e_, of saginaw; the martha cook building which was completed at a cost of about $ , by the cook family of hillsdale, the betsy barbour dormitory, costing some $ , given by ex-regent levi l. barbour, ' , ' _l_, of detroit, and the great library of american history, with its special building, given by regent william l. clements, ' _e_, of bay city. this library, which is reported to have cost $ , , and has been judged by experts to be worth much more than that now, and the $ , building to come, represent a princely gift. ex-regent barbour also gave, in , a fund of $ , to be used for providing scholarships for oriental women in the university. to this he added two years later property in detroit from which the income alone, during the term of the ninety-nine years' lease now in effect upon it, will amount to nearly $ , , . the sum of $ , was also left by the late professor richard hudson, ' , to establish a professorship in history, at present held by professor arthur lyon cross, harvard, ' . professor hudson also left his library to the university, which has benefited by many similar gifts from alumni, notably the historical books given by clarence m. burton, ' , the library of thomas s. jerome, ' , of capri, italy, and the musical library presented by frederick and frederick k. stearns, ' -' , as well as the libraries of several members of the faculties given the university upon their death. these include the library in romance literature of professor edward l. walter, ' , the philosophical library of professor george s. morris, ' (hon.), the germanic library of professor george a. hench, the geological library of professor israel c. russell, and the classical library of professor elisha jones, ' . too numerous to mention in detail are the many special gifts for research, such as the continual funds for the work of the university museum supplied by bryant walker, ' , of detroit, or the large telescope and other gifts to the department of astronomy by robert p. lamont, ' _e_, of chicago, or for fellowships, the purchase of books, educational material, and scientific apparatus, as well as the numerous funds left for various designated purposes and administered by the university. the various memorials left by the graduating classes should not be forgotten in this connection, though some of them, owing to poor judgment, have been ill-adapted to the purposes they were intended to serve and have more or less mysteriously disappeared. perhaps the best known example was the ill-fated statue of ben franklin, long a campus landmark, left by the class of ' . early in his academic course he became the victim of the paint-buckets of successive classes, and eventually his outlines became so blurred that he was perforce retired. aside from the tree-planting efforts of ' , the first class memorial was the reproduction of the laocoön group, now in alumni memorial hall, presented by ' . reproductions of painting and sculpture were for many years the favored forms of class memorials, of which the most unique and valuable was the complete set of casts from the arch of trajan at beneventum, presented by ' . in recent years many classes have left portraits of members of the various faculties, while others have left loan funds which have been of inestimable service to many worthy but impecunious students. the university chimes, a peal of five bells, presented by james j. hagerman, ' , edward c. hegeler, and andrew d. white, must not be forgotten. they are now in the tower of the engineering shops, whence they were removed when the old library was torn down. perhaps the most far-reaching in its effects was the fund left by . this was accompanied by a recommendation to the general alumni association that an alumni fund be created of which their contribution was to be the nucleus. the association took measures to act upon this suggestion, but owing to the war and the preoccupation of the alumni in the union, its establishment was delayed for several years. the plan for this fund, as finally approved in , provides for an incorporated board of nine directors, the first members of which were appointed by the board of directors of the alumni association. this project, while still in its formative stage, has great possibilities for the future of the university, judged by the success of similar funds in other institutions. this is particularly true at yale, where the alumni fund amounts to nearly $ , , in addition to some $ , , given for various purposes. there are obvious advantages in thus organizing the stream of alumni gifts now beginning to flow so strongly toward the university. it not only provides a trustworthy and conservative body to which any gift may be entrusted, whether in the form of a class fund, individual contribution, or bequest, but it also ensures that all such gifts which are unrestricted, shall be utilized wherever, in the judgment of the directors, the university's need is greatest. the existence of such a fluid source of income properly administered can be made of incalculable benefit, particularly in the numerous critical occasions, when the regular income is entirely unequal to the emergency, though it is not proposed to relieve the state from providing for the normal needs of the university, but to meet the special demands which are continually arising in such an institution. finally, the existence and administration of such a fund will tend to tie the alumni to the university as could no other agency, particularly if, as elsewhere, a good part of the income arises from small annual subscriptions, collected by a class officer, who remits the total as a class contribution. thus, though the alumni of the university have no direct voice in the administration, as have the graduates in many other institutions, they have established several agencies through which their natural desire to have a recognized share in university affairs may be expressed. these include first of all the general alumni association, with its many subsidiary class and local organizations, which maintains the _alumnus_ as its official organ, and with at least the outlines of an advisory body in the alumni council with its executive committee. the alumni also have further means of associating themselves with the affairs of the university through the power of appointment of a majority of the members of the board of governors of the michigan union and the directors of the alumni fund, which rests with the directors of the alumni association; while the four alumni members of the board of directors of the union are likewise elected by the alumni at large at the annual meeting in june. with so large and widely distributed a body of graduates it is to be expected that many have become prominent in the life of the country, and in their professions. an analysis of the names of michigan men and women in "who's who" for - showed that, exclusive of the holders of honorary degrees and summer school students, the names of former students appeared, of whom were graduates and were non-graduates. this is approximately . percent of the total names given in that edition, and was percent of the college graduates listed. there is no reason to suppose that the same percentages at least would not apply in a similar survey of the latest edition. while it is, for obvious reasons, impossible to give the names of all graduates who have achieved a certain measure of distinction, a few who have attained special prominence in their special fields may be mentioned. it is most natural that michigan alumni should figure prominently in the educational world. thus, among college presidents, in addition to president hutchins, ' , michigan can claim charles kendall adams, ' , president of cornell university from to , and later, to , of wisconsin; mark harrington, ' , university of washington; austin scott, a.m., ' , rutgers; alice freeman palmer, ' , wellesley, - ; henry wade rogers, ' , formerly president of northwestern, and later dean of the yale law school; elmer ellsworth brown, ' , new york university; and stratton d. brooks, ' , oklahoma. aside from the many distinguished graduates on her own faculty rolls, michigan has also for many years been well represented in the faculties of all the leading american universities. at harvard these include edwin l. mark, ' , professor of anatomy; paul hanus, ' , head of the department of education; and edwin f. gay, ' , until recently dean of the school of business administration; at yale, john e. clark, ' , for many years professor of mathematics, and the late professor willard t. barbour, ' , of the law school; at columbia, the late calvin thomas, ' , professor of germanic languages and literatures; henry r. seager, ' , professor of economics; at dartmouth, gabriel campbell, ' , long professor of philosophy; and frank h. dixon, ' , professor of economics, later occupying the same chair at princeton; where are also duane reed stuart, ' , professor of greek, christian gauss, ' , professor of romance languages, and edward s. corwin, ' , who now holds the chair of political science, formerly occupied by president wilson. at tufts, amos dolbear, ' _e_, was for many years professor of physics. the johns hopkins faculty roll shows the names of henry m. hurd, ' , ' _m_, professor of psychiatry; john h. abel, ' _m_, professor of pharmacology; franklin p. mall, ' _m_, professor of anatomy, and herbert s. jennings, ' , professor of biology. at cornell, jeremiah w. jenks, ' , was for many years professor of social science and economics and now holds a research professorship in new york university. l.m. dennis, ' , is also professor of inorganic chemistry at cornell. as is natural, many michigan teachers are to be found in practically all the western universities, although only a few can be mentioned. thus at chicago are andrew c. mclaughlin, ' , professor of american history, james r. angell, ' , who was professor of psychology and dean of the graduate school until he became president of the carnegie foundation in ; and at wisconsin, j.b. johnson, ' , who was, until his death in , dean of the engineering college, and george c. comstock, ' , professor of astronomy and director of the observatory; while at minnesota edward vandyke robinson, ' , is professor of economics, and john b. johnston, ' , professor of comparative neurology and dean of the college, and for a short period the late john r. allen, ' _e_, formerly at michigan, was dean of the engineering department. at ohio state university may be mentioned stillman w. robinson, ' , professor of mechanical engineering until , george w. knight, ' , professor of american history, and joseph v. denney, ' , professor of english, and dean of the college of arts; and, at nebraska, herbert h. vaughan, ' , professor of modern languages. one of the oldest of michigan's educators is professor william j. beal, ' , professor of botany at michigan agricultural college from to . on the western coast, alexander f. lange, ' , professor of german at the university of california, and dean of the faculties, has also served as acting-president; while other representatives of michigan are charles m. gayley, ' , professor of english, bernard moses, ' , professor of history and political science, and armin o. leuschner, ' , professor of astronomy. at stanford are george hempl, ' , professor of germanic philology, ephraim d. adams, ' , professor of history, and douglas campbell, ' , professor of botany. among michigan graduates in foreign universities may be mentioned the names of stephen langdon, ' , professor of assyriology at oxford, the late alfred senier, ' _m_, professor of chemistry at the national university of ireland at galway, and masakozu toyama, ' -' , dean of the college of literature at tokio until his death in , and founder of the study of sociology in japan. though most of the men of attainment in science have continued in university positions, robert s. woodward, _e_, president of the carnegie institution, charles f. brush, ' _e_, the inventor of the arc light, otto klotz, ' _e_, director of the dominion of canada observatory at ottawa, william w. campbell, ' _e_, director of the lick observatory, and heber d. curtiss, ' , at the same observatory, may be mentioned as exceptions. all but the last were graduates of the engineering department, among whose graduates are also to be numbered a.a. robinson, ' _e_, the late president of the santa fé and mexican central railroads, alfred noble, ' _e_, until his death the leading american engineer, henry g. prout, ' _e_, one time governor of the equatorial provinces of africa and later editor of the _railroad gazette_, cornelius donovan, ' _e_, the builder of the great jetties at the mouth of the mississippi, joseph ripley, ' , the designer of the panama canal locks, and howard coffin, ' , automobile engineer, and chairman of the war-time aviation board. aside from the graduates of the medical school who have made distinguished records on other medical faculties, the names of many prominent practitioners and medical writers might be mentioned, including edmund andrews, ' , ' _m_, an organizer of the medical school of northwestern university, and founder of the chicago academy of sciences, lewis s.f. pilcher, ' _m_, the founder of _the annals of surgery_, william j. mayo, ' _m_, the distinguished surgeon of rochester, minnesota, and woods hutchinson, ' _m_, of new york, a popular writer on medical subjects. among the michigan graduates who have made a record in the legal profession are to be found an unusual number of distinguished occupants of the bench, including william l. day, ' , of the united states supreme court, who was secretary of state under mckinley and chairman of the board of peace commissioners after the war with spain, william b. gilbert, ' _l_, judge of the ninth u.s. circuit at portland, oregon, loyal e. knappen, ' , and arthur dennison, ' _l_, of the sixth circuit, and francis e. baker, ' _l_, of the seventh circuit. there are twelve other michigan graduates in the federal district judiciary in addition to john e. carland, _l_' -' , circuit judge assigned to the court of commerce at washington, and fenton w. booth, ' _l_, of the u.s. court of claims. among legal authors are melvin m. bigelow, ' , ' _l_, dean of the boston university law school, and recognized authority on jurisprudence and legal history, william w. cook, ' , ' _l_, who not only has been a great benefactor to the university, but is perhaps the best-known author on private corporations, as well as counsel for several of the leading telegraph and cable companies. among the graduates of the university in high government positions have been don m. dickinson, ' , postmaster-general under cleveland, and j. sterling morton, ' , secretary of agriculture during cleveland's second term, when edwin f. uhl, ' , was also acting secretary of state and later ambassador to germany. other diplomatic posts have been filled by thomas w. palmer, ' , minister to spain under harrison, william e. quinby, ' , minister to holland under cleveland, thomas j. o'brien, ' _l_, minister to denmark and later ambassador to japan and italy under roosevelt and taft, and william graves sharp, ' _l_, ambassador to france under wilson. michigan has for many years had a large representation in both houses of congress; for example in there were eight former students of the university in the senate, of whom five held degrees, and twenty-two in the house. senator cushman k. davis, ' , who died in , was among the conspicuous leaders of his time, while of the present generation are porter j. mccumber, ' _l_, of north dakota, gilbert hitchcock, _l_, of nebraska, and charles s. thomas, ' _l_, and john f. shafroth, ' , of colorado. in various forms of public service as well as in the business world michigan's graduates occupy prominent places: william c. braisted, ' , is surgeon-general of the navy, laurence maxwell, ' , succeeded charles h. aldrich, ' , as solicitor-general of the state department in , major-general john biddle, who left the university for west point in , served as chief of staff, and later head of the american forces in england during the world war, charles s. burch, ' , is now bishop of the new york diocese, dean c. worcester, ' , was secretary of the interior on the philippine commission, charles b. warren, ' , has been counsel for this country before the hague tribunal, royal s. copeland, ' _h_, is health commissioner for new york city, and earl d. babst, ' , is president of the american sugar refining company. among architects michigan numbers irving k. pond, ' , the designer of the union, and president of the american institute of architects, - , and among landscape architects, o.c. simonds, ' _e_, of chicago. many alumni have turned to literature, and the names of not a few, particularly among the more recent graduates, are continuously appearing in different magazines and reviews. particularly well known are stewart edward white, ' , katharine holland brown, ' , franklin p. adams, ' , and harry a. franck, ' , no less well known as an unconventional traveler. michigan has also left her mark in journalism, from liberty e. holden, ' , editor and publisher of the cleveland _plain dealer_ and william e. quinby, of the same class, of the old _detroit free press_, to edward s. beck, ' , managing editor of the chicago _tribune_, s. beach conger, ' , who was in charge of the european service of the associated press during the great war, paul scott mowrer, a one-time member of the class of ' , who was the paris representative of the chicago _daily news_, and karl harriman, ' , editor of the _ladies home journal_ and author of "ann arbor tales," ( ). as with the men so with the women graduates of the university. their ranks include, in addition to the president of wellesley, many important positions in the university world, including angie chapin, ' , professor of greek, and the late katharine coman, ' , professor of history and economics, at wellesley, and gertrude buck, ' , professor of english at vassar. among alumnae particularly prominent in science are mrs. mary hegeler carus, ' _e_, the first woman to graduate from the engineering college, who is president of a large manufacturing company and secretary of the open court publishing company, and the late marion s. parker, ' _e_, who as a structural engineer has had a large share in the designing of some of the monumental buildings of new york. annie s. peck, ' , is also well known as a traveler and mountain climber. in the medical profession there have been many alumnae of prominence, notably dr. alice hamilton, ' _m_, who has recently become assistant professor of industrial medicine in the harvard medical school, and dr. harriet alexander, who has become an authority on diseases of the nervous system. two chinese graduates of the medical school, dr. ida kahn, ' _m_, and dr. mary stone, ' _m_, have done a great work for their fellow countrymen in their large hospital at kiu kiang. table i the income of the university, by ten-year periods _showing principal sources_ special appro- year total income from mill-tax tuition priations and income[ ] state lands fees, etc. savings for buildings[ ] -' $ , . $ , . $ , . -' , . , . , . -' , . , . , . $ , . -' [ ] , . , . $ , . , . , . -' , . , . , . , . , . -' , . , . , . , . , . -' , , . , . , . , . , . -' , , . , . , , . , . , . [footnote : these totals include, in addition to the items shown, balances on hand, temporary loans, sales of material, and, in later years, hospital fees.] [footnote : this includes also appropriations for deficits, as well as savings from the income from the mill-tax over a period of years, drawn out for the erection of buildings.] [footnote : the treasurer's report for -' covered fifteen months, and therefore cannot properly be used for comparison.] table ii the faculty and students _by ten-year periods_ year # of # of ---------------------------number of students------------------------------- faculty grad- lit- medi- law phar- homeo- den- engineer- grad- summer total exclus- uates erary cine macy pathic tis- ing and uate[ ] session ive of try architec- assist- ture ants ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] , , , , , , , , , , , [ ] , , , , [ ] [footnote : the figures given for the graduate students, except in , include only those enrolled in the literary college. the figures for include studying _in absentia_.] [footnote : included in the literary department until .] [footnote : the proportion of graduates in is relatively lower owing to the large enrolment of former soldiers in the lower classes.] [footnote : this total includes nurses in the two training schools.] table iii the geographical distribution of alumni and students of the university of michigan, february, alumni (graduates and former students) students in whose addresses are known university -------------------------------------------------------- men women alabama arizona arkansas california , colorado connecticut delaware district of columbia florida georgia idaho illinois , indiana , iowa kansas kentucky louisiana maine maryland massachusetts michigan , , , minnesota mississippi missouri montana nebraska nevada new hampshire new jersey new mexico new york , north carolina north dakota ohio , oklahoma oregon pennsylvania , rhode island south carolina south dakota tennessee texas utah vermont virginia washington west virginia wisconsin wyoming total number in united states , , , american dependencies canada foreign countries total , , , total (men and women) , total number given degrees, june, , total number living graduates, june, , table iv the buildings of the university ------------+------+-------------+-------------+------------------------------ | when |approximate | | building |comp- | original | additions | remarks |leted | cost | | ------------+------+-------------+-------------+------------------------------ | | |date cost| _university_| | | | _hall_ | | | | north wing, | | $ , . | |originally contained "mason hall"| | | | dormitory, as well as class- | | | | rooms, chapel, library, and | | | | museum. | | | | south wing, | | , . | |contained dormitory at first, "south | | | | as well as classrooms. college" | | | | | | | | main or | | , . | | central | | | | part and | | | | auditorium | | | | | | | | | | | | _four_ | | | | _original_ | | | | _faculty_ | | | | _residences_| | | | on south | | | | university | | | | avenue: | | | | | | | | west | |} | $ , |occupied by every president residence| |} | | except president hutchins. | |} | | east | |} , . | |became dental college in , residence| |} (total | | taken over by engineering | |} cost of | | college in ; now known as | |} the four | | old engineering building. on north | |} buildings)| | university | |} | | avenue: | |} | | | |} | | west | |} | |became homeopathic college in residence| |} | | . removed in . | |} | | east | |} | |became university hospital in residence| | | | , with subsequent | | | | additions. taken over by | | | | dental college in . | | | | removed in . | | | | old medical | | , . | , |half of cost of addition in building | | | | borne by citizens of ann | | | | arbor. razed in . | | | | | | | , |costs given includes instru- observatory | | , . | } , | ments. the cost of the orig- | | | } | inal observatory includes | | | | $ , , given by citizens | | | | of detroit, while the cost | | | | of the improvements in | | | | was borne by citizens of | | | | detroit and ann arbor. | | | | | | | |original structure lost in | | | } | subsequent additions. now old | | | } | used by departments of chemistry | | , . | } | physiology, pharmacology, laboratory | | | } $ , | economics, and political | | | } | science. | | | } | | | | | law | | , . | , |housed university library building | | | , | until . now contains law | | | | library of , volumes and | | | | also the regents' room. | | | | museum | | , . | | | | | | engineering | | , . | , |tower now contains university shops | | | , | clock and chimes. | | | | physical | | | , |contained department of laboratory | | | | hygiene until . | | | | old library | | , . | |torn down in . | | | | _old_ | | | | _university_| | | | _hospitals_ | | | | main | | , . [ ]| |to be superseded by the new buildings | | | | hospital, . | | | | office | | , . [ ]| | buildings | | | | | | | | palmer ward | | , . | |palmer ward bequest of mrs. | | | | a.b. palmer (with $ , | | | | endowment). | | | | psychopathic| | , . | , |controlled by board appointed ward | | | | jointly by state and regents. | | | | eye and ear | | , . | | ward | | | | | | | | contagious | | , . | | ward | | | | | | | | | | | | _gymnasiums_| | | | waterman | | , . | , |$ , given by josiah (men) | | | | waterman. | | | | barbour | | , . | |$ , given by ex-regent (women) | | | | levi l. barbour, ' . | | | | tappan hall | | , . [ ]| |contains classrooms, and | | | | offices of department of | | | | education. | | | | homeopathic | | , . | $ , |original site of five acres, hospital | | | | valued at $ , , given by | | | | city of ann arbor. | | | | addition a separate | | | | children's ward. | | | | medical | | , . | | building | | | | | | | | engineering | | , . | , | building | | | | | | | | dental | | , . | | building | | | | | | | | alumni | | , . | |art galleries and reading memorial | | | | room. headquarters of alumni hall | | | | association. $ , | | | | contributed by alumni | | | | association. | | | | chemistry | | , . | |includes department of building | | | | pharmacy. | | | | ferry field | | , . | | club house | | | | | | | | hill | | , . | |bequest of $ , , of regent auditorium | | | | arthur hill, ' _e._ seating | | | | capacity approximately , . | | | | power plant | | , . | |cost includes complete | | | | equipment. | | | | natural | | , . | |contains departments of science | | | | botany, forestry, geology, building | | | | mineralogy, psychology, and | | | | zoölogy. | | | | university | | , . | | contains , volumes. library | | | | | | | | the michigan| | , , . | |gift of alumni members union | | | | ( , ). | | | | the new | | , , . | |now in course of construction. university | | | | hospital | | | | | | | | | | | | _the_ | | | | _women's_ | | | | _dorm-_ | | | | _itories_ | | | | martha cook | | , . | |gift of the cook family. building | | | | | | | | helen handy | | , . | |gift of the newberry family. newberry | | | | hall of | | | | residence | | | | | | | | betsy | | , . | |gift of levi l. barbour, ' . barbour | | | | hall of | | | | residence | | | | | | | | alumnae | | , . | |gift of the alumnae of the house | | | | university. [footnote : appraisal value, .] [footnote : appraisal value, .] index act of , . acts of congress concerning school lands, . acts of state legislature: first organic act, march , , , ; supplementary act, , ; state loan to university, , ; april , , second organic act, , . adams, charles k., , . admission requirements: medical, , ; law, . agnew, john h., , , . agriculture, chair of, , . alumnæ, distinguished, . alumni: relations with, , ; distinguished, , , - ; number, ; distribution of, , ; organization of, - ; alumni association, - , ; local organizations, ; in university affairs, ; alumni secretary, ; _alumnus, michigan_, , ; advisory council, ; catalogue, , ; gifts, - ; alumni fund, , . alumni memorial hall, , , . anatomical laboratory, , . angell, james burrill: declines offer of presidency, ; accepts a second tender, , ; birth and early life, , ; educational ideals, ; in the public service, ; characteristics, , - ; administration, review of, - ; difficulties of, - ; resignation, ; quarter centennial anniversary, ; references, , , . ann arbor: in early days, , ; description of, , ; first settlers, ; origin of name, , ; early life in, - ; german settlers, - ; churches, , ; newspapers, , ; schools, , ; town and gown, students, - ; advantages as site for university, , ; future development of, . ann arbor land company, , . anniversaries: semi-centennial, ; seventy-fifth, ; president angell's quarter centennial, . appropriations, legislative, , , , . architecture, college of, . astronomy, department of, ; see _observatory_. athletic association: first organized, ; board of control, ; organized, , ; ferry field, . athletics: in general, ; in early days, , ; development of, ; first organizations, ; athletic association, ; baseball, - ; football, first, , ; general review, - ; track athletics, first, , ; general review of, - ; minor sports, , ; reforms, , ; for women, ; general summary, , . attendance, , , , , , , , , , , ; geographical distribution of, ; during war, , ; from michigan, . barbour, levi l., benefactor, , . barbour gymnasium, . baseball, general review, - . bates, henry m., . beal-steere collections, , . benefactions: alumni, , , - ; biblical mss., ; freer, . bibliography, university, . boise, james r., , . bolting classes, practice of, . botany, department of, . branches of the university: authorized, ; founded, ; discontinued, , ; justification for, . brünnow, franz f.e., , . buildings, , , , , , , , , , , , - . burton, marion leroy: chosen as president, ; inaugurated, . campbell, james v., . campus: selection of, ; in early days, ; tree planting on, , ; development, , ; plan for future, . catholepistemiad, . chancellor, lack of, , . chapel, , . chemical laboratory, , , ; shortage in accounts, , ; buildings, , , . choral union, . churches, ann arbor, , . clinical medicine, laboratory of, . civil war: effect on attendance, , ; political sentiment, ; outbreak of war, ; student drill organized, ; alumni in, . classes, early rivalry, , . class-day, . clements library of american history, . clubs, student, , . cocker, benjamin f., . co-education: subject agitated, ; adopted by regents, ; first woman students, ; general feeling, ; scholarship, . colleges of state: early rivalry of, ; co-operation with, . colors, michigan, . commencement exercises, ; change in, . comedy club, . conference, western inter-collegiate, , ; withdrawal from, , ; return to, . congressional acts. see _acts_. constitution: of , - ; of , . constitutional status of university, - . cooley, mortimer e., . cooley, thomas m., , . council, inter-fraternity, . council, student, - . cousin, m. victor, report on public instruction in prussia, . crary, isaac e., , , . cricket, in early days, , . curriculum: first, , ; changes in, , , , , ; combined literary and medical, , ; literary and law, ; special, . davis, joseph b., . debating. see _speaking, public_. degrees: effort to limit degree-conferring power, ; changes in, ; doctor of philosophy, ; honorary, ; juris doctor, ; engineering, ; total in , . demmon, isaac n., , , . denison, charles s., , . dental surgery, college of: founding, ; first faculty, ; lengthening of course, ; building, . denton, samuel, , . detroit, , . discipline, student, . disturbances, student, - . d'ooge, martin l., , . dormitories: first buildings, , ; abolished, ; women's, , , , ; men's, proposed, . douglas, silas h., - , , , . dramatics, student: early efforts, , ; comedy club, ; union operas, ; other organizations, , , ; campus theater, need for, . east, athletic competition with: baseball, , ; football, , , , ; track, . educational changes, university's share in, , - , , - , , , , , , , , . effinger, john r., . elective system of studies, , , . electro-therapeutics, laboratory of, . engineering, college of: first establishment, ; subdivision of literary department, ; faculty, , ; deans, ; departments in, ; building, ; research in, ; independent college, . english, department of, . enrolment. see _attendance_. exhibitions, junior, . extension courses, . expenses in early days, , . faculty: first, , , ; weakness in , , ; organization, . fasquelle, louis, , . fees, , . fellowships, . ferry field, . fine arts: course first established, ; department of, . fitzpatrick, keene, . football: general review of, - ; agitation for reforms in, - . ford, corydon la, . foreign students, . forestry, department of, . fraternities: in general, , ; struggle over establishment, - ; growth of, , ; first chapter houses, ; palladium, ; system at michigan, ; junior hop and, ; inter-fraternity conference, ; rules for rushing, ; scholarship of, . freer, charles l., benefactor, . french educational influence, . frieze, henry s.: as professor of latin, ; acting president, , ; characteristics, ; love of music, ; co-education, ; high school certificates granted, ; other references, , . fund, alumni, , . gayley, charles m., , , , . geographical distribution of students, . geology, department of, . glee club, , . graduates: distinguished, - ; see also _alumni_. graduate school, , ; origin, , , , , ; organized as school, ; development of, . grant, claudius b., , . gray, asa, , . greek, department of, , . gunn, moses, . gymnasium, first, ; efforts for, , ; present building, . haven, erastus otis, professor of latin, ; elected president, ; characteristics and policies, , , ; his administration, ; relations with legislature, ; resignation, ; favors co-education, . health service, , , . heating plant, . high schools and the university, , . hill auditorium, , . hinsdale, burke a., , , , , . hinsdale, wilbert b., . histology, laboratory of, . history, department of, , . homeopathic medical school: first faculty of, ; buildings, , . homeopathic controversy, , , , , , , , . honorary degrees, . hospital, university: first, , ; new building, , . houghton, douglass, , . hudson, richard, ; benefactions, , . humanistic series, , . hutchins, harry b.: acting president, ; elected president, ; early life, ; characteristics, ; administration and policies, - ; resignation, ; dean of the department of law, ; why he came to michigan, ; other references, . hygiene, laboratory of, . industrial subjects, teachers in, . jones, elisha, , . jones, samuel, a., . journalism, student. see _publications_. kearsley, jonathan, examination by, . kelly, "pat," , . laboratory, methods, , . land grants and the university fund, , . landscape design, department of, . lane, victor h., , . lane hall, . languages, modern, departments of, . latin, department of, . law school: organized, , ; first faculty, ; attendance, ; building, , ; library, ; original admission requirements and plan of instruction, ; lengthening of course, ; professorships, ; aims, ; deans, ; research in, ; combination courses, , . law, teaching of, , . learning, higher. see _research_. legislative acts. see _acts_. legislative appropriations. see _appropriations_. library: general, beginnings of, ; first librarian, , ; funds solicited by dr. tappan, ; growth, , , ; old building, ; new building, ; librarians, ; gifts, , . literary societies, , . lloyd, alfred h., . loan of , . marking system, absence of, . mason, stevens t., , . mathematics, department of, . may festival, . "mechanics," burning of, , . medical school: organization, , , ; original building, , , ; enlarged, ; requirements for admission, , , ; for graduation, , , ; proposed removal to detroit, , ; growth in attendance, ; first university hospital, ; combination courses, ; laboratories, - ; new medical building, ; research in, . memorial hall. see _alumni_. memorials, class, , . michigan, state of: growth, ; territorial, ; character of inhabitants, , ; relation to university, general, - ; financial support of, , , , , . _michiganensian_, , . military science, courses in: first considered, ; first course, , ; r.o.t.c., , , . mill-tax: first granted, ; increased, , , . mineralogy, department of, . mines, school of, , . monument, old, on campus, . morris, george s., . music, department of, . musical organizations: first, ; organizations, , . museum, . nagele, "doc," . national dinner, new york, . natural science building, . naval tank, . newberry hall, . observatory: establishment, , ; enlargements, , ; references, . olney, edward, . opera, michigan union, ; songs from, . oratory: early training in, , , ; department of, , . oratorical association, . ordinance: of , ; of , , . organizations, student, in general, . palmer, alonzo b., . _palladium_, . pathological laboratory, . pattengill, albert h., , . payne, william h., . pharmacy, college of, ; deans, . phi beta kappa, , . philosophy, department of, , . physics, department of, ; laboratory, . pierce, john d., , , . pitcher, zina, , . political economy, department of, . political science, department of, . pond, i.k. and allen, architects of union, ; i.k. in athletics, . prescott, albert b., , . presidency of the university: creation of office, ; dr. tappan, - ; dr. haven, - ; acting presidency of dr. frieze, - ; dr. angell, - ; dr. hutchins, - ; dr. burton, , . psychopathic hospital, . publications of university, ; of faculty, , - . publications, college student, - ; early, ; board in control of, . recreation, early opportunities for, . regents, board of: selection duties, powers, ; relations with first faculty, , , ; first meeting, , , ; enlarged powers under constitution of , ; change in method of electing, ; general characterization, , ; relations with legislature, ; powers, , , ; legislative acts and decisions concerning, - ; members of, , . religion in the university, , , , . removal of medical school, question of, , . research: in university, , , , ; in medical school, ; industrial, . research club, , . rhetoric, department of, . rose, preston b., , . sager, abram, , , . salaries: first, , , ; reduced in , . scholarship charts, . scientific collections, , . semitics, department of, . seminary method of teaching, , . sewall, henry, . smith-hughes bill, . societies, student, - . songs, michigan, - . sororities, . spanish-american war, - . speaking, public, , , ; clubs for, ; debating and oratory, , . special students, not candidates for a degree, . state university system, , . steere, joseph b., . students, distribution of, , . student affairs, committee on, . students, first, . student life, ; early days, - ; later years, . students' christian association: organization, ; general character of work, ; newberry hall, ; divided into y.m.c.a. and y.w.c.a., ; re-established, . students' lecture association, , . studies, university of michigan, . summer session, . surgical laboratory, . superintendent of public instruction, , , , . tappan hall, . tappan, john l., , . tappan, henry philip: election to presidency, ; life before coming to university, ; characteristics, , ; university ideals, , ; administration, ; appearance before legislature, ; strained relations, , ; removal, ; efforts for his reinstatement, ; other references, , , , , , , . tappan oak, . teaching, science and art of, department of, , . ten brook, andrew, , , , , . town and gown: friendly spirit, , , ; student troubles, - . track athletics, - . traditions, student, . tree planting on campus, - . tyler, moses coit, , , . union, american university, in paris, , . union, michigan: founded, - ; organization and objects, , . union, michigan, building: need for, ; judge cooley's home purchased, ; fund for, , ; description of, , ; control of, ; during war, . universities, other, in , . university, first, in detroit, . university hall, . university system, . vaughan, victor c., . walker, james v., . war, world: faculty in service, , - ; honor roll, ; numbers in service, , , - ; preparations for, , , ; the r.o.t.c., , , ; the s.a.t.c., - ; special courses, , ; investigations for government, ; women's share, , ; the naval divisions, - ; effect on athletics, , ; after effects, , . war, civil. see _civil war_. war, spanish-american. see _spanish-american war_. waterman gymnasium, , . watson, james c., , , , . whedon, daniel d., , , , . white, andrew d., , , , , ; tree planting, - . whiting, joseph, , . williams, george p., , , . winchell, alexander, . woman's league, . women, members of faculty, . wood, devolson, . yellow and the blue, the, . yost, f.h., . young men's christian association, - . young women's christian association, , . zoölogy, department of, . transcriber's note: minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as printed. words printed in italics are marked with underlines: _italics_. earliest years at vassar [illustration: ] earliest years at vassar _personal recollections_ by frances a. wood (librarian) poughkeepsie, n.y. the vassar college press the lord baltimore press baltimore, md., u.s.a. earliest years at vassar. personal recollections. frances a. wood, _librarian_. the more i recall of the early times, the more unwritable any account becomes by reason of the personal element. the charm and delight lay chiefly in the close confidence of mutual friendly relations. "a chiel amang us taking notes" would not have been tolerated in those days. i never expected to regret not keeping a journal, but i do now as i realize how much precious and interesting history has been lost in consequence. one of the first teachers in the latin department had to deal with a student so literal as to afford much amusement by her continual habit of asking, "what is the exact date of this event?" one day in class, allusion was made to the story of deucalion and pyrrha, when the girl unthinkingly began her usual query. the teacher despairingly interrupted,--"thank heaven, miss ----, there is a period in history in which there are no dates." so you are invited to look back with me to the time in vassar history when it began,--when practically there were no dates; the time when the word "female" was still carved over the entrance, and had not yet been stricken from the spoons. as to that word, there seems to have been much discussion about its use from the first and objections made to it, for the evangelist in had a long article in defence, summing up the matter in this wise:--"we hope the college will not be persuaded to change the title on account of any prudish antipathy on the part of a few who entertain a false prejudice against the word female, and who are utterly unable to find a substitute for it, or suggest any graceful circumlocution by which it can be avoided." it may be interesting to the student of to-day to know the sort of setting in which her eldest vassar sister was placed. the course of study laid out here was substantially what was prepared for her brothers in colleges for men at that period, and requiring the same proficiency in grade to enter. but of this the purpose is not to give record of what the early catalogues testify. it is rather a little picture of the life and customs at the beginning, over forty years ago, when all was new and we were all young. it is not from the students' point of view. that side ought to have a chronicler from one of themselves. if only all the letters written home from the college for the first dozen years could have been saved, the narrative would be of far greater interest than this can hope to be. with the interest attaching to great enterprises hardly anything is too small or insignificant to be counted. how the founder first got his idea to do something for women, what the highest opportunities were for women nearly fifty years ago, are on record and need no further chronicler. all the various steps in development of the great enterprise, the discouragements of building in the face of civil war, the lack of enthusiasm in public opinion,--all this is familiar history. the sketch by benson j. lossing entitled "vassar college and its founder" tells the story of the beginning, describing the equipment--rich for that period,--giving a picture of that proud and happy first founder's day, when with a line of students each side his carriage, with flags and songs and banners mr. vassar was escorted up from the lodge, and, in the enthusiasm of his triumphal procession and welcome, perhaps first realized what he had done for women--what he had instituted for all time. let us hope in the general gladness and gratitude he had the richest sense of reward, a consciousness that he had done wisely and well, felt, in short, that in the fullest yankee sense "it had paid." when a full history of the college comes to be written--as it will be--of this great epoch in educational history, we shall realize still more what it was to have faith to establish the first properly equipped college for women, and the wonder of dr. raymond's work in its organization. no one can read the history as given in his "life and letters" without increased appreciation of what it was to evolve out of chaos the educational life and policy of the college with the social as well. in this latter part he was incomparably assisted by miss lyman--a power, too, in her day and time. it is interesting to trace the record of growth and development from the beginning, and to notice the change from sceptical opinion or amused tolerance to belief and acceptance. the founder began collecting press notices, and the treasured annals of the library collection owe their start to him. [illustration: ] in the main, the notices were dignified and commendatory:--"a munificent enterprise. with the progress of our civilization, the sphere of personal activity enlarges for women as well as for men, and education must keep pace with its progress.... the institution is intended to be all that the term college imparts; to be ultimately what yale, harvard, and brown are to young men." the new york evening post of says:--"it is not to be for a moment supposed that this plan of instruction involves a departure from the field of activity which nature has for the female sex, or of unfitting them for the duties which their own tastes as well as the requirements of society indicate them to perform.... no institution of note has yet ventured to admit females much further than into the mysteries of the rudiments." (female delicacy, female industry, female mind, female college were terms hard worked in those days. a belief of sex in mind was universal.) now and then an attempt to be facetious was made. the new york times in also had its say of the new enterprise as follows:--"what do you think of a woman's college? and why not? after allopathic, hydropathic, homeopathic and patent pill colleges, universities and all that sort of thing, why not let the girls have one? for the life of me i do not discover any very valid objection, but objection or no objection, the thing is to be. by a bill introduced this morning, matthew vassar, william kelly, james harper, e. l. magoon, b. j. lossing, s. f. b. morse and a dozen or more gentlemen among the knowing and the known are authorized to be the body corporate of a female college. the said college is to have full power to educate feminines and to grant them sheepskins the same as any other college is authorized and wont to do." [illustration: the founder ] ten members constituted the faculty in - , seven men with the president, and three women--miss lyman, lady principal, miss mitchell, director of the observatory, and dr. avery, the resident physician. the seven chairs filled by men could boast degrees and titles, but there were none for women those days. there were no associate professors, no instructors in departments ranking teachers, simply faculty and teachers for many years. nowadays, the catalogue bristles with degrees, and not to have a.b. or something after one's name is the rare exception. the teachers numbered twenty that first year; the second, the number had increased to thirty-four and of these nine taught music, the largest department in the college and--as we that were in it thought--the most important. the first catalogue, issued - , shows the whole number of students as , all unclassified, owing to the inequalities of preparation. among this number were many very far advanced in general scholarship, but who had certain exceptional deficiencies preventing their entering a regular class at once. by the end of the second year, however, all were graded. it is not strange that at the outset so many should be unfitted to enter, when hitherto no preparation for women to take a college training had been provided for in the land. it was a wonderful thing when vassar opened for a girl to have the chance to go to college, and the contrast between then and now when it is quite a matter of course, and not at all an exceptional thing, strikes me rather sharply, as i see a privilege counted so precious once made light of in these days, or worse--wholly disregarded. the numbers continued without much change, in , stretching to the limit suitable provision for them. if this seems pitiful to you, one of a thousand to-day, remember that at the first, was about the highest number reckoned on, and for this number accommodations were none too plentiful with recitation rooms, art-gallery, library and museum all in one building. many of the earliest students will recall making one of seven in a "fire-wall" parlor, other suites being crowded in similar proportion; but however uncomfortable and dissatisfied she might have been, the girl made little complaint, sustained, doubtless, by the proud consciousness of being a pioneer student in the first college for women ever established. by the tabular statement with this will be seen the steady increase of proportion of students in full collegiate standing. full total. standing. conditioned. special. unclassified. - .. .. .. .. - preparatory. - .. - .. - .. - .. - .. - .. - .. - .. there was an importance attaching to the students in full standing, a sort of aristocracy, if you please, not defined or put in words, but none the less felt and appreciated. even the teachers who had upper class work shared this, and those not so favored would say on occasion in mock grievance,--"i am only a prep. teacher" or "only a music teacher," as the case might be. in - the first resident graduates were recorded, louise parsons and mary reybold. the specials in art and music were required to pass the regular preparatory entrance examinations, and to take two collegiate studies in connection with their special work. this arrangement was abolished in when the history and theory of music and of art were made to count towards a degree. the trustees voted to close the preparatory department, june , . the first class to graduate was in . they were four in number--"the immortal iv"--as dr. raymond characterized them at the planting of their class ivy, for there were then no class trees by adoption. no diploma was given to the class on the day of graduation, the trustees hesitating to admit the propriety of the term bachelor of arts as applied to women. instead, the four received a sort of special certificate stating their proficiency "in science and the arts." later, the next year, when the matter was satisfactorily adjusted, they received the regular parchment document. the early fortunate possessors of the degree of a.b.--once given only to men--were regarded with admiring awe, and they had not to strive much for any desired position coveted. a successful young woman teacher of experience entered college to go through the course in two years, to the wonder of some friends who regarded her as having no need of a degree. "i want it for commercial purposes," was her shrewd reply. she had her reward in advancement far beyond what hitherto had been perfectly satisfactory. it is now a matter of course that a candidate for any position should have a college education, and the well earned degree confers no special distinction. indeed, it has come to pass that the almost indifferent comment is, "well, what has she done since?" a favorite question to the college girl was, "what good does this higher education do? can you make a better pudding for it?" "i'll tell you what good the college does," laughed a certain bright student, "it is a great place to take the starch out of one! why, at home i thought i was somebody; here i find the only somebody is the best scholar in the classroom." the president taught mental and moral philosophy as the catalogue stated it. he also gave some lectures in history, as did the professor of ancient and modern languages and the professor of english. under the term natural philosophy came mathematics, physics and chemistry, and the term natural history covered the wide field of science now separated into special departments. biology was taught under zoology, and an amusing incident in class at one time was when one of the number (afterwards a surgeon and doctor) exclaimed in dismay at sight of the eye of an ox laid on her table for dissection, "o professor, mayn't we have forks?" the second year of the college was little changed from the first, and so the distinction of being "an aborigine," as miss mitchell dubbed the officers that came in ' , was bestowed on a few of us who had just missed that date. she always brought some little present for the band on her return to college each year, and it delighted her to add a fresh anecdote, told as we walked down a corridor, her large, serious eyes twinkling with fun. "how did the college look when you came in ' ?" is a question often asked me. it was a february night after a day of snow, rain and sleet, when the six o'clock train from new york landed me at poughkeepsie. then came the long drive out to the college over the heavy muddy road, unlighted beyond the city limits, which were not built out as thickly as now, and from bull's head (arlington) at the turn, hardly at all. [illustration: john h. raymond ] the driver ushered me in at the old lower entrance, and, as a matter of course, gathered up my hand-baggage and preceded me up the central stairway to the messenger room. this would be an unusual proceeding to-day, but was most friendly and grateful then in the strange place. my handbag had a defective lock with a trick of unexpectedly flying open, and i recall its unhappy click, click, as i nervously followed him up the stairs. my name was given to be sent to miss lyman, whom i awaited, very ill at ease, in the parlor. soon a tall figure appeared in black silk dress, white fleecy shawl, white hair in curls under black lace cap, both hands extended in smiling greeting as if an old friend had arrived. "we have been looking for you all day, and had just begun to fear we must give you up for to-night." a relative could hardly have been received more cordially, or with more entire absence of inspection. i had been summoned in midyear to fill a sudden vacancy in the music department, the preliminary formalities having been waived somehow in my case, and i was not looking to be received so perfectly as a welcome guest of honor. needless to say, all misgivings vanished and i felt at home at once. a teacher with whom i had been associated elsewhere was sent for to take me to my room, supper ordered served there, teachers rooming in the same corridor came to greet the newcomer, and the evening that promised to be forlorn and dreary changed into a gay reception with friendly warmth and good cheer. professor wiebe, in whose department i was to teach, lived in the north wing near my room, and soon presented himself with his wife to welcome me. madame wiebe also taught in the department--was a musician herself of no mean ability. really, it seems as i live it all over that the sunshiny outlook has never dimmed. [illustration: edward wiebe ] the next day, washington's birthday, was a holiday, and opportunity given to inspect the grounds and building. a narrow gravel path each side of the avenue led up from the lodge--the one old landmark exactly the same as now. evergreens, so small one could almost touch the tops with the hand, bordered those paths. the first catalogue contained an engraving of these walks and front of the building, and a framed copy of one with photographs of that year is preserved in the library. what we know as the museum was then the riding school with a german nobleman in charge, and groups of his pupils might be seen every pleasant day, riding around the great circle laid out for the purpose beyond the flower garden. parties of more advanced riders were taken by the baron outside the grounds, to the envy of the less skilled. the experiment of the riding school proved too expensive with its horses, grooms and master, and had at the end of six years to be given up. the observatory was the only other building outside (with the exception of the boiler and engine house), and a gravel walk led up to its doors also. there were none but soft paths and few of these anywhere at that time. later, an unsightly wooden walk replaced the gravel ones from the lodge to the front entrance. it was several years after this that the flagging was laid, and asphalt pavement here and there around the grounds begun. the museum collections at the beginning were all in the main building, some occupying the space of the fifth center corridor, and it was in this long gallery that i had my first meeting with the founder. i had gone one day by myself to wander about looking at specimens of minerals when the door opened and a benevolent white haired old gentleman entered. there was no mistaking the man of the portrait with his old time dress,--ruffled shirt front, diamond pin and wonderfully kind expression--and i went forward to pay my homage. he seemed familiar with the collections, pointing out whatever was especially valuable and curious as we walked around together. "i often come up here to see these," he said smilingly. he gave a reception at his house in town that second year for the faculty and teachers of the college to meet the trustees and friends of his living in town, and i recall a delightful, genial host who made us all feel as if we belonged to him--were a part of his family. on the fourth corridor--the whole west front below, was the art-gallery with professor van ingen as director. the library was under this in the center of the third corridor, more like a room of the kind in a gentleman's house, and conducted somewhat in the same delightful free and easy fashion. newspapers and periodicals were in this room also, open for daily use, but books could be drawn only at recreation period, wednesday and saturday, though they might be returned whenever the library was open. in a college community the library is destined to be an important factor, feeding the whole group of departments, and it is not hard to see how the small beginning here should go on by leaps and bounds, keeping pace with the wonderful growth in other directions, till it reached the stately structure which is its home to-day. the first organ to be placed in the chapel had no case. instead, there was an arrangement of heavy red curtains across the back of the platform, with the large portrait of the founder in front, concealing all unsightliness. the music rooms were back of the organ, on the third and fourth floors used now by the steward's department. professor wiebe had his large classroom and office on the upper floor and there were held the departmental meetings. access to these rooms was through the doors each side of the chapel platform and through the small doors at the farther end of the gallery. the office where the music supplies were stored and given out was in the little room opening from the south end of the platform. the conservatory method obtained at first, the ensemble playing being conducted in the museum, in a large room near the gymnasium, capable of holding the several pianos necessary. professor mitchell had her classroom at the observatory, but with that exception all other recitations were in the one main building, in the center each side of the main entrance. the president's classroom adjoined his office, now the senior parlor. in , room j was dr. avery's recitation room, and later was famous as the english literature and logic classroom in the day of professor backus. this is now the officers' parlor. there was no students' room for dancing. this was done at the gymnasium sometimes in the evenings, permission to go over first having to be obtained. on the first corridor, where are now the stationery department, offices of the superintendent and resident physician, were three connecting rooms assigned to the chemistry department,--laboratory, classroom and lecture room. across the corridor to the east where the express office and janitor's office are now were the two rooms of physics, a large classroom with smaller one adjoining for the apparatus. dr. avery had her office in her private suite on the fourth south, with the infirmary in near proximity at the other end of the hall. mr. wheeler, the first janitor, who was on the college ground from the time the first spadeful of earth was dug up for the building, had for his office the small room close by the center stairway on the first corridor. [illustration: charles s. farrar ] professor farrar's chemistry and physics courses were extremely popular, and days when special experiments were in order the lecture room would be crowded. the teachers all had the privilege of attending lectures, and many did regular work in some one department other than her own, supplementing boarding school training and taking the college degree after a time. i remember one day his holding up a small vial in each hand, explaining elaborately the contents of each, and what the chemical effect would be when the two should be poured together. the class watched in breathless attention. "now, young ladies," and the bottles were lifted high that all might see, "you will observe"--repeating the formula--and then pouring them with quick, deft movement together. nothing happened. who that saw it but must remember the blank amazement of the professor's face and the hearty laugh all round in which he joined. "well, that never turned out so with me before." beyond the center south where are now the candy-kitchen and day students' parlor was the natural history lecture and classroom. the cabinets of minerals were beautifully arranged in a long gallery on the fifth center and consulted there as occasion required. the story goes that a student busy with her topic one day was interrupted by the entrance of a visitor who patronizingly asked, "well, what are you so absorbed in?" she raised her eyes. "the odontology of the bison, sir." he fell back a few paces, gazed at her in silence a moment, and then left the room. the collections of birds, shells, etc., were placed on the third corridor center in rooms now devoted to student use. a domestic in employ of the college, whose special charge was the natural history classroom, was noticed gazing at the wall where hung engravings of some huge mammals of prehistoric time. "were those rale bastes, professor?" he assured her that such once lived, whereupon she commented complacently, "well, i s'pose the men and women then were equal to 'em." the venus of milos stood in the gymnasium, and two workmen had been sent to change slightly its position. one was overheard asking why the surface of the statue was so chipped and rough. his companion answered with an air of finality, "the doctor uses this to illustrate her lectures on skin diseases." space fails to recount all the little jokes. "bacchanalian sunday" a young student called baccalaureate in perfect good faith. "i am glad the old main looks unchanged inside as much as it does. i should say those were the same old water tanks, had you not told me otherwise. i used to room in this parlor here, and wonder if i could find my name with those of my roommates still written on the inside shutters?" and she did. but the alumna returning after a long period of years does find many changes, concerning chiefly the routine of daily life, manners and customs, what was known in her time having disappeared almost entirely. let us begin with the first schedule of the college hours: rising . a.m. morning prayers . breakfast . arrangement of rooms . silent time . morning study hours . - . dinner . p.m. recreation period . - . afternoon study hours . - . supper . evening prayers followed by silent time . evening study hour . - . retiring . - . for a few years, chapel prayers were held both morning and evening. miss lyman officiated in the morning, taking this occasion for her wonderful talks to the students with such notices as were required for the day. in the first catalogues issued was a long list of necessary equipment, including a waterproof cloak, a long woolen garment popular in that time. this article of attire was much in vogue at early prayers, and i think it was her disgust at the sight of so many black robed figures in the procession filing into chapel that caused the change from prayers at . to directly after breakfast. so in ' the service was at . --an adroit device we considered--of getting the family up in time. how thankful many were for the fashion of trailing princesse wrapper, and i believe no college inmate was without one. the day of the short skirt for walking had not come, only very young girls having that comfort and luxury. the grey woolen gymnastic suit was "en régle" for excursions to cedar ridge and country roundabout, but it was not considered quite proper even there or to be seen outside the gymnasium. miss lyman was very particular in matters of dress, insisting on change for supper, as if going out for the evening. no one was allowed to wear the same costume all day. "you may take off one calico frock and put on a fresh one of the same kind, if you can do no better, but some sort of change is essential." also in the matter of gloves she held us all up to wear them at every college function. it was thought extremely elegant for even the one who was to deliver essay or poem on the chapel platform to wear white gloves. happily this custom was not long lived. "if there is a student here who cannot afford white gloves--even of lisle thread, i shall be glad to provide a pair." the last year of her life she wore gloves constantly to conceal her wasted, emaciated hands. now and then her edicts had no force, as when she gave out that no one must go on the grounds after sunset without wearing a wrap. to the general delight, that same summer evening saw mrs. raymond guiltless of shawl, strolling around the flower garden with the president, both bareheaded, so afterwards we pursued our way as we pleased. she could not tolerate anything slovenly or slipshod, and no careless person escaped her watchful eye. on all commencement occasions each member of the graduating class had to be inspected beforehand, attired in the gown to be worn that day. a heavy black walnut table--such as was placed in every student parlor--stood in miss lyman's bedroom, with steps beside it, which winnie, the maid, assisted each student to mount. then, sitting in her arm-chair near, miss lyman criticised the slowly revolving figure on the table, and any slight alteration desirable to make, the maid in waiting was ready to do. she was keen to see anything out of the ordinary dead level, as two teachers, who had started to walk to town one afternoon through the thick spring mud and slush, found out. their aim was to have something besides the regulation exercise, and they were getting it by literally wading near the stone wall of the college grounds, when miss lyman came in sight returning from her daily drive. "this settles our fate," said one, fishing up her overshoe from the depths and mounting the wall to restore the hideous article. "she will never respect us again." miss lyman did halt her carriage near with concern, and could hardly believe there was no urgent necessity for an undertaking so foolish, but smilingly reassured them, "the road is nothing here to what it is lower down. but do go on if you like it." i am sure she envied the rude health that could start on such an excursion, for she added lingeringly, "how i wish i were strong enough to do that sort of thing too!" the corridors were designed by the architect to be suitable as promenade places in inclement weather, and were so used a good deal. there was a tradition of a distinguished senior regularly taking her walk in her special corridor like a nun in a cloister, her eyes bent on a little black morocco book in hand, which some curious person contrived to find out to be a greek testament. students waiting for recitation signal often strolled up and down just beforehand. miss lyman came along one morning, joining a young freshman waiting for her class, and taking the girl's arm, paced with her slowly up and down a few times to the student's embarrassed pleasure. not a word was spoken till the bell struck and miss lyman turned to leave,--"my dear, you do not walk quite properly. you should turn your toes out a little more." [illustration: hannah w. lyman ] what a power miss lyman was and what a presence! the evil doer shrank before her biting sarcasm, and when the matter of establishing any change came up, it was her felicitous phrase that generally settled the business. alluding to the custom at one time of loading the wall of students' parlors with photographs of young men friends: "if you must have your--er--julius caesar up where you can see him constantly"--a ripple of laughter went round the chapel and the sentence was not finished, but the photographs disappeared. she practiced what she preached in matters of personal attire. of slender, tall, imposing figure, always beautifully dressed,--black silk in the evening, lavender muslin or soft grey cashmere in the morning with dainty cap, the long streamers floating over the filmy shawl she was rarely seen without, her white hair curled, as was the fashion for elderly ladies of that time, and around her pale face,--she made a picture as if she had stepped out of some old portrait. notman's photograph taken at the same time as others of the faculty in the spring of ' does not convey the etherialness, the delicate spirituality of her looks. she seemed in her pallor and invalidism extremely venerable to us, and as if she must be well along towards eighty, but she was only a little over fifty when she died. it was pre-eminently a family in the old days, not a community as now. the distinction between faculty and teachers was rather sharply drawn, but this was more than made up by the close personal relations between officers and students. the teachers were made to feel a part of the social life. they had a definite place in receiving and entertaining guests at all public functions, and could not stay away without their absence being noticed and for this called gently to account. it was not considered exactly as "getting permission," but no teacher went out of college for the night without signifying her intention both to miss lyman and dr. raymond. it would seem as if miss lyman alone was the person to receive all such requests, but she always answered cordially,--"certainly, and will you speak to the president also?" the general exodus from any college affair promising no personal interest was unheard of. i remember once after an unbroken succession of friday evening lectures there was an universal feeling of weariness and indifference when it was unexpectedly announced at evening prayers that we were to have a lecture on shakespeare at the close of the evening study hour. how dr. raymond suspected that the audience would fall off--that there might be many absentees--we never guessed, but word went round to each corridor teacher to inform her domain that everybody was expected to attend. that such a proceeding should have been necessary gave rise next evening to a quiet rebuke,--"i have been a student of shakespeare for more than twenty years, and i have never found any lecturer on this subject yet from whom i could not get profit and instruction." those were tremendous occasions when dr. raymond felt moved to reprimand. merciless and all out of proportion to the offence, we sometimes thought the talks then, but who shall say what was not checked of lawlessness in the beginning and disgrace in the end? the old chapel has seen and heard a great variety in its day, and if the walls could speak, what histories might be unfolded! two weddings have been held there, one in june with daisy decorations, the other in autumn with brilliant hues and warmer coloring. dr. raymond had never performed the ceremony till he did so for his daughters. he wrote a special service, and very beautiful and impressive he made it. a set of rules, drawn up by miss lyman and known as the "students' manual" was printed in pamphlet form, and a copy placed in each parlor. she also read to each entering class certain other rules concerning deportment. if these rules caused some rather indignant amusement, as being absurd and childish, unfitting college students, now and then a case was apparent where the "cap fitted," and a hint was given without offence. students studied in their rooms, and visits to and from rooms at any time during study hours were not allowed except by permission from the lady principal. special permission also had to be obtained for going out of the building after dark, except when due at the gymnasium or the observatory. students' visitors were received in the college parlor by miss lyman or her assistant, and students were not expected to enter there till summoned. neither were they allowed to make use of the main entrance hall, but must go out and come in by the rear doors, and through those in the towers in either wing. it was impressed upon the whole family that the higher education of women was an experiment, and that the world was looking on, watching its success or defeat. the good of the college was the watchword, and not mere gratification of individual preferences. many a girl has admitted that her first sense of the importance of law and order came from the rules she often rebelled against. if too much paternal government was whispered even thus early, a student with several roommates in a small parlor, and subject to intrusive friends in study hours without protection of rule, had some reason to be thankful for it. there was only one building, and no escape from it to a quiet place to work under better conditions. all had to live up to a tremendously high standard--the ordinary one not enough for those days. it was difficult to keep on this mountain peak continually, but if we fell off now and then it was from no lack of admonition. "the good of the college!" "the good of the college!" was reiterated constantly. light-hearted law breakers caught visiting in study hours or in silent time, or in some other equally innocent, reprehensible proceeding would gravely parody in excuse, "we did it for the good of the college." but nobody had daring sufficient to let this answer reach the "higher powers." frequent absence from college was not thought advisable. even the student whose home was in town was restricted, once in three weeks when she went home to spend the night, being the rule, but not strictly enforced. holidays and times when there was any special festivity there was no escape. you were made to feel so essential in the family life as to consider it a little disloyal to evade any function. rarely did any one other than the student living in town go away for thanksgiving day. a great deal was made of this festival, the dinner and the entertainment afterwards. the christmas vacation was not the cheerless occasion of wholesale departure, as in this day of large numbers. the students, who from necessity had to stay over, or who preferred to--as many did--could hardly have had more done for their pleasure and entertainment if they had been visiting in a private family. in addition to the various plans among themselves, the college gave them masquerade and dancing parties, musical or theatrical entertainment, candy pulls, and sleigh rides, so no girl had reason to complain of dullness, or envy her fortunate roommate at home. one christmas, the idea of an original play was started, but would have fallen through if dr. raymond had not come to the rescue with advice and ready pen. he entered into the spirit of the thing immensely, taking a part with other officer volunteers, making a brilliant success of what at first promised forlorn failure. three minutes were allowed after the last stroke of the gong signal for meals. those entering the dining-room later had to stop at miss lyman's table and give explanation of tardiness before taking their seats. at dinner and supper, all remained at table until the bell was struck as the signal for rising, but at breakfast each withdrew at her own pleasure, excused by the teacher presiding at her table. the food was abundant and excellent. we had a substantial breakfast, and dinner at one. supper was a light meal, with an occasional hot dish of some sort. miss mitchell coming to the dining-room late one evening inquired as she took her seat,--"what is the meaning of the unusually happy faces i see around?" "baked potatoes for supper." "how pitiful," was her comment. there was the disgruntled one among us--as there always is--but no one could take exception in earnest to the meals set before us. we had our little jokes of course. one evening at sunset as two teachers stood at a window gazing at the blaze of color in the western sky, one exclaimed rapturously, "isn't this glorious!" "yes," sighed the other, "how i wish i could eat it!" another time was after the early breakfast as we were assembling for prayers. in miss lyman's increasing feebleness the service devolved on miss lepha clarke acting as assistant lady principal. we music teachers sat in the choir and the organist often chose the hymn. one of our number asked the privilege of selection that morning, and gravely presented the book to miss clarke, the hymn chosen beginning,-- "lord, what a wretched land is this that yields us no supplies." miss clarke's composure remained unmoved, and she forgave the audacity of the offence, but laughingly begged the experiment not to be repeated. the founder's friend, mr. william smith, of smith brothers, was connected with the college for two years, one before the opening in equipment of the steward's department, and the next year in superintending its successful operation. there was no separate laundry building, and the basement was fitted up with proper machinery for this under his direction. every detail of his important department was instituted and established by mr. smith. he also arranged for the system of steam heating--a new thing in this city at that time--through the entire building. the tables in the dining-room were alternately a short one seating ten, and a longer one seating fourteen, with a teacher at the head of each. the small rooms near the entrance were designed by the architect as cloak-rooms, but were utilized at once for practice at table of french and of german conversation. the corresponding rooms above near the chapel door were also diverted from the original plan, and still do primeval duty as linen closet and storage place. notices given out at morning prayers in miss lyman's time, later were read in the dining-room up to , when a bulletin board was placed in the second corridor center, doing away with the custom. the students' manual stated, "direct traffic with the steward's storeroom is forbidden." the student wishing to purchase fruit and crackers--about the only articles obtainable--brought her money for purchase to her corridor teacher at breakfast, with a list of what was wanted. the teacher made the purchase and the articles were delivered by messenger to the student's room. there were corridor teachers in those days. they had the large rooms facing the corridor at each end of the building and commanding full view of the domain in charge. the duties of this teacher were to see that the rules as laid down in the manual for lights, exercise, study-hour, silent time, and, yes,--baths, were kept. she also held a short office hour daily for the benefit of those wishing to consult her. she taught a bible class and had a weekly prayer meeting, besides the special sunday evening service. twenty minutes daily, morning and evening, were devoted to silent time, by which every student was absolutely sure of some part of the day entirely to herself. it was no easy task to provide places for the observance of this custom or to enforce it, and reluctantly, after some years it was dropped. all meetings opened with prayer, corridor meetings as well. at these meetings--every monday evening after chapel--the students reported perfect or deficient, as the case might be, and also received such general admonition as the teacher deemed advisable. later the same evening all the corridor teachers met miss lyman in her parlor to give their respective reports and to receive her counsel and direction. this meeting was also opened with prayer. the lights in the corridors had to be extinguished promptly at the stroke of the ten o'clock bell. the president's office was under the student rooms, and some officer there in business conference one evening saw him lift his hand in salutation to the ceiling, saying as the gas over his study table flared up suddenly at the sound of the gong, "my faithful daughters!" others were not quite so prompt. "it seems," said a witty teacher as we walked slowly down her corridor long after the bell had struck one "laundry-bag night," waving her hand to the long row of lights in full force, "it seems it is never too late to mend!" one joke played on the teachers who had to look after the lights was hugely appreciated by them as well as those who played it. some trouble with the gas had come up, and candles and candlesticks had been furnished to each room for temporary use, the word going round that lights must be put out at ten as usual. and so they were "put out" and on exact time, but on the floor of the corridor near each door, candles still blazing. the teachers patrolled as usual, making no sign that the proceeding was at all unusual, greatly enjoying the scene, and appreciating the giggles and whispers of watchers from inside bedroom windows. the watchman had double duty, as he went his rounds, but that was all. the only means of conveyance to town, unless one ordered a special carriage, was by the omnibus--a vehicle something like the old fifth avenue stage--which made stated journeys back and forth every forty minutes, the price of the trip, thirty cents each way. the city railroad was built in poughkeepsie in , but that was not extended to the college till the autumn of . before this date, however, the fare by omnibus had been reduced to ten cents, and was continued at this rate after the adoption of street cars. students under twenty had to have a chaperone, so it was, for some, quite an expensive journey, and most shopping trips were made by "clubbing," one student going for several. until , before their separation from the college classes, preparatory students went to town with a teacher. permission had to be obtained of miss lyman at her office hour saturday morning and the name of the teacher given who had consented to accompany. a list also of purchases had to be submitted and left with her. the chaperone received this list, signed by miss lyman, with strict injunction not to permit any extension of the privilege given. "it teaches a girl to be systematic and exact in her accounts, and curtails trivial and foolish expenses. if she misses once to get some coveted article, she will be the quicker next time to remember." all excellent doctrine, but so disagreeable to the teachers to carry out that they combined to have the rule rescinded. taken from fifteen years as head of an english boarding school, what wonder that the family and social life at vassar was formed by miss lyman--as we think now--on strict and narrow lines. hardly a trace of the earliest regulations exists. the chaperone was once much in evidence. a girl was not allowed to go alone even to church without one, if under age. a young student that first year tells her experience the first communion sunday. miss lyman gave her very cordial permission to attend the service, providing, as was customary, a teacher of the same denomination as escort. at the outset the teacher seemed unwilling to go to this particular church (methodist), and when they entered made her charge sit far back by the door. three times she ignored or refused a suggestion about going forward to the altar, and finally the student rose and started off down the aisle by herself. she wore a white sailor hat with long black ribbon streamers, and suddenly felt a quick jerk on these by the irate teacher in pursuit a few steps behind. "we knelt together at the altar," laughed the victim, "but you may fancy how much good the service did me." "what are your requisitions for a teacher?" miss lyman was often asked. her reply was characteristic:--"first she must be a lady; second, she must be a christian; third, she must have the faculty of imparting knowledge, and lastly, knowledge." "why, miss lyman, would you consider being a lady the first essential of all?" "most certainly. i know of good christian women i should not, on account of their manners, like to place any girl under. then, too, everybody knows that the finest teacher is not necessarily the best scholar. i have known many who had fine attainments, but were absolutely unfitted to impart knowledge to others." a credulous young freshman was told by her roommates that miss lyman, if asked, would give out at morning prayers any hymn a student wished sung on her birthday, that it was her custom to do so. not stopping to consider, the girl betakes herself to the lady principal's office and makes known her wish for the day soon approaching. miss lyman, perceiving the perfect good faith of the child, did not explain she had been made a victim of a hoax, but left that to the friends who had played the joke. of course, the student was mortified. however, on the morning of her birthday, the hymn miss lyman gave out was the one asked for, and the girl never forgot the kindness that obliterated all chagrin. miss lyman's tact was unfailing in many other ways. a week or so after my arrival, i met her one morning coming out with a bundle of papers in her hand on her way to her regular appointment with dr. raymond at his office. she greeted me cordially, asked me how i was getting on in my work, and if i was comfortable in the room assigned me, adding, "i think you have never been in my office to see my window garden?" opening the door and ushering me in as she spoke. the flowers were really lovely, but more to me was the delightful friendly chat for five or ten minutes. some time later a teacher high in authority asked me if i had ever had my official interview with miss lyman. "no, but i am expecting to be called up any day." "are you sure? have you never been to her office?" "oh, yes, but not officially," and i related the window garden episode. miss clarke smiled. "how like her! she is apparently satisfied, then, for her only comment about you to me, because i had known you before coming here, was 'do you think her unitarian influence is likely in any way to be pernicious?'" among the many things outgrown at vassar is mention of "unitarian" with bated breath, as of something tabooed. it was a great bond with miss mitchell when she discovered religious preferences akin to her own, and she often admonished, "we must stand by our guns--must show our colors." you would not think, dear vassar girl of to-day who can hear now unchallenged your own beloved minister of that denomination in chapel, that forty years ago he would not have been allowed to preach there? on sunday, morning and evening prayers were omitted. bible classes at nine o'clock were held by professors and teachers in the recitation rooms, each corridor teacher having her own students in her class. the bible teachers conducted their classes according to personal belief and opinion. students had no choice whose class they should attend, but were assigned as seemed best to miss lyman. she herself taught the freshmen, and was said to be wonderfully interesting. professor farrar's class was very popular, and the teachers thronged to hear him. he was fresh from elmira and thomas k. beecher, of whom in boldness and originality he was a worthy disciple. professor orton was also an interesting teacher of the bible, but whatever keenness was employed to draw him out on the debatable questions of evolution, special creation and the like, he knew well how to set aside all discussion, and nobody ever heard his personal opinion. pinned down for a statement of some kind, his invariable introduction would be, "it is said." [illustration: james orton ] chapel service was at eleven o'clock, the same as now, with preaching by the president. a voluntary religious service was held by direction of dr. raymond in the chapel in the afternoon, and there were voluntary prayer meetings in the evening. sermons on those infrequent sundays when a stranger was invited to preach amused us by the delusion the minister labored under of the obligation to have a discourse suited to the audience on woman's sphere and duties. so many sermons on "martha and mary"--seven in one year, i believe--that we disgraced the college by broad smiles whenever the familiar allusion began or names were mentioned. if it was not mary and martha, it would be the conflict between science and religion that was next fitting, and science had a hard time of it with the lurid dangers of scepticism set forth in no uncertain terms. professor orton was exceedingly noncommittal on this subject, and close was the watch on him by those occupying neighboring chapel seats to see how he "took it." but no one ever did find out what the professor thought. he bore it all immovably without change of expression--not the faintest sign of interest betokened. we observed in february the "day of prayer for colleges." it was a sort of second sunday and not to be evaded. the library--then removed to the fourth corridor--was opened awhile before the eleven o'clock service, after which the doors were opened again the half hour before dinner. the librarian once found to her horror that she had locked a student in, and began profound apologies for her careless oversight. "oh, not at all, thank you very much! you see it was to-day or never with my moral philosophy topic--my last chance to get at the reference books,--so i didn't disclose myself when the door was about to be shut." communication with the outside world was--as we should think now, very restricted. there was no regular telegraph station at the college until , but an operator came out for certain hours to send messages, none at all being allowed in the evening unless in great emergency. a special delivery messenger came from town in the evening, if you were so unfortunate as to receive a dispatch, and this, however insignificant, cost from one and a half dollars to three, depending on what was expended for livery hire to bring it out--as i happened to know to my indignant cost, more than once. the telephone had not been invented. the short day of the bicycle had not begun; electric cars and motors were a mother shipton prophecy still. all the electric devices so common now were hardly dreamed of. for amusements there were base ball clubs, croquet clubs and a chess club with "never too late to mate" its motto. a bowling alley was in the basement of the museum; there was horseback riding, driving, with excursions,--river and country, as now. there was no basket ball, tennis or golf. dancing in the gymnasium was frequent, and some receptions with dancing took place there. there was no prescribed physical culture as now, light calisthenics after dr. dio lewis' methods sufficed. trips to the catskills and lake mohonk were in order, and in the easter vacations extensive geological excursions were taken to various places of interest. a students' paper,--"the vassariana," was established the first year, having one number only. in ' the name was changed to the "vassar transcript," and was continued as a yearly number in the same form till , when the "miscellany" began as a quarterly magazine. in it was altered to a monthly, nine numbers as we see it at present. noticed both in the vassariana and transcript we find the floral society, the cecilia society, the exoteric (preparatory students debarred from the philalethean and doing very clever work), and the society of religious enquiry like the y.w.c.a. of to-day. much was made of the floral society in the earliest days. it was recreation, exercise and profit combined. hardly any member of the college family but lent support to it, either by contributions or active work. a capable english gardener was always on duty, and one particularly in the procession of these was a most interesting character. we all delighted to talk to him and to hear him say,--"ladies likes smilax for their 'air, it is so very light and hairy." a tramp came through the pine-wood path into the garden one day and tried to beg. "'e wanted fifty cents," said our man. "i told 'im i 'adn't any money, and wouldn't be allowed to give 'im any if i 'ad. besides, says i, there's my boss a-coming," pointing to miss braislin approaching from the opposite point of the circle. "that your boss? wal, before i'd have a woman for my boss," sneered the tramp as he hastily retreated. "some folks is so 'igh minded," commented h. placidly. a student once asked him where he lived in england. he answered, "about twenty miles from york, miss, and i got up early one morning and walked the whole distance to see a man 'anged." "how could you!" exclaimed the girl much shocked. "oh, i wanted to. 'e was a friend of mine. yes," reflectively, "i've seen two 'angings and the centennial." one of the instructors had him at work over the window plants in her room one day during the visit of an old friend--a returned missionary--and sought to draw him out a little for her benefit, mentioning what was sure to start him, something about the "old country," and that mrs. ---- had just returned after several years' residence abroad. he snipped away at his plants unconcernedly, and without stopping his work inquired,--"did you 'appen to go to hingland?" she answered, "yes, but i was very unhappy there; i lost my husband in that country." he turned instantly, surveying her comprehensively and compassionately, shaking his head slowly,--"oh! oh! and so 'ard to get another." from the beginning there was musical talent of high order among the students, and their recitals and concerts were far above the common. the women entering those first years had, many of them, received the best the country afforded from childhood, and came far advanced in musical training, a few even with some little experience in playing in public, so that slow, patient growth was largely eliminated, and professor wiebe, the head of the department, had effective material at the start to work with. he was ably assisted by the best foreign teachers procurable, as well as by american teachers who had either studied abroad or under good german masters in this country. the concerts exclusively by the teachers or assisted by artist performers from the old philharmonic society were, then and for years following, events to be looked forward to. professor wiebe's specialty was singing. he had a delightful voice and method, and organized the "vocal club" of that time. succeeding him in , came professor ritter to be connected with the college till his death in . his historical lectures and recitals were famous. he organized the cecilia society in , and in his lifetime continued the custom of a commencement week concert given monday night. [illustration: frederick louis ritter ] professor james robert had succeeded professor knapp as the head of the classical department the second year, and lived with his young wife in the college family. their pleasant rooms were on the fourth floor of the north wing, and were a favorite place of meeting. he was very musical in his tastes, reading at sight piano music and delighting in four-hand playing. a club of the music teachers met often in these rooms, having sometimes an evening of singing as well as of instrumental music. i remember at one of these meetings almost every number undertaken had been transposed into another key. we were groping our way to our respective rooms late after the lights were out. "don't you live on this floor?" one of the party was asked. "no, an octave lower," she replied unconsciously, and wondered why we laughed. the music department was very large, "ex-collegiate" being the excuse. the dependence of the family on the department for entertainment, as well as for sound instruction in musical culture, was something tremendous, and the fame of the college concerts and recitals went abroad in the land. it would make a history in itself--the work done in those days--the programmes undertaken and submitted, records of which are carefully preserved in the college archives. dr. raymond was fond of music, though not in an especially cultivated sense, and urged professor robert to use the familiar parlors of the president's quarters for some of the impromptu musical evenings. the grand piano stood in the front parlor, where only the performers were allowed. the few admitted besides the president's family and club were in the back parlor; lights were turned down, absolute silence the order, as one would listen to a reading for education and instruction. all was strictly classical music--nothing else was tolerated or permitted. acquaintance with the best was the design, and the old composers were gone over till some familiarity with them was common in case of the audience. pretty dry and dull the pianola and victor lovers would think those evenings in these days, but all the musical machine devices have "come in" since that time. what if the president did occasionally go to sleep while we were performing, we had no pride in popular music to keep him awake. one evening professor robert announced that he would undertake to read at sight a little known sonata of beethoven--a composition by its length and absence of strong "color" not usually played. it seemed endless to us music people, i remember, monotonous and wearisome. dr. raymond peacefully slept through the three quarters of an hour to our envy and approval. by and by professor robert finished and came out as the lights were revived to know what the chief thought. "did you get into it at all, mr. president?" he enquired eagerly. dr. raymond glanced a little ruefully at us, his companions in distress, then answered in his droll way, "yes, i got into it all right--submerged, in fact." the appreciative laughter that followed, i fear professor robert never understood as we did. in mr. vassar's lifetime his birthday was observed on the day of the week it fell, the inaugural celebration being on monday, april , . it was put on the friday nearest the th in . the invitations were sent out in the name of the students and the hour was five o'clock. the vassariana of june that year, the first number of the first paper issued, gives account of the "celebration," as it was called then. the first eventful "founder's" has passed into history, but it may not be familiar to you of to-day so the account will bear repeating. a triumphal arch of evergreens spanned the avenue at the lodge, and upon it were the words "welcome to the founder." at the left of this was the date of his birth, april , ; at the right, april , . the monogram v. c. was in the center, and over all, bright flags and banners. the entrance to the college was also decorated with flags and garlands of evergreen, and the chapel trimmed with wreaths of evergreen and bright flowers. at six the students under direction of the marshal and two aids marched on either side of the avenue to the lodge, forming a continuous line to the circle in front of the entrance. when the founder's carriage appeared with him and president raymond, it was greeted with wavings of handkerchiefs,--the college yell (shade of miss lyman!) being still unevolved. the lines turned instantly, marching back by the side of the carriage to the entrance where, in the vestibule, the faculty and teachers were awaiting the procession. as the founder went up the steps, the select band of singers stationed on the open porch sang the original song of welcome. next, the officer of the day, abby f. goodsell of ' , was presented and escorted him to the chapel where the audience was waiting. as the founder and escorts appeared at the chapel door, the organ, played by professor wiebe, began a triumphant peal, the audience rising and remaining standing till the party was seated. no one sat on the platform, but went up as occasion required. prayer was offered by dr. raymond, then came piano music--a selection from "der freischütz"--by one of the solo performers of that time. a salutatory, or address of welcome as we say now, followed, after which came an original essay by one of the seniors which was followed by a song. this was preliminary to the principal part of the programme,--a series of recitations representing woman's social position in all ages, swedish, greek, roman, mediaeval, written or translated and adapted by those taking part, a modern selection from the "princess" closing the recital. a brilliant musical duet for piano made way for a long original poem,--"a hilltop idyl," with local hits and description of the faculty much appreciated. the closing lines were given with great effect,-- "and vassar college stand through time an honor to the nation." you smile? how i wish i could put before you the earnest spirit of that time, each one wide awake to the recognition of a great privilege, and trying with might and main to express it! however, this was not all in honor of the day. there was a floral tribute,--flora, her attendants and chief representative student--an original drama--very pretty and pleasing, and, i may add, proper. a hymn for the occasion,--"our father and our friend," closed the students' programme. old hundred and the doxology sung by every one present ended the chapel ceremonies, a collation in the dining-room followed and a reception in the college parlors finished the day. the second anniversary in ' was as elaborate in original material of song, address, poem and essay as the previous one, and was further distinguished by the unveiling of the marble bust of mr. vassar--the bust we see to-day in the college parlor. a drama was written by one of ' , with muse of the past, genius of progress and her attendants, science, art, religion and music. as the genius of progress alluded to vassar college and spoke of the founder she exclaimed, "behold his features!" the signal for the curtain at the rear of the stage to be parted, revealing the bust against a background of evergreens. in ' , the last time mr. vassar was present, the chief event was an original cantata with music by professor ritter, entitled "the crown of life," proving later of especially beautiful significance. the following year it was purely a memorial service, the invitations given out for this from three till seven. there was no reception, simply tea served in the dining-room after the exercises. it was a most beautiful and appropriate service with larghetto from beethoven's second symphony, played on the organ by miss finch; eulogy by miss mary w. whitney, class of ' ; the second movement of schumann's symphony in b flat arranged for four pianos; a memorial hymn written by one of the seniors, the music by professor ritter. so from the first to the last, it was the students' tribute to mr. vassar and their loving honors. in the exercises were changed to the evening with george william curtis as speaker, having also an original recitative and chorus with music by professor ritter, ending as usual with a collation and promenade concert. the programmes henceforth were far less elaborate, confined chiefly to some speaker of distinction, his theme being eulogistic of the man vassar and what his gift had done for the education of women. this changed gradually to topics of general educational interest or to some question of public affairs. a debate was sometimes introduced, a shakespeare reading, or an address by an alumna student. (robert collyer was the speaker in ' , phillips brooks in ' , edward everett hale in ' , colonel higginson in ' .) prayer was dropped from the programme in ' . no dancing appeared on the programme until , and then four numbers only--lanciers alternating with quadrille. in , the change was made to permit two affairs, literary exercises in the afternoon with the distinction they deserve, the evening given up to a reception with dancing. the home of the philalethean society for many years--until the alumnae gymnasium was built--was society hall on the second floor of the museum building. here were given union meetings to which were invited the whole college family. the weekly chapter meetings of alpha, beta and delta were held in the largest recitation rooms of the college building. the aim of philalethea--which no one was allowed to forget--was distinctively literary culture, and it is marvelous what was accomplished, and what was the ambition still further to do. dr. raymond assisted in the organization of the society in , and was its president for that year. the first public meeting was on class day evening the next june, the quaint form of invitation reading,--"the pleasure of your company is invited to a literary entertainment." the programme was nearly identical with that of founder's day, in prayer, music,--vocal and instrumental, and address of welcome followed by original song, poem, essays and drama. in this last figured alethia, goddess of truth, and the goddess of discord, with the three chapter representatives--alpha, beta and delta. a chorus by the vocal club ended the chapel exercises and a collation and promenade concert took up the rest of the evening. the anniversary meeting in december of that year was also elaborate, and the second part for the principal attraction of the evening presented an original colloquy,--"representatives of european nations." this time we had recitations in costume of different european countries by thirteen students, each student writing her own part and setting forth the respective advantages of the country chosen. all came on the stage together, and as each finished her claim to superiority, she stepped back into pre-arranged effective position, making at the end a beautiful tableau when europa entered, addressing her children, her closing words being, "forever on towards perfect liberty." the december meeting gave a scene from henry the eighth, the only time anything approaching theatricals was seen on the chapel platform. in june the entertainment consisted of shakespearean recitations--women of shakespeare--nine characters being represented. the third anniversary meeting an original drama was given again--"the undiscovered sphere," with the spirit of aspiration, the spirit of love, vassar students and attendants. there was uncommon literary talent in the society with ambition for a career in that direction, and some of the successful women authors of to-day tasted the first sweets of fame on the vassar platform. "the gospel according to saint matthew" appeared in ' , the unauthorized publication of a clever, fun-loving, brilliant student, to be quickly suppressed. it was a harmless enough production, but considered--as were all travesties--in questionable taste. programmes were submitted to the faculty the same as for founder's up to , but prayer was dropped in . later the programmes were modified a good deal, but they never fell off in interest. debates took the place of original dialogue and colloquy. some of the subjects i recall--"does the reviewer benefit literature?" "has history a law of conquest?" "are science and poetry antagonistic?" then there were addresses by alumnae students, or else speakers from abroad chosen for some distinction in authorship. the first change from promenade concert after the literary exercises in chapel came at founder's in when dancing was allowed,--lanciers, quadrille and virginia reel. it took till to establish round dancing and it was opposed even then. the founder was the first presiding officer of the branch of the lyceum bureau in poughkeepsie in , and trustee cyrus swan its corresponding secretary. we heard those first years many distinguished englishmen by this means--gerald massey, wilkie collins, richard proctor, charles kingsley,--and a few were afterwards secured by the college for the friday evening lecture, charles kingsley among the number. he was exceedingly reserved, indifferent and hard to entertain. the only interest he showed was towards miss mitchell, whom he called upon at the observatory. "my wife would never forgive me if i came home without seeing maria mitchell." later came george macdonald and his wife for a week with us. he was a charming guest, lecturer and preacher. the historian, edward freeman, gave a course of lectures, also matthew arnold's coming was an event in our life. no general reception was held after any lecture, but members of the faculty with a few especially invited teachers were occasionally asked to the lady principal's parlor where chocolate, coffee, little cakes or sandwiches were generally served. when asked if he would take some refreshment, mr. kingsley frankly mentioned that he would like a glass of beer. the situation might have been embarrassing had not professor backus come to the rescue and carried the guest off to his study for a pipe and chat and bottle of ale, ministering satisfactorily to mr. kingsley's wants. it was either that same evening or when freeman the historian stayed with us, that two teachers going by the guest room late after a little supper party, observed the great man's shoes outside the door. knowing that no provision for this was then thought of, and that he would find his property exactly in the same condition the next morning, they softly stole near and carried off the shoes, polishing and returning them in fine shape, boasting ever after of the honor and privilege. almost every american author of note has been heard from our chapel platform. wendell phillips gave his lecture, "the lost arts," at the college in . the rare privilege of seeing and hearing ralph waldo emerson was also ours. he read his lecture and fumbled with his papers, meantime casting apprehensive glances to the faint far-away lights on the gallery side. "i am a student," he began slowly, "and a lover of light." the hint was speedily taken and silver candelabrum with blazing candles from the lady principal's parlor was quickly forthcoming. in those days we knew the trustees very well, and their paternal interest in the venturesome experiment of the higher education of women was something akin to the founder's. fourteen of the twenty-eight on the original board were residents of poughkeepsie; seven of them had professions, seven were simply close business friends, including his two nephews, john guy vassar and matthew vassar, jr. some of these men were rather hard to persuade that so large a gift of money invested in this way was not in a perilous cause, but each lived to witness the beginning of vassar's grand success and the founder's triumph. once when there was a question of extension of the christmas vacation and the prudential committee--as they were then called--had met to consider its advisability, one of them opposed the measure saying, "pretty soon our patrons will be complaining that they don't get the worth of their money. we don't give them much over forty weeks of school now." not one member of this first board is living, the first break coming with the death in march, ' , of james harper, senior member of the firm of harper & brothers. dr. elias magoon stands out vividly in my portrait gallery. dear, kind, eccentric man! he looked, and we all thought him in his enthusiasm, mildly crazy, but we came to appreciate him and delight in his ardor. the college bought from him his whole private art collection of pictures, folios, books, armor, etc., to stock the vassar gallery. the books--chiefly editions de luxe--were later transferred to the library proper, and it made the librarian sore at heart to discover how much dr. magoon had apparently read, pencil in hand, and how much patient work in eradication must result in consequence, impossible to accomplish wholly, as traces existing to-day testify. dr. magoon was a lover and student of nature as well as of art. he was a frequent visitor at the college in the spring, coming from his philadelphia home "just to get up at five o'clock in the morning for a tramp over sunset hill or around the lake to hear and see the birds." my table in the dining-room was near that of the faculty, and it was a pleasure to see him come in to breakfast with face aglow from his walk, and to mark the interest and brightness he carried with him. now and then he gave us a talk in chapel. the frequent eight o'clock lecture was not quite so welcome always as it should have been, and when one evening at prayers it was announced that dr. magoon would talk on art at the usual hour, there were many reluctant feet hitherward. as we entered, he was already on the platform behind the desk, on which rested a huge bouquet of wax flowers. of course attention was arrested, and as the last comer was seated he leaned over the flowers and gazing in mock adoring admiration began, "now ain't that pooty?" a great wave of laughter went over the room, and if any one present had feared to be bored and grudged the hour from other duties, she forgot it all in the charm and delight of what followed this queer introduction. a hint of the true and beautiful in art, shown by contrast with ugliness that all could recognize, gave many of us our first wonderful lesson then and there. dr. magoon and miss mitchell were warm friends in spite of difference in religious belief and opinions. she liked his unconventionalism and independence. they used to have great discussions, and he took very meekly her ratings for not being "more progressive." "but do me the justice to say i try," he would retort, and if he had occasion to write a note to her was fond of signing himself "your ever growing e. l. m." some curious letters were received at the college by matthew vassar, and his rage over one, i happened to witness. an untactful student, who had received the benefit of a full scholarship all through her course, conceived it to be her duty as soon as she graduated to remonstrate against the way the founder had made his money, saying, "a college foundation which was laid in beer never will prosper." "well, it was good beer, wasn't it?" shouted mr. vassar to his audience in the lower office. "i wonder where that girl would have got her education if it hadn't been for beer." then the humor of it struck him and he laughed with us most heartily. among other queer letters received at the college, were requests to open correspondence "with view to marriage," the demand being for promising candidates to serve in the mission field. one such letter was addressed "to the head lady at vassar." the writer was not backward about stating his requirements for his wife as home missionary. for one thing, she must be able to play the melodeon in church and to contribute the instrument also. perhaps this is as good an opportunity as any to tell the story of the bootjacks, about which so many conflicting statements have been made. after the founder's death, a walnut tree on the main street premises had to be cut down, and matthew junior had a little sentiment about the use of the wood in some form for the rooms at college. why he selected bootjacks nobody ever knew, but the lumber was sent to a factory in town to be made up in this fashion, and was distributed accordingly to the hilarious delight of all concerned. some friend in town chanced to remark to the founder that the college parlors with only a few choice old engravings on the walls looked rather cold and bare; whereupon, in his eagerness to make good any deficiency, mr. vassar (without consulting anybody), betook himself to the leading photographer's in the city and bought the best he had in stock. the craze of the chromo was beginning, and several hundred dollars worth of these in most expensive frames were hung one evening as a grand surprise. the consternation and horror of professor van ingen can be imagined, and the general amusement. however, the infliction had to be endured till after mr. vassar's death, and afterwards, there was matthew junior to be reckoned with and his sensitiveness to innovations. professor van ingen was always on founder's day committee, and with much tactful diplomacy contrived to get consent to use the chromos in decorating the dining-room the second anniversary following. here under a drapery of white tarletan with evergreen wreaths in profusion, the effect was really quite brilliant, and mr. vassar was much pleased. the art gallery was called upon to supply the places of the chromos taken from the parlor, and no one questioned that it was never convenient to change back. gradually, in the wholesale kalsomining of walls in the summer vacations the offensive pictures disappeared, and portraits of trustees took their place. dr. raymond's report at the end of the first year seems to have been printed in pamphlet form and issued to the world at large. again press notices abound, all generally with appreciative comment. the "round table," an ambitious weekly, - , saw fit to be funny and i give a few paragraphs in illustration: "we confess to an unfavorable impression by the style in which the report is made. it is in bad taste, florid, turgid and pedantic. the author has written it on the back of pegasus and the winged horse does not bound beneath him.... this modern system of female education has grown out of the miserable philosophic dogma of the mental equality of the sexes, the offspring of the combined weakness of the weaker sex and the greater weakness of the stronger sex. woman is _not_ the equal of man. she is immeasurably his superior.... in her appointed sphere woman walks a queen, but she claims neither the prerogatives of man nor the ability to use them. drag not the young girl into the wide orbit of jupiter, but lead her in the narrower and more befitting sphere in which moves the silvery car of venus. banish the barbarous curriculum proposed by your committee! let not the time be ruinously spent in the attempt to master the dead languages, the higher mathematics, metaphysics, political economy and similar studies. the rudiments of these branches might be taught, but for them we would have no "chairs." the belles lettres department is the appropriate field for the well educated woman.... having thus put out of the college door four out of the nine chairs--and very deferentially and respectfully we have done it--we have a word to say regarding the occupancy of the remaining ones. we strongly object to having _men_ seated in them. the report does indeed speak of lady assistants, but we insist on a reversal. the ladies should be the principals and the gentlemen the assistants. the proper educator of woman is woman. vassar female college is the sphere of venus and no jupiter has any business there. who but flora should preside in her own garden where the rosebuds and young lilies grow, inviting her choice still in their culture." this is quite enough and unbelievable now, but absurd as it is, it voiced a large part of popular opinion then existing. another vexed question in the earliest days was that of health,--that women were unfitted to take the higher education and that their health would be undermined in consequence. the speakers on our commencement stage afforded convincing argument by their looks of the falsity of the argument. i remember hearing one june an enthusiastic person in the audience say of an "honor girl," of exceptionally attractive personality and vigorous health, as she left the platform,--"she had a capital essay and delivered it well, but if she had done nothing more than stand up there and let the people look at her for five or ten minutes, it would have paid, and buried this health discussion forever." dr. avery. among those who contributed so much to the early life of the college and its success, the name of alida c. avery cannot afford to be overlooked. she came in as the resident physician, was a strong member of the faculty, high in the confidence and trust of dr. raymond and miss lyman and sharing with them the responsibility of that important formative period. so close were the friendly and confidential relations among these three "powers that be"--hardly ever one appearing without the other--that some irreverent students dubbed them "the trinity." [illustration: dr. alida c. avery ] it was a good deal to organize and maintain such a department as hers in the face of popular opinion at that time, and i think much of her stiff professional etiquette resulted from the idea of upholding the equality of women physicians with men in the same calling, and being over sensitive to indifference and snubs. the early women pioneers in medical work did not find it a bed of roses, but they persevered. when the boston medical college for women was started in , there was not a single graduated woman physician in the country. in there were two hundred and fifty. dr. avery began her medical studies in at the pennsylvania medical college, and finished them at the new england medical college in boston, taking her degree from that institution. she seemed to take, in the practice of her profession, an antagonistic attitude as granted, and, indeed, she had much reason for doing so. none of us would have dared to approach her professionally out of her office hour, or to make the slightest personal wish as to treatment. she was as inflexible to her peers as to the students in her uncompromising adherence to discipline and hygienic regulations. her seat at table was next to miss mitchell, who asked at dinner one day what to do for an inflamed eye. without looking, the doctor replied, "my office hour is at half past two." "oh, come now," said miss mitchell, "you don't mean that you would make an old woman like me go way up to the fourth floor to your office hour?" the answer came same as before. "my office hour is at half past two," and that closed the incident. to those who came to know her well she showed a lovable human side, a big heart, capable of most generous affection. she upheld the cause of woman as zealously even as miss mitchell, and their personal relations were most friendly and pleasant. she was passionately fond of flowers and an expert in their cultivation. under her direction the floral society was established and the flower garden laid out and carried on. three years after miss lyman's death the doctor resigned to go to practice her profession in denver, later removing to california. with her death last september, and that of professor knapp quite recently, has gone the last one of that first board of faculty and instruction, over forty years ago. professor backus. truman j. backus succeeded henry b. buckman as head of the english department in , and for sixteen years held this position. it was said of him, "he is a born educator," and this was true. he had been educated for the ministry, but had never been ordained, and his first sermon was preached in the college chapel. [illustration: truman j. backus ] he was only twenty-six years old when appointed to this post, had little or no experience, claiming only great enthusiasm and love for the work of his choice. if age has the courage of convictions, there is also the indispensable courage of youth. unhampered by ruts of traditional methods of education, he dared to try experiments hazardous often in the estimation of his older, more conservative colleagues, and much of the progressive, far-seeing policy that insured the success of that early period is due in large measure to him. there were no smooth paths beaten out for safe walking in the higher education of women in the beginning of his career, and president raymond relied a good deal for counsel and help on this youngest member of the faculty, who was quick to see and quick to act. professor backus appreciated this trust, and always warmly acknowledged it. he felt the restraint of constant association with others so much older than himself, and a certain whimsical humor would sometimes break out, defying all convention, putting him often in a place to be severely criticised, and which he rarely troubled himself to explain away. he had a genius for discovering latent and unsuspected talent and the best work that one could do, and never grudged generous recognition when another overtopped him. he had a dislike for the obvious answer to the obvious question; liked to mystify, keep you in doubt as to his real opinion. an essay was once brought in at department meeting with great pride by one of the critics as especially clever, and far above the average in grace and felicity of diction. perhaps the teacher showed too plainly her counting upon his approval, for he read the paper aloud, slowly, critically, without the faintest sign of appreciation, rather as if deadly bored. at the end, when her enthusiasm had ebbed and she supposed herself entirely mistaken, he remarked, "if i could write as well as that girl writes, i should be proud, and i would never do another stroke of teaching as long as i lived." interest was aroused by him in current topics, and i well remember one day in his english literature class, when walking up and down with head bent, as was his wont, listening to a brilliant recitation, he said to the student as she finished, "that is fine. now can you name the three men most prominent to-day in the political life of this country?" she hesitated, faltered. "can any one of you in the class?" still silence. "how many of you are in the habit of reading carefully a daily newspaper?" no response. then followed a lecture such as no one ever forgot and which prompted the formation of clubs which exist to-day. there were no dry bones of any subject he handled. he made it fresh, living, vital. "i suppose these young women have some difficulty in keeping up to the high college grade?" said a visitor in classroom one day. "on the contrary," replied professor backus, "the students are the ones who make us all work hard to keep pace with _them_." his knowledge of civic affairs led him often to be asked to stand as candidate for some desirable public office, to leave college for what promised higher promotion. "no, i have but one ambition, and that is to be a good teacher." in , he began giving an interesting course of lectures to the seniors and juniors on the national and political topics of the day. his chaucer readings were very popular, and he gave several before the literary society of poughkeepsie, awakening as much enthusiasm in his crowded town audience, as among his students in room j. it pleased him to get the many inquiries as to the best editions of chaucer, and how to study this author, from those whose acquaintance with english literature had hitherto been very limited, and who he knew would never bring to the subject the love he did, or find in it the same beauties. he took keen interest in the development of the philalethean society, and was one of the early speakers chosen to give the address at an anniversary meeting, having for his subject, "evolution in the purpose of education." his lecture on alexander hamilton brought him into notice, and he was often called upon to give it in various places; but it was more his originality and power in the treatment of public questions that caused him to be invited far and wide, and to which invitation he oftenest responded. his garfield eulogy was a most beautiful and fitting tribute with its eloquent, impressive close. his hold on his old vassar friends never weakened, as scores of loving testimonials after his death abundantly testify. into the dusk and snow one fared on yesterday; no man of us may know by what mysterious way. he had been comrade long; we fain would hold him still; but, though our will be strong, there is a stronger will. beyond the solemn night he will find morning-dream; the summer's kindling light beyond the snow's chill gleam. the clear, unfaltering eye, the inalienable soul, the calm, high energy,-- they will not fail the goal. large will be our content if it be ours to go one day the path he went into the dusk and snow. professor van ingen. dear professor van ingen! why does everybody who knew him well say this at the mere mention of his name? he was a hollander who had come to this country in the studio of an artist friend in rochester about the time the college was completed, and was the accepted candidate in for the art professorship. a clever artist; an inspiring teacher; a true gentleman; a good friend. tennyson's lines once quoted of him express most nearly the common sentiment concerning him,--"one too wholly true to dream untruth." he was here at the opening of the college, and made one of the resident (unmarried) members of the faculty that year. in the summer vacation of , he returned to holland to be married, and brought his wife back with him. [illustration: henry van ingen ] he had rooms in the north wing the first year of his coming, and used to relate in his characteristic quiet, humorous way many amusing anecdotes of that chaotic time. one i recall enjoying keenly. it was midwinter and intensely cold weather. his room was on the west side in the north wing, and one night the high wind and raging snow storm combined to make his quarters uninhabitable. towards morning he could stand it no longer but got up and dressed himself, and putting on hat and overcoat thought he would spend the rest of the time before breakfast in the college parlors, trusting to find some heat in the registers. making his way through the dark corridors two flights down, he reached the parlor, where in the dawning light he saw a group of students huddled close to the register that happened still to have comfortable warmth remaining. the experience of cold and discomfort in the students' rooms had matched his, so they had anticipated him in dressing and with shawls and cloaks were spending the rest of the night down stairs. he knew them all, had a cordial welcome, and the party began in subdued tones to talk and laugh and have a merry time. an hour, perhaps, went on this way, when a timid cough from the doorway arrested their attention. winnie--miss lyman's maid--stood there. "if you please, miss lyman heard the voices in her room above, and sent me down to inquire what was the matter." the situation was explained briefly and the maid retired. with miss lyman's strict notions, how she was going to take this independence of action was the question, but they had begun to forget it when the jingling of spoons and cups heralded approach of winnie a second time,--"miss lyman sends her compliments, and as you have been up so long, she had me make a little hot coffee for you which she hopes you may enjoy." there was a big tray with equipment of her own lovely china and silver service, and a heaped up plate of crackers, and this was all the notice the gracious lady ever took of the matter. his studio and lecture room were in the old art-gallery on the fourth corridor and here, surrounded by his devoted disciples, he held sway. he had a large band of followers all his life here, and every one of them will testify he taught them more and higher than the art he loved so well. dr. taylor in his remarks at the funeral service of maria mitchell said aptly that the word "genuineness" conveyed the truest impression of her. transfer the same characterization to henry van ingen, and you have the perfect expression also of the man. professor van ingen continued in the service of the college for thirty-six years, or until his death in november, . "he scarce had need to doff his pride or slough the dross of earth; e'en as he trod that day to god, so walked he from his birth, in simpleness and gentleness and honor and clean mirth." professor mitchell. it was a privilege to know her, and the highest praise one could have would be that maria mitchell called her--friend. the outline facts of maria mitchell's life, written by her sister, mrs. kendall, together with selections from journals and letters appeared in , and leave nothing to be desired further in that direction. but everybody who knew her at vassar finds in that record much left out of the dear, delightful, original, human side, and it is impossible to live over the portion of time spent here with her without putting into these random recollections some hitherto unpublished fragments about her. i trust she will forgive me. some old lines always expressed her to me,--"a soul that scorns the vain, holding the world but at its due;" and, "who saw life steadily and saw it whole." how one wanted to peep in that note-book of hers--usually carried in her pocket. an abstruse calculation jotted hastily down on one page, side by side with the latest anecdote or joke, a fact in regard to woman's education, an intimate personal reflection,--what a mine of riches it contained! "if thee has any secrets, thee musn't tell them to maria. she never could keep one," said dear old mr. mitchell, playfully. we understood what he meant. while she would not reveal special confidence reposed in her, or give out in advance any college matter of importance, she simply was unable to bind herself to the petty and the trivial, and as a friend stated, "thought and word with her came pretty close together." however interested you might have been in woman suffrage and all the other subjects concerning the "cause," you felt that in comparison with this grand woman you hardly knew the alphabet. she judged everything from the standpoint, "how is this going to affect women?" i remember her indignation at being overlooked with the other two women of the faculty by president raymond in his demand for a list of what the members had published. "we may not have done so much as some of the men, but we all have done something." it took a good deal of apology on his part to soothe her wounded feeling and restore her natural good humor. [illustration: maria mitchell ] every woman speaker of note in that day,--julia ward howe, anna dickinson, mary livermore, elizabeth cady stanton, ednah d. cheney, were personal friends of miss mitchell, and at various times her guests at the observatory. sometimes one would be invited to speak before the whole college, as when mrs. howe recited there her battle hymn of the republic and mrs. livermore told the story of her war experiences in a hospital. but the observatory was chiefly the place of meeting, with spirited talk and free discussion. what delightful evenings were there when a favored few were asked to meet distinguished guests! what personal anecdote and reminiscence! and what good coffee at the end! she avoided irritating discussion and heated argument. two friends of hers had cause of dispute, and as it happened one day in her presence the pros and cons of the case were being gone over pretty vigorously. suddenly she interfered,--"this subject is never to be alluded to again--pause--twinkle--unless i bring it up myself." the earliest reports of departments were read in detail at board meetings, and miss mitchell had a satisfaction that her labor in making out statistics had not been wasted--seeming, then, to count in significance and importance. in later years, this proceeding was no longer practicable. entering the president's office one morning she inquired a little aggressively,--"into the oblivion of whose hands do i consign this paper?" "mine," came the meek reply, disarming her completely. i came upon her one day comparing with vexed expression her watch with the lodge clock:--"better no clock there at all than one always a little wrong." "but why do you mind? you are not to blame--have nothing to do with it." she turned quickly, her eyes flashing,--"how would you like to hear bad english used persistently in your class all the time in spite of yourself? this clock affects me the same way!" once as her associate teacher left the room where we were sitting in the observatory, miss mitchell looked after her lovingly,--"mary whitney is perfection, but she has one fault. she doesn't always shut the door behind her." she appreciated gifts of flowers, and trifles that she could share, but once refused a lovely vase to stand on her study table,--"i should have to dust it." hearing her speak of wishing to see a volume of essays by john weiss, the book was purchased and carried over to her. later she returned it with thanks,--"i have read this with much enjoyment. now take it home and keep it. i do not want to accumulate things--too much trouble when i come to break up." it was the day of illuminated texts and mottoes. miss mitchell had no fancy for these, yet in her neat hand-printing is this on a card to slip under a paper-weight--still a prized possession,--"disce ut semper victurus; vive ut cras moriturus." in her free translation it read,--"study as if you were going to live forever; live as if you were going to die to-morrow." she was much amused to be told of a serious minded student who had decorated her room profusely with scripture texts, and without the slightest sense of humor had placed on her wardrobe door a conspicuous "seek and ye shall find." "most likely not find," commented miss mitchell drily. concerning charitable work among so-called "fallen women," her attitude seemed rather cold and unforgiving in contrast to her well known views. "i can pity, forgive and help, but i want to let them alone. i don't like things that have been dragged through the mud." her standards were merciless. "middlemarch" was, in her opinion, an immoral book;--"dorothea had no business to have had even a feeling of interest in ladislaw. what if it did go no further, you say? she was a married woman." that settled it. and yet, miss mitchell admired george eliot and condoned her marriage with lewes, as a woman too grand intellectually to be subject to the petty verdict of the world's opinion. she would not relish the "problem" novel of to-day, and the aggressive methods of the modern suffragette would receive scant toleration. there is a characteristic story of her appearing at the open window of an inside bedroom, and making a friend for life of the startled occupant by exclaiming of a little sketch in color just finished and hung on the wardrobe door to dry,--"why, this is ---- a man in science. i know him well. excellent. who did this? you?" another time when the sunset was more brilliant than common, she would knock on all the doors of the corridor she was passing through, to call out any one who otherwise would miss the spectacle. homesick "new girls" on the well known first north transverse rejoiced in her, and blessed her for want of ceremony in rapping on their doors nearly every day the first week or two with the cheery inquiry, "how are you getting on?" and "can i help you in any way?" how she loved children! and they all loved her. noticing the little son of one of the professors gathering daisies in the field near the observatory one afternoon, she called to him,--"you may go into my garden and pick some flowers there, but be sure not to take any of the roses." when the delighted child appeared to her later, she saw to her great surprise his arms filled with them. "didn't i say you were not to pick my roses?" "didn't know they were roses," said the boy innocently, amusing her greatly. "it takes a little five year old to crawl out of a tight place." miss mitchell disliked form, the silent grace at table being even a little objectionable to her. "i wonder what they all say when they put their heads down? as for me"--and her eyes gleamed with fun--"i have just time to say one line of 'the spacious firmament on high.'" we went out to dinner one sunday together. she asked me beforehand what time i had ordered the carriage to bring us home. i named the hour. "put it an hour earlier. i shall enjoy every moment up to that time, but i am afraid i cannot be polite any longer." certain phrases amused her and she could be very funny over two particularly,--"the first step in female education," and the "scheme of salvation,"--"so very schemey" she would repeat. "what name are you going to give this precious club of radicals?" "why, you have just given me the idea--have named it yourself--the radicals," a title which abbreviated to rads was adopted at once. there were only four or five of us outside of the students who had unitarian preferences, and we were considered on account of this, by our orthodox sisters, to be indeed very black sheep religiously. the club was very informal, meeting every sunday evening for supper at the observatory, or in the room of a member, entertaining in this way any guest visiting the college that miss mitchell considered in sympathy enough to invite. the aim was serious, excluding all gossip and light talk, and while there was no straining after "high thinking," it was certain we had frequent hint of this in miss mitchell's independent, stimulating opinions, and from the friends who came as guests, bringing their best thoughts with them. "no matter what we resolve to talk about," she said laughingly, "we always seem to end up with the immortality of the soul." this subject had a fascination for her and she was fond of getting "views" as she called it from persons she valued. once on a visit to whittier, she asked him if he had any doubts of a future life. he seemed amusedly incredulous there could be any. "but _i_ am not at all sure in _my_ mind," returned miss mitchell. he looked at her and answered slowly,--"the idea of maria mitchell's being snuffed out!" and would pursue the theme no further. how often she used to say,--"if i only had your happy ideas about the hereafter!" "a matter of good digestion merely." "and did you never lie awake in terror of hell?" "never!" emphatically. "well, when i was a girl sixteen i often did, afraid of being 'a lost soul forever'--such was the doctrine i heard preached in my childhood." i tried rallying her a little, saying she was proud of her doubts as belonging to one who thought deeper--was of keener intellectual fibre--but i made no impression. what she felt was sincere. she never posed. she had a deeply religious nature; had no sympathy with free thinking--so called--or scientific speculations, flippant and irreverent. and how quickly she responded to what was noble and uplifting in any service! i had the privilege of spending a week in new york with her one easter vacation and going with her to hear o. b. frothingham preach. we had never heard him, and anticipated a coldly brilliant, intellectual discourse such as he had the reputation of giving. i still hear his calm clear voice in his invocation,--"let us come into thy presence this morning, forgetting all bitter memories of the past; the cares, anxieties and trials of the present; the gloomy forebodings of the future; and ascend with thee into that higher realm where the sun is always shining, where the truth holds on forever, and where love--never wanes." miss mitchell was much moved. she leaned forward to me,--"i am full fed now,--could go home this minute." a conundrum was given out,--"what is the way to slip into heaven easy?" miss mitchell protested, sure that the answer must be something denominational or calvinistic. on hearing the answer,--"make frequent use of the church _ile_," she exclaimed quickly, "oh, that's episcopal! the orthodox people think it is no matter what you _do_ if you only _think_ right; the unitarians think it is no matter what you _believe_ if you only _do_ right; and the episcopalians think it is no matter what you do or what you believe if you only go to church." the faculty table in the dining-room was also for students' guests, no separate table then. miss mitchell often came in late and tired, resenting, as she put it, "to be polite." one day she came in to dinner to find a warm student friend there with a young man as her guest. as he had been placed by miss mitchell, he endeavored to enter into conversation with her, introduced by the student, receiving for his pains very scant courtesy and notice. suddenly some remark he made to his student friend arrested her attention. she turned to him, "young man, i did not catch your name." "chadwick." the student spoke then,--"reverend doctor chadwick, miss mitchell. you remember you told me to bring him over to the observatory, when he should come?" but he had a royal welcome and visit later. she knew his writings, had a warm admiration for him and made ample amends for his first cold reception. she disliked extremely to have attention called to anything out of order in her dress, and the person who innocently ventured to tell her was sure to get pungent reproof. once as she stood in the college office by the counter waiting for the mail, a teacher passing, unaware of this peculiarity, picked off with a good deal of manner and great unnecessary deliberation a long white thread from miss mitchell's grey shawl. "please put that back just where you took it from! i consider it an impertinence!" she had to accept, though, and laugh in spite of herself, at her predicament in main street one afternoon. forty years ago a leghorn bonnet was not a thing to be treated lightly and thrown aside at the end of a season, but reappeared, year after year, to be bleached, pressed and rejuvenated generally. miss mitchell was taking one of this sort to her milliner, swinging carelessly the huge paper bag in which the denuded bonnet reposed. suddenly her name was called several times, and turning she was aware of a fastidious little old gentleman of her acquaintance, his own hat in one hand and her unsightly headgear in the other, bowing before her, breathless in his pursuit,--"miss mitchell, when you alighted from the street car back there, i happened to be passing just as this dropped out of your bag," presenting, as he spoke, the unfortunate bonnet of whose loss she had been entirely unaware. the courtly grace of his action amused her immensely, and she delighted to tell this story often. she had many other stories against herself that she liked to tell. one was of being on an ocean steamer and hearing a man among a group of passengers near say,--"maria mitchell, daughter of general o. m. mitchell, the astronomer, is on board." attention being called to her proximity, and that it was thought she belonged to another branch of the name, he crossed over to miss mitchell's chair, and put the question to her direct. she answered quietly,--"no, my father is william mitchell of nantucket. he is also an astronomer." "all the same," she heard him say in a low tone as he regained his party, "i can't help what she says, but maria mitchell, the astronomer, _is_ the daughter of general mitchell of ohio." again she was on a steamer bound for nantucket, and as the passage was rough, was lying half asleep on a couch in the ladies' cabin. two women belonging to nantucket were chatting together in the farthest corner of the room, and she suddenly became faintly conscious that she was the subject of their conversation. "i suppose maria mitchell has done some pretty big things--people say so--but she is awful homely!" "well, yes," hesitated the other, "i s'pose she is, but you must admit she has fine eyes." she shared a cottage one summer with mrs. frances hodgson burnett, whom she much admired and liked, though no greater contrast can be imagined than existed between the two women in temperament and tastes. some of miss mitchell's college girls paid her a visit there one day, and she got mrs. burnett's permission to introduce the students to her. they had a delightful call in her room, made beautiful with antique furniture, pictures, rugs, cushions--everything that could appeal to cultivated eyes and aesthetic sense. returning with them to her own quarters across the hall from the author's suite, miss mitchell waved her hand to the room just left:--"girls, that is paris, and this," ushering them into her rather bare parlor, "this is--cape cod." how fond she was of a good story! she always rejoiced in a fresh anecdote, and made you feel her debtor by contributing one. one monday the rev. dr. charles robinson dined with a few of us at miss mitchell's private table, having been at the college over sunday. he was a famous story-teller, and she challenged him to tell more in three minutes than she could. he began instantly in all seriousness a breathless string of nonsense rhymes and couplets after this style,--"the--bell--rings--when--it--is--tolled--but--the--organ--says --i'll--be--blowed--first--mary--had--a--little--lamb--its--fleas-- were--white--as--snow--how--can--that--be--since--fleas--you--know-- are--black--as--any--crow--" and so on till his time was up. he won, for miss mitchell was laughing--as we all were--and unable to go on with the contest. her humor and quickness at repartee--"capping"--she called it, showed in her last illness, even when articulation was difficult and her words hardly understandable. her sister, mrs. kendall, came in one morning and stood by the bedside with cheerful greeting, "thee looks well this morning, maria." in a flash, the invalid responded brokenly and weakly,--"my--face--is--my--fortune," "sir--she said," finished mrs. kendall for her. her unexpectedness was delightful, if often a little embarrassing. one never could predict what she would do next. she would beckon a teacher in passing out of the dining-room to stop at the faculty table, and before those assembled there, ask her some question such as,--"have you a silk dress? and how many?" "there!" dejectedly. "i was afraid you had! it was said at this table just now that not a teacher in the college but had a silk dress. i said i didn't believe it, that there must be somebody here that couldn't afford one," adding in friendly dismissal, "well, i'm glad you have one." another time she called out, "i hear you are engaged to be married. i denied the report, as you had not told me first." the teacher, used to miss mitchell's way, showed no confusion, carried out the joke by saying, "i have hardly had a chance to tell you yet," and laughingly made her escape. a student who had just entered college met her shortly after arrival. miss mitchell stopped her. "you have a dimple in your chin. well, so has george william curtis, but still it is a deformity." another time to an officer whose parents had visited her at the college came this:--"such a handsome father and mother as you've got! aren't _any_ of you children good looking?" one rarely felt aggrieved at miss mitchell's bluntness. it was her "way." she was a privileged person, and most of us were ready to share the laugh she raised at our expense. her "dome" parties for her students at the end of the year were famous, and she was busy weeks beforehand composing her "poetry" for the occasion. she had a natural gift in impromptu rhyming, and what was bestowed on her girls was treasured years after. two of these precious relics of the past have been loaned to me to copy here. it is most fitting that the last words of this sketch should be her own, and lingeringly with them i leave her. a "dome" rhyme to her girls:-- "who lifting their hearts to the heavenly blue will do woman's work for the good and true; and as sisters or daughters or mothers or wives will take the starlight into their lives." in the train with three of her seniors after commencement, june th, :-- "sarah, mary, louise and i have come to the cross roads to say good-bye; bathed in tears and covered with dust, we say good-bye, because we must; a circle of lovers, a knot of peers, they in their youth and i in my years, willing to bear the parting and pain, believing we all shall meet again; that if god is god and truth is truth, we shall meet again and all in youth." to live in a great period is rarely to be conscious of its magnitude and importance. it is not till you stand from afar that the wonder grows on you, with thankfulness to have been a looker-on and to have served somewhat, if ever in so humble a capacity. the days that are no more! but this is not said regretfully, for if vassar stood for glorious promise from the beginning, it has been splendidly fulfilled in the march of years. they have slipped along, bringing "golden opportunity" in greater measure, continually broadening attainment, ever clearer and higher vision. [illustration: ] history of randolph-macon college, virginia: the oldest incorporated methodist college in america by richard irby (a. b. ) preface. the following resolution, adopted at the last annual meeting of the board of trustees, will answer as a preface to what will be given as a history of the oldest incorporated methodist college in america now in existence, and can be pleaded as an excuse, if any be needed, why one so inexperienced in authorship should make this effort to rescue from oblivion what is left of the records and information now obtainable in regard to this, comparatively speaking, venerable college. "on motion of j. j. lafferty and w. h. christian, "_resolved_, that the thanks of the board be tendered to richard irby, esq., for his labors in the collection of material for a connected and authentic historical account of this college, and that he be requested to continue and perfect this work, and that all friends of the college be requested to give him their cordial aid and co-operation." history of randolph-macon college early efforts of methodists to found schools. john wesley, the founder of methodism, was in every sense a highly educated man. his education began at the knee of one of the wisest and most accomplished women that ever lived to bless the world. it was continued at oxford, but did not stop there; for he believed, and acted on his belief, that a man's education should continue as long as his intellectual energy survives. the great business of wesley was to spread scriptural holiness over the world, beginning at his own home. to accomplish this great end he sought and utilized every practicable agency. early in the course of the great movement he put in motion, he established the kingswood school, which he aimed to make as thorough, practically, as oxford and cambridge, and free from the surroundings which hindered evangelical believers in attendance on those schools, where he and his co-workers had encountered so much opposition and ridicule. at this school were to be allied in holy matrimony religion and learning, which godless hands had sought to put asunder; for he valued education and learning severed from, and unhallowed by, religion as worse than worthless. following the example of this great leader, asbury, the "pioneer bishop of america," sought at an early day to carry out the same plans. but the difficulties he encountered were different from those mr. wesley met in many respects. at the close of the revolutionary war, he found a continent over the broad area of which was spread a population of about three million of people. these people had just come out of a war of seven years, impoverished in every species of property except their broad acres of forest land, worthless until subdued by the sturdy husbandman. the currency of the country was well-nigh worthless and irredeemable in gold and silver. the great and controlling idea of the people was the restoration of wealth and material resources. this meant and required hard and constant work, which pushed aside schools and all other enterprises of the kind considered as of secondary importance. at that time only about eight colleges were found in the states, and these were slimly endowed, if endowed at all, and but poorly patronized. but bold, and trusting in god, asbury began the work of establishing schools, hardly waiting for the clearing away of the smoke of battle. at the time he was made general superintendent, or bishop, ( ), there were in the united states , members in the methodist episcopal church. these were scattered broadcast over the states bordering on the atlantic ocean, from new york to georgia. the bulk of the membership was found in the southern states. the minutes for that year give new york city sixty members and brunswick circuit (virginia) four hundred and eighty-four, and other circuits in virginia more. in the year dr. cummings (in _early schools of methodism_, new york, ) thinks bishop asbury founded the first methodist academy ever established in america. it is reasonable, however, to put the date a little later, say , for his services as general superintendent did not begin till later, inasmuch as mr. wesley's letter appointing him to the place bears date september , . this school or academy was located in brunswick county, virginia, on the road leading from petersburg to boydton, at a point about midway between the two places. he named it [illustration: ebenezer academy]* *the ebenezer academy building is still standing, but it has been changed somewhat since it ceased to be used for school purposes. the cut used here was made from a pencil sketch of it made by mr. short, who lives near, and sent by rev. j. carson watson, in whose circuit it is located. the walls are of stone, one of which has become injured; otherwise, the old house would be good for another century. for a number of years this academy was controlled by trustees appointed by the bishop or by the annual conference, and enjoyed such supervision as the bishop was able to give, which, with such arduous labors as demanded his energies, was of necessity but slight and occasional. on this account, and other accounts incident to the times, the control of the academy was lost to the methodists, and went into the hands of the county authorities, which control never was regained by the church. but it was kept up as an academy for many years, and at it many of the most prominent men of the county and counties adjacent were educated wholly or partly. in this way it did a good work for the people of its day, and was the forerunner and prophecy of another school not far away, which, under better auspices, though not without difficulties, has lived to bless the church and the world in this nineteenth century. the first regularly incorporated methodist college in the united states was cokesbury college. it was located near baltimore, md. it was in operation only a few years. augusta college, kentucky, was the next. that has long since ceased to exist. in the period preceding the division of the methodist episcopal church, there were thirty-one literary institutions controlled by this church, of which three were exclusively for females and several, co-educational. seventeen of these were located in the southern states. of the thirty-one, only seven colleges have survived, viz.: randolph-macon college, chartered february , ; wesleyan university (connecticut), chartered may, ; emory college (georgia), ; emory and henry (virginia), ; wesleyan female college (georgia), . dickinson college (pennsylvania) chartered in , but did not become a methodist college till , and was opened as a methodist college september, . alleghany college (pennsylvania) was chartered in , and came under the control of the methodist church in , and was opened as a methodist college the same year. it will thus be seen that all these male colleges which survived, were opened under methodist patronage, nearly simultaneously, viz.: wesleyan university, october, ; randolph-macon, january, ; alleghany college, november, ; dickinson college, september, . this point of time thus became a marked starting-point in the history of methodist colleges. since this turning-point was passed, the number of them has increased as rapidly as the membership of the church, and can now be counted by the hundreds, making the methodist church foremost in the great work of christian education. it may be noted here that all of the above-named colleges succeeded to buildings which had been used for school purposes, more or less complete, while those of randolph-macon were built wholly out of new material. it is probable that the idea and purpose moving bishop asbury to found church schools, had never gone entirely out of the minds of the methodists of virginia, notwithstanding all the failures and disasters which had befallen the early enterprises. they found no school in the conference territory of high grade where they felt safe in sending their sons. william and mary college was under the control of the episcopalians, and its location was noted for excess in worldliness and free-living, which did not invite methodists, whose rules forbade such customs. the atmosphere of the college and town was unsuited to methodists, and they were looked upon as unfit for the society of the so-called best people. hampden-sidney college, originally non-sectarian, had come under the control of the presbyterians, with whom, in those days, arminian methodists did not think it safe to let their sons remain too long, lest they should become calvinists. washington college was then a feeble school, and remote from the eastern portion of the state, and outside the virginia conference. under these circumstances, and for what were esteemed good reasons, the methodists of the virginia conference, then composed of the eastern and middle portions of virginia and north carolina, moved in the matter of establishing a college of high grade. a resolution, adopted by the general conference of , recommending "that each annual conference establish a seminary of learning under its own regulations and patronage," had the effect to direct the attention of the church throughout the connection to the subject of education. so almost simultaneously the new york conference, with the virginia conference, moved towards the establishment of a college, as recommended by the general conference, the result of which was the founding of the wesleyan university at middletown, conn., and of randolph-macon college at boydton, va., the two oldest methodist colleges, originally incorporated as such, now existing in america. the credit of first planning or founding randolph-macon college has been awarded to rev. hezekiah g. leigh and gabriel p. disosway. the former was a prominent minister in the virginia conference, and was justly esteemed by his contemporaries as an orator second to but few, if any, of his time. dr. bennett, in _memorials of methodism in virginia_, says: "perhaps no man ever left a deeper impression on the hearts of the people among whom he labored. in every city where he was stationed, in every district, in every circuit, there are thrilling recollections of his preaching.... he was not simply an eloquent preacher, he was a wise, skillful, practical workman in the vineyard." dr. w. a. smith, third president of randolph-macon college, said of him: "dr. leigh had few equals in the pulpit. he filled a large space in public attention, and wielded a wide and undisputed influence among his brethren in the ministry." he was a native of perquimans county, n. c., born november , , but for many years prior to his death resided on his farm near boydton, va. gabriel p. disosway was a native of the city of new york, of huguenot ancestry, born december , . he took his a.b. degree at columbia college, new york, in . in early life he became a citizen of petersburg, va., and married a virginia lady. he was a pious and devoted methodist, and by his superior education and literary abilities exerted a wide and salutary influence on the church circles of his town and day. having been a college-bred man, he may have suggested to dr. leigh the founding of a college, or the latter may have sought the advice and co-operation of mr. disosway, and thenceforth the two worked together as co-laborers in this good cause. dr. w. a. smith inclined to the latter view of the matter, for he says (_funeral discourse on rev. h. g. leigh_), "regarding all the circumstances, the prominent position held by dr. leigh in originating all the preliminary measures, and his personal activity in advancing them, we have always considered him in a good sense the founder of randolph-macon college." mr. disosway returned to new york in , and thus the college ceased to have his active co-operation with dr. leigh, which might, and doubtless would, have been very acceptable and beneficial. he lived to an honorable old age, giving much of his valuable time to the great interests of the church of his choice, and also to the great religious institutions of his state and the country, with a number of which he was closely identified as manager or director. he also wrote frequently for the press, and was the author of several books, one of which particularly was highly esteemed, viz. _the old churches of new york_." the college, many years ago, recognized the claims of these co-founders to the gratitude and remembrance of succeeding generations by placing on the walls of the chapel marble tablets, suitably inscribed and dedicated to their memory. the enterprise of establishing a college in the virginia conference took definite direction, and resulted in practical action at the session of the virginia conference held at oxford, n. c., march , . in the minutes is this entry: "after some discussion on the recommendation of the general conference (of ), 'that each annual conference establish a seminary of learning, under its own regulations and patronage,' the whole question was referred to a committee of twelve--six ministers and six laymen--to consider and report the best method of establishing such a seminary with suitable constitutional principles." the following constituted the committee ordered: john early, hezekiah g. leigh, caleb leach, charles a. cooley, william compton and george m. anderson, of the conference; and gabriel p. disosway, joseph b. littlejohn, john nutall, lewis taylor, joseph taylor and jesse h. cobb, of the laity.... "the college bill, which was laid on the table, was taken up, and, after some amendment, was adopted." it would appear from the constitution of the committee, that john early made the motion to appoint the committee, and this was probably the case, because he was then, and for many years afterwards, a leader in the business of the conference, and, therefore, the prime mover in the enterprise, had enlisted his active interest in the matter. we shall see that this prominent position was held by him for many years afterwards. this was all that was done at this conference. at the next conference, held in portsmouth, va., february, , the committee was increased by adding george w. charlton and james smith, ministers, and robert a. armistead, arthur cooper, jesse nicholson, local preachers, and j. c. pegram, cary jennings, laymen. on the th the committee made a report, and the report was laid on the table. on the nd the college bill, which was laid on the table, was taken up, and after some amendments it was adopted. on the rd the "select committee," recommended in the bill adopted on the days previous, was appointed, viz.: hezekiah g. leigh, george w. charlton, james smith, john early, thomas crowder, ethelbert drake, ministers, and gabriel p. disosway, robert a. armistead, william clarke, john c. pegram, laymen. this committee reported at the succeeding conference ( ) a "constitution" for the college, which, after some amendments, was adopted; and it was further "_resolved_, that every member take a subscription paper and use his influence and best exertions to obtain subscriptions for the benefit of the college contemplated to be founded within the bounds of this conference." at the conference of a new committee of seven was appointed "to see that all the preachers pay a due and diligent attention to every regulation and matter appertaining to the establishment of the college contemplated, and to employ an efficient agent to make collections and obtain subscriptions for the same, and to maturely consider the advantages of every place proposed for its site, and to report thereon to the next conference upon which the location of the college shall be fixed." location and naming of the college. at the conference of the committee appointed the year previous made a report. the committee had met at zion church, in mecklenburg county. the citizens of brunswick offered $ , in subscriptions on condition that the college be located at physic springs, about four miles from lawrenceville, the county seat, and not very far from the old ebenezer academy. the citizens of mecklenburg offered a parcel of land near boydton, the county seat, at a very low price, and $ , in subscriptions, with some possible advantages from the boydton academy. the location was fixed at or near boydton, probably, mainly through the influence of rev. hezekiah g. leigh, the prime mover in the college enterprise, and howell taylor, a very influential methodist of the county, together with hon. william o. goode and col. william townes, men of great popularity. the site selected was also very near the line dividing the states of virginia and north carolina, and probably more accessible to the people of the two states at that time than any other eligible location, and was considered healthful, as well as the centre of a refined community. the county of mecklenburg was one of the largest and wealthiest in the state, and its people and the people of the adjoining counties of north carolina were friendly and homogeneous. the report of the committee was confirmed by the conference, and the committee was authorized to apply to the general assembly of virginia for a charter. this the committee proceeded to do, and mr. goode, of mecklenburg, presented a bill to incorporate the "trustees of henry and macon college" friday, january , . after going through the several readings required, and having several amendments made, on motion of mr. alexander, of mecklenburg, the title was changed, making it to read, "an act to incorporate the 'trustees of randolph-macon college.'" the bill so amended was passed by both houses, and became a law february , . the act in part is as follows: " . _be it enacted by the general assembly_, that there be, and is hereby erected and established, at or near boydton, in the county of mecklenburg, in this commonwealth, a seminary of learning for the instruction of youth in the various branches of science and literature, the useful arts, agriculture, and the learned and foreign languages. " . _and be it further enacted_, that the said seminary shall be known and called by the name of randolph-macon college. " . _and be it further enacted_, that hezekiah leigh, john early, edward cannon, w. a. smith, william i. waller, thomas crowder, moses brock, james boyd, william hammett, caleb leach, matthew m. dance, lewis skidmore, augustine claiborne, ethelbert drake, henry fitts, john nutall, james wyche, john p. harrison, grenville penn, walker timberlake, john g. claiborne, howell taylor, james smith, joel blackwell, john y. mason, james garland, richard g. morris, john w. lewis, william o. goode, and nathaniel alexander be, and are hereby, constituted and appointed trustees of said college, who and their successors shall be a body politic and corporate by the name of the 'trustees of randolph-macon college,' who shall have a perpetual succession and a common seal, and by the name aforesaid they and their successors shall be capable in law to possess, purchase, receive and retain to them and their successors forever, any lands, tenements, rents, goods, chattels or interests of any kind whatsoever, which may have been already given, or by them purchased for the use of said college; to dispose of the same in any way whatsoever they shall adjudge most useful to the interests and legal purposes of the institution; and by the same name to sue and implead, be sued and impleaded, answer and be answered, in all courts of law and equity; and under their common seal to make and establish, from time to time, such by-laws, rules and ordinances, not contrary to the laws and constitution of this commonwealth, as shall by them be thought essential to the good order and government of the professors, masters and students of said college." it will appear above that thirty were constituted trustees. of the thirty, twelve were travelling preachers of the virginia annual conference, and eighteen were local preachers and laymen. the name of rev. hezekiah g. leigh heads the list, as, by courtesy, was proper. all were members of the methodist church, except the following: judge john y. mason, john w. lewis, william o. goode, and nathaniel alexander, the three latter prominent citizens of mecklenburg county. of these a number lived to take an active part in the affairs of the college for many years. the last to pass away was judge garland, of lynchburg, who died a few years since at a very advanced age. it is well known for whom randolph-macon college was named--john randolph, of roanoke, and nathaniel macon, of north carolina. how it came about that a christian and methodist college should have been named for men who were not professed christians, and who had never, so far as is known, shown any preference or kindly interest for the methodist church, has been a question of interest and speculation. the most probable solution of the question is that the name was determined very much by precedent. the oldest college in the state, william and mary, founded primarily and specially for educating "the savages" in christianity, was named for the king and queen then on the throne. washington college was named for washington, the hero of the day ( ); hampden-sidney for the champions of liberty and human rights ( ), all of them christian colleges, but named for public men, representatives of the sentiments of the periods uppermost when they were founded. following the precedents set by these colleges, the names then most prominent in virginia and north carolina were selected, john randolph, of roanoke, and nathaniel macon, one living on the south side of the roanoke river and the other on the north side. neither of these men was in any way connected with the college, nor did either, so far as is recorded, ever manifest any interest in it by making a contribution to it or otherwise, but both were very popular in their native state, in whose service they literally spent their lives. john randolph has been called an infidel by some northern writers, but those who knew him best represent him as far from having been such, though he lived at a time when infidelity was far from being uncommon among public men. at one time, at least, he was a professed believer in christ, and never gave up his belief, however inconsistent in his life, at times, he may have been. hon. j. k. paulding, a distinguished author and public man, in a letter accepting membership in one of the literary societies of the college soon after it was built, wrote of these men: "randolph-macon combines the names of two very distinguished men, with whom i was acquainted; with the former, long and intimately. mr. macon was one of the wisest, most virtuous men i ever knew. his integrity as a private man was only equalled by his devotion to his country and to the great principles of liberty, of which he was a most faithful and devoted advocate. indeed, i may say, with perfect truth, that in the simplicity of his habits and character, as well as in the purity of his principles, he realized more than any man i ever knew the example of a steadfast, stern, inflexible republican. "with mr. john randolph i was on terms of intimacy for more than twenty years. he was a very extraordinary man, whose life and character should be delineated by one who could analyze them thoroughly and explain their strange apparent inconsistency. to me it always appeared that but for the weakness of his physical constitution and the almost perpetual sufferings it entailed upon him, he would have been one of the highest models of a high-minded gentleman, as well as one of the wisest, most consistent statesmen of the age. but his physical infirmities and sufferings impaired the vigor and consistency of his mind, while they often soured his temper, and caused those sudden caprices, which lost him many friends, and made his greatest admirers almost afraid to indulge in the society of one the charm of whose conversation was otherwise irresistible. this, however, i will say of him, that whatever may have been the infirmities of his temper, his principles were of the most high, and, indeed, lofty character. his integrity was exemplary, and his devotion to the great principles of liberty consistent and profound. "the life and character of mr. macon young men may safely make the objects of their imitation throughout, while mr. randolph is rather a subject of admiration and wonder. virginia should be proud of him as an orator without an equal among his contemporaries and as a man who, with all his faults, was possessed of many virtues of the very highest order." looking at the matter from our present standpoint, it seems strange that a more suitable name was not selected more in accordance with the special character of the object of the institution, the blending of the highest culture of the mind with the elevation of christian character. [illustration: rev. john early. _first president ( - ) of the board of trustees of randolph-macon college, and bishop of the methodist episcopal church, south._] first meeting of the board of trustees. the first meeting of the board of trustees appointed under the act of incorporation, was held at boydtown (so it reads), mecklenburg county, va., april , . the following members were duly qualified and took their seats, viz.: rev. hezekiah g. leigh, rev. john early, rev. william a. smith, rev. william i. waller, rev. moses brock, rev. james boyd, rev. caleb leach, rev. matthew m. dance, rev. lewis skidmore (members of the virginia conference), rev. john g. claiborne, rev. james smith (local ministers), jas. wyche, howell taylor, j. w. lewis, william o. goode, and nathaniel alexander, esqs. rev. john early was elected chairman, and rev. william a. smith secretary. a committee was appointed to draft rules for the government of the board, and one to obtain drafts of buildings for the college. h. g. leigh, j. w. lewis, james boyd, and l. skidmore constituted the latter committee. h. g. leigh, who had been acting as agent for the college in securing subscriptions and funds for the college enterprise, under the appointment of the virginia conference, was elected agent to continue the same work. a committee was also appointed to secure land for the location of the college. this was the work of the first day. at the second session--the next day--rev. h. g. leigh, from the committee to draft rules, etc., reported the rules for the government of the board, which were adopted. rev. w. i. waller submitted the following resolutions, which were adopted: . that a committee be appointed to prepare an address to the public generally, and to the ministers and members of the methodist episcopal church particularly, requesting their aid and co-operation in procuring funds for the establishment of randolph-macon college. . that a copy of the address be sent to each presiding elder and preacher in charge of circuits and stations within the bounds of the virginia annual conference. william a. smith, moses brock, h. g. leigh, and william i. waller were appointed on this committee. it was further resolved that an additional agent be appointed. john w. lewis was elected treasurer of the board. h. g. leigh, from the committee to obtain drafts for the college building, reported three--one to cost $ , , one $ , , and one $ , . the first resolutions adopted in the direction of building was to appropriate $ , towards the purchase of land and the erection of a college building. it was also resolved "that it is expedient to establish a preparatory school to randolph-macon college as soon as the building can be prepared for that purpose," and $ , was appropriated to its erection. a "committee on building" was appointed to obtain the best model for the college building, and contract for, and superintend the construction of, the same, and also the building for the preparatory school. rev. h. g. leigh's salary as agent was fixed at "the usual salary of a methodist itinerant preacher." the first financial report by the agent was made as follows: monies subscribed, . . . . . . . . . . . $ , monies collected of this, . . . . . . . . . of this doubtful, $ . $ , the offer of the trustees of boydton academy to sell the same was not accepted. the committee authorized to purchase land for the college made report, and the committee was empowered to purchase land from several parties at an average of about $ . per acre. the agent reported that the subscription of mecklenburg county was $ , . it was ordered that the subscription paper be deposited with the treasurer. the first building committee appointed was as follows: hezekiah g. leigh, john w. lewis, james smith, matthew m. dance, moses brock, and john early; and here the deliberations of the first meeting of the board ended. with a subscription list of less than $ , , including the county subscription, a large portion of which, in those days, as in the present, was uncollectable and worthless, this band of workers went forward, "not knowing whither they were going," but, like abraham, trusting in the lord, whose spirit had prompted the enterprise, that he would bring about a successful issue. could they have foreseen the difficulties ahead, the work probably would never have been undertaken, nor would columbus ever have discovered a new world if he had foreseen the difficulties which were before him. it is not untimely to pause and dwell on some of the actors in this work. the chairman, rev. john early, who was afterwards bishop of the methodist episcopal church, south, was at this time in the prime of life. he was not a college-bred man. he probably valued college education as highly as he did because he felt so keenly the need of it. he was, however, in the best sense, an educated man, and a man among men. from his early manhood his brethren and fellow-citizens manifested their appreciation of him by calling him to the highest positions in the church and in the state. the latter, however, were not accepted by him. it may be safely said that no man ever lived in virginia who was more intimately or more widely known than john early. no man ever knew more men. few ever had more seals to their ministry. not neglecting his own peculiar work in the church, he was always foremost in everything that he esteemed promotive of the good of the church and the state. from the outset he threw into the college enterprise all his great energy, and gave it the benefit of his large practical sense, because he felt that the church, as well as the state, was in need of such an agency. under the charter, as subsequently amended, he was elected president of the board of trustees, and retained that position for about forty years, rarely ever failing to attend the annual meetings, when attendance involved days of tedious and difficult travel over rough roads. when over eighty years of age he was found at his place in the board. doubtless his latest prayers were for the success of the cause to which he gave many of the years of his manhood's prime. randolph-macon college will never let the name of john early be forgotten. his portrait adorns the trustees' room, and his eyes look down every june on his successors in the board of trustees, who are laboring to carry forward the work which he and his co-laborers commenced in . the first secretary, rev. william andrew smith, was another man of power, a self-made man, as such men are commonly called. he accepted the "call from on high" to do great things. he was endowed with a wonderfully fertile and active mind. when fully aroused in any cause his heart espoused, he was a power with the people and with deliberative bodies. commencing active service for the college as secretary of the board, he lived to become the president of the college from to . when he took charge of it, the college was at the lowest condition financially as well as in patronage, that it ever reached. full of faith and zeal himself, he infused new life into it and animated its friends with fresh courage and zeal. realizing that an endowment was absolutely essential, in he undertook to raise $ , for it, and succeeded. of this endowment more will be said further on. [illustration: rev. lewis skidmore. _original member of board of trustees._] another self-made man among the corporators present was lewis skidmore. in native talent of a peculiar order, he was second to none of his associates. he had, however, none of the ambition of some of the others. for power of argumentation on any subject he took in hand, he was equal to the foremost. he said once, when asked at what college he had graduated, "i graduated at the anvil." when the hammer of his logic struck it shaped or shivered the object it struck. as punctual as a clock, the day before the trustees were to meet, his rotund form would be seen about the same hour rising over the western hill as the sun was going down. space will not allow particular reference to the other members of the board. all of them were men of mark in their callings. three of them--laymen, citizens of mecklenburg county--were not members of the methodist church. william o. goode was a representative man. he was a member of the legislature, and brought forward the college bill. he was a member of the state convention of and of the congress of the united states for several sessions. nathaniel alexander was a wealthy planter and a man of fine education, and represented his county in the legislature more than once. john w. lewis was a lawyer of prominence, and served as treasurer of the college as long as he lived. the fact that these men were on the board will show that sectarian bigotry was not so strong in olden times as some have been inclined to believe. rev. john g. claiborne served on the board for many years faithfully and efficiently, and outlived all of the original members. at the second meeting of the board of trustees, held october , (rev. john early, chairman, presiding), the building committee reported the plan for the main college building, with cost of erection. william a. howard and dabney cosby were the contractors. the plan embraced a centre brick building fifty-two feet front by fifty-four deep, with wings east and west sixty-seven and a half feet each, making a total front of one hundred and eighty-seven feet, all four stories high. the contract price for the same, except painting, tin roof, casement of the library, and seats in the chapel, to be finished in "a plain, workman-like manner, of the best materials," to be $ , , and it was to be ready for occupancy by the spring of . the committee also reported the purchase of two hundred and fifty-seven acres of land from several parties, including previous purchase, the several tracts forming a solid body. rev. h. g. leigh, agent, made report as to the finances, as follows: monies collected to date, . . . . $ subscriptions deemed good, . . . . , total,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , rev. william hammett, an eloquent irish minister, was appointed agent for soliciting additional funds. of the subscriptions made by citizens of mecklenburg county, the name of william townes heads the list with $ , , the largest subscription to the college funds in early times. he was not a methodist, nor a member of any church, but he was one of the earliest and best friends of the college. on the early subscription lists there were about five hundred names. next to the subscription of col. townes, there were none above $ . the third meeting of the board of trustees was held april , , rev. john early, chairman, presiding. the following items of business transacted are noted: rev. thomas adams, a local minister, of lunenburg county, was elected in place of rev. james smith, who resigned his membership. a "stewards' hall" was authorized, the cost of the building of which was not to exceed $ , . the chairman of the board was authorized to advertise that the board would proceed to elect at the next meeting (in october, ) a president, professors, and masters. the salary of the president to be elected was fixed at $ , for the first year; salaries of the professors for the first year, $ . the fourth meeting of the board was held october , , rev. john early in the chair. at this meeting rev. h. g. leigh, agent, reported subscriptions amounting to $ , , and rev. william hammett, $ , , in all $ , . the south carolina conference was formally invited to unite and co-operate with the board in the support of randolph-macon college, with the proviso that should the conference agree so to do, the board would elect six members trustees from the bounds of that conference. rev. martin p. parks was appointed the agent to communicate with said conference and to solicit subscriptions. the building committee reported the centre building walls up and covered in and the wings well under way; also, the purchase of additional land. the committee to whom was referred the matter of nominating a president and professors reported, and the following elections were made: rev. john emory, d. d., of new york, president and professor of moral science; rev. martin p. parks, of north carolina, professor of mathematics; landon c. garland, of virginia, professor of natural science; rev. robert emory, of new york, professor of languages. mr. william o. goode, member of the legislature, of mecklenburg county, was appointed to ask of the general assembly of virginia aid for the college. fifth meeting of the board. a called meeting of the board was held april , . at this meeting letters were presented and read announcing the declination of dr. john emory to accept the presidency of the college, and of rev. robert emory to accept the chair to which he was elected. the letters were as follows: new york, _february , _. "rev. and dear sir: my conviction of the importance of time to enable you to make suitable arrangements for the opening of randolph-macon college at the appointed period, induces me to avail myself of the occasion of your assembling in conference to communicate to you the conclusion to which i have come, on mature reflection, in regard to the high and honorable post to which you have kindly invited me in that institution. "i trust i need not repeat here how sincerely my best wishes attend your exertions in the cause of education, nor the pleasure i should take in contributing any small service in my power towards your success. "considering, however, the confinement which such a situation would require of me, the studies to which it would oblige me to devote myself in order to discharge its duties as i would wish, and the effect which such a course would be likely to have upon my health, already needing rather relief from the arduous duties of my present post, i am under the necessity of declining the acceptance of your kind invitation, and beg you for me to make this communication to the board over which you preside. "be pleased, at the same time, to accept for yourself personally, and to convey to the members of the board, the assurance of the deep sense i entertain of the obligations you have laid me under, as well as in behalf of my son as in my own; and that you may at all times command any service which it may be in my power to render as friends of the important institution under your care. "very respectfully, rev. and dear sir, yours, "j. emory." "_to the rev. john early_, chairman, etc.. of the board of trustees of randolph-macon college, va." "new york, november , . "rev. and dear sir: yours of the th ultimo was duly received, and would have elicited an earlier reply but for the absence of my father, whom i wished to consult previously to communicating my own views of the subject. "i take, however, the earliest opportunity after his return to express through you, to the board of trustees, the high sense which i entertain of the flattering honor which they have been pleased to confer upon me, and at the same time my regret for the necessity which i am under of declining its acceptance. "my anxiety to prosecute thoroughly and with an undivided attention the study of a profession is such that neither my desire to promote the interests of education, nor even the temptation of the honorable post which you have offered me, and the agreeable society which i should enjoy in virginia, are sufficient to withdraw me from a course in which my father has had the kindness to yield me his acquiescence. with the best wishes for the prosperity of your institution, and a hope that you may secure for it the services of one whose ability (though certainly not his desire) to serve you will be far greater than mine, i remain with great respect, "yours, &c., r. emory. "_to the rev. john early_." prof. landon c. garland and rev. martin p. parks accepted the chairs to which they had been elected at the previous meeting. their letters of acceptance were as follows: from landon c. garland. "washington college, december , . "dear sir: circumstances not altogether under my control have prevented me from replying to your communication of october th as early as i wished. having given to its contents that mature deliberation which their importance surely demanded, i feel myself prepared to give a final decision. "the only ambition of my life has been to devote all my time and talents to the promotion and welfare and happiness of our common country; and that situation which would enable me to do this _most efficiently_ i have ever esteemed most eligible. contemplating in this spirit the important and extensive field of useful labor which randolph-macon college presents, i have felt it a duty incumbent upon me to obey the call which you so politely communicated in behalf of its trustees. and through you i beg leave to assure them that this discharge of duty accords with every impulse of the heart; and i do trust that by a vigorous and united exertion with those associated with me, we shall in some humble measure redeem the pledge, which by our acceptance we make both to that body and to the world. "yours very sincerely, "landon c. garland. "_to the rev. john early_." from m. p. parks. petersburg, va., _april , _. "rev. and dear sir: i hereby acknowledge the receipt of your official letter informing me of my election to the professorship of mathematics in randolph-macon college. my answer has been delayed until the present that i might have an opportunity of consulting the virginia conference, of which i am a member, before replying definitely to your communication. the conference at its last session having advised me to the acceptance of the professorship tendered, it is hereby accepted. and in accepting it, which i cannot do but with diffidence, in view of the important duties and high responsibilities therewith connected, i beg that you will present to the board of trustees my acknowledgements for the favorable light in which they have been pleased to view my qualifications for the department to which i am called. "for the institution now growing under their auspices i cherish the warmest regard, and so far as devotion to its interests can ensure success, i hope not altogether to disappoint the expectations of the board. more, it is presumed, need not be promised; less could not be required. offering through you to the board my most christian regards, i have the pleasure to subscribe myself, dear sir, "very respectfully yours, "m. p. parks." dr. john emory was subsequently elected bishop of the methodist episcopal church, and was one of the most honored and beloved bishops that church ever had. it was soon called to mourn his sudden and untimely death, which occurred while he was in the prime of life and in the height of a most useful career. his name is made honorable by its association with two colleges of the church--emory college, oxford, georgia, founded in , and emory and henry college, virginia, founded . his son, rev. robert emory, was subsequently president of dickinson college, pennsylvania, and was most highly esteemed by the church. his name is known and repeated to this day as the christian name of children whose fathers were under his care and tutelage at dickinson college. at this meeting the board found the preparatory school in operation. it had been opened in january, . the first principal, rev. lorenzo lea, a. m., was not able to take charge of it promptly because of a previous engagement at chapel hill university, north carolina. he did commence his work, however, early in the year. his place was temporarily supplied by mr. hugh a. garland, brother of prof. landon c. garland, a graduate of hampden-sidney college, who afterwards was clerk of the house of representatives of the united states, and the author of "the life of john randolph, of roanoke." the preparatory school had during the first term a patronage of thirty-eight. the board ordered for this school an assistant teacher. in order to extend the influence and patronage of the college, the board took steps to secure the cooperation of the georgia conference of the methodist episcopal church, offering a representation on the board of such as should be nominated to it by the conference. sixth meeting of the board, july , . rev. martin p. parks, professor-elect, requested by the board at its last meeting, appeared and delivered "a learned, eloquent, and patriotic address" before the board and the public. the same gentleman, who had been appointed by the board to visit the south carolina conference to invite their cooperation in the college enterprise, made a report of his mission, and laid before the board the response of the conference, which was as follows: "the committee to whom was referred the address and resolutions of the board of trustees of randolph-macon college, report: "that they have had the same under consideration, and been favored with an interview with the esteemed agent of the board, brother parks, and from all that has been presented to them, and which they have duly weighed and examined respecting the college, have come unanimously to the conclusion that the conference ought to regard it with favor, and accordingly do recommend the following resolutions: "_resolved_, that the establishment of a well-endowed college, purely literary and scientific, in a desirable place in the southern atlantic states, and under the direction and control of a faculty and board of trustees, consisting, and perpetually to consist, of members and friends of our church, is an object of first importance, vitally interesting to our zion, and deserving of the best wishes and assistance of all our friends. "_resolved_, that randolph-macon college, of virginia, instituted under an ample charter, of the state of virginia, and now shortly to be opened under the auspices of the virginia conference, possesses every reasonable prospect of soon becoming in all respects all that the friends of literature and religion, and those of our own church, especially, could desire, and is entitled to, and ought to receive, the preference and patronage of this conference. "_resolved_, that we earnestly recommend the randolph-macon college aforesaid to all our brethren and friends of the south carolina conference, and will cordially receive an agent and second his efforts when such an one shall be sent to solicit aid for the college. "_resolved_, that we accept a share in the supervision of the college approved by the board of trustees, and nominate six suitable persons of the ministry and membership of the church indifferently within our conference limits to be elected into the board of trustees on our behalf. "all of which is respectfully submitted. "(signed) w. capers, _chairman_. "on motion, it was resolved unanimously that the above report he adopted. "the conference then proceeded to nominate the following trustees, viz.: col. thomas williams, major alexander speed, rev. dr. william capers, rev. wm. m. kennedy, rev. william m. wightman, and rev. william holmes ellison. "teste: william m. wightman, "_secretary_. "darlington, s. c., _january , _." the above nominees of the south carolina conference were elected members of the board. george w. jeffries, of north carolina, was elected a trustee in place of john nuttall, deceased. the baltimore conference of the methodist episcopal church was invited to unite and co-operate with the board on the same terms and conditions offered the georgia conference. an agent was appointed to visit these conferences in order to secure their co-operation. john early was appointed to visit them. the holston conference was likewise invited to cooperate with the board, and rev. william hammett was appointed to visit that conference. the finance committee reported the receipts and expenditures to date, as follows: receipts, . . . . . . $ , expenditures,. . . . . , balance on hand, . . . . $ appropriations for the first year (including salaries of agents of the college, $ ), $ , . a steward for the boarding hall was elected. the price of board of students was fixed at six dollars per month at the steward's hall. on motion of rev. william hammett, rev. stephen olin, of franklin college, georgia, was unanimously elected president of the college. it was ordered that the college be opened for students on october , . prof. edward dromgoole sims, a. m., of lagrange college, alabama, was elected professor of languages. dr. olin and prof. sims subsequently accepted the positions to which they were elected. their letters of acceptance were as follows: "_rev. john early_, "dear sir: i hereby announce to you, and through you to the trustees of randolph-macon college, that i accept the presidency of that institution, as conferred upon me in july, . i design to resign my professorship in franklin college as early as i can, consistently with duty and propriety, and hope to be at randolph-macon at least as early as the next commencement. "yours very respectfully, "s. olin. "athens, ga., _january , _." "lagrange, ala., _august , _. "dear sir: your letter communicating the result of the late election of officers for randolph-macon college was received eight or ten days ago. "in relation to the professorship of languages, to which the trustees have done me the honor to invite me, i have to say: in a previous letter to you on this subject entire freedom to accept or decline was reserved by me until i could procure more satisfactory information from brother paine concerning the prospects of the institution. at this time there exists no objection in my mind, and accordingly i now make known to you, with pleasure, my acceptance of the appointment, and desire you to communicate the same to the board of trustees. "please accept for yourself and them my sincere regard and best wishes. "with brotherly love, ed. d. sims. "rev. john early" the acceptance of dr. olin completed the faculty, when it came, several months after the college was opened. rev. m. p. parks, professor-elect, acted as president until dr. olin entered on his duties. the first board of instruction was as follows: rev. stephen olin, a. m., d. d. (middlebury college, vermont), president and professor of moral science. rev. martin p. parks, graduate west point academy, professor of mathematics. landon c. garland, a. m., hampden-sidney college, virginia, professor of natural science. rev. edward d. sims, a. m., chapel hill (n. c. university), professor of languages. rev. lorenzo lea, a. b., chapel hill (n. c. university), principal of preparatory school. it will be appropriate and interesting to give sketches at this point of the men composing this first faculty of the oldest methodist college now in existence in america by date of incorporation; not simply on that account, but because they were mostly men of great ability, and made their mark on the times in which they lived in a way and to an extent that few others, if any, have ever done in the south. dr. stephen olin was a native of vermont, as was dr. wilbur fisk, who, contemporaneously with him, was moving on a parallel line at the wesleyan university, in connecticut. these names, olin and fisk, the church, and the alumni of the colleges they presided over will never let die. wherever the initials "s. o." and "w. f." are seen in any catalogue, it will be readily understood that they respectively stand for these names, and they are common now, over a half-century after the principals ceased to live. president olin was a graduate of middlebury college, vermont. he took the first honor in his class. from too much confinement and over-study his health gave way. on this account he went to south carolina, and took charge of an academy at cokesbury. he was fortunate in casting his lot in a very religious community, whose leading men, patrons of the academy, were pious methodists. he had had no acquaintance with methodists. he was not only not a christian, but he had been much troubled in his religious belief, and was inclined to he skeptical. his views were changed by reading butler's _analogy_ and paley's _evidences_. it was the rule and custom at the cokesbury academy to open the school with the reading of the scriptures and prayer. this requirement he had to carry out. one day while engaged in prayer he was powerfully convicted, and immediately sought pardon, and found peace in believing. very soon afterwards he felt called to preach, and entered the ministry, and after a few years he joined the conference, and was appointed to a church in charleston, s. c. his health, however, allowed him to remain but a short time in the itinerancy. he accepted a professorship in franklin college, athens, ga., at which institution he remained till he left to become president of randolph-macon college. [illustration: rev. stephen olin, d. d., _first president of randolph-macon college._] rev. solomon lea, who was associated with dr. olin during his presidency at randolph-macon, gives the following points in regard to him: "in his physique he had large frame and limbs, but was well proportioned. he had dreamy eyes and sallow complexion, indicating deep affliction. he never saw a well day, and yet he faithfully attended to all his duties. i have heard it said that he thanked god for his affliction. like paul he could glory in his affliction. he preached but seldom on account of his health. i shall never forget his sermons. the impression made by them seemed to follow me day and night for weeks and months. his style and manner were peculiar, differing from any other man i ever heard. his language was simple, pure english, free from technicalities and pompous words. his manner rather labored, not from loudness of voice, nor from gesticulation, but his profound thoughts elaborated in his giant mind seemed to struggle for utterance. there was no attempt at what is called eloquence. i have heard most of the great preachers of the day, some of them yery great, but i never heard the equal of olin." rev. leroy m. lee, d. d., long a member of the virginia conference, and editor of the conference paper, said of dr. olin: "he was the only truly great man i have ever seen of whom i do not feel constrained to say, on analyzing his character, "'tis distance lends enchantment to the view.'" rev. w. m. lewis, d. d., of missouri, who spent several years of college life under him, said of him: "he was of large and majestic form, a physical and intellectual giant, a paragon of moral and religious excellence, a perfect model of a christian gentleman and scholar and pulpit orator. in my opinion the church has never had a better or greater man." rev. w. b. rowzie, long connected with the college as financial agent and also as chaplain, said: "he was a genial companion. no one could he in his society without feeling that he was in the company of one of the first men of the age, and yet he was modest and unassuming, as if unconscious of his greatness." dr. john e. edwards, who visited the college frequently in its early history, wrote: "dr. olin's personal appearance impressed me as no other man ever impressed me. the greeks would have deified him as a god." w. f. samford, ll. d., of alabama, who graduated at randolph-macon college in june, , wrote: "physically, intellectually and morally, stephen olin was a giant--as veritable a one as og, king of bashan. he might well rank with the 'mighty men who were of old, men of renown' _facile princeps_ among all the great men i have ever known. the etymology of this word, by which i have designated him, _gigas_, suggests its appropriateness--a man of violence and terror. without the restraints of divine grace his passions were volcanic, his ambition boundless. he once told me that before his conversion to christianity he 'would have bartered a crown in heaven for a seat in congress.' how humble, how patient, how loving he became as a disciple of christ! 'great, humble man!' exclaimed dr. leroy lee, of virginia, when he met him at the conference in lynchburg in . olin had disclosed his whole heart to lee in a rebuke which he administered to him for a display of untempered zeal in a debate on the conference floor--'what business have you with any feelings in the matter? a man of god should be gentle and easy to be entreated.'" it may be thought that the estimates of dr. olin above given were partial, and hence not fully reliable. it is proper, therefore, to give the opinion of rev. theo. l. cuyler, d. d., one of the most distinguished ministers of the presbyterian church, and one of the best writers of the present century. he speaks of him as president of wesleyan university, connecticut, about ten years after he left randolph-macon: "in physical, mental, and spiritual stature combined, no methodist in the last generation towered above dr. stephen olin. he was a great writer, a great educator, and preeminently a great preacher of the glorious gospel. during the summer of , while i was a student for the ministry, i spent some time at middletown, conn. dr. olin was then the president of the wesleyan university, and was at the height of his fame and usefulness. like all great men, he was very simple and unassuming in his manners; with his grand, logical head was coupled a warm, loving heart. when his emotional nature was once kindled it was like a pennsylvania anthracite coal-mine on fire. these qualities of argumentative power and intense spiritual zeal combined made him a tremendous preacher. no one doubted that stephen olin had the baptism of the holy spirit. "in physical stature he was a king of men; above six feet in height, he had a broad, gigantic frame and a lofty brow that resembled the brow of daniel webster. the congregation of the principal methodist church in middletown always knew when dr. olin was going to preach; for the astral lamps were moved off the pulpit to prevent their being smashed by the sweep of his long arms. he was a vehement speaker, and threw his whole man, from head to foot, into the tide of his impassioned oratory. in the blending of logical power with heat of spiritual feeling and vigor of declamation, he was unsurpassed by any american preacher of his time. his printed discourses read well, but they lack the electricity of the moment and the man. thunder and lightning must be heard and seen: they cannot be transferred to paper. as i recall olin now (after the lapse of five and forty years); as i see him again in the full flow of his majestic eloquence, or when surrounded by his students in the class-room, i do not wonder that the middletown boys were ready to pit him against any president or any preacher on the american soil. there are old graduates of the university yet living who delight to think of him and to speak of him, and to assert that "'whoso had beheld him then. had felt an awe and admiration without dread; and might have said, that sure he seemed to be the king of men. less than the greatest that he could not be who carried in his port such might and majesty.' "in august, , i paid a visit to professor smith, whose wife was my kinswoman, and on my arrival i learned that the president of the university was dangerously ill. the next morning my host startled me with the announcement, 'dr. olin is dead!' he had fallen at the age of fifty-four, when he was just in his splendid prime. there was great mourning for him throughout the whole methodist realm, for he was a prince in their israel, who held an imperial rank above any of his contemporaries. he took a large life with him when he went home to heaven; and valuable as were his writings, yet his imposing personality was greater than any of his published productions." rev. martin p. parks, professor of mathematics, acted as president of the college from its opening session, in october, , until dr. olin took the place, march, . he was a minister in north carolina when elected professor. he had been educated at the united states military academy at west point, new york, where mathematics was taught more thoroughly than at other schools of that day. he was a brilliant preacher, and on that account he was put forward frequently, like his contemporaries, hammett and maffitt, to advance the enterprises of the church. of his administration of the college not much can be said. his military education had much to do with making the laws exacting and minute. rev. solomon lea (quoted above) said of professor parks: "professor parks was a great and good man, a fine preacher, was of a sad, morose temperament, arising, no doubt, mainly from his physical condition, as he was a great dyspeptic, and the most nervous person i ever met. he could not bear the crowing of a rooster or the bleating of a calf; this, together with other considerations, had the tendency to make him suspicious, cold, and envious, so much so that dr. olin remarked to me that he had to go often once a month to parks' house, read a portion of the bible, and then pray together, and part with expressions of mutual love and kind feelings. this was often done by dr. olin. poor brother parks, great and good man as he was (for i never doubted his piety), finally yielded so much to his temperament and jealous feelings as to resign his position, withdrew from the methodist church, and joined the episcopalians." professor landon cabell garland, first professor of natural philosophy, chemistry and geology, was a native of nelson county, va., of which his father was the clerk. he was born march , . at the age of nineteen he took his degree of a. b. at hampden-sidney college, virginia. immediately afterward he was elected to the chair of chemistry at washington college, lexington, va., where he continued till october, , when he took charge of the same chair at randolph-macon. bishop fitzgerald, in _eminent methodists_, says of him: "his change from washington college to randolph-macon was characteristic of dr. garland. there was more money in the one place, but more usefulness in the other. he was a methodist, and he felt that methodism had a paramount claim to his services." this was indicated clearly in his letter of acceptance of the place. few men ever filled chairs at two colleges at an age just past twenty-one. this will indicate what estimate was placed on him at so early an age, and what was proven in this case to have been fully correct, by his long service of sixty-five years as an educator. nothing but a most natural and remarkable modesty prevented him from becoming as conspicuous as he was well entitled to be, unless it was that he spent his long life in the south, the nazareth of the nation, out of which few "prophets can come," if we judge by _the cyclopedia of biography_, which side-tracks such men as garland and duncan, whose names will shine "forever and ever" when thousands of those given in full, with portraits, shall have been forgotten, as if they never had lived. if a man could be too modest and retiring dr. garland was such a man. notwithstanding this, he lived to become president of randolph-macon college from , after dr. olin left, till , then professor and president of the university of alabama, professor in the university of mississippi, and finally chancellor of the vanderbilt university at nashville, tenn. in all these high places he influenced for good hundreds of young men whose praise is in all the churches and homes of the land. when he died, in , these multiplied hundreds rose up and "called him blessed." if virginia ever gave birth to a man who did more real service to the manhood of the south, his name and place would be hard to find. prof. edward dromgoole sims was born in brunswick county, va., march , . he was the grandson of rev. edward dromgoole, one of the pioneer methodist preachers in the state of virginia, and one of the trustees appointed by bishop asbury for ebenezer academy, before referred to as the first methodist school of its kind in the state.* he was a man of talents and great influence, and a member of the original virginia conference. one of his sons, george c. dromgoole, was a member of congress for many years, and was probably the most talented and influential member of the virginia delegation in his day. * this school was established in , instead of , as the records of brunswick county, recently found, show. prof. sims took his a. b. degree at the university of north carolina in , and his a. m. degree in , and was a tutor at that university for three years. he was a professor at lagrange college, alabama, at the time he was elected professor at randolph-macon. like dr. olin his personal appearance was very marked. he was a man of great dignity and gentlemanly manner, and a most devoted christian. though not endowed by nature with the mental power of others of his associates, he nevertheless, by industrious application, became a fine scholar and a model professor. he was the originator of the "english course" in colleges, of which more will be said further on. his department embraced the "ancient languages." the preparatory department was under the control of rev. lorenzo lea, an a. m. of the university of north carolina, and a native of north carolina. his contemporaries spoke well of him as a man of fine accomplishments and skill as a teacher. he also had been a tutor at his _alma mater_. thus equipped, randolph-macon college entered on its career--a career full of unforeseen trials and difficulties. it was to a great extent a new experiment, and the great need of the college, without which few, if any, have ever lived beyond a sickly existence, that is, a proper endowment, was a _desideratum_ unprovided for at this time. the funds on hand and subscriptions did not suffice to supply the buildings necessary and other outfit. other colleges of the methodist church in distant states had entered on the same course. they had gone down or were soon to go down. this one now to be launched, under the good providence and blessing of god, was to survive the chill of poverty and the disasters of war--cast down often, but not destroyed. after over a half-century of struggle it was to anchor in a safe haven. hope kindly blinded the eyes of those who launched the ship and prophesied a prosperous voyage. faith sowed in tears ofttimes, and after many days gathered in the precious harvest. it was to be indeed _alma mater_ to many sons, and daughters, too, and a mother of many other methodist colleges, blessing every state in the south, some of them surpassing in outfit and endowment the mother. as a loving mother rejoices with and in her daughters, so does randolph-macon rejoice in the colleges of the church she has lived to see grow and flourish. before proceeding further, let us look at the location and outfit of the college at the opening day. the first college building erected stood on gently rising ground, one mile west of the village of boydton, in the centre of what had been a race-track. on the north was an "old field," once cultivated, but now partially covered with pine and broom-sedge, a part seamed with gulleys. one splendid sweet-gum tree fronted the west wing. on the south there were small oaks of second growth, just large enough to furnish partial shade. outside of the campus further on were thickets on both sides of the avenue leading to the clarksville road. the campus contained about four acres, and was enclosed by a heavy wooden fence. the style of the building is shown on the opposite page. [illustration: randolph-macon college. _main building, ._] the centre building contained the chapel on the north side--a room about fifty-two feet by thirty-two, with galleries on all sides but one. the other parts of this building were arranged for lecture-rooms, laboratory and halls for the literary societies. the wings of the centre building contained each twenty-four dormitories, each large enough for two occupants. until the professors' houses were built there was not a dwelling-house nearer than boydton. soon after the college was built, an avenue was opened from it to boydton, bringing the college building and the village in sight of each other. clarksville, a town of some importance in the tobacco trade, was twelve miles distant. here was a bank and mercantile and tobacco houses. the country around was such as was usual in the uplands of south-side virginia, fairly productive of tobacco and grain. petersburg was the nearest town of much size. to this town, about seventy miles away, much of the products of the country was wagoned over a dirt road, indifferently good in some seasons and almost impassible in others. the people around the college were kind and hospitable, representative of old virginia in those days, not methodist particularly in their persuasion; the more wealthy inclined to the episcopal church. there was an old methodist church in boydton, but after the college was built the chapel became the worshipping place for the methodists of the community. the preparatory school, a building containing two school-rooms, stood about a mile away from the college. the "steward's hall," a two-story brick building, fronted the college building on the north, intended to afford board for the students. in "old virginia" style, this was several hundred yards distant from the college building. the president's house stood about the same distance away. it was a plain brick building of one story. to the south and southwest other professors' houses were located, all with a sufficiency of land for gardens and lawns. "the hotel" was built soon after the college was opened, about a quarter of a mile to the south, on the clarksville road. this had about a dozen rooms in it, and was intended mainly for the boys at the preparatory school and to accommodate visitors. it will be seen that the building committee had much to do before suitable accommodations could be provided for the professors and students. that many mistakes were made in this work, and in the location of the buildings and other matters, was not to be wondered at. they were the result of inexperience in the men in charge, not of any want of good intention and effort on their part. when it is considered that all the lumber for the buildings had to be sawed by the old-fashioned "pit-saw," and much of the other material had to be wagoned for seventy miles, we must not wonder that two years were consumed in bringing the buildings to partial completion. as the buildings stood when completed, they were as good as those of any other college in the state had, and possibly better. the university of virginia, opened in , had better and more extensive ones. the regular exercises of the college proper commenced on the day appointed, october th, , prof. m. p. parks acting as president, in the absence of president olin. if any account of the opening-day exercises were published it has not come down to us. the first schedule of expenses was as follows: tuition fee for session of ten months, . . . . $ board (meals only), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bedding and washing, . . . . . . . . . . . . . fuel,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lights,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . deposit fee, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . total, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$ the first meeting of the board of trustees after the opening was held february , . at this meeting the following communication from the georgia conference was received: "lagrange, ga. "we feel a deep interest in the success of randolph-macon college. we have full confidence in its moral and literary character and prospects, and we will recommend it to the patronage of all who may be disposed to send their sons or wards beyond the limits of the state to be educated. "we will appoint four trustees agreeable to the proposal made by brother early, the agent of the college, who visited us. whereupon the conference nominated the rev. ignatius few and rev. lovick pierce, members of the conference, and seaborn jones and john c. poythress, esquires, for that purpose. "_resolved_, that the trustees of randolph-macon college be invited through their representative, the rev. john early, to send an agent, whenever they may judge it most suitable, to obtain donations within the conference in aid of the institution; and that brother early be, and he is hereby, invited to take up contributions. "(signed) jno. howard, "_sec'y georgia conference_." the nominees named above were elected trustees of the college. rev. i. a. few and rev. l. pierce were, by resolution of the board, requested to act as agents for the college in the boards of the georgia conference for securing funds for the college. rev. robert g. loving, a. b., was elected assistant teacher in the preparatory school. rev. john early was appointed agent for the college in the place of rev. h. g. leigh, resigned, and rev. w. a. smith was appointed assistant agent in place of rev. william hammett who had signified his intention to resign. the salary of president olin was fixed at $ , . the first report of the faculty, made through its secretary, prof. garland, gave the following points of interest: though the session opened under many difficulties and embarrassments, with buildings not entirely completed, still great satisfaction was expressed at the success attained, and at the spirit and character of the students who attended the first term. a number of these were from the states of north and south carolina and georgia. the progress made in the college course had been marked and satisfactory. the main drawback had been in some cases a want of preparation for the course. the faculty made a strong appeal for apparatus for the natural science department and for a library. in response to this appeal, the board made an appropriation of $ , to the former and $ , to the latter. the first session closed july , . at the close rev. william m. wightman, one of the trustees from south carolina, delivered the first literary address before the students and the public, at the request of the washington literary society. this society had been organized february, . as it has been one of the main features of the college, along with its sister society, the franklin, it will be interesting to give the names of its officers and members from the original records: _president_, robert t. marshall, virginia. _vice-president_, thomas adams, virginia. _secretary_, john g. parks, virginia. _treasurer_, addison lea, north carolina. _collector_, isaac c. croft, south carolina. _censor_, j. g. banks, virginia. _members_. adams, r. e. g., . . . . va. baird, charles w., . . . va. blackwell, thomas, . . . va. coleman, j. j., . . . . va. goode, robert s., . . . va. hamlin, john f., . . . . va. ingram, robt. m., . . . n. c. isbell, thomas m., . . . va. jones, james r., . . . . va. jones, robert t., . . . va. price, nathaniel s., . . va. somerville, r. b., . . . n. c. smith, william b., . . . va. tucker, john e., . . . . va. watkins, j. w.,. . . . . va. williamson, james j.,. . va. williams, james m.,. . . va. winfield, john o., . . . va. winfield, w. s., . . . . va. immediately after the organization the following were introduced and made members: blain, geo. w.,. . . . . va. burney, james, . . . . . n. c. caldwell, john h., . . . n. c. cutler, robert e., . . . va. dorrell, augustus, . . . s. c. drinkard, w. r., . . . . va. du pre, warren,. . . . . s. c. gayle, alex. t., . . . . va. gunn, allen m.,. . . . . n. c. jennings, jona. b.,. . . s. c. lynch, montgomery, . . . va. owen, washington a., . . va. perkins, j. q. a., . . . n. c. stewart, theo.,. . . . . ga. stratton, r. b., . . . . va. to this society was assigned the northeast room on the fourth floor of the centre building. one of the first acts of the society was the formation of a library, which rapidly increased, and in ten years numbered two thousand volumes. not only did the society rapidly accumulate a library, but the hall was fitted up with a beautiful rostrum, president's chair, etc. a full length portrait of washington was purchased, which to this day is the chief ornament of the hall. professor warren du pre, class of , one of the original members, who was a member when this portrait was bought, wrote an account of the inauguration of it to the author, which is worthy of preservation. "martha washington college, "abingdon, va., _may _. "my dear old college friend: i have forgotten the name of the artist, a rising young man in new york, who copied it from a painting belonging to a wealthy gentleman of that city. dr. olin was on a visit to new york, and we put the matter in his hands. the artist was very highly recommended to him by good judges. his price was $ , but when informed by dr. olin that it was for a college literary society, he agreed to deduct one half. the frame, i think, cost $ , and freight about $ , making a total of $ . "dr. olin scolded us for our extravagance, but when the portrait was finished, moderated his wrath. the amount was raised by subscription, altogether, among the members of the society--we numbered then over sixty members, as well as i can recollect. i. c. croft and myself were on the committee, with one other, probably, j. o. wingfield. "when the portrait arrived and was placed in the hall, old john blackwell, with his _horse-collar_ legs (as croft called them) was appointed to unveil it and make a speech. this he did in his peculiar style; and i think old george was pleased with the eulogy delivered on him. "yours truly, "warren du pre." rev. john early, who had been appointed to visit the baltimore annual conference of the m. e. church, reported to the board that the conference had declined to cooperate in the college enterprise, with kind expressions of interest in it. dickinson college had recently been made a methodist college, and the conference preferred to patronize that, it being more accessible to their people. the charter of the college having been amended, so that a president of the board could be elected by that body, rev. john early was elected president. the following resolution was unanimously adopted by the board: "the board take great pleasure in giving a cordial expression of their thanks to the faculty of this institution for the very able and faithful manner in which they have discharged the duties of their several stations. we consider them as having acted on the great principles on which the college was founded, and upon the continuance of which its prosperity in the future depends; and we have full confidence in their ability and disposition to support these principles in their future administration, and they are therefore worthy of the same confidence from the numerous friends and patrons of the college and the warm affection of the young gentlemen who may be placed under their care. "it is the pleasure of the board that these resolutions be read to the students of the college." the second session of the college opened september , , under favorable circumstances. a laboratory and library had been purchased, and the latter had been increased by donations. bishop j. o. andrew had donated forty-three volumes, and judge a. b. longstreet thirty. a few days after the session opened another literary society was formed. it was first styled the union literary society, but on the th of september, at the next meeting, the name was changed to franklin. at the organization george stewart, of georgia, presided, and william c. knight, of virginia, acted as secretary. the following constituted its first regular organization: _president_, james l. brown, virginia. _vice-president_, john a. talley, virginia. _secretary_, george stewart, georgia. _treasurer_, thomas s. jacocks, north carolina. _collector_, joseph b. pannill, virginia. _censor_, francis w. boyd, virginia. _members_. batte, w. c.,. . . . . . va. betts, william s., . . . va. blake, charles h., . . . va. bland, william r., . . . va. blunt, walter f.,. . . . va. boisseau, george f., . . va. carroll, james . . . . . va. claiborne, field,. . . . va. clegg, baxter, . . . . . n. c. clemmons, junius l., . . n. c. davis, arthur, . . . . . va. dortch, isaac f.,. . . . n. c. drinkard, william r.,. . va. evans, augustus c.,. . . n. c. hicks, benjamin l.,. . . va. hite, benjamin w., . . . va. jeffress, luther c., . . va. jones, albert c.,. . . . va. jones, amos w.,. . . . . n. c. jones, john j.,. . . . . n. c. jones, joseph s.,. . . . n. c. knight, william c.,. . . va. mullen, frances n.,. . . n. c. olds, lewis p.,. . . . . n. c. perkins, nathan, . . . . n. c. rose, garland, . . . . . va. stedman, edward, . . . . n. c. stockwell, john m.,. . . va. tillett, john, . . . . . n. c. williams, solomon p.,. . n. c. [illustration: [uncaptioned portrait of william c. knight, inscribed "yours truly, w.c. knight."]] the franklin hall was immediately under the washington, on the third story. the rivalry between these societies was from the first strong, but regulated by conventional rules. the membership took in every student in the college at the beginning and for many years afterwards. there was only one from georgia for many years a member of the washington society, and no one from south carolina was ever a member of the franklin. students from the other states were divided about equally. robert e. cutler, of virginia, gave tone to the oratorical style of the washington, and william f. samford, of georgia, to the franklin. the difference was thought to be observable for thirty years, until the year the societies were temporarily disbanded. no catalogue of students was published in the early years of the college. the only publication made was "_the charter and laws of randolph-macon college, with the names of the trustees and faculty, and the course of studies_. richmond: printed by nesbitt & walker. ." this prescribed four courses in the college, viz., languages (latin and greek), mathematics, natural science, and ethics. upon the completion of these four courses the degree of _bachelor of arts_ was conferred by the trustees, on the recommendation of the faculty. no a. m. degree course was prescribed, but all a. b. men could claim a. m. degrees who could show that they had continued their studies or pursued courses of professional study for three years. dr. stephen olin, president-elect, gave up his place at franklin college, georgia, december, , and made his preparations to take the presidency at randolph-macon. of this move he wrote bishop i. o. andrew: "upon the whole, i trust the hand of god is in these indications, and that our church will see and obey it. my vocation may have given a wrong bias to my views, but i must regard the subject of education as the highest after the living ministry; nor do i believe it possible for our church to maintain its ground, to say nothing of its fulfilling its high obligation to christ and the world, without a great and immediate reformation. i was never so convinced that we must educate our own youth in our own schools, and there is no work to which i so desire to consecrate myself." on his way to virginia he visited the south carolina conference at charleston. here he ably advocated the college and secured a pledge from the conference to endow a professorship, the first we hear of endowment. the whole journey was made in his private carriage, his wife accompanying him. to her he dictated his "inaugural address," which she wrote out. reaching the college after a long and tedious journey, he delivered the address in the college chapel. this address produced a profound impression on those who heard and on those who read it. it was published in the journals of the day, and was highly praised. governor tazewell said he had "never heard or read any similar address of equal ability so well suited to such an occasion." it is well worthy of republication in this history, but space will not permit. to show its chief point, the following extracts are given: "in proportion as virtue is more valuable than knowledge, pure and enlightened morality will be regarded by every considerate father the highest recommendation of a literary institution. the youth is withdrawn from the salutary restraints of parental influence and authority and committed to other guardians at a time of life most decisive of his prospects and destinies. the period devoted to education usually impresses its own character upon all his future history. vigilant supervision, employment and seclusion from all facilities and temptations to vice are the ordinary and essential securities which every institution of learning is bound to provide for the sacred interests which are committed to its charge. but safeguards and negative provisions are not sufficient. the tendencies of our nature are retrograde, and they call for the interposition of positive remedial influences. the most perfect human society speedily degenerates if the active agencies which were employed in its elevation are once withdrawn or suspended. what, then, can be expected of inexperienced youth sent forth from the atmosphere of domestic piety and left to the single support of its own untested and unsettled principles in the midst of circumstances which often prove fatal to the most practiced virtue! i frankly confess that i see no safety but in the preaching of the cross and in a clear and unfaltering exhibition of the doctrines and sanctions of christianity.... christianity is our birthright. it is the richest inheritance bequeathed us by our noble fathers. are the guardians of public education alone 'halting between two opinions'? do they think that, in fact and for practical purposes, the truth of christianity is still a debatable question? is it still a question whether the generations yet to rise up and occupy the wide domain of this great empire, to be representatives of our name, our freedom, and our glory before the nations of the earth, shall be a christian or infidel people? can wise and practical men, who are engaged in rearing up a temple of learning to form the character and destinies of their posterity, for a moment hesitate to make 'jesus christ the chief corner-stone'?" when president olin took charge of the college he found the system of departments somewhat elective. this was changed on his recommendation, to a curriculum of four classes, by the unanimous vote of the faculty. at the annual meeting of the board, june, , an additional college building was ordered to be built, a four story brick one, to contain thirty-two dormitories, adjacent to the main building. this was to supply rooms for the increased number of students. the salaries of full professors was fixed at $ , . the following resolution was adopted: "that whereas the south carolina and georgia conferences have manifested a deep interest in the permanent establishment of randolph-macon college by each agreeing to raise a sum sufficient to endow a professorship, and in consideration of which professorships they ask the privilege of sending, perpetually, the former conference five and the latter seven students, to be educated free of tuition fees; and whereas we highly appreciate the generous spirit of said conferences, therefore we hereby agree to receive ten from each of these conferences free of tuition fees." as further evidence of the interest felt by these conferences, it was noted that rev. w. m. wightman, of south carolina, and dr. lovick pierce and mr. e. sinclair, of georgia, attended the meeting of the board at this session. at the annual meeting held june, , professor e. d. sims was granted leave to visit europe to prosecute the study of modern languages, and particularly anglo-saxon and gothic, preparatory to the more thorough teaching of the english language. this, so far as we know, was the first move made by any college in america, and marks an epoch in that department. prof. j. b. henneman, in the _sewanee review_, in a sketch of the teaching of english, in american colleges, gives the credit of inaugurating the english course to randolph-macon college. a distinct and special effort was made at this meeting of the board to endow a professorship, and the president of the board made a subscription towards it of two hundred dollars. this was to be called the virginia conference scholarship. to fill the vacancy caused by prof. sims' absence in europe, rev. george f. pierce, of georgia, was elected professor of languages. [illustration: john c. blackwell, d. d., (a. b. ).] at this commencement the first degree of a. b. was conferred. the recipient was john c. blackwell, of lunenburg county. he was a typical alumnus, the leader of a great host that followed him, who lived to bless the world by their example and teaching. beginning his active life after graduation as a tutor in randolph-macon college, he continued to teach until he became enfeebled by age. he founded the "hinton hill academy" in his native county, and taught there for nine years. he was then, in , elected president of the "buckingham female institute," a school for girls, founded by the virginia annual conference, one of the best, as it was the first, built by the church, in the state. he was, after this school was broken up by the war, made president of the petersburg female college. this, too, was broken up by the war. after the war he was elected professor of chemistry in randolph-macon college, just prior to the removal of the college to ashland. he closed a long and useful life as president of the "danville school for young ladies." during all his active life he was a local minister of the methodist episcopal church, and preached as he had opportunity. he received the degree of doctor of divinity from his alma mater. the number of young people brought into the church through his instruinentality have been counted by the hundred. the first to receive a degree, he was the first alumnus to have a son and a grandson to receive the same. he died february , . he was elected tutor in the college june, . changes had occurred during the year. fisher a. foster had been elected principal of the preparatory school in place of lorenzo lea. rev. jno. a. miller and rev. john kerr had been elected assistant agents in place of rev. w. a. smith and rev. thos. crowder. the treasurer, john w. lewis, had died during the year: beverly sydnor was elected in his place. bishop j. o. andrew was elected a trustee in place of major speer, of south carolina: hugh a. harland in place of j. w. lewis, deceased, and m. m. dance in place of green penn, resigned. college year - this year was successful under the guidance of president olin, who was still in feeble health. [illustration: rev. alfred t. mann, a. b., d. d. _an effective minister in the georgia conference sixty years ago._] prof. m. p. parks resigned at the close of the session; prof. garland was transferred from the chair of natural science to fill the vacancy thus made. robert tolfree, of new york, took prof. garland's chair. rev. mr. tomlinson was elected to the chair of english literature. the degree of a. b. was conferred june, , on the following graduates: john o. winfield, virginia; addison lea, north carolina; robert s. goode, virginia; charles w. baird, virginia; alfred t. mann, georgia; thomas m. isbell, virginia. so feeble had the health of dr. olin becoine that he asked, in june, , leave of absence to visit europe, which was granted with great reluctance by the board. the following quotation from the _life and letters of president olin_ is given as a closing reference to his presidency. he saw the college for the last time march, : "the last commencement at which dr. olin presided during his connection with randolph-macon college was in june, .... "the conviction grew upon him, from many unmistakable indications, that his health must rapidly break up, unless a year or two of retirement from intellectual labor and all kinds of mental excitement, and devoted to foreign travel, should, under the blessing of god, restore him. the return of cool weather in the autumn and approaching winter failed to recruit his shattered nerves or restore his health. his course was then at once decided on. after making several ineffectual efforts to have his place supplied, he consented, at the earnest wish of the board of trustees, to retain at least a formal connection with the college while in europe, leaving the future, then so uncertain, open to the indications of providence. to supply the vacancy in the faculty, an additional officer was elected, and professor garland was appointed chairman of the faculty and president _pro tempore_.... "the day of his departure came. his last interview with the faculty was very touching. he was too feeble to sit up, but, reclining on a couch, he spent some half-hour in conversation respecting the affairs of the college. he felt satisfied, from the lengthened experiment he had made, that there was little or no hope of his being able to do efficient labor in a southern climate, even though his health might be improved somewhat by his contemplated voyage. although the board of trustees had declined to accept his resignation, and had given him as long a furlough as the exigencies of his health might require, yet he was persuaded that the time of his final departure from randolph-macon had come. it was very doubtful whether he should ever again see the face of any of his colleagues. his parting words had all the tenderness and dignity of a christian who bowed with uncomplaining submission to the will of god--of a philosopher who looked calmly at the future, whatever its developments might be, whether bright or dark--of a friend who was about to carry with him the warm attachments of a heart alive to every generous sentiment and affectionate impulse. at the close of the interview his brother officers, with moistened eyes, knelt around his couch, and professor wightman, at his request, offered up a fervent prayer to the throne of the heavenly mercy, that god would graciously preserve in his holy keeping the life of their brother and friend, restore his health, and bring him back to his native land, prepared for greater usefulness than ever to the church and cause of christ. "at the close of this affecting interview the doctor was supported to his carriage, and left the college, never to see it again. his presidency had been a brief but brilliant period in its fortunes. he had manifested the highest adaptation to the responsible office which he held there. his unrivaled judgment, his shining talents, his far-seeing sagacity, his prudence in administration and firmness in government, his masterly grasp of influence, wielded for the highest good of the young men who came from far and near, attracted by the prestige of his name, his genuine love of learning, and enthusiasm in communicating knowledge, formed a combination of great qualities very rarely met with in men of even the highest reputation. no student or graduate of the college who enjoyed the benefits of a personal acquaintance with dr. olin will think the foregoing estimate of his worth as a presiding officer strained or overstated in the least particular." professor hardy, of la grange college, alabama, who was a student at randolph-macon college during dr. olin's administration, has retained the following distinct remembrances of him: "dr. olin left the college of randolph-macon in the spring of , a few months before the class of which i was a member took their first degree. we waited on him in a body, and asked him to put his signature to our diplomas, for we cherished for him a filial affection, and felt that his name was indispensable. many youthful hearts were sad the day he left the college for his european tour. the students met in chapel, adopted appropriate resolutions, and appointed two of their number to attend him to the railroad, a distance of sixty miles. he was worn down by disease, and we had no expectation of seeing his face again. he rode in his carriage on a bed, and preferred to go with no one attending him save his faithful, devoted wife. we bade him farewell, as children shake the hand of their dying father, and we saw him no more." this was the marked event in the history of the college for the fifth year, -' . professor l. c. garland was made president _pro tempore_. rev. mr. tomlinson having declined to accept the chair of english literature, rev. william m. wightman was elected to it, and accepted it. professor david duncan was elected professor of languages in place of rev. geo. f. pierce who had declined to accept it. [illustration: rev. w.m. wightman, d. d.] professor william m. wightman was an alumnus of charleston college, south carolina, and a member of the south carolina conference. he took the chair of english literature and rhetoric which professor e. d. sims was expected to fill after his return from europe. he was a man of decided talent and culture, and was in the prime of life, and well fitted for the work assigned him. he remained until professor sims returned from europe, and then returned to south carolina. he filled other very important and prominent positions in after years, viz.: the editor's chair of the _south carolina christian advocate_, the presidency of wofford college, spartanburg, s. c., and the southern university, greensboro, ala. while at the latter he was elected, in , bishop of the methodist episcopal church, south, in which office he served till his death, february , . he received the degree of d. d. from randolph-macon college. [illustration: professor david duncan, a. m.] professor david duncan was a native of ireland, and a graduate of glasgow university, scotland. at the time of his election to the chair of ancient languages he was conducting a flourishing classical school in the city of norfolk, va. the whole of an extended manhood was spent in teaching, the prime of it from to . to his high scholarship was added a singularly genuine character and gentlemanly and genial deportment, which made him acceptable to his associates and popular with his classes. he was brimming full always with wit and humor. he was the father of rev. j. a. duncan, d. d., president of randolph-macon college, - and bishop w. w. duncan of the methodist episcopal church, south. he died at wofford college, where he was professor of ancient languages, in . the year -' was marked by the first report of the raising of a considerable instalment of the proposed virginia conference endowment of a professorship. rev. jno. early reported eighty-seven subscribers of two hundred dollars each, making $ , . it was also a prosperous and satisfactory year in college work. the report of the faculty made to the trustees referred with emphasis to the good deportment and studiousness which had characterized the student body during the closing session. their report also for the first time indicated the distinctions in the graduating class, which were as follows: . james w. hardy, . . . . . . . . . . georgia. . francis n. mullen,. . . . . . . . . north carolina. . junius l. clemons,. . . . . . . . . north carolina. . lewis w. cabell,. . . . . . . . . . virginia. . robert m. ingram, . . . . . . . . . virginia. . warren du pre,. . . . . . . . . . . south carolina. adams, richard e. g., . . . . . . . virginia. beard, clough s., . . . . . . . . . south carolina. blain, george w., . . . . . . . . . virginia. croft, isaac c.,. . . . . . . . . . south carolina gee, jesse, . . . . . . . . . . . . virginia. horseley, william a., . . . . . . . virginia. montgomery, henry t., . . . . . . . virginia. samford, william f.,. . . . . . . . georgia. stewart, theophilus,. . . . . . . . georgia. williamson, james j., . . . . . . . virginia. in all sixteen. the first-honor man pronounced the valedictory address; the second-honor man, the latin salutatory; the third, the philosophical. [illustration: professor warren du pre, a. m. _tutor at randolph-macon college; professor at wofford college, south carolina; president martha washington female college, virginia._] college year -' . this year, under the presidency of professor landon c. garland, acting president, the college made good progress. in the annual report of the faculty made to the trustees june, , they say: "the past year has been one of peculiar interest and pleasure on account of the highly respectable conduct and praiseworthy diligence of the students generally, the number of whom has amounted to one hundred and ten in the college, and over fifty in the preparatory school." on the recommendation of the faculty the following degrees were conferred, viz.: _bachelor of arts_. . john t. brame, . . . . . . . . . . . north carolina. . edward h. myers, . . . . . . . . . . florida. . james r. thomas, . . . . . . . . . . georgia. . ezekiel a. blanch, . . . . . . . . . virginia. . john w. leak,. . . . . . . . . . . . north carolina. . francis a. connor, . . . . . . . . . south carolina. baxter clegg,. . . . . . . . . . . . north carolina. george f. eppes, . . . . . . . . . . south carolina. james m. fitts,. . . . . . . . . . . north carolina, chris. d. hill,. . . . . . . . . . . north carolina. thos. j. koger,. . . . . . . . . . . south carolina. henry e. lockett,. . . . . . . . . . virginia. john a. orgain,. . . . . . . . . . . virginia. thos. b. russell,. . . . . . . . . . south carolina. james r. washington, . . . . . . . . north carolina. james. w. wightman,. . . . . . . . . south carolina. _master of arts: (honorary)_. rev. george f. pierce, . . . . . . . georgia. prof. david duncan,. . . . . . . . . virginia. gabriel p. disosway, . . . . . . . . new york. _doctor of divinity_. rev. thomas jackson, . . . . . . . . england. steps were taken by the board to endow the fourth professorship in the college. [illustration: rev. james r. thomas, ll. d., _president emory college, georgia._] rev. john early, agent, reported that further efforts to endow a professorship by the georgia conference would be suspended, that conference having resolved to establish a college in its bounds. the amount reported as raised on said endowment was $ , . he also reported the amount of endowment raised in virginia as $ , . at this meeting we have reported the first intimation of financial embarrassment in the affairs of the college. notwithstanding this the salaries of the full professors were raised to $ per year. the acting president, landon c. garland, was appointed to prepare an address on the pecuniary condition of the college, the same to be published in the papers. professor e. d. sims having returned from europe, rev. william m. wightman, professor of english literature, tendered his resignation, which was received with complimentary resolutions to him for his efficient services. prof. wightman returned to his native state, south carolina, and to the itinerant ministry. the faculty as reorganized for the session of -' was as follows, viz.: landon c. garland, a. m., professor of mathematics, and acting president. edward d. sims, a. m., professor of english literature and oriental language. david duncan, a. m., professor of ancient languages. james w. hardy, a. b., professor of experimental sciences. ezekiel a. blanch, a. b., tutor. solomon lea, a. m., principal of preparatory school. this college year was marked by the first serious rupture between the faculty and the students. the occasion was a requirement made on the senior class to attend a recitation on the "evidences of christianity" on monday morning before breakfast. the result was the leaving of a number of students involved in the contest. at the close of the year, june, , the annual report of the faculty made to the board gave the following item: "the affairs of the college for the session have proceeded with tolerable prosperity and quietness." the following were recommended for the degree of a. b., june, , and the same received it: amos w. jones, . . . . . . . . . north carolina. charles w. burnley,. . . . . . . virginia. josiah f. askew, . . . . . . . . georgia. thomas h. garnett, . . . . . . . virginia. james f. smith,. . . . . . . . . south carolina. william h. batte,. . . . . . . . virginia. [illustration: rev. a.w. jones, d. d., _for fifty years president of the memphis conf. female college._] the resignation of president stephen olin, tendered in , was accepted at the meeting of the board, all hope of his returning to the college having been abandoned. prof. landon c. garland was then elected by unanimous vote president, and he accepted the office. prof. david duncan was elected rector of the preparatory school, and amos w. jones, a. b., principal. william l. harris was elected a tutor of the lower classes in languages. [illustration: landon cabell garland, ll. d.] on motion of rev. john early, the following resolution was adopted: "that, as soon as practicable, the trustees of randolph-macon college will establish a normal school as a department in the college, in which a good and liberal education can be obtained, and which, in its organization, shall be especially fitted to educate students for common-school teachers, and that the professor of english literature be the rector of said school." this action of the board, showing such remarkable foresight and wisdom, ought to be emphasized. so far as the state of virginia is concerned, it is believed to have been the first move in the establishment of a normal department for fitting teachers for their special work. many years afterward ( ) the state established such a school. the first established in the united states was in the year . this important move was never fully and specifically carried into operation, for the same reason which forbade other projects of the board--that is, want of means. another important step taken at this meeting was the action in regard to the issue of scholarships. at the previous annual meeting a resolution was adopted providing that any person paying $ into the treasury of randolph-macon college shall be entitled to send one student free of tuition fees so long as he shall live or have a son to educate; and any minister who shall collect and pay into the treasury a like sum shall be entitled to the like privilege. at the meeting in this action was rescinded, and the following was enacted: on motion of john early, "_resolved_, that any person who shall pay into the hands of the treasurer five hundred dollars, or any minister who shall collect and pay into the hands of the treasurer five hundred dollars, shall be entitled to a scholarship in randolph-macon college in perpetuity, and all persons who have agreed to take scholarships at $ shall be entitled to the benefit of this resolution. "_resolved_, that any person who shall secure by bond or otherwise five hundred dollars, the principal of which shall be paid within five years, and who shall pay the interest semi-annually, shall be entitled to a scholarship in perpetuity, but the certificate of scholarship shall not be issued until the principal is paid." this was an unfortunate move, because it never brought into the treasury the amount it was expected to bring--not exceeding eight thousand dollars. the evident intention that such scholarship should be considered as an "heir-loom" in the family was in the years after the war, never before, violated, and parties bought them on speculation, getting money-rent for them, when such a course was never contemplated. when they were issued, fees were $ per session. since the war fees have been $ . my readers will pardon me for here giving some personal recollections, inasmuch as it was in i matriculated as a student of the college. mounted on my black filly, i, with several from my native county, nottoway, made the journey of forty miles to boydton, where we were guests of col. george rodgers, who then kept the boydton hotel. he was then, and for years afterwards, a great friend and liberal benefactor to the college. the next morning i saw the belfry of the college in the distance for the first time. the same day i took up my abode in "texas," a portion of the western building, so-called. to a boy not quite fourteen, the experiences of matriculation, examination for entrance, and for the first time coming into contact with young men from distant states, can never be forgotten. "hazing" was then unknown, though it was not uncommon for some of the "green ones" to have a little fun poked at them. we had four classes: freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior. to the "fresh," the "seniors" looked very dignified, and the latter usually felt their dignity, but generally bore it gracefully. the seniors and juniors generally did most of the debating in the society halls, and generally dealt most in "calico." the student body at this time was composed very largely of men from states south of virginia, the senior class of that year having been wholly from south carolina and georgia. at this session professor landon c. garland was inaugurated a full president, after having acted as such since dr. olin left for europe. we looked up to him with marked reverence, though he was not quite thirty years old. it was his dignity of character which caused us to do this. few men ever possessed more than he. no man ever trifled in president garland's lecture-room. the rules of discipline were felt rather than seen. his familiar designation was "old landon." president sims was much like president garland in his official character and conduct. he was a high man in person and every way. thoroughly imbued with the love of his native english, he threw his heart and mind into his teaching. unable to get text-books in anglo-saxon, he wrote the elementary exercises on the blackboard. some of these are remembered to this day. we did not realize nor appreciate the fact that our classes were the first in a course which is now magnified in all the colleges and universities in the land. professor duncan was the genial, humor-loving irishman. his shillalah was ever ready for any exposed head, but he had no murderous intent, and did not mind when the subject hit back, but rather enjoyed a repartee. a broad smile always foretold his sally of wit, and sometimes it was so slow coming that the victim would have time to "cut." dear, dear "old pad," as we called him, it was hard to say whether he enjoyed most his fun with the boys or his ancient languages, with the love of which he seemed to be fully saturated. a kinder heart never beat in human frame. "old jim" (hardy) presided in the laboratory on the third story. he was a third-story man every way. though a young man, and the first alumnus of the college made a full professor, his manner was austere, and hence he had but little popularity with the students. some excuse for his so appearing was due to the fact that he had to study hard to keep up with the expectations of his classes. "old zeke" (blanch) our tutor in mathematics, was a fine instructor and bright every way. he, too, was fond of humor when out of his lecture-room, but very strict while in it. oh! for a dickens to picture tutor harris. pardon me for taking up more room with him than is given all the rest. but such a character is not often found, and deserves the space he takes. my first classical instructor was one of the tutors. he was the first virginia university man ever elected to fill a chair at the old college. deeply imbued with a love for his subjects, he looked upon the ancient languages as having, potatoe-like, the best parts at the root. the "particle" was his especial delight. so much absorbed was he in discoursing on it, that he was not particular whether his pupils listened or not. they might go to sleep or do anything, so they did not break the thread of his lecture. it was amazing to see how many learned authorities in the shape of books he would daily lug to the room. doubtless this digging at the root was very deep and thorough--too much so for the average "fresh." some of the most scholarly appreciated the exercise, or pretended to do so. to the latter the tutor mainly directed his attention. not only did the tutor pursue this absorbing search indoors, but it seemed to monopolize all his thoughts, even while going to his meals and returning. it made him oblivious to all else for the time being. he would, while thus absorbed in thought, kick a chip before him for a mile, and would not recognize the best friend he might meet in the way. all he asked then was the full "right of way." his abstraction or absent-mindedness was exhibited in many ways. some mischief-lover barred up his door one morning and thus made him tardy at recitation hour, which gave occasion to the boys to "cut"--that is, leave and miss recitation. he went to the president and said, "sir! is there any way to have a young man up, when you don't know who he is?" the president was a great mathematician, but he could not solve that problem. "sheep-ear" collars were in fashion in those days, just the reverse of those now or lately fashionable--i mean those with turned-down points and rising high at the back of the neck, making one look like he had on a mustard-plaster. the "sheep-ear" collars had points with acutest angles, which came up to the corners of a man's mouth. when starched and stiffened they looked as if great danger would be incurred by a sudden turn of the head. now just picture to yourself a sober-looking man coming into a parlor in the morning with these "sheep-ears" pointing to the back of the neck instead of to the front, and you will realize how very peculiar the tutor looked one morning when he came down. this i was eye-witness of, and if i laughed i hope no one will accuse me of want of due respect. it could not be helped, certainly by one who has been known to enjoy a hearty spell at times. the tutor was by no means a _pharisee_ in spirit, for he was one of the "meek of the earth." but his inveterate habit made him liable to be pronounced as pharisaic. when officiating at public prayers in the chapel he would sometimes forget that after prayer came recitation or lecture and then breakfast, and his prayer would seem to be interminable. knowing his absence of mind, one morning while thus engaged some good-intentioned or irreverent fellow prompted him by a hearty _amen!_ this brought the prayer to a speedy conclusion, but the tutor was highly displeased--so much so that he sent for the most mischievous one of the auditors, whom he naturally charged with the offence, and said to him, "mr. blaze, i have sent for you, sir! to say to you that _you shan't say amen_ to my prayers." the tutor was very economical--some would say, penurious. not so. he was generous and warm-hearted--as much so as an old bachelor could be. a true christian, he felt it to be his duty to save every dime he could, that he might have the more to meet the demands of charity. this conviction caused him to discard pins as extravagant. in his room would be seen what adam and eve used when their first garments were donned, to furnish which conveniently he kept a thorn bush hung up behind his door. this he kept up until he was convinced that the damage thus caused to one's collar exceeded the cost of pins. candles being expensive, he thought the twilight sufficient to enable him to make up his morning toilet. this economy, combined with his other besetting habit, got him into a most ludicrous scrape. it happened thus: in writing out his voluminous notes he used many quill pens, which from time to time accumulated on his table. he took these--quite a number--one night, just before retiring, and washed them in his bowl, leaving the water in the bowl very much the color of the _blue_ ink he was wont to use. the next morning in the dimness of twilight he failed to observe this discolored fluid when he went to perform his ablutions; when he finished he was blue--yes, very blue. not taking time to look into his glass, he went to the chapel and took his place on the rostrum ready to officiate at the appointed hour, wholly unconscious of the very remarkable visage he wore, and thus unprepared for the scene which was to follow. as the boys dropped in each one would stop, and look, and wonder, and then break out into most uproarious laughter, as perfectly uncontrollable as a storm in its fury. there was no use to attempt to be devout that morning. how the tutor got through with the reading and the prayer i can't say, but i fear he was not in a very devotional mood himself. how could he be when every one was laughing, while he could not see what was making them laugh. he was utterly disgusted with such rudeness and irreverence. but he did get through. when some one informed him of his cadaverous appearance, he suddenly recollected the blue pens he had washed in his bowl. then it was his turn to laugh, and laugh he did with a vim. but lest i weary you, i will here conclude this reminiscence of the olden times by saying that with all the oddities of this old tutor i still cherish the highest respect for his character as a good and deeply pious man. "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see god." i doubt not that he will be of that number in the great day when the jewels are counted. [illustration: prof. david s. doggett, a. m.] these made the faculty of - . in the latter year rev. david s. doggett succeeded professor sims in the english course. he was an eloquent preacher, in the prime of life, a diligent student, and dignified in his deportment. the pulpit was his place of power, and he did not remain long away from it. he was afterwards a bishop in the church, after having served the church as editor of the _methodist review_ for a number of years. so much for the professors and tutors. what of the students under them? taking the men who received degrees during the five years - , it is pleasant, though it may seem invidious, to mention a part where it is not possible to name all. the first name in the roll of his class ( ), and the first in honor, david clopton, of georgia, made his mark at college, and his after life was what his college life predicted. he represented the montgomery (alabama) district in the united states congress prior to the war, and the same district in the confederate states congress. afterwards he served for many years as associate justice of the supreme court of alabama. he was also very prominent in the church. james f. dowdell, of georgia, was a member of the united states congress from alabama prior to the war, and was a local preacher of the methodist episcopal church, south. tennent lomax, of south carolina, also moved to alabama. he was editor, soldier in the mexican war, and was prominent in politics. he was killed while leading his regiment into battle at seven pines, virginia, may, , just after having received a commission as brigadier-general. james l. pierce was an eloquent speaker, a doctor of divinity, and president of lagrange (georgia) female college. in this connection it might be interesting to mention that clopton's roommate was robert lanier, of macon, ga., a member of the sophomore class. he and burwell harrison, also of georgia, married virginia ladies, whose acquaintance they formed while they were at college. lanier's son, sidney, has been called the "poet laureate of the south." coming to the next class ( ), george b. jones, first-honor man, was a fine scholar, but turned from teaching to business life. he was killed at petersburg in , while defending his city in kautz's attack on it. thomas h. campbell was a distinguished lawyer, served in both houses of the general assembly of virginia, and was president of the southside railroad company. edward wadsworth was a prominent minister in virginia and alabama, a doctor of divinity, and president of the southern university, greensboro, ala. in the class of , thomas c. johnson, of virginia, first-honor man, became a prominent lawyer in st. louis, mo., and a member of the legislature of that state. after the war he served two years as president of randolph-macon college ( -' , -' ). william g. connor, d. d., of south carolina, was for many years a prominent minister of the methodist episcopal church, south, in texas. ira i. crenshaw, of virginia, was tutor in randolph-macon college several years, and professor at the female institute, buckingham, va., and a minister of the virginia conference. dr. samuel d. saunders was professor at the southwestern university. georgetown, texas, for a number of years. of the class of , george w. benagh, of virginia, first-honor man, was a professor at the university of alabama, succeeding dr. landon c. garland, his old preceptor. he died young by accidental drowning. edward s. brown, of virginia, an eminent lawyer and member of the virginia legislature, is still an active, vigorous man ( ). william h. lawton was a faithful itinerant in the south carolina conference for nearly fifty years. richard h. powell was a prominent man in church and state for many years in his state (alabama). a number of the members of this class died in early manhood. coming down to my own class ( ). this class in the freshman year numbered thirty-three. of these only nine took degrees. four others came in after the opening year, making total graduates thirteen. john lyon, of petersburg, was the first-honor man of this class. he entered the class in the junior year, when he was in his sixteenth year. before his entrance there were several candidates for the first honor. it was not long before their hopes began to fail. he was precocious, but his precocity was not short-lived, as it so frequently is. mathematics, the great rock on which so many aspiring men were wrecked, was apparently a pastime with him. president garland, a natural-born mathematician, had no mercy on men not like gifted with himself. his course was beyond the power of nine out of ten. john lyon was the one of ten, and was head and shoulders above all the others in the class in this course, while not equal to others in other courses, but high in all. his brilliancy made him in after life a successful lawyer. he died in washington, november, , aged seventy. the second-honor man was william c. doub, of north carolina. he was an untiring student, gifted especially in the acquisition of language. he was a teacher all his life, having spent the most of it as professor in trinity college, north carolina, and greensboro female college. he was very prominent in the methodist church. he died in the high noon of life. the third-honor man, william m. cabell, of virginia, was a man of clear-cut intellect, and he had the power of concentration in a high degree. this power was shown in his early life, and afterwards made him distinguished and feared at the bar and in the virginia legislature. he is still living ( ). the fourth-honor man was holland nimmons mctyeire. brought by his old preceptor, james r. thomas, to randolph-macon, when otherwise he might have gone to a state school, he entered the sophomore class in . college life was no pastime for him. his ambition would make it a stepping-stone to high position--as at first desired and designed--in the state. like dr. olin, no place lower than the highest would satisfy his ambition. to attain to this, all the power of an iron will moving the enginery of a somewhat slow but giant mind was bent and made subject. had not a change come to divert him from his original intention, he would doubtless have become as notable in the councils and courts of the state as he became in the church. when he first came to college he appeared indifferent in church matters, though it was known he was a member. whether this was the result of a lapsed religious life, or was the result of a struggle to still the promptings of conscience, is not known. but the call to a higher life, heard, doubtless, before, but a while unheeded, was emphasized in one of those sweeping revivals which dr. olin valued more than laws of discipline, and which he pronounced as indispensable in college work. worldly ambition ceased to be the mainspring of his action, and he began to seek to "have the mind which was in christ." but it was no easy work to bend such a will in a new direction. it was like turning the mighty steamship on a different course. the passion to rule men around him, the gift of so doing (and it is the greatest gift with which man is endowed), was constantly asserting itself. it probably was "strong in death," but it was tempered and sanctified to other than selfish ends by that good spirit which subdued a luther, a st. paul, and a john knox. what randolph-macon did for mctyeire in strengthening his mental powers for what he was to become as editor and bishop and builder of a great university, in sobering and elevating his ambition and aspirations, and fitting him for the work he was called to do in and for the church, cannot be computed. he has made his mark as high as any son of his alma mater, possibly higher than any other. space will not allow me to dwell upon the names of thomas h. rogers, of virginia, for a while a tutor in the college, afterwards m. d.; of richard s. parham, of virginia, a clever student and lawyer, who died in the prime of life, in his adopted state, tennessee; of "judge" fanning, of georgia, the frequent butt of prof. duncan's wit, who was said (poor fellow) to have chewed his brains out along with his teeth; of b. f. simmons, a prominent young lawyer, who died prematurely, and of willie m. person, a m. d., who also died young. john howard has been since early youth a prominent lawyer in richmond, ranking very high in his profession. he was noted when at college for his love for, and proficiency in, english literature and composition. he is still living ( ). of my most intimate friend in the class, archibald clark, i quote what bishop mctyeire wrote of him: "the most useful local preacher in southern georgia, is what his presiding elder said of him." among those who were students with me at the college, but left without taking degrees, the following were the most notable: william t. howard, of virginia, who became a distinguished physician and professor in the university of maryland; lucius i. gartrell, of georgia, who became one of the foremost lawyers of his state, and a general in the confederate army; chas. e. hooker, of south carolina, attorney-general of the state of mississippi, colonel in the confederate army, and for many years a member of congress; colonel joel b. leftwich, of virginia, for a number of years a member of the general assembly of virginia; smith w. moore, of north carolina, a doctor of divinity in the memphis conference, author of several books, and poet. he was associated with bishop mctyeire on the board of trust during the early years of the vanderbilt university. james n. ramsey, of georgia, colonel in the confederate army; robert ridgway, of virginia, the brilliant editor of the _richmond whig_, and member of congress from virginia; walter l. steele, of north carolina, a member of congress, and prominent in business and state, matters; w. l. blanton, a minister of the virginia conference, eloquent and zealous, who died in early manhood; james d. crawley, a most estimable man, and a local minister for many years; w. k. blake, of north carolina, a prominent merchant in spartanburg, s. c., and trustee of wofford college; john wesley williams, a member of the virginia conference, whose useful life was early cut short by consumption. nearly all of my college-mates sleep in the dust of the earth. many of them were "wise, and shall shine as the brightness of the firmament," and some "turned many to righteousness," and shall "shine as the stars, forever and ever." [illustration: gen. tennent lomax, class . _killed at seven pines, va., ._] we go back now and take up the record regularly. at the close of the session of -' the report of the faculty notes the year as successful, and makes mention of the introduction of anglo-saxon into the course as the basis of the proper study of english. the bible was also recommended as a part of the course of study. at this meeting the first legacy to the college, made by rev. robert c. jones, of $ , , was reported. [illustration: david clopton, ll. d.] the following degrees were conferred june, : a. b. david clopton, of georgia. james f. dowdell, of georgia. burwell k. harrison, of ga. james l. pierce, of georgia. tennent lomax, of s. c. woodson l. ligon, of s. c. a. m. john c. blackwell, of va. r. e. g. adams, of virginia. j. w. hardy, of georgia. f. n. mullen, of n. c. john tillet, of north carolina. junius l. clemons, of n. c. warren du pre, of s. c. [illustration: d'arcy paul] the "centennial of methodism" occurred in , and was celebrated by the church. considerable collections were taken up during the year to increase the endowment of the college. this year a name, _clarum et nobile_, appeared for the first time on the records of the board, d'arcy paul, of petersburg. in the good providence of god, he was permitted to act as trustee for many years, and to exert a great influence in saving the college from financial wreck. at the time of his election he was a leading methodist in his city, and probably the most prominent layman in the state. as a merchant, he had been very successful, and enjoyed the unbounded confidence of the business world. his liberality towards all church and benevolent enterprises was such as probably had never before been witnessed in virginia. he was by birth a native of ireland, but his whole life, except his early boyhood, had been spent in virginia, and no son "to the manner born" was more enthusiastic in pushing forward all interests that enured to its welfare. when he accepted the place of trustee his heart and hand and credit were put at the service of the college. taking the helm of the ship as financial and investing agent, he held it for nearly thirty years, and it is not going too far to say that to him, more than to any other man, the college owes its continuation to the day when age and feebleness forced him to turn over to other hands the trust he had so long and faithfully borne on his shoulders. if it had the means, it should erect a monument to perpetuate his memory. happy am i here to pay this feeble tribute to his worth, and to give the portrait, faint representation, though it be, of one who is worthy of all the honors that could be bestowed on him. his form was so erect that age could not bend it. his character, which beamed forth in a face of more than usual manly beauty, was still more true to the line of truth and righteousness. [illustration: edward wadsworth, d. d., _president of the southern university, ala._] the report of the faculty for the year ending june, -' , makes favorable mention of the work of the session and of the conduct and scholarship of the students. the financial condition of the college was found to be such as to call for an address asking of the patronizing conferences needed relief. the degrees conferred at the close of the year were: a. b. george b. jones, virginia. thomas b. gordon, georgia. robert c. gilliam, s. c. william h. denton, s. c. william h. bass, virginia. marcellus stanley, georgia. thos. s. arthur, s. carolina. thos. h. campbell, virginia. thomas h. jones, virginia. wm. w. hereford, mississippi samuel b. scott, virginia. edward wadsworth, n. c. oliver p. williams, s. c. a. m. charles w. baird, virginia. theophilus stewart, georgia. john t. brame, n. carolina. edward h. myers, florida. james m. fitts, n. carolina. henry e. lockett, virginia. james r. thomas, georgia. ezekiel a. blanch, virginia. george w. blain, virginia. year -' . at a called meeting of the board held april, , prof. e. d. sims tendered his resignation. the law of virginia at that time prohibited a person from marrying the sister of his deceased wife. the professor was about to marry miss andrews, the sister of his former wife, daughter of prof. andrews, author of latin grammar, and therefore was compelled to leave the state to marry her. the loss of a professor so capable and eminent as professor sims was much regretted by the trustees and the friends of the college. under the circumstances, it could not be remedied, for there was no one to take his place in the special english course. he had been elected to take the chair of english in the university of alabama, which he accepted. at this institution he formulated a course of instruction in english based on anglo-saxon, similar to the one he had taught at randolph-macon. here he proceeded with the work on the anglo-saxon grammar and dictionary. this work he was not long permitted to prosecute. he died in . forty years after his death the manuscripts of his anglo-saxon works came to randolph-macon in an unexpected way. rev. mr. stephan, of missouri, found them at a second-hand bookstore in st. louis, and noticing the name of professor sims on the title-page, he purchased the lot, embracing other papers, and sent them to the writer. prof. sims labored faithfully, but "others have entered into his labors." [illustration: samuel d. sanders, a. m., m. d., _professor southwestern university, texas._] rev. dr. capers, of south carolina, was elected to fill the vacancy, and also president of the college, president garland having tendered his resignation. in the annual report in june, , the faculty say: "our pecuniary embarrassments are becoming serious, and unless effectually relieved, it will be impossible to keep up the operations of the institution much longer. the trustees cannot give this matter too much patient reflection; and if it be practicable to sustain the institution in this respect, we have no fears for its success in all others." the reorganization of the faculty was recommended, also some modifications in the course of study; also, the establishment of a "school of law." this school was established, and edward r. chambers, an eminent lawyer of boydton, elected professor. the degrees conferred june, , were: a. b. thomas c. johnson, virginia. joseph sutton, virginia. alex. b. pierce, n. carolina. benjamin z. herndon, s. c. william g. connor, s. c. samuel d. sanders, s. c. ira i. crenshaw, virginia. thomas r. epes, virginia. joseph t. reese, georgia. lucien h. lomax, s. carolina. geo. e. wyche, n. carolina. a. m. isaac c. croft, s. carolina. william h. batte, virginia. josiah f. askew, georgia. charles f. burnley, virginia amos w. jones, n. carolina. james w. wightman, s. c. james r. washington, ga. rev. david s. doggett, virginia (honorary). rev. david s. doggett was elected to the chair vacated by the resignation of professor sims. - . this year the second decade of the college commenced. the year was marked by great financial pressure, which was partially relieved by the sale of some of the funds of the college. a part of the proceeds of the sale was used to pay off a debt on building account and the rest for current expenses. at the low rates of college fees, the current receipts failed to meet salaries and other expenses. in the annual report of the faculty mention is made of a decrease in patronage, caused by the financial condition of the country and the establishment of colleges in other southern conferences; so that it was again necessary to ask the board to do something to increase the income of the college. this year a french course was introduced for the first time, and e. a. blanch was elected tutor of french. at the annual meeting, june, , a committee was appointed, consisting of messrs. chambers, rogers, alexander, leigh, and early, to recommend a plan for the relief of the college from financial embarrassment. this committee reported as follows: . that it is absolutely necessary to raise a permanent fund of $ , to sustain the institution, and if we fail in doing so, _it must and will go down_. . that the agent be instructed to endeavor to obtain one hundred subscribers of $ in money or in bonds, the interest to be paid annually at the sessions of the virginia and north carolina conferences, and the principal within a period not to exceed ten years, no subscription to be binding until $ , shall have been subscribed, the principal to be kept as a permanent fund. the faculty of the college showed their spirit of liberality and self-denial by the following communication: "the faculty, with a view to contribute all in their power toward the establishment of the college, propose to give to the board of trustees the sum of five thousand dollars, the same to be paid in five years by a relinquishment annually of $ , on their salaries upon the following conditions, viz.: " . that the balance of their salaries be paid promptly. " . that the donation shall cease before the expiration of the five years, unless the exigencies of the institution shall require it." [illustration: george w. benagh, a. m., _professor, university of alabama._] it being necessary to raise funds to pay the professors, messrs. h. g. leigh, d'arcy paul, dr. archibald a. campbell, george rogers, and edward r. chambers offered to loan the college $ each, and messrs. h. b. cowles and landon c. garland $ each, on the th of december next; and rev. w. b. rowzie, agent of the college, offered, that if the amount of his collections should fall under $ , to make up the deficiency in a loan. [illustration: judge edward r. chambers, _professor of law -' . trustee of the college. judge circuit court. member of virginia convention and ._] the above record is given to show the great financial strait of the college and to bring to mind the liberality of the members of the board and the faculty. but for this liberal action the college would have ceased its work, as so many others were forced to do. some steps were taken at this meeting to establish a medical department in the college. the following degrees were conferred, june, : a. b. george w. benagh, virginia. edward s. brown, virginia. hampden s. smith, n. c. thomas e. massie, virginia. william h. lawton, s. c. felix h. g. taylor, miss. richard h. powell, alabama. thomas w. blake, n. c. henry b. eldridge, virginia. waller massie, virginia. john f. rives, mississippi. nathaniel r. waddill, va. john c. walker, virginia. a. m. james f. smith, south carolina. d. d. rev. robt. newton, england. william winans, mississippi. lovick pierce, georgia. william a. smith, virginia. - . the dark cloud resting on the prospects of the college in june, , still hung over it the succeeding year, notwithstanding the efforts made to relieve the embarrassment. patronage continued to decrease. the session opened with sixty matriculates in the college and thirty in the preparatory school, the smallest number in the history of the college up to this year. the president, in the annual report, alludes to the depression of faculty and patrons, neither of whom "could feel proper interest in an institution _which might close its doors at any time_." this feeling of despondency seemed to have pervaded also the members of the board, for a bare quorum were in attendance at the opening session. the president, in his report, said: "we shall regard it as a calamity if you leave this place without making some definite arrangement by which our future may be relieved from all embarrassment." [illustration: holland n. mctyeire, a. m., d. d., _bishop of the methodist episcopal church, south; regent vanderbilt university._] that grand layman, d'arcy paul, in this dark hour, came to the relief of the college by guaranteeing the salaries of the professors to the amount of $ , on certain conditions. thus, in the good providence of god, the life of the college was prolonged. [illustration: col. wm. townes, trustee. _elected ._] the following received degrees june, : a. b. john lyon, virginia. william c. doub, n. c. william m. cabell, virginia. holland n. mctyeire, ala. archibald clark, virginia. thomas h. rodgers, virginia. james g. fanning, georgia. john howard, virginia. richard irby, virginia. richard s. parham, virginia. willie m. person, n. c. benjamin f. simmons, n. c. j. l. gillespie, virginia. a. m. thomas b. gordon, georgia. george b. jones, virginia. rev. edward wadsworth, va. francis a. connor, s. c. rev. thos. h. jones, virginia. william h. bass, virginia. henry f. jones, n. c. rev. henry b. cowles having declined to accept the office of agent, to which he had been previously elected, was again elected. warren dupre resigned the tutorship, and holland n. mctyeire was elected to fill the place. it would be an omission if, in describing and relating other matters, the description of an old-time annual commencement should be left out. these occasions were notable events in the first two decades of the college. in those days preparations were begun four weeks before the commencement day by releasing the seniors from regular daily exercises so as to give them time to prepare their orations, which each one had to write and commit to memory and rehearse before the professor of english, who was authorized to make corrections in matter, style, and also in manner of delivery. the commencement generally was held the third wednesday and thursday of june. the sunday previous a sermon was preached by some eminent minister appropriate to the occasion. selecting one occasion that the writer witnessed as a specimen, that of , the following description is faithful: the visitors, in the main, began to fill up the boarding-houses around the college and the hotels of boydton on tuesday. the board of trustees assembled on tuesday at an early hour, holding their meeting, strictly private, during the day. friends of the graduates from virginia and the carolinas were largely in attendance on wednesday in time for the opening of the exercises in the chapel. on this occasion the far-famed evangelist, rev. john newland maffett, had been selected to deliver the annual oration before the literary societies. he arrived on tuesday by private carriage, having travelled over seventy miles. the alumni society orator had also arrived. the exercises of wednesday opened at a. m. the band had been discoursing musical selections for hours previous on the campus, and continued in the gallery of the chapel, to which they and the crowd had repaired. the chaplain invoked the blessing of god on the college and the young men. the president introduced the alumni orator, who delivered his address to the society and the audience. the applause of the auditors would have been prolonged but for their anxiety to hear the silver-tongued orator, whose fame was as wide as the country. he was in the prime of life. his dress was faultless; his black locks were unruffled, as when he left the hair-dresser's shop an hour before, for it was said he held his hat in his hand all the way from boydton as he rode in the carriage to the chapel. be that as it may, every lock was in perfect order. he was a native of the emerald isle, but was thoroughly naturalized. his manner was well-nigh perfect, possibly a little too dramatic; his voice musical, his enunciation rolling and faultless. what was the theme memory cannot recall. all that is remembered is his action, voice, and the general effect on the auditors. the house was packed; the crowd outside was as great as that inside. the oration over, all breathed naturally again; the boys applauded, the ladies waved their handkerchiefs and fans, and the band struck up enlivening notes, and all said, as the morning exercises closed, "we have heard an orator to-day." in the afternoon the representatives of the washington and franklin societies--george benagh and felix taylor of the former, and marcellus stanley and rives waddill, of the latter--did their societies great honor as their representatives by delivering in the chapel eloquent orations. at night the societies held their annual meetings, at which the presidents-elect, distinguished honorary members, presided and made addresses. in the debates following the honorary members were expected to take part. the society medals and honors were delivered to graduate members. these meetings were held in the halls, and were not open to the public. at night the parlors of private houses and the hotels were radiant with the wealth of beauty gathered mainly from the old dominion and the old north state. if there were ever fairer and more lovely women since the days of helen this deponent never saw them. the next day the graduating class made their last bows to a college audience, having, according to custom, appeared three times before in the last year of their course. it would be hard to decide which did best, if the verdict had to be given by the fair auditors who heard them. the "latin salutatory" came first, delivered by the second-honor man. this was followed by the orations of others, without regard to grade. the closing "valedictory" was delivered by the first-honor man, who in a manner represented the whole class. then each graduate received his "sheep-skin," delivered by the president, who, in latin, said, "_accepe hoc diploma_," as he handed the diploma. the graduating class was complimented by a "party" given in their honor by the students at the steward's hall, which was largely attended. this closed the commencement. so great was the interest in the annual commencements that parties came for long distances, even as far as south carolina. some of them came in coaches drawn by four horses with out-riders. college year -' . the tendency in patronage this year was still downward. the number of students was smaller than ever before. a movement was made to carry out the project to raise $ , for endowment. the salaries of the faculty were reduced, so that the president only got $ , ; the professors, $ , ; tutor, $ ; principal of the preparatory school, $ . this was done in the face of the fact that the dues to the faculty at this time amounted to $ , . this unfortunate condition of affairs was brought about and aggravated by several causes. the poorly paid officers worked without hope of remuneration. students failed to attend because the impression was becoming prevalent that the college would be forced to close its doors. besides, the farming community were receiving low prices for their crops. in the severest drought prevailed in virginia ever known since . at the commencement, june, , a case of smallpox was reported on the morning of the first day. this threatened the total suspension of the exercises, and many visitors did return home. the exercises were held at boydton, and the address of rev. dr. william s. plumer, one of the greatest men of his day, served to put all in good humor and restore quiet. the next day the services were held in the chapel. [illustration: turner m. jones, a. m., d. d., _president greensboro female college, n.c._] degrees were conferred as follows: a. b. charles b. stuart, va. john g. boyd, va. thomas t. boswell, va. james t. wright, va. william f. blackwell, va. john w. shelton, n. c. turner m. jones, n. c. a. m. joseph t. reese, ga. george e. wyche, n. c. thomas s. arthur, s. c. at the close of this year i. i. crenshaw and h. n. mctyeire resigned their places as tutors. the former went to the buckingham female institute, and the latter took work as an itinerant on a circuit till conference. [illustration: o. h. p. corprew, a. m., ll. d., _professor in randolph-macon college and central college, mo._] williams t. davis was elected principal of the preparatory school. college year -' . the drought referred to continued till late in the summer. many farmers had to buy corn at one dollar per bushel, and in some cases had to go as far as thirty miles to get meal. at the close of the year in june, at the meeting of the board, great financial embarrassment was reported. a bond to be secured by mortgage on the real estate of the college for $ , was authorized to raise funds to meet pressing indebtedness. the following received degrees june, : a. b. john davis, va. oliver h. p. corprew, va. frank x. foster, s. c. edward t. hardy, va. samuel hardy, va. wm. g. de graffenreidt, va. olin m. dantzler, s. c. benjamin f. lockett, va. thomas j. lockett, va. thomas p. jerman, s. c. george howard, va. a. m. james f. dowdell, ga. william f. samford, ala. john f. rives, miss. thomas h. campbell, va. william g. conner, s. c. john c. walker, va. d. d. rev. w. m. wightman, s. c. edmond w. sehon, ky. the session of the college, -' , opened very inauspiciously. in addition to (and probably in large measure growing out of) the financial troubles which had been thickening for years past, a want of harmony and co-operation between the president and some of the members of the faculty began to be shown. this led to disorder and insubordination among the students. to inquire into the matter at issue a meeting of the trustees was called in september, , at which, after reciting a history of the troubles, president garland tendered his resignation, and requested the immediate acceptance of the same. this was followed by the resignation of their positions by professors d. s. doggett and david duncan, and tutor thomas h. rogers. the resignation of the president was not accepted for prudential reasons. that of professor doggett, to take effect at the close of the session, was accepted, as was that of tutor rogers. professor duncan was induced to withdraw his. the board then adjourned to meet in the succeeding november, at the session of the virginia conference, which was to meet at the college. at the adjourned meeting held november , , the board accepted the resignation of president garland. rev. wm. a. smith, d. d., of the virginia conference, was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of president garland. the faculty, as re-organized, was as follows, viz: rev. wm. a. smith (_president_), _prof. moral and mental philosophy_. rev. charles f. deems, a. m., prof. _latin and belles lettres_. ezekiel a. blanch, a. m., _prof. pure and applied mathematics_. david duncan, a. m., _prof. greek language and literature_. james w. hardy, _prof. experimental science, astronomy and optics_. the severance of president garland from the college, after a service of fourteen years in various capacities, was a source of great sorrow to his old pupils and friends. however deficient he may have been in some qualifications for the presidency, which from the first he not only did not seek, but frequently declined, he preserved all along the unqualified respect of all as an able professor and scholar. so devoted was he to the prosecution of his favorite study, astronomy, that he generally broke himself down every year by attempting to perform the arduous work of the president and also of full professor. added to this he was for years treasurer. to a sensitive nature like his, the demands of creditors made on him when he could not meet them was a burden of itself heavy enough for any one to bear. if the college had had an endowment fund large enough to pay the expenses as they were incurred, and had allowed him to retain a professorship at a fair salary, with a president taking on his shoulders the duties which in most colleges devolved on the president, his valuable services could probably have been retained--certainly if the dissension had not arisen in the administration of the college. it is proper here to state that this dissension was only with professor hardy, and was not participated in by the other members of the faculty, and did not lead to the resignation of several of them. president garland accepted the chair of mathematics in the university of alabama, at tuscaloosa. he never returned to his native state except on visits. the whole of a long life was spent, first, at the university to which he went, then at the university of mississippi, from which he was called to take the chancellorship of the vanderbilt university, at nashville, tenn., which he accepted and filled for many years. here in connection with his old pupil, bishop mctyeire, he did valuable work, till age and feebleness forbade active work. then he was made _chancellor emeritus_. he died suddenly, but not unprepared, at the vanderbilt university. the closing years of president garland's administration were the darkest in, the history of the college. many of its friends were hopeless of its ever rallying again. others gathered new hope, and their faith "staggered not" in this dark hour. all the older methodist colleges had gone down, or were tottering to their fall. so much the greater faith was needed at randolph-macon. it was a fortunate circumstance that this re-organization took place at the session of the virginia conference, which was held at the college, and presided over by bishop capers. [illustration: rev. wm. b. rowzie.] rev. w. b. rowzie, who for many years had been agent, resigned the position. a better friend the college never had. at the request of the board, rev. b. r. duval and rev. nathaniel thomas were appointed agents for the college. they were men of extraordinary energy and zeal, and they at once entered on a thorough canvass of the conference in raising funds for the college. president smith entered on his duties with characteristic zeal. he was fortunately possessed of an unconquerable will and a buoyancy of disposition, without which he would have quailed under the discouragements under which he labored. "wm. a. smith was born in fredericksburg, va., november , . his mother was a consistent member of the methodist church, and in death prayed that her son might live to preach the glorious gospel. his father was a man of honorable character and position. both died when he was of a tender age. for a time the orphan boy had rough usage; but he was afterwards adopted and raised by mr. russell hill, a friend of his father, and a worthy merchant of petersburg. when seventeen years old, he was converted, and joined the m. e. church. he had received a good english education, and had commenced the study of the classics; but feeling that he was called of god to the ministry, and not being able to attend college as he desired, he studied privately one year at the home of his uncle, mr. porter, in orange county, and taught school two or three years in madison. in he travelled the gloucester circuit under the presiding elder; in february, , he was admitted on trial into the virginia conference. in , while agent for randolph-macon college, then in its infancy, he met with a fearful accident: the carriage which he was driving upset and fell on him, breaking his right thigh and dislocating his left hip, and badly laming him for life. he was a delegate to the general conference of the m. e. church every session from to , and occupied a high position in that great council as an adviser and debater. in the memorable appeal case of harding, and in the yet more important extrajudicial trial of bishop andrew, which led to the division of the church, he won a reputation wide as the united states, and inferior to that of no minister of any denomination, for the highest deliberative and forensic eloquence. he was a member of the louisville convention which organized the m. e. church, south, and of all the general conferences of this church to the date of his death. he commanded universal respect and confidence among his brethren by the sincerity of his zeal, the wisdom of his counsels, and the power of his reasoning. his impress will long remain on the legislation and institutions of southern methodism. in he was called from the regular pastorate, by the urgency of the trustees of randolph-macon college, sanctioned by the virginia conference, to the presidency of this institution. he was selected for that place because his courage, energy and strength of intellect seemed indispensable not only to the prosperity, but even to the saving of this noble institution. twenty years of his life was consecrated to this cause--years of self-sacrifice, of unremitting toil, of courageous battling with difficulties and victory over them; of hope where others desponded, of faith where others doubted, of resolution where others wavered. he was diligent in his study, diligent in his lecture-room, diligent in his travel through virginia and north carolina to collect money and to arouse interest in behalf of the college. the number of students steadily increased, the standard of scholarship was elevated, and through the joint efforts of dr. smith and the agents of the college an endowment fund of $ , was raised. then came the terrible war, which emptied those classic halls and swept away the funds which had been gathered with so much toil. yet not in vain had he labored. scores of ministers, hundreds of pious young men, educated under his care, moulded by his influence, are this day in their several spheres carrying on the same grand work to which he was devoted, and have learned, from his teachings and example, never to surrender, never to despair of randolph-macon. "we have not spoken of dr. smith as a preacher and pastor. he soon rose to eminence in the ministry, and stood with the foremost in the pulpit and pastorate for faithfulness, ability and success. he had a deep, distinct, happy, constant experience of the saving grace of god in christ jesus. his zeal for the cause of religion was pure, steady, consuming. he was fully consecrated to the work of the ministry. the doctrines and polity of our church had no stronger, nobler expounder and champion than he. his sermons were "logic on fire"--grand and solid discussions of the leading truths of the gospel, animated with deep emotion. thousands were converted under his ministry; many of them became preachers of the word in our own and other denominations; the churches he served were ever edified and trained, not less by his pastoral fidelity than by his luminous discourses. "as a man, he was of marked character. who that ever saw him could forget that bold, frank, noble face and forehead, which revealed at a glance the lofty attributes of his intellect, the loftier attributes of his heart! cunning and deceit he knew not; to fear he was a stranger; his convictions he was ever ready to avow and maintain. yet, with all his courage and indomitable energy of will, he had a tender, sympathetic heart, and much of a child-like spirit, simple, unselfish, trustful, easy to be entreated." * * copied from memoir in virginia conference minutes. rev. c. f. deems did not accept the chair of latin, and o. h. p. corprew was elected professor _pro tempore_, and filled the place. at a meeting of the board held march , , an effort was made to establish a medical department of the college, but it never resulted in any permanent success. [illustration: bennett puryear, a. m., ll. d., _professor chemistry randolph-macon college; chairman faculty and professor chemistry, richmond college._] at the meeting of the board held june, , president smith reported that the session had been pleasant and the prospects of the college improving. the success of the agents in their work gave promise of better financial conditions. a committee was appointed to reorganize the preparatory school system, and it was proposed to establish one or more at salient points. [illustration: wm. a. smith, d. d., _president of randolph-macon college, - . president central college, missouri._] professor j.w. hardy tendered his resignation, which was accepted. he had been elected president of la grange college, alabama, where he died after a short service. the following received degrees: a. b. bennett puryear, va. john moody, va. r. h. beale, tenn. a. m. w. c. doub, n. c. john lyon, va. t. c. johnson, mo. archibald clark, va. thomas h. rogers, va. john howard, va. d. d. rev. d. s. doggett, va. rev. edward wadsworth, ala. at a meeting of the board held at charlottesville november , during the session of the virginia conference, a further issue of life-scholarships was authorized. the committee on preparatory schools reported in favor of retaining the old school at the college under certain rules, and the establishment of one at ridgway, n. c., under a contract with the trustees of the ridgway academy, with william c. doub, a. m., as principal; also of one at garysburg, n. c., with c. b. stuart, a. m., as principal. at the close of the year, june, , the president in the annual report reported increased patronage, and a session marked by studiousness and good order among the students. the number in the college and the preparatory school was about one hundred and forty. the graduates receiving degrees june, , were-- a. b. john c. granbery, va. john h. claiborne, va. james r. branch, va. john s. moore, va. dallas smith, ala. tazewell hargrove, n. c. richard g. morris, va. george w. friend, va. charles e. williams, va. james d. blackwell, va. a. m. charles b. stuart, va. turner m. jones, n. c. willie m. person, n. c. j. w. shelton, n. c. thomas b. russell, ga. john g. boyd, va. williams t. davis (hon'y), va. benjamin jenkins (honorary), missionary m. e. church, south, in china. [illustration: james r. branch, a. m., _colonel artillery, c. s. a._] d'arcy paul, investing agent and chairman of the finance committee, reported the probable income for coming year at about $ , , $ , of which amount to come from fees and the balance endowment dividends. [illustration: john c. granbery, a. m., d. d.] we pause again in this narrative to give a reminiscence of college life as written in by a distinguished member of the class last named, john c. granbery, who delivered the valedictory as first-honor man. the distinction then achieved was but a presage of his rank in the several positions he has been called to fill--pastor, chaplain to the university of virginia, chaplain in the confederate army (in which service he was severely wounded and taken prisoner), professor in the vanderbilt university, bishop of the methodist episcopal church, south (elected ), and author of several works. at this writing he lives at ashland, and is the president of the board of trustees. "as the earliest of the american methodist colleges now extant, randolph-macon may be called venerable, if not ancient. but i use the prefix _old_ in order to distinguish the college as it was at boydton from the college as it is at ashland. the features of contrast are many and important. in the old days slavery was, as we thought, a fixed and lasting institution; civil strife had not swept away lives and fortunes, and the south was proud, independent, fiery and enthusiastic, chivalrous withal, generous, genial; now we are just beginning to adjust ourselves to the new social and political conditions which have been imposed by a disastrous war. then there was a single degree, bachelor of arts, for which the students strove, and the course of four years was prescribed, with its regular gradations of freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors; now the studies are eclectic, and the matriculates may select any one of several degrees, or study without reference to graduation. then the lumbering stage brought up the tri-weekly, or perhaps daily, mail and passengers, and the word of the driver rang forth cheerily, but no shrill whistle of steam-engine or thunder of lightning trains disturbed the silence of the classic groves, and the attractions and distractions of the crowded, hurrying, clamorous city were out of reach and out of thought; now the steam-car and the steam-press are familiar objects, the capital is less than an hour's distance, and the stage-coach is a tradition. "a change has taken place in the manner and measure of collegiate discipline. this is due not to the change of locality, but to the spirit of the age. it has come to be a maxim that the best government is that which governs least. we seek the minimum of restriction on liberty that is compatible with the ends of government, viz., order, morality and diligence. formerly the dormitory system prevailed; students were required to be in their rooms during certain hours of the day and night; professors and tutors visited the buildings, seeking to surprise the inmates, in order to ascertain whether the rule was observed; there were many minute regulations which have since been abandoned. this continued exercise of authority and plan of watching provoked insubordination and evasion; the wits of the boys were set to work in order to deceive the teachers, and to break the rules without detection, or, at least, with impunity. the risk gave to mischief and lawlessness a relish they would not otherwise have possessed. unwholesome suppers were stealthily brought to the rooms by negroes at late hours of the night; calathumps aroused the neighborhood with most hideous music; blackboards were greased; the bell-rope was cut, and old john had to blow his horn at daybreak in every row of the buildings, as a call to prayers and recitations. this provoked him greatly, and he used to say, 'if you won't be rung up as gentlemen, i must blow you up as hogs.' how heartily i have heard dr. smith laugh as he repeated the old negro's complaint at such times, 'we have the worstest young men, and the mostest on 'em, i ever seed!' practical jokes, sometimes of a very disagreeable sort, were played on professors in their nocturnal rounds of inspecting the premises. calves were hauled up into lecture-rooms, and other silly tricks were perpetrated. i am glad that these follies have passed away, that faculty and students treat each other as gentlemen and friends, and that the public sentiment of the college would not tolerate any rudeness, though disguised under the name of fun. it is well to appeal to the conscience, gentlemanly propriety and honor, and generous and kindly sentiments of young men, rather than resort to espionage and multiplied restraints. "i appreciate the arguments in favor of locating institutions of learning on the great lines of travel, and in or near large towns. it should be easy to get to them, and get away from them. the frequent mail and the time-destroying telegraph are now indispensable where students are a small minority of the population, and where there is a vigilant and effective police many disorders are prevented, and faculties and boards of trust are saved much trouble. low vice is cheap, and will go to the most secluded spot in search of victims; but the city presents many refined pleasures which may serve to draw off ingenuous youth from haunts of sin and projects of mischief. but there are advantages on the side of the more quiet and retired situation. it favors concentration of interest on books, lectures, and light collegiate exercises. the whole life at the country college becomes student life. there is no division of mind and heart. there is nothing to tempt the earnest youth from his proper work. the _esprit du corps_ of old randolph-macon was very strong. there were hospitable and cultivated homes in the neighborhood, and most charming maidens; those who visited them found entangling alliances for life, if the fair sex consented. but the number of young ladies sufficiently near to be easily visited was small, and many of the students were not, if i must use the modern slang which was unknown in my day, calicoists. the two literary societies were centres of enthusiasm. a new randolph-macon student can hardly understand the intensity of devotion "washs" and "franks" had for their societies in those times. all students were members of the one or of the other, and were ready to brag for it, quarrel for it, and, if need be, fight for it. they did not all attend regularly the meetings, or take part in discussion and other literary exercises; their lack of presence or performance was amply atoned for by the payment of their fines, for we were always eager to replenish the treasury. but a number studied carefully the questions of debate, reading largely, and thus, forming a fondness for books and habit of reflection; they prepared their speeches, and often waxed very warm. indeed, bitterness and strife would sometimes arise, but they soon passed away. a frequent and effective debater of rather waspish and contemptuous temper alluded one day to the arguments of his opponents as flimsy cobwebs, as he quoted one after another, and answered it, 'i brush that cobweb away,' said he. a modest, merry-hearted man on the other side--he is now one of lee's one-armed heroes--responded: 'the gentleman called my arguments cobwebs, and it may be that they are; but to-day is not the first time that i have seen a fly caught in a spider's web, and vainly struggling to get loose.' colonel r., an intelligent gentleman of the community, said to me more than once, when he had been listening to a spirited debate, 'it is not inferior to the best debates i have heard in the legislature of virginia.' some of the most skilled debaters in church and state would give a large share of the credit for their power in deliberative assemblies to the inspiration and training of those old randolph-macon halls. many foolish things were spoken there, i must admit. 'i don't know i did the thing with which i am charged,' said an excited frank; 'but if i did, i oughtn't to be fined, for i did it with malice aforethought.' 'with malice aforethought!' responded the censor, who was our honored and beloved duncan; 'who ever heard before of that being an excuse?' 'i said it, and i repeat it, that i did it with malice aforethought; and if the gentleman doesn't understand, i will explain that it is a law phrase, and means i didn't go to do it!' "there were many traditions in my day of giants who had been at old randolph-macon. they told how dr. olin, the first president, a man of great head and heart, would send for an idle or offending student, place his feet on the chair where the delinquent sat so as to hold him, a close prisoner, and talk to him faithfully, yet tenderly, until with burning cheeks and floods of tears the youth promised never again to offend. it was a memorable event when the great man preached; solid thought in vast masses was driven to the mark with resistless power. there was a story of an eloquent and mighty sermon from dr. lovick pierce, of georgia, from a text which astonished every listener: 'let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.' there were glowing reports of the wonderful pathos and power of russell, of georgia; how he melted the cold, stone hearts of the faculty, who were bent on sending him home, but they had all their resolves converted into admiration and sympathy for the youth who pleaded eloquently his own cause; how often he electrified his society. it was my good fortune to see and hear him in the pulpit and on the platform, when he visited the college as commencement orator." during the session of -' , a man of more than ordinary distinction and talent became connected as professor with the college, rev. charles force deems. he was a native of new jersey, and a graduate of dickinson college. in very early manhood he came to north carolina to represent the american bible society in that state. he was there only a short time before he was elected to a chair at the university of north carolina at chapel hill. when dr. smith was elected president in november, , he was elected professor of latin and belles lettres. he did not accept the chair at that time. in december, , he did accept another, and the january following entered upon his duties as professor of chemistry. he remained that year and then returned to north carolina, and entered on the regular work of an itinerant minister. it is not known why he so soon severed his connection with the college, for which he always to his latest day expressed an attachment, evidenced by more than one or two acts of interest and generosity. it is probable that there was little kindly feeling from some cause not known, or congeniality between him and the president of the college. this doubtless was the root of the bitter feud between him and dr. smith in after time, culminating in the alienation of many friends from each other and the north carolina conference from the college. the portraits of the two now hang near together on the wall of the trustees' room in the library, and it is hoped that all "bitterness and wrath" having been laid aside they together share the blessedness of heaven. college year -' . the report of the president and faculty gives the following items for the year -' : students in college proper, ; in preparatory schools, viz.: at the college, ; ridgway, n. c., ; garysburg, ; lowell, n. c., ; richlands, n. c., ; in all, . "the schools in north carolina from the last quarterly returns are in a prosperous condition, and promise in reasonable time to operate as valuable auxiliaries." professor deems resigned the chair about december, . the vacancy was filled, or arranged to be filled, by charles b. stuart, of the class of , with the privilege extended to him to spend about a year at yale college, where agricultural and analytical chemistry were made specialties. this arrangement was carried out. at the meeting of the board, june, , a department of agricultural chemistry was provided for, to be in charge of professor stuart. [illustration: richard w. leigh, _major c. s. a.; killed at murfreesboro, tenn._] the following degrees were conferred: a. b. james a. duncan, va. william g. foote, miss. james w. jackson, va. richard w. leigh, va. lewis miller, n. c. r.s.f. peete, va. b. craven (honorary), n. c. a. m. lucien h. lomax, s. c. edward t. hardy, va. o.h.p. corprew, va. francis x. foster, s. c. college year -' . the attendance this year at the home schools was (college, ; preparatory, ). improvement reported in general morals and habits of students. great financial embarrassment reported, and urgent appeals for active measures to secure needed relief. [illustration: edwin e. parham, a. m., _president of warrenton, petersburg, and hampton female colleges._] early in the session of -' , professor e. a. blanch resigned the chair of mathematics on account of continued bad health. professor john c. wills, a distinguished graduate of the virginia military institute, was elected to fill the vacancy, and entered on his duties. he was a local minister in the methodist church, and a man of fine character and an accomplished teacher. the college was fortunate in securing such a man. the faculty now consisted of the following; dr. smith, president; professors duncan, stuart, wills, corprew (tutor), and williams t. davis at the preparatory school near the college. in june, , they reported the preparatory school as having done well, and the reception from it of twenty students for the next session, and four from the ridgway preparatory school. the school at garysburg, n. c., had been discontinued. the schools at lowell, n. c., and richlands, n. c., in successful operation and accomplishing much good. from the above it will be seen that the establishment of academies as feeders to the college was a fact accomplished before the late effort in . they were all in north carolina, and the subsequent alienation carried them away from the college with whatever patronage they were bringing to it. degrees were conferred as follows, june, : a. b. edwin a. thompson, n. c. edwin e. parham, va. edward a. adams, va. john f. dance, va. william a. brame, n. c. robert h. winfield, va. benjamin c. drew, va. thomas f. fitzgerald, va. a. m. rev. n. f. reid (hon'y), n. c. bennett puryear, va. college year -' . number of students reported this year: in college, ; in preparatory school, --total, . the schools in north carolina, except ridgeway, prosperous. the year was not satisfactory in the deportment of students generally, nor in finances. [illustration: prof. william t. davis, _principal preparatory school._] in june, , the following degrees were conferred: a. b. william h. christian, va. hugh d. bracey, va. william m. crenshaw, va. henry f. drake, n. c. armstreat e. fowlkes, va. john h. guy, va. hezekiah g. leigh, jr., va. john s. long, n. c. james o'hanlon, n. c. jacob m. palmer, va. reuben palmer, va. william mck. robbins, n. c. richard h. williams, va. henry w. wingfield, va. [illustration: william mck. robbins, _member of congress from north carolina._] a. m. richard h. powell, ala. david clopton, ala. thomas j. koger, s. c. james f. dowdell, ala. tennent lomax, ala. james l. pierce, ga. edward wadsworth, ala. addison lea, miss. rev. b. craven (honorary), n. c. president trinity college. the finance committee reported to the board that the sum of $ , had been raised in subscriptions, bonds, etc., towards the endowment of the college. college year -' . a number of changes took place this year. williams t. davis, a. m., who had for many years successfully conducted the preparatory school, retired to go to petersburg, where he spent the balance of a useful life in the education of young ladies. he was temporarily succeeded by w. g. foote, a. b., and later by james s. kennedy, a. b., of emory and henry college. o. h. p. corprew, a. m., tutor, was succeeded by rev. j. a. dean. the annual report mentions better financial condition; decrease in patronage, due in part to changes of teachers; the introduction of the "demerit system," which is noted as having worked satisfactorily; also the establishment of the degree of "bachelor of english literature and science," allowing a degree without taking classical studies. the preparatory school at ridgway, n. c., was discontinued. the other schools were reported as doing well, but no statistics as to numbers in attendance were given. the first volume of the _randolph-macon magazine_, containing ten numbers and three hundred pages, was published in . the editors' table states that "the primary object of our publication is the _enlargement of our society libraries_." the following is another extract from the editors' table: "the time is at hand for us to throw off our dependence upon the north, and establish an _independent southern_ literature." the old _southern literary messenger_ was then published, and several _reviews_, more or less literary. none of permanent standing are published now. southern independence in government and literature seem to have both surrendered at appomattox. some of these young men laid down their lives for one, some have been too busy fighting "the wolf at the door" to do much for the latter. while we lament their defeat, we admire their pluck. the following is the title-page of volume i.: [transcribers' note: in the printed book, the editors and agents are listed in two parallel columns. the left-hand column is headed "_from f.l. society._" and the right-hand column is headed "_from w.l. society._"] the randolph-macon magazine. published by the students of the r.-m. college. "_adeo in teneris consuescere, multum est_." editors: _from f. l. society._ robert m. mallory. william y. peyton. john williams. _from w. l. society._ charles h. hall. john s. jackson. thaddeus l. h. young. agents: _from f. l. society_. james sangster. thomas c. thackston. _from w. l. society_. leroy m. wilson. edward m. peterson. ----------------------- printed by chas. h. wynne, _ main street, richmond va._ ----------------------- the following degrees were conferred june, : a. b. rowland doggett, va. robert a. jackson, va. samuel lander, n. c. robert m. mallory, va. benjamin w. ogburn, va. john f. ogburn, va. horace palmer, jr., va. rufus r. pegues, s. c. henry h. williams, va. john williams, n. c. a. m. james w. jackson, va. james a. duncan, va. r.s.f. peete, n. c. william g. foote, miss. college session -' . at the annual meeting, june, , the report of the president and faculty was duly made, but, from some cause, it was not recorded. [illustration: samuel lander, d. d., _president williamston female college, south carolina._] the following degrees were conferred: a. b. charles h. hall, n. c. john s. jackson, va. embry merritt, va. henry d. milam, n. c. james d. proctor, va. james e. sebrell, va. richard w. thurman, va. james sangster, va. a. m. e. w. adams, va. john h. claiborne, va. richard w. leigh, va. edwin e. parham, va. george howard, va. lewis miller, n. c. robert h. winfield, va. rev. john e. edwards, va. (honorary). d. d. rev. hezekiah g. leigh, north carolina conference. rev. charles f. deems, north carolina conference. [illustration: rev. chas. h. hall, _of the virginia conference._] college year -' . there were in attendance this year students in college and in the preparatory school. great gratification was expressed on account of the good order of the session. the financial condition, however, was still very embarrassing. the scholarships sold had added something to the endowment fund, but the number of students paying tuition fees was reduced, and thus the current receipts were not increased. this embarrassed the officers of the college, because, while they preferred to remain, higher salaries elsewhere invited them away. the president stated that he visited the virginia legislature and made strenuous efforts to induce the body to pass an act which would give all incorporated colleges $ , in state bonds for every $ , invested by them in state bonds. though the project seemed to meet with great favor, nevertheless it failed, as all efforts to get the state to aid denominational colleges have done. dr. smith adds: "but if the hope of succeeding with this scheme be not sufficient to justify you in making better provision for your officers, and another should not present itself to your minds affording better grounds of hope for success, it is respectfully submitted whether it be not better to close your doors until such of the officers as you shall deem proper to employ shall succeed in raising from the public an endowment fund sufficient to meet the wants of the institution." the venerable professor david duncan resigned the chair of ancient languages, september, , to take effect june, . so in june, after a continuous faithful service of twenty-one years, he bade farewell to randolph-macon, and went to wofford, the scene of his labors to the end of a long life. professor o. h. p. corprew, a. m., was transferred from the chair of natural philosophy to fill the vacancy occasioned by professor duncan's resignation. professor corprew had been elected to the professorship of natural philosophy in the previous december. h. g. leigh, jr., resigned as tutor of languages, and was succeeded by t. h. l. young, a. b. wm. h. bass resigned the place of principal of the preparatory school, and was succeeded by john w. stuart. [illustration: thomas c. elder, a. m., _of the staunton, va. bar._] john s. moore, a. m., was elected to the chair of natural philosophy, vacated by the transfer of professor corprew. at the annual meeting in june, , the following received degrees: a. b. jesse p. bagby, va. john g. s. boyd, va. richard boyd, va. william h. cheek, n. c. thomas c. elder, va. george w. hamlin, va. garland b. hanes, va. george w. magruder, n. c. adolphus w. mangum, va. a. c. massenburg, n. c. samuel moore, va. thomas c. thackston, va. l. o. rives, tenn. leroy m. wilson, va. thaddeus l. h. young, va. a. m. william m. crenshaw, va. benjamin f. simmons, n. c. william mck. robbins, n. c. hezekiah g. leigh, jr., va. edward s. brown, va. armstreat e. fowlkes, va. b., eng. lit. and science. alex. hogg, va. j. kirkpatrick. w. h. shay. d. d. rev. t. b. sargent, balt. conf. rev. alfred t. mann, ga. conf. at a called meeting held july , , which was well attended, a further effort was made to secure aid from the legislature of virginia. at this session of the board the following important action was taken: rev. robert o. burton offered the following resolutions: . that in view of still further elevating the institution and securing its permanency we will endeavor to increase the endowment to $ , . . that whenever the amount of $ , shall have been secured, or the interest on the endowment fund shall amount to $ , , this board will grant to the ministers of the virginia and north carolina conferences the right to educate their sons free of tuition fees for thirty years. . that one or more agents be appointed to raise the money, and that we earnestly ask the co-operation of all the ministers of the virginia and north carolina conferences. . that subscriptions of $ may be paid by the subscribers either during their natural life or twelve months after death, with interest from date, to be paid annually. . that rev. h. b. cowles be appointed agent, and that dr. william a. smith be associated with him. [illustration: rev. l. m. lee, d. d., _editor: richmond christian advocate_.] these resolutions were adopted, and the agents appointed were requested to make arrangements for the prosecution of the work as soon as practicable. it could not be done at once, as the agent elected had to be assigned to the work by the conference, which did not meet till november. so it was arranged that the work should be commenced next spring. in the interval dr. leroy m. lee, then editor of the _richmond christian advocate_, proceeded to write and publish from time to time a series of articles on "christian education"--articles probably not surpassed in force and pertinence by any ever written on the subject. he kept the matter of the canvass which was to be inaugurated the coming year before the methodist public, and thus effectually paved the way for better success. in may, , the agent and president of the college began the active field work to raise the amount to one hundred thousand dollars at crenshaw's church, on the nottoway circuit, near blacks and whites station, on the the (then) southside railroad. at this church a mass-meeting was held, lasting several days. there were present, in addition to the leaders above named, dr. leroy m. lee, editor, who was much interested in the effort. dr. smith was the chief speaker, and he never appeared to better advantage, having the sympathy and interest of the audience with him from the start. dr. lee followed him. agent cowles struck while the iron was hot and took the subscription, which, in addition to what was secured in the circuit in the next few days, amounted to five thousand dollars. this gave the enterprise a good send-off, and was received and accepted by the church at large as an augury of final success, which proved to be true. the agents did not relax their efforts till the limit was reached. there were several circumstances which made this effort a success. the men in charge were the right men. dr. smith was a great man before the people. few men who lived in the state ever equalled, fewer still ever surpassed him. his colleague, while not deficient in public speaking (he was a most excellent preacher), was gifted with good business address and tact, well versed in reading and managing mankind in general, and thorough in his business transactions, securing all the benefits which were possible. both were largely acquainted throughout the conference. the times were propitious. the decade beginning was the golden era in the material prosperity of virginia. the spirit of improvement in lands, building railroads, and plank roads, and other roads was at its height. most of the great lines throughout the state were built during this decade--the richmond and danville, the southside (petersburg and lynchburg), the virginia and tennessee (lynchburg to bristol), the orange and alexandria (lynchburg and alexandria), and the roanoke valley (clarksville and ridgway, n. c.), and others were built or projected. the last named brought railway communication within twelve miles of the college, and keysville, on the richmond and danville, was within thirty-five miles of the college. besides these improvements, a plank road was built from petersburg to clarksville, which was, as long as it lasted, a great improvement. another plank road from blacks and whites, on the southside railroad, was built through lunenburg in the direction of boydton, but its terminus was twenty miles short of reaching it. the crimean war, involving the great powers of europe, raised the price of wheat to a price seldom, if ever, reached previously. it sold in -' for $ . per bushel, and good prices were maintained for the balance of the decade. lands in the state, which had been low in price, were increased in value one hundred per cent. and other property in something like the same ratio. all this made people more ready to contribute as well as more able. college year -' . this college year was marked by no special change or event. the president's report notes: matriculates in college during the session, , of whom were on scholarships. [illustration: david r. duncan, _major c. s. a.; senator s. c. legislature._] professor samuel lander, a. m., entered upon his duties as adjunct professor of languages, and w. a. shepard was assistant in the laboratory. at the annual meeting, june, , degrees were conferred: a. b. george e. booker, va. james b. dugger, va. william n. carter, va. john e. christian, va. thomas a. gatch, va. james c. hanes, va. peter a. moses, va. robert n. sledd, va. david r. duncan, s. c. oliver g. smith, n. c. a. m. thomas e. massie, va. samuel lander, n. c. rowland doggett, va. john f. dance, va. john f. ogburn, va. robert m. mallory, va. henry w. wingfield, va. benjamin w. ogburn, va. sam'l b. paul (honorary) va. college year -' . the celebrated trial of deems vs. smith took place at the virginia conference held in petersburg, november, . the charges were presented by dr. c. f. deems in person, and defence made by dr. smith. the verdict was almost unanimous, finding dr. smith not guilty. the result of this unfortunate affair was the resignation of quite a number of the trustees from the north conference, that conference having espoused the cause of dr. deems by a very large majority. at the meeting of the trustees in june, , dr. smith tendered his resignation as president of the college. the board refused to accept the resignation, only two voting to receive it. this year the first catalogue, as printed, comes to us. others had been printed, but no copies preserved. of the original charter members of the board all had died or retired but john early, william a. smith, mathew m. dance and john g. claiborne. all the original members of the faculty had resigned. students in college, ; in preparatory school, --total, . we have no mention of the several preparatory schools in north carolina. thos. a. gatch, a. b., was principal of the home school. [illustration: w. t. bailey, _killed at gettysburg; buried on the field._] a resolution was adopted by the board asking the legislature to establish a school of "military tactics" in connection with the college, but nothing ever came of it. in january, , a most remarkable fall of snow occurred, with a temperature of ten degrees below zero. the snow was fifteen inches deep. in june, , the following received degrees: a. b. w. t. bailey, va. green a. jackson, va. thomas l. jackson, va. william t. merritt, va. john p. fuller, n. c. a. m. james e. sebrell, va. william a. brame, va. james d. proctor, va. college year -' . the changes in the faculty this year were the resignation of assistant professor samuel lander, whose place was not filled, and the substitution of charles w. crawley, principal of the preparatory school for thomas a. gatch, resigned. in june, , professor charles b. stuart resigned the chair of chemistry and geology, and professor n. t. lupton succeeded him. professor o. h. p. corprew at same time resigned the chair of ancient languages, and professor william b. carr succeeded him. the degrees conferred june, , were-- a. b. george w. armistead, va. william i. cowles, va. richard w. jones, va. joseph e. leigh, va. edwin g. moore, n. c. wilbur f. davis, n. c. john b. williams, n. c. william w. penny, mo. william a. shepard, mass. a. m. william g. connor, tenn. l. o. rives, tenn. garland b. hanes, va. thad. l. h. young, va. jesse p. bagby, n. c. adolphus w. mangum, n. c. samuel moore, va. thomas c. elder, va. thomas c. thackston, va. william h. cheek, n. c. number of students during the session, , including those at the preparatory school ( ). the worst blizzard ever known in virginia occurred in january, ; thermometer ten degrees below zero. some suffering in the college for want of fuel. college year -' . this year was reasonably prosperous. some dissatisfaction was expressed in the president's annual report on account of salaries. [illustration: richard w. jones, a. m., ll. d., _major c. s. a.; president mississippi industrial institute; professor mississippi university and randolph-macon college._] in june, , prof. lupton resigned the chair of chemistry and geology, which was subsequently supplied by the election of prof. bennett puryear, of richmond college. dr. w. a. smith again tendered his resignation, for reasons personal to himself. at the urgent solicitation of the students, the alumni society, and the board, he withdrew his resignation. [illustration: rev. richard ferguson, _virginia; adjutant eighteenth va. regiment._] degrees were conferred as follows: a. b. benjamin h. thackston, va. richard ferguson, va. victor m. brandon, va. richard b. holstead, va. robert s. isbell, va. alex. mallory, va. robert moore, va. claudius g. phillips, va. pittman r. venable, va. richard o. wyatt, va. b. l. and s. walter m. irby, virginia. a. m. george e. booker, va. peter a. moses, ark. thomas a. gatch, va. robert n. sledd, va. james c. hanes, va. prof. john c. wills (honorary), randolph-macon college. students in college this session, ; in preparatory school, -total, . the endowment raised to $ , . at a called meeting of the board december , , the following action was taken: "the board, being satisfied, from an examination of the bonds and subscriptions obtained by the agent, that the endowment fund of the college, in bonds, cash, and valid subscriptions, has been raised to and above one hundred thousand dollars; therefore be it "_resolved_, that the following notice be given through the newspapers of the state, viz.: 'by order of the board of trustees of randolph-macon college, at a meeting held this day, notice is hereby given to those persons who have contributed by bonds and subscriptions to increase the endowment of the college that the said fund has been raised to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars in bonds, cash, and valid subscriptions, that their obligations have become absolute, and it is hoped that they will discharge them, in order that the money may be invested in permanent form as soon as practicable.'" the herculean task of raising the largest endowment fund ever contributed to any college in virginia or in the south up to this date by public subscription was thus confirmed. when it is considered that the larger part of this amount was contributed by individuals in sums ranging from five to one thousand dollars (the latter sum the largest contributed by one subscriber), the immense labor and difficulties of the undertaking may be, to some extent, estimated. but the large number of subscribers evidenced one gratifying fact, that after the subject of education had been ventilated in mass-meetings, the people had become interested in christian education, and had given practical proof of that interest. [illustration: henry b. cowles, _virginia conference; agent randolph-macon college._] the friends of the college were jubilant over this great event, which seemed to insure new life and energy to the college, the subject of so many hopes and prayers. the three great moving and active agents in consummating the work--president w. a. smith, dr. leroy m. lee, and agent rev. henry b. cowles--are worthy of all honor, and their names should be handed down to succeeding generations as the benefactors of their state and church. at the commencement, june, , there was a large re-union of the alumni of randolph-macon to rejoice over the endowment secured and to consult together about the interests of the college. prominent among those present were rev. president john c. blackwell, the oldest alumnus; rev. holland n. mctyeire, d. d., editor of the _nashville christian advocate_; rev. james a. duncan, hon. thomas h. campbell, etc. a banquet of the society was held, which was attended by many of its members and invited guests. the society of alumni adopted the following preamble and resolutions: "whereas the bible, as the word of god, contains the highest wisdom as well as the highest truth; and whereas it is the oldest as well as the best of books, and bears a vital relation to literature and civilization as well as to religion; and whereas a knowledge of its teachings and the history of those religious opinions and institutions which have exercised a controlling influence upon the character and destiny of mankind is necessary to a broad, liberal and complete education; therefore, "_resolved_, . that the bible, as a text-book, ought to occupy a central place in education, as it does in morals. " . that it is eminently proper for the church, in conducting education, to give the bible such a place and distinct recognition. " . that we, the alumni of randolph-macon college, recommend and respectfully urge upon the board of trustees the creation of a _chair of biblical literature_, whose instruction shall be accessible to all students of the college who shall desire to include them in their course of study, and shall be extended free of charge to any young men who are studying with a view to the christian ministry. " . that we recommend that the virginia conference rand the friends and patrons of the college everywhere take measures for speedily endowing a _chair of biblical literature_. (signed) "holland n. mctyeire. "john c. blackwell." [illustration: rev. william s. davis, _of the north carolina conference; general of cavalry in the c. s. a._] this was the most pleasant and cheering commencement occasion which had occurred for many years. the catalogue showed the attendance to have been: students in college, ; in preparatory school, --total, . this year the old curriculum of four years was abandoned, and the course was made _elective_, with the following departments, viz.: [illustration: thomas j. jarvis, ll. d., _ex-governor of north carolina; senator in u. s. congress; minister to brazil._] . ancient languages, . mathematics, . chemistry and natural philosophy, . moral philosophy, . modern languages, . preparatory. a. b. and a. m. courses for degrees were established. professor j. c. wills resigned the chair of mathematics. he left much to the regret of the board and the faculty to take a professorship at the southern university, greensboro, ala. mr. robert t. massie was elected to fill the vacancy. robert s. isbell was principal of the preparatory school. the following degrees were conferred: a. b. william s. davis, n. c. aurelius t. gill, va. adam c. bagby, va. john l. johnson, va. henry b. cowles, jr.; va. john davidson blackwell, va. william h. davis, va. john t. humphreys, va. thomas j. overby, n. c. john l. chamberlain, n. c. edwin s. hardy, va. john w. jones, va. william g. starr, va. christopher thrower, ark. leroy s. edwards, va. luther wright, va. english and science. j. w. heartsfield, n. c. thomas w. branch, va. f. x. miller, n. c. a. m. dr. samuel d. sanders, s. c. william t. merritt, va. green a. jackson, va. argyle haley, va. john e. christian, va. john williams, n. c. alexander hogg, texas. d. d. prof. a. m. shipp, wofford college, s. c. college year -' . this was the first year under the new system of instruction. at the annual meeting of the board of trustees, the committee on "the course of instruction and new system of government" reported very favorably on the results, and advised continuance of the same, with some modifications. the preparatory school was abolished this year, after an unsuccessful course generally, for about twenty-eight years. the number of students in attendance this year was: in college, ; in preparatory school, --total, . [illustration: b. w. arnold, a. m., _professor of vanderbilt university; member of the virginia legislature._] degrees conferred june, , _under new course_: a. b. joseph d. arnold, va. william p. hill, va. thomas j. jarvis, n. c. a. m. benj. w. arnold, va. anthony dibrell, va. george b. finch, va. p. fletcher ford. va. william m. jones, va. james h. peay, va. benjamin i. scott, va. john w. taylor, va. a. m., under the old course. william i. cowles, va. richard w. jones, va. john b. williams, n. c. wilbur f. davis, va. edwin g. moore, n. c. george w. armistead, va. william a. shepard, va. john l. gillespie, va. college year -' . this college year reached into the first year of the civil war. the matriculation at the opening was fairly good, but during the second term many of the young men left to enter the military service. the commencement exercises were dispensed with, and the board conferred only a few degrees. those receiving them were-- a. m. b. l. arnold, va. b. j. hawthorne, va. richard b. holstead, va. richard o. wyatt, va. a. b. john thompson brown, va. d. d rev. john c. blackwell, a. m., pres. buckingham female inst. under the discouraging circumstances the board determined to suspend the exercises of the college--a very wise move, but unfortunately it was countermanded at a subsequent meeting. college year -' . at a called meeting of the board held august , , the previous action of the board was rescinded, and it was resolved, "that the college be opened at the usual time under a complete system of military government, and rev. major william h. wheelwright was elected professor of military tactics." at a subsequent meeting of the board, professor lewis turner was elected to the chair of mathematics, vacated by the resignation of professor massie, who had entered the military service; professor w. a. shepard had also entered the service, but his place was not filled. at a meeting held in norfolk, va., november , , a committee was appointed to secure a change in the charter, authorizing the military feature proposed for the college. at a meeting of the board held january , , j. e. blankenship was elected professor in place of major wheelwright, who declined to accept the position offered him. on the th february the military organization was completed by the action of the executive committee. it was as follows, viz.: rev. wm. a. smith, d. d., _col. commanding corps cadets_. j. e. blankenship, major, _professor mathematics and military science_. bennett puryear, captain. _professor chemistry_. william b. carr, captain, _professor ancient languages_. g. staubly, captain, _professor modern languages_. a long schedule of military rules was adopted--too long for their insertion here, and much longer than their existence would have justified. those who reversed the deliberate action of the board at the annual meeting, carried away with the excitement of the times, thought they were doing the best, but, as we look at it now, it appears a solemn farce. it was also an expensive one. at the close of the year, june, , the following received degrees: a. m. william a. archer, va. j. e. butler, ark. r. a. compton, va. william s. williams. mo. graduates of former years. william g. starr, robert s. isbell, john d. blackwell. a. b. william e. edwards. b. l. arnold, va. [illustration: william e. edwards, d. d., _a. b., ._] at the annual meeting, june, , of the trustees, the following resolution was adopted: "this board, having the utmost confidence in the ability of the confederate states to maintain their independence, and that it is safe to make investment in their stocks (bonds), is of the opinion that it would be judicious to sell out our stocks which do not pay an interest of more than six per cent., and to invest the same in confederate states bonds, bearing an interest of eight per cent. and that the president of the college be requested to confer with our investing agent on the subject, and that if the investing agent concur with the board in the propriety of the exchance of stocks, that he proceed to make it." under the military _regime_ the session opened as usual in september, . the number of students in attendance was small, as might have been expected. the board of students was fixed at $ per month, with the following bill of fare at the mess hall: "_for breakfast_--sugar, coffee (_or substitute_) or milk (_those using the one will not be entitled to the other_), flour-bread, viz., loaf bread and biscuit, and either batter-bread, waffles or muffins, butter, cold or fried bacon, or hash. "_for dinner_--boiled bacon and cabbage, or other greens, and one of the following kinds of meats, viz., beef, mutton, shoat or fowls, with the vegetables of the season, and corn-bread. "_for supper_--sugar, coffee (_or a substitute_) or milk, as at breakfast, flour-bread, viz., loaf-bread and biscuit, and either batter-bread, waflles, muffins, or toast-bread and butter." what soldier could not fight on such fare as this! in october, , professor staubly resigned, and soon afterwards went to petersburg, along with professor w. b. carr, to teach in the petersburg female college. they were thus engaged till the th of june, , when general kautz attacked the home guards, under the command of major f. h. archer. in this engagement professors carr and staubly were participants, and the latter was killed, along with geo. b. jones, a randolph-macon alumnus. at a called meeting of the trustees held december , , the president presented to the consideration of the board the condition of the college, with an exhibit of receipts and disbursements. after much deliberation, it was ordered that the operations of the college be suspended from and after the th of february, , to the opening of the fall term, in september following. "dr. w. a. smith was placed in charge of the property. at a meeting of the trustees held july , , the president in his report in regard to the closing term said: "the college opened september, , with about twenty students, which number gradually increased to forty-four. the conscript act then went into operation, and took nearly half that number. then, on motion, it was ordered that the exercises of the college be suspended until otherwise ordered. the virginia conference of the m. e. church, south, held its annual session at broad-street methodist church november, . at this conference the following resolution was adopted: "_resolved_, that we recommend the trustees of randolph-macon college to remove it from its present site to some more eligible locality, and we call their attention specially to the advantages presented by lynchburg as the place to which it should be transferred." a meeting of the trustees was called to consider the resolution of the conference, and the trustees assembled at broad-street church november , . as there were only nine members in attendance, the trustees adjourned to meet in the city of petersburg on the th of january, to consider the recommendation of the conference, and an order was made that notice of the adjourned meeting be given in the newspapers of richmond and petersburg. the trustees of randolph-macon college met, pursuant to adjournment, at the washington-street m. e. church, petersburg, va., on wednesday, january , . there were present seventeen members. the chairman, president smith, presented the resolution of the conference, given above. after considerable discussion, the following was agreed upon as the sense of the board: "_resolved unanimously_, that while the board of trustees of randolph-macon college are not prepared to take decisive action on the resolution of the virginia conference in relation to the change of location of said college, yet this board so far concurs in the spirit of their resolution as to appoint five members as a committee of the board to take immediate steps to ascertain the comparative advantages offered by other localities with a view to its removal; and that the committee be requested to perform their duty with dispatch, and report to an adjourned meeting to be held in petersburg, va., on wednesday, march , ." the following were appointed said committee: rev. w. a. smith, chairman, rev. l. m. lee, rev. j. c. blackwell, e. r. chambers, and r. m. smith; and, on motion, captain richard irby was added to the committee. the trustees met, pursuant to adjournment, in washington-street m. e. church, petersburg, va., march , . the committee appointed at the meeting january last made report, as follows: "the committee to whom were referred the comparative claims of the different localities which have been spoken of as offering the most encouraging prospects of success beg leave to submit, that such is the unsettled state of public opinion as to the financial condition of the country at this time, and for some time to come, that no enlightened judgment can be reached by your committee as to the advantages offered by other localities compared with the present location of the college, we beg, therefore, to be relieved from the further consideration of the subject. "(signed) wm. a. smith, _chairman_." the following order was adopted in regard to the report, viz.: "_resolved_, that the report of the committee be referred back to the same committee, with instructions to take into consideration all the subjects committed to them at the meeting held in petersburg on the th january last, and report to a subsequent meeting to be held in petersburg at the call of the president, or when he may be requested to call a meeting by any five members of the board of trustees." this meeting was never called. the committee never formulated any further report. in a few weeks after the meeting was held, petersburg was invested by the federal army, under general grant. this investment was continued until april, , when general lee's right wing was turned, petersburg and richmond evacuated, and the final surrender at appomattox. the following reminiscences of the last days of the college before the suspension are given by rev. dr. w. e. edwards, who was at the college till near the close: "the years - were among the most memorable in the history of the college. in the college, perhaps, had attained the climax of its _ante-bellum_ prosperity. it had met difficulties and conquered them. it had grown and developed into commanding importance. a future of great promise opened up before it. dr. william a. smith was now at the zenith of his great popularity as a college president and as an instructor in moral philosophy. the changes which from time to time he had introduced in the management of affairs bore continually-increasing fruit in the orderly conduct of students and in their closer application to books; nay, more, his adaptation to the professorial duties which he had assumed shone out conspicuously before the church and the state. he was endowed with splendid abilities--an intellectual giant. especially was he a born metaphysician. he possessed a power of introspection and an aptness for the logical arrangement of truth that fall to the lot of but few men in life; and now, by patient toil, he elaborated and delivered to his classes a course of original lectures upon the various subjects in his special department, which of itself would justly entitle him to a high rank among the instructors of the country. it is to be regretted that these lectures were never written out _in extenso_ and given to the public. no doubt, at certain points, they would disclose a lack of thoroughness, due to the absence of large and general reading; still, they would manifest a marked degree of original and profound investigation, and would prove, what cannot be said of all that today is taught in our colleges under the name of moral science, exceedingly helpful in the proper culture and discipline of character. in other words, the doctor, in the plan and order of his talent, was practical rather than speculative. the dark cloud of civil war, so long anticipated and dreaded, now appeared with threatening aspect upon the horizon. the presidential nominees were made. intense excitement pervaded every department of society. still the attendance of students upon the fall session of the college for was not much abated. of course, the storm without was felt in the narrower circle of college life; all the circumstances of a regular political campaign was here faithfully enacted. parties were formed; electors were chosen; speeches were made; votes were cast. the majority upon which so important a decision was made (to the best of my memory) was five, yet, in spite of this political strife, studies were pursued with the zest and regularity of former years. a few months passed by. the great american people, despite the students of randolph-macon college, decided who should be the president of the country, and declared in favor of abraham lincoln, 'the rail-splitter of illinois.' the college participated more and more in the effects of the increasing excitement. many students from the seceded states returned to their homes. at length the th of march, , arrived. mr. lincoln was inducted into office. immediately he called for seventy-five thousand men to crush the 'rebellion.' virginia, so long standing aloof, and hoping against hope, now compelled to make a decision, unhesitatingly cast her fortune with that of her southern sisters. the wildest enthusiasm prevailed among the students. bondfires were kindled; a great torchlight procession was formed; the different professors were visited, and, after the most approved style, called on for speeches. then the march was continued to boydton, to the manifest delight of the citizens of that little town; and then, at a late hour of the night, the line was broken, and every one was left to find his way as best he could back to his room. it is a time long to be remembered. "soon students in large numbers left for their homes to prepare for war. the country was converted into an immense camp. so great was the depletion in the number of students, and so great was the excitement that prevailed throughout the country, that the college authorities deemed it inexpedient to hold the regular commencement exercises for this year. so closed the term of -' . "a word at this point: in those days it was not deemed improper or unbecoming for ministers of the gospel to have decided views upon questions of state. there were clerical whigs and there were clerical democrats, and very stoutly did they maintain the cause of their respective parties. of course, they never entered the political arena, but in private and around the fireside there was often no small war waged by these 'gentlemen of the cloth' over the great issues of the day. dr. william a. smith was a democrat of the calhoun stamp. he believed implicitly in the right of secession, a sacred right guaranteed by the constitution, and was not slow to give the reason for the opinion which he cherished. still, in the earlier part of , he did not recognize the necessity for the exercise of this right on the part of the south. he thought that some compromise might be effected and the union saved; yet when mr. lincoln was inaugurated, and his policy forecast in the call for seventy thousand men to crush the rebellion, he no longer hesitated, but claimed rights which before he was willing to ignore; and the south had no stauncher friend or more zealous advocate than he during all those dark days of fratricidal strife, even to the close, when drums ceased to beat and the battle-flags were furled. "we start a new era. vacation begins. the excitement in the land, if possible, becomes more intense. there is volunteering for service, drilling, hurrying on to the front. everything is placed under contribution to facilitate and render successful the mighty trial of arms which is impending. the battle of manassas is fought. the south is the victor; yet the fruits are not what were desired and anticipated. the war cloud, instead of vanishing, grows denser. the evidences of a protracted and sanguinary conflict become manifest. the trustees of the college, under existing circumstances, were embarrassed. they knew not what to do; yet in the early part of july they declared against the opening of the doors of the institution for the coming year. later on, however, they reversed this decision, and the college began its fall session at the usual time. several important changes are here to be noticed. first, the number of students was perceptibly smaller than usual; the whole body, perhaps, did not exceed sixty-five or seventy. a few of these were manifestly parties desiring to shirk military service; yet the great majority was composed of persons under the age of conscription and of persons who were already far advanced in their college course and looked forward to a speedy graduation. "again: there was a change in the complexion or membership of the faculty. professor massie resigned to accept a call to governmental work in richmond, and professor turner was elected to fill the chair of mathematics. he, however, resigned at the close of the half session, and professor blankenship was chosen as his successor. professor shepard resigned, and entered upon active military service in the field. no one was appointed to fill his place, as the exigencies of the case did not demand it. "once more: the style of the college was changed from a purely literary to a semi-military institution. a regular uniform was prescribed; drills were daily observed, and other things of a similar character were enjoined, all looking to the preparation of the student for the duties that awaited him in defence of his country. "the commencement exercises for this year were exceedingly interesting and for the times very largely attended. dr. james a. duncan delivered the address before the two societies. his presence among the scenes of his boyhood was a joy to his old acquaintances, and his address was highly appreciated for its worth and for the sake of the man who delivered it." the record of the meeting held march , , given above, closes the official history of the college prior to the surrender. we give the names of the trustees following those who were named in the charter of february, , with date of their election: name. state. year. nathaniel mason,. . . . . virginia, . . . . . . thomas adams, . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . thomas williams,. . . . . south carolina, . . . alexander spear,. . . . . georgia,. . . . . . . w. h. ellison,. . . . . . georgia,. . . . . . . rev. william capers,. . . south carolina, . . . rev. w. m. kennedy, . . . south carolina, . . . rev. w. m. wightman,. . . south carolina, . . . george w. jeffries, . . . north carolina, . . . bev. sydnor,. . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. i. a. few, . . . . . georgia,. . . . . . . rev. lovick pierce, . . . georgia,. . . . . . . seaborn jones,. . . . . . georgia,. . . . . . . j. c. poythress,. . . . . georgia,. . . . . . . rev. james mcaden,. . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. abram penn,. . . . . virginia, . . . . . . willis lea, . . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . bishop j. o. andrew,. . . georgia,. . . . . . . hugh a. garland,. . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. stephen olin,. . . . virginia, . . . . . . horace palmer,. . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. james jameison,. . . north carolina, . . . rev. b. t. blake, . . . . north carolina, . . . m. m. mcpherson,. . . . . georgia,. . . . . . . thomas w. williams, . . . south carolina, . . . s. k. hodges, . . . . . . south carolina, . . . l. c. garland,. . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . d'arcy paul,. . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . a. a. campbell, . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. d. s. doggett,.. . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. a. m. forster, . . . south carolina, . . . rev. henry b. cowles, . . virginia, . . . . . . george rogers,. . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . edward r. chambers, . . . virginia, . . . . . . william townes, . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . wesley young, . . . . . . north carolina, . . . rev. r. o. burton,. . . . north carolina, . . . rev. william b. rowzie, . virginia, . . . . . . ellis malone, . . . . . . north carolina, . . . thomas branch,. . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. l. m. lee, . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . thomas w. harris, . . . . north carolina, . . . richard b. baptist, . . . virginia, . . . . . . charles r. eaton, . . . . north carolina, . . . mason l. wiggins, . . . . north carolina, . . . charles s. hutcheson, . . virginia, . . . . . . william irby, . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . james j. daly,. . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. r. i. carson,. . . . north carolina, . . . rev. james reid,. . . . . north carolina, . . . g. w. s. parham,. . . . . virginia, . . . . . . george wilson,. . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . george d. baskerville,. . north carolina, . . . rev. anthony dibrell, . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. william closs, . . . north carolina, . . . rev. thomas s. campbell,. north carolina, . . . thomas h. campbell, . . . virginia, . . . . . . richard irby, . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . charles skinner,. . . . . north carolina, . . . rev. george w. nolley,. . virginia, . . . . . . john g. boyd, . . . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. leo rosser,. . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. j. p. moore, . . . . north carolina, . . . rev. r. e. g. adams,. . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. p. w. archer,... . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. n. f. reid,. . . . . north carolina, . . . rev. william carter,. . . north carolina, . . . rev. j. e. edwards, . . . virginia, . . . . . . n. milam, . . . . . . . . north carolina, . . . rev. g. w. carter,. . . . virginia, . . . . . . richard m. smith, . . . . virginia, . . . . . . rev. john c. blackwell, . virginia, . . . . . . thomas p. jerman, . . . . north carolina, . . . leroy m. wilson,. . . . . virginia, . . . . . . o. h. p. corprew, . . . . virginia, . . . . . . william a. smith, . . . . virginia, . . . . . . w. t. sutherlin, . . . . virginia, . . . . . . _secretaries of the board._ rev. william a. smith, rev. william m. wightman, rev. john g. claiborne, rev. edward wadsworth, rev. henry b. cowles, richard b. baptist, richard irby, william a. shepard. _treasurers._ john w. lewis, alexander boyd, beverly sydnor, landon c. garland, david duncan, charles b. stuart, rev. william a. smith. agents. rev. h. g. leigh, rev. william hammett, rev. m. p. parks, rev. john early, rev. william a. smith, rev. thomas crowder, rev. john a. miller, rev. john kerr, rev. s. s. bryant, rev. r. o. burton, rev. william b. rowzie, rev. r. i. carson, rev. benjamin r. duval, rev. n. thomas, rev. henry b. cowles. rev. john early, chairman board of trustees, . president " " to . in the body of the history sufficient prominence has not been given to a number of the professors and agents. they in many instances richly deserved this prominence, but it seemed to be impossible to get portraits of them. a search for some of them for years failed to secure them. the good work, as agents, of rev. b. r. duval and rev. n. thomas, more particularly the former, deserved a much more extended notice and commendation. war history. the war history of the college and its professors and sons is and must remain very imperfect. it is impossible for the writer to gather up the scattered threads of this history. no approximate estimate can be given of the number who went into military service, nor of the casualties which befell them. that many of them were killed and wounded and many died of sickness is well known. six randolph-macon men were enrolled in one company, and the casualties which befell these are here given from actual data. whether this is a fair sample of the rest is not known with certainty. there is no reason why it should not be assumed as a fair average. in company g, eighteenth virginia regiment, army northern virginia, the following casualties occurred, viz.: richard irby, class of , first lieutenant and captain, wounded twice at second manassas, . samuel hardy, class of , first lieutenant, lost an arm and disabled at gaines' mill, . richard ferguson, class of , first lieutenant (and adjutant of the regiment, ), wounded at gaines' mill, frazier's farm, second manassas, and captured inside the cemetery wall at gettysburg; in prison to the close of the war. edward h. muse, class of , second lieutenant, wounded at frazier's farm, gettysburg, and sailor's creek. anthony dibrell crenshaw, class of , third lieutenant, killed at five forks, , and buried on the field. benjamin i. scott, class of , corporal, killed near boonsboro, md., , and left on the field. the writer can give the history and portraits of these, because he had the honor to command the company in which they served, and preserved their records and portraits. the college premises were occupied after the close of the war for some time by the federal forces. the main building was used as headquarters of the freedman's bureau, and the rooms filled with the "wards of the nation." the damage done to the property was assessed at about five thousand dollars, which is unpaid to this day, and will doubtless so remain to the end of time. this closes the _ante-bellum_ record. [illustration: officers company g, eighteenth virginia regiment. no. . captain richard irby. no. . lieut. richard ferguson. no. . lieut. s. hardy. no. . lieut. e. h. muse. no. . lieut. a. d. crenshaw. no. . corpl. b. i. scott.] interlude. before entering upon the subsequent history of the college, this writer would take this occasion to refer to one of many omissions, which he has noted in revising the pages already printed, a point of special interest and importance. this is the religious element in randolph-macon college. the college was the child of the methodist church, established, in large measure, to educate young men for the ministry in accordance with the ideas and usages of the church of that day. religion was the first and foremost consideration--religion as taught and emphasized by the methodist church--religion allied with education. at the first opening of the college a chaplain was appointed for it by the conference, a man who was as complete a model of the methodist minister as could be found, william b. rowzie, a walking, living epistle of christ, "known and read of all men." one better than he could not have been found to inaugurate the religious life of the college. never in the history of the church in virginia has methodism, in its spirit and economy, been more thoroughly exemplified than it has been at randolph-macon. the morning and evening sacrifice of prayer and praise noted every day of work. preaching in the chapel was had twice on sabbath and prayer service was held on wednesday evenings. students were required to attend morning and evening prayer and sunday morning service. besides this, the members of the church were organized into classes with leaders, according to methodist usage, and class-meetings were regularly held once a week. thus was exhibited a complete practical example of methodist economy as prescribed in the _discipline_. the result and fruit of this work was a high state of religious life. every year, or oftener, this life took the form of great religious activity, and sweeping revivals occurred, bringing well-nigh all in the college and many outside under spiritual influence, and many converts into the church. there were few years, if any, when some such revival did not take place. of many it could be said, "this and that man was born there"; many who not only became christians themselves, but went forth from the college to preach the gospel throughout the southern land. many here were drilled in methodist usages, and thus prepared to become class leaders, stewards and sunday-school teachers and superintendents after they left college. a large proportion of these became presidents of colleges and principals of high schools and academies, in which they inaugurated the same system of "religion in earnest." these schools shared the same benign and gracious influences, and in turn became "fountains in the desert," from whence "streams broke out," reaching even to the ends of the earth, "making glad the city of our god," and causing "the wilderness to bloom and blossom as the rose." it may be thought strange that fathers belonging to other churches and others not religious were ever found sending their sons to a college which was thus permeated with religious life as taught and practiced by methodists. but in many cases they did send them. this writer, whose acquaintance with the college extends over a period of nearly sixty years, makes bold to say that he has never known a student to change his church membership during all that time and become a methodist. he has known class-leaders who had been at home presbyterians and episcopalians, but after leaving college they resumed their work in their fathers' churches, none the worse for having for a time worked in "methodist traces." as to calculating the ultimate effects of all these causes and influences in time and eternity, it were as vain to try to calculate or measure them as it would be "to bind the sweet influences of the pleiades or loose the bands of orion." college history after the war. the period immediately succeeding the surrender of the confederate army at appomatox was one of the darkest and most discouraging that any civilized people was ever called to face. virginia had been for four years the battle-ground over which great armies had marched and counter-marched and fought. every home had felt the torture that "tried men's souls." widows gathered their fatherless children around them to share the last crust of bread together, not knowing whether even that much could be found to-morrow. for miles along the highways over which the armies had marched, the bare chimneys only, marked the sites where comfortable houses had sheltered happy households. the farmer had his land left--that could not be carried away; but few had any teams to break the ground, and many had not the seed needed to sow the fields. the last cow was in many cases driven away or killed. a noted federal general had boastfully reported to the general-in-chief that so completely had he devastated the fairest and most fertile section of the state that a crow could not travel over it without carrying his rations with him. richmond, the capital city, after withstanding two sieges successfully, had been, in large part, made a bank of ashes. petersburg, beleaguered so long, was a scarred and battered wreck. fredericksburg, winchester, norfolk, and many other towns, were little better off. some of the railroads were stripped of their rails--all of them in bad plight and almost without any equipment for business, if any business were to be found. the labor system, which had for centuries been used to cultivate the land and gather the crops, had been at one stroke subverted, and virtually destroyed. none had been found for months afterward to take its place. with the people at large it was a struggle for existence and a fight with famine. one of the saddest scenes this writer ever witnessed was at nottoway courthouse. a few days after the surrender at appomattoax, he was summoned with other citizens of the county to attend a meeting called to confer with the military officers as to the best plans to be devised to prevent suffering among the people. just as he entered the courthouse, where a number of people were assembled, he saw a venerable man of more than three-score years and ten standing before the officer, with tears streaming down his furrowed cheeks, and heard him say: "every scrap of meat, every grain of corn, everything in the way of food i had, has been taken from me. i know not where i shall get my meat or bread to-morrow." this man had been for many years one of the foremost men in the county, a senator in the general assembly of virginia, and for many years a trustee of randolph-macon college. but poverty and penury were not all. the people were humiliated and despondent. their state, "the mother of states and statesmen," had now the tyrant's heel upon her neck, and was styled "district" (no. ), a "conquered province"--her governor, first a refugee, then a prisoner. military satraps filled the seats of judges and magistrates. the ignorant slave was often shown more deference than his former cultured master. most of the flower of the manhood of the state had died by the sword or disease. the boys and girls of the next generation were growing up without the means of education, and helping to eak out a living for their widowed mothers. such, in brief, was the condition of virginia in the period succeeding the close of the war. what could the trustees of the college do under such circumstances as now surrounded them? the endowment gathered at such an expenditure of time and labor was in large part lost. the investments made were in bonds and stocks of more than uncertain value, some not worth the paper on which they were printed. the college buildings, libraries and laboratories had all been impaired and damaged by non-use or abuse. there was no money in hand to repair and refit them. our own people were too poor to furnish it. those who had devastated the property, and added injury to insult, could not be expected to restore what they had destroyed. nevertheless, it had been but a few months after the surrender before a meeting of the board was called to be held in petersburg, august , . at this meeting a quorum was lacking, and the board adjourned to meet on september following, at the residence of richard irby, in nottoway. this adjourned meeting was held, and a quorum was present. one of the first matters attended to was the appointment of a committee consisting of president w. a. smith and four others "to estimate the damage to the college incurred by the occupation of it by the united states troops _after the surrender_, and in behalf of the trustees to make application to the proper authorities of the government for payment." on motion of d'arcy paul it was-- _resolved_, that all the professor's chairs be declared vacant. a provisional arrangement was made to open the college for school purposes, but this arrangement was not carried out. a further plan was provided for taking care of the college property, and the board adjourned. the next meeting of the board was held at the college july , , with eighteen members in attendance. the chairman of the committee appointed at the last meeting to assess and press claim for damages to college, reported that the committee had not been encouraged in their efforts by the military authorities in virginia. judge e. r. chambers was appointed to prosecute the claim. it may save time here to say, as has been said before, that this claim was never recognized by the government. the finance committee made a report of the endowment fund and liabilities of the college: bonds of the city of petersburg and interest, . . . . . . $ , bonds of the state of virginia, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ------- (classed available),. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , bonds southside railroad company, guaranteed by city of petersburg,. . . . . . .$ , stock petersburg railroad company, , ------- $ , ------- $ , ------- private or personal endowment bonds, . . . . . . . . . . .$ , legacy of w. b. jones, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ------- $ , ======= confederate bonds, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , confederate currency, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ------- $ , ======= leaving out the confederate bonds, which were worthless, the balance of available and possible assets were $ , liabilities as far as known, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , ------- net assets, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , this, under all the circumstances, might be considered a favorable showing, and the credit of it is due to the faithful investing agent, who also showed his skill and faithfulness by bringing through the war the "savings and insurance company," of which he was president, free from wreck. the resolution of the virginia conference in regard to the removal of the college had been allowed to sleep since the committee's report, in march, . it was again brought forward by the following resolution, offered by richard m. smith, esq.: "_resolved_, that a committee of ------ be appointed to ascertain what accommodations and on what terms and what inducements generally can be obtained for transferring randolph-macon college to petersburg, richmond, lynchburg, or any other place, and also the earliest day at which accommodations can be at command, and report to an adjourned meeting of this board." this resolution was defeated by a vote of to . the following, offered by judge e. r. chambers, was then adopted: "_resolved_, that it is inexpedient and injudicious to change the location of the college." the ayes and noes on this were recorded, as follows: _ayes_.--william townes, sr., c. s. hutcheson, w. b. rowzie, william townes, jr., william carter, t. p. jerman, r. b. baptist, n. head. j. p. moore, o. h. p. corprew, n. alexander, e. r. chambers, l. m. wilson-- . _noes_.--richard irby, d. s. doggett, r. m. smith, j. c. granbery, t. s. campbell, j. c. blackwell-- . dr. w. a. smith, at his own request, was excused from voting. it was resolved to take steps to re-open the college as soon as practicable. the degree of a. m. was conferred, under the law, on the following: leroy s. edwards, thomas j. overby, and j. davidson blackwell, a. b.'s of former years. dr. william a. smith tendered his resignation as president of the college, to take effect at once. the resignation was accepted by the board, and resolutions were adopted expressing the high appreciation of him and his work, which had extended over a period of nearly twenty years. the board resolved to adjourn to meet again on the th of august following to elect a president and three professors. the salaries of these were fixed--guaranteed, to the president, $ , ; to the professors, $ each, and, in addition, the tuition fees of the students in attendance. at the adjourned meeting, august , , the following elections were made: richard w. jones, a. m., _professor of mathematics_. o. h. p. corprew, a. m., _professor of ancient languages_. rev. john c. blackwell, a. m., d. d., _professor of chemistry_. ernest la garde, _professor of modern languages_. the election of a president was postponed to an adjourned meeting, and dr. john c. blackwell was appointed to act as president until a president should be elected. at an adjourned meeting held october , , on the nomination of william townes, sr., col. thomas carter johnson, a. m. (class ), was elected president and professor of moral philosophy. the board then adjourned to meet at the session of the virginia annual conference, november , . colonel johnson was then a citizen of montgomery, ala., practicing law. he accepted the office tendered, but did not take the position until near the close of the year. at the adjourned meeting held at norfolk, november , , the board, on motion of dr. william a. smith, resolved to establish "the school of commercial science" in the college. this was never done. at this meeting a representative from ashland, hanover county, va., presented a communication from owners of property in that town offering to sell certain property in case the board should determine to move the college. a committee, consisting of d'arcy paul, r. m. smith and d. s. doggett, were appointed to investigate and report in regard to the matter. at the adjourned meeting in december, held at the college, president-elect johnson appeared before the board and was formally inducted into office. he was requested to visit the baltimore conference of the methodist episcopal church, south, which had recently adhered to the southern church, and endeavor to secure the patronage and co-operation of that conference; also, to visit baltimore and other cities with a view to securing financial help for the college. an overture was also made to the north carolina conference with a view to the restoration of former relations and the securing of its patronage. president johnson subsequently reported the result of his visit to the baltimore conference, and submitted the action of that body, which was as follows: "baltimore conference, m. e. church, south. "report of committee on colleges. "the committee on colleges submit the following report: "_resolved_, . that the conference accepts the proposition of the board of trustees of randolph-macon college to give its patronage to said institution and to participate equally with the other patronizing conferences in its government and privileges, and we hereby nominate four suitable persons to be elected trustees from this conference to represent our interests on said board. "_resolved_, . that when a trustee shall locate, it shall be his duty to resign. "_resolved_, . that we will give the full weight of our influence in extending the patronage of randolph-macon college." "(signed) s. s. roszel, _chairman_." these resolutions were adopted by the conference march, . on the recommendation of the baltimore conference the following gentlemen were elected trustees of randolph-macon college, viz.: rev. s. s. roszel, rev. john poisal, rev. s. s. register, and rev. john landstreet. at the first annual meeting of the trustees held at the college, june , , after president johnson had assumed control, eleven trustees were in attendance. ex-president w. a. smith had gone to central college, fayette, missouri, of which he had been elected president. the president's report stated that the attendance for the session of -' had been in all forty-five students; a large proportion of them were on scholarships. the net receipts from fees were necessarily very small. the degree of d. d. was conferred on the following: rev. nelson head, rev. john e. edwards, and rev. w. w. bennett, of the virginia conference; rev. samuel s. register, rev. s. s. roszel, rev. john poisal, and rev. john s. martin, of the baltimore conference; bishop enoch m. marvin, of the m. e. church, south, and rev. smith w. moore, of the tennessee conference. the degree of ll. d. was conferred on bishop george f. pierce, m. e. church, south, and hon. james f. dowdell and william f. samford, of alabama. the degree of a. m. was conferred on thomas j. jarvis, of north carolina (class of ). removal of the college. the college year, - , was not a prosperous one. the financial condition of the country was anything but favorable to a successful year. the dissatisfaction with the location of the college had been increasing since . at the annual meeting in it was to culminate. the president had become convinced that something must be done or the college would have to close its doors. some who had opposed removal heretofore now favored it. in the notice for the meeting a special request was made for a full meeting, and the object was generally understood. the meeting commenced its session june , . there were present the following: revs. james jamieson, h. b. cowles, robert o. burton, w. b. rowzie, l. m. lee, t. s. campbell, geo. w. nolley, l. rosser, j. p. moore, wm. carter, john e. edwards, j. c. blackwell, nelson head, j. c. granbery, john landstreet, and messrs. n. alexander, d. paul, e. r. chambers, wm. townes, sr., thos. branch, r. b. baptist, j. j. daly, r. irby, r. m. smith, t. p. jerman, t. m. jones, t. c. johnson, c. s. hutcheson, w. townes, jr., and o. h. p. corprew--thirty in all. president t. c. johnson presided, and professor corprew was secretary. the feeling prevailed generally that this meeting would decide the question of removal. there was early skirmishing by the opposing sides, and it was some time before the decisive vote was reached and taken. finally, the motion of dr. j. e. edwards, which was as follows: "resolved, that in the judgment of the board of trustees for the greater prosperity of the institution, randolph-macon college should be removed from its present to a more accessible and eligible location"--was adopted by the following vote: _ayes_.--paul, cowles, burton, rowzie, branch, lee. t. s. campbell, irby, nolley, rosser, edwards, r. m. smith, jerman, blackwell, head, granbery, jones, johnson, and landstreet-- . _noes_.--alexander, chambers, townes, sr., baptist, daly, moore, carter, townes, jr., and corprew-- . [illustration: rev. john ellis edwards, a. m., d. d., _virginia conference, m.e. church, south._] on motion of d'arcy paul, the board took steps to secure the authority of the constituted authorities for the necessary change of the charter, so as to allow the change of location. on motion of dr. j. e. edwards it was-- "_resolved_, that so soon as the gentlemen (messrs. branch, irby, snyder and watts) who have purchased the property and premises at ashland are prepared to make a tender of the same to the trustees for the use of randolph-macon college, free from any encumbrance as to title, and so soon as the legal authority is secured for the transfer of the institution, the trustees bind and pledge themselves to make the transfer and removal to ashland; and also pledge themselves further to open the next session of the college exercises at that place; provided the above-named conditions are complied with in time to enable the trustees to carry out this pledge." a committee, consisting of d. paul, r. m. smith, drs. l. m. lee, j. e. edwards and n. head, were appointed to secure the legal authority to remove the college to ashland, and to secure proper title to the property to be used for the location of the college. the president was authorized to employ an agent to have the furniture, libraries, apparatus, etc., removed to ashland. thus ended the struggle in regard to moving the college. the majority, while taking this step, which they deemed absolutely necessary in order to carry out the object sought in the establishment of the college, took it with the greatest reluctance. they could not grieve so generous a people as those living in the vicinity of the college without feelings of the utmost regret and pain. the minority could not see what had been the pride of the community and section taken away, without feelings of sorrow. many of them had for many years been the strongest and warmest friends of the college, and had often manifested their friendship by generous acts and steadfast devotion to it in adversity and prosperity. after transacting a few items of business, one of which was the conferring the degree of d. d. on rev. robert s. moran, of the north carolina conference, the board adjourned to meet again in centenary church, richmond, va., july , . after the adjournment of the board the opponents to the removal of the college sued out an injunction restraining the board from taking the step contemplated. when the adjourned meeting of the board assembled in centenary church, richmond, july , , this action was reported, "whereupon a motion was adopted to appoint a committee to wait on general stoneman, in charge of the district." this committee addressed the following communication to general stoneman: "richmond, va., _july , _. "_major-gen. stoneman, commanding general district no. _: "sir,--we are instructed by the trustees of randolph-macon college, now in adjourned session in this city, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the th instant, addressed to a previous committee of this board, touching the interests of the college under their management. "since the communication on behalf of the trustees, to which your letter of the th instant was in reply, a contingency then contemplated has arrived. a minority of the trustees have sued out an injunction restraining the board from making the contemplated removal of the college, the writ being returnable on the first monday in august at charlotte courthouse for hearing before judge marshall. we are advised that the suit will prove very tedious as well as very expensive, and will thus operate very disadvantageously to the interests of the college whatever the decision. we therefore add to the former application made to you in behalf of the trustees, that you will issue an order protecting us, both from obstruction and from delay, through these appeals to the courts, until such time as the legislative authority of the state, of which you are at present the sole representative, shall be regularly organized and open to the application usual in such cases. "very respectfully yours, (signed) "j. early, etc., etc., "_committee_." to this communication general stoneman submitted the following reply: "headquarters first military district, "richmond, va., _july , _. "gentlemen: i am directed by the commanding general to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date in relation to the subject of the removal of randolph-macon college, and in reply thereto, to inform you that authority is hereby given to the trustees of that college to remove that institution, with all the appurtenances and fixtures thereunto belonging, to such place and at such time as the majority of the trustees may think proper, this removal to be subject to the conditions set forth in a former letter from these headquarters, dated the th instant.* *this letter is not found in the record. "i am, gentlemen, very respectfully, (signed) "s. f. chalfin, "_assistant adjutant-general_" "_to messrs. john early, d. s. doggett, richard irby, r. m. smith, and others, committee of the trustees of randolph-macon college._" the owners of the property at ashland, who had purchased the same for the trustees, submitted the conditions on which they proposed to turn it over to the trustees, and the same were, on motion, accepted. this property embraced all the buildings then standing on the thirteen acres, now constituting the campus of the college at ashland, with some other lots adjacent. thus the location was provided for the college with accommodations for professors and students, and the way was cleared for the removal of the college to it. at this juncture president johnson submitted the following communication: "richmond, va., _july , _. "_gentlemen of the board of trustees of randolph-macon college:_ "the experiment upon which you are about to enter, with my aid and approbation, seems to me to demand that you should have the widest field for the choice of a man to fill the position i now hold. the general troubled condition of the country, excluding many distinguished men from the arena of politics, in which the talent of virginia and the south has heretofore been employed, and also the returning to this state of many unemployed scholars and literary men, affords you a wide field of selection for this purpose. i feel that in your straitened condition, having to make a new appeal for students and for friends to re-endow your college, you are entitled to every possible advantage in your arduous undertaking. a son of the college, i love her too well, and the church which has founded and supported her in the past, to stand in the way of any possible effort that may give prestige to your labors to put her once more on the high road to prosperity. "with this view and the kindest wishes to every member of the board, i hereby resign the presidency of the college. "very truly, your obedient servant, (signed) "thomas c. johnson." on motion of rev. j. c. granbery, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: "_resolved_, that in accepting the resignation of president johnson it is due to ourselves as well as to him that we express the high esteem which we feel for him as a christian gentleman and our admiration of the great zeal and fidelity with which he has discharged the duties of his oflice at a most critical and embarrassing juncture in the history of the college, also our warm appreciation of the disinterested and generous motives which have prompted him to tender his resignation." on motion of dr. n. head-- "_resolved_, that in the absence of a legislature having obtained authority from general stoneman to do so, the college be removed from mecklenburg county to ashland, in hanover county, va., and that a session of the college be opened at that place on the first day of october next. "_resolved_, that in deciding to change the site of randolph-macon college this board has been actuated only by the solemn conviction that it was imperatively demanded by the educational interests of the church and community at large, and that the opposition which has been offered to this action by a minority of the trustees is deeply deplored by their colleagues of the board, who here now and hereby respectfully request that those members will withdraw that opposition, as injurious to the interests dear alike to all, this earnest and fraternal appeal being prompted and encouraged by the very high esteem and respect entertained for the gentlemen to whom it is addressed by their associates of the board." on motion of richard irby-- "_resolved_, that this board holds itself in readiness to make such arrangements as will secure to the county of mecklenburg a high school at the present site of randolph-macon college on terms such as may be desired, said school to be a preparatory school to the college." preparatory steps were taken to have the college furniture, libraries, etc., removed at once to ashland. the board then proceeded to fill the place of president, vacated by the resignation of president johnson. dr. landon c. garland, of the university of mississippi, was unanimously elected president. a committee of nine members was appointed, who were authorized, in conjunction with dr. garland, to elect the professors of the college; and in the event that dr. garland declines to accept the presidency, then said committee shall be authorized to elect another man to be president. the following were then, on nomination, elected to constitute said committee, viz.: bishop john early, bishop d. s. doggett, drs. n. head, l. m. lee, j. e. edwards, l. rosser, rev. h. b. cowles, rev. j. c. granbery, and richard irby. professors corprew, jones, blackwell, and la garde severally submitted their resignations. the duty of removing the college and preparing the buildings and premises at ashland, and making other necessary arrangements, was devolved on the "executive committee, which consisted of richard irby, dr. n. head, d'arcy paul, thomas branch, and rev. t. s. campbell. thomas carter johnson. in memoriam. colonel thomas c. johnson was born near lynchburg, va., on the nd of march, . he was converted and joined the methodist church in his seventeenth year. in he graduated with the highest honors of his class at randolph-macon college. in the fall of the same year he was married to martha r. scott, daughter of h. b. scott, of nelson county, va., and was soon after appointed professor of mathematics and natural sciences in the female collegiate institute in buckingham county. this position he filled ten months, when he removed to potosi, washington county, mo., whither the parents of his wife had preceded him. here he accepted a position in a classical school, in the meantime assiduously prosecuting the study of law. he was soon after admitted to the bar, and took a position with the foremost in the ranks of the profession in his district. the year was an eventful one. he conceived the idea of building the iron mountain railroad, and suggested it to the people of the county. he was by them nominated and elected to the general assembly for the purpose of securing the passage of a bill for the establishment of that road. in june, , the cholera raged in potosi. he was stricken down, and, while violently ill, his wife and infant daughter died of this disease. the following winter he served in the missouri legislature, and secured the passage of the bill for the iron mountain road. he was subsequently largely concerned in developing and mapping the entire railroad system in that state. in he removed to st. louis, and was appointed land agent and attorney for the pacific railroad. in the year he was married, the second time, to pattie b. scott, eldest daughter of rev. robert scott, deceased, of the virginia conference. he was elected in a member of the missouri state senate from the city of st. louis. in this body he at once took a prominent position, and was a member of nearly every important committee of the body. in the session of -' he was chairman of the committee on federal relations, at that time the most important committee of the senate. he was decidedly conservative in his views, and anxious to secure the preservation of the union, if it could be done consistently with the rights of the south; but when the peace congress proved a failure, the crittenden compromise was rejected, and virginia seceded, he became a secessionist, and was heart and soul with the south throughout the struggle. his position and opinions on the vexed question forced him to leave missouri. without hesitation he sacrificed all for his principles, left his family in st. louis, and joined the forces under general sterling price, on whose staff he served for two years as volunteer aid. being convinced that the many reverses in that department, at that period, were due in a great measure to lack and inferiority of transportation, he called the attention of the authorities at richmond to this point. he was soon after authorized to establish the confederate transportation works at columbus, ga. to this important interest he directed his whole energies, and succeeded in establishing one of the best arranged, most extensive and complete machine shops in the confederacy. this position he retained until the close of the war, when he removed with his family to montgomery, ala., and returned to the practice of law. while there he was elected to the presidency of randolph-macon college. on reaching virginia and entering upon his duties he found great difficulties in his path. but with characteristic energy he at once addressed himself to the task of re-establishing the college. nearly two years of unremitted toil, under the most discouraging circumstances, convinced him that success could never crown his efforts at that location. he felt that to make the college a success it must be removed to a more accessible point. fortunately, just at this juncture of affairs, the hotel property at ashland was thrown upon the market. with his quick foresight, colonel johnson realized the importance of securing this eligible location. it was not to be expected that the removal of the college would be accomplished without strong opposition on the part of some of its warmest friends. but in the midst of the contest colonel johnson bore himself like a christian gentleman. he could appreciate the views of others, while he felt that the very existence of the institution depended on its removal to a more suitable site. we believe, indeed we have reason to know, that he entertained for those who opposed him in his plans no other feelings than those of friendship and christian affection. to his particular friends, who were often indignant at the hard speeches uttered against him, he would reply, "never mind, i keep my heart right before god." believing that he was acting for the best he went forward like a true and earnest man in what he regarded as the path of duty. having seen the removal of the college determined upon, to relieve the trustees of all the embarrassment in the election of a faculty, he generously came forward and tendered his resignation, and soon after started to the west, the scene of his early labors and successes. it was while en route to st. louis (on august , ,) that he met with the terrible accident that in a few hours closed his noble and useful life. the death of colonel johnson was a calamity to our church and to our country. he had passed the period of life when men are seized by ambition and borne off in pursuit of wealth or fame. he had gained both; the former he had lost in standing for his native land and state rights; the latter he still possessed in a more valuable form, as purified by the power and faith of his religion. repeatedly has he said to the writer, "i only wish to live to do good." to the christian education of the young men of the south he was ardently devoted, and to this work we know he wished to devote the energies of a manly and mature intellect. the spontaneous tributes to the memory of this good man will best show how he was appreciated by those who knew him. in a letter now before us from rev. charles k. marshall, d. d., of mississippi, to his bereaved family, that eminent minister says: "from my first acquaintance to this hour my affections took to and clung around him as one of the highest and noblest types of exalted manhood, as a true, steadfast, appreciating friend; and as a brother in christ with whose inward spirit it was a joy to commune. few men cherished so high and sacred views of the dignity and ends of life. usefulness was the keynote of his being. unselfish, wide-minded, spiritual, transparent, pure, he was a living epistle known and read of all. his life was hid in christ, and the highest ambition of his soul was to live to and for christ." rev. dr. deems, of new york, says: "his abilities and virtues rendered him one of the most useful men i have ever known. every interview i have had with him since our acquaintance began has served to deepen my respect for the loftiness of his character." bishop mctyeire, who was a fellow-student with him at randolph-macon, says: "in church and state it seemed to me he was just such an one as we need now. with gratitude i remember his high christian influence as a student. our meeting and reunion at montgomery, twenty-five years after, was one of the most pleasing events of my life. who of us has not coveted his gifts?" such is the testimony, voluntarily given, by this eminent minister. we are enabled to give a more detailed account of this sad event from a letter written by the proprietor of the hotel at mattoon: "when mr. johnson came out of the saloon of the sleeping car, the conductor told him to 'hurry up.' thinking he would be left if he did not make haste, mr. j. went quickly forward through the car, and was just in the act of stepping across to the forward car when the cars separated, and he fell on the track, and before he could recover himself he was struck by the rear car and fatally injured. his right leg was crushed in two places and his back broken. as soon as possible he was taken from under the car. his first words were, 'my friends, my name is thomas c. johnson, of boydton, va.; take your pencil and write it down.' a stretcher was then procured, and he was brought to my house. we did all we could for him. doctors were at hand from the moment he was hurt until he died. the injured leg was amputated; and on further examination it was found that his back was broken. he was then told that he was fatally injured and could live but a short time, and that any directions he had to give must be given quickly. he then gave directions as to the disposal of his body, requesting it to be sent to his friends in virginia. he was emphatic in saying that his death was caused by the mismanagement of the railroad officials. before his death, at his request, a notary public was sent for, and his testimony as to the cause of his death was legally taken. he was sensible to the last moment, and spoke with deep feeling of the overwhelming effect the tidings of his terrible and sudden death would have upon his family. i sat by his side and heard every word he uttered. the general opinion of the public here is that the railroad company is responsible for mr. johnson's death." [illustration: judge w. j. kilby, trustee of college.] [illustration: prof. mansfield t. peed, a. m., . _prof. emory college, ga._] such was the end of a most useful and devoted christian. in the midst of strangers, mangled, and bleeding, he died. by the grace of god he was sustained and comforted. calmly he surrendered his life into the hands of his creator. how wonderful are the ways of providence! the workmen die, but the work goes on. is the doctrine of premonition true? we often incline to the belief that it is. in many cases there appears to be a conviction that the work of life is finished, and the soul feels itself nearing the portals of eternity. speaking of colonel johnson's experience, one who knew him well says, "i can but think that the last six months of his life was a period of preparation for eternity. i was deeply impressed with his growth in grace, the fervor and earnestness of his piety, and his forbearance and patience under severe trials." the close of life was in happy accord with his previous religious experience. a letter from mattoon says: "he died in perfect peace. i never saw a more peaceful expression than rested on his face after death." he leaves to his family the priceless legacy of a pure and noble christian life. may they move on to the meeting and reunion in the house of our father in heaven.--w. w. bennett, in _richmond advocate_. the committee of nine appointed to elect professors and a president (in case of dr. garland's declination to accept) met august , . dr. garland having declined to accept the presidency, the committee, all being present, elected rev. james a. duncan, of the virginia conference, and an alumnus of the college (class of ), president, at a salary of $ , per annum, and use of residence. subsequently, on the first day of september, the committee, all being present except bishop doggett, in conjunction with the president-elect, duncan, who had accepted the presidency, proceeded to fill the chairs of instruction. thomas r. price, m. a., was elected professor of ancient languages; harry estill, a. m., professor of mathematics; richard m. smith, professor of natural sciences. their salaries were fixed at $ , per annum with houses of residence. [illustration: prof. thomas r. price, m.a., ll. d., _founder of the school of english._] [illustration: rev. james a. duncan, d. d., _president randolph-macon college, - ._] subsequently, at a meeting of the board october , , the chair of modern languages was filled by the election of w. w. valentine, of richmond. the sudden and lamented death of the late president johnson was announced to the board, and appropriate resolutions in regard to him were adopted. at a meeting of the board, held november , , rev. wm. b. rowzie was appointed agent of the college in the bounds of the virginia, and dr. nelson head agent (till the succeeding baltimore conference), in the latter conference. [illustration: prof. harry estill, a. m., _professor of mathematics, - ._] the college opened at ashland, october , . with great labor and many embarrassments the college furniture, laboratories and libraries had been transferred from boydton to ashland, under the special superintendence of rev. t. s. campbell. the buildings on the campus had been remodeled and repaired, and were in fair condition for occupancy, and for the work and use to which they had been converted. they had in former years been used for a summer resort, to which many visitors annually repaired for health and dissipation. the largest building was the hotel, which had several buildings attached. in the centre of the grounds was the ball-room, flanked by dressing-rooms. this building was converted into a chapel and society halls, while the hotel became the main dormitory building. the bowling-alley and other buildings also became dormitories. three buildings were fitted up for professor's houses. the rooms on the lower floors of the hotel were made lecture-rooms. though the buildings were extemporised, the whole arrangement was comparatively convenient and comfortable. what was defective and might have been complained of was more than compensated by the superb faculty of instruction provided for the students in attendance. first and foremost was the president, rev. james a. duncan, d. d. of him we will let others who were associated with him speak. his colleagues were professor thomas r. price, m. a., professor harry estill, a. m., professor richard m. smith, professor w. w. valentine. [illustration: prof. richard m. smith.] [illustration: main college building, ashland, - .] rarely has such a combination of teaching ability been found in any college, or one which met the needs of the time more fully. the name of the president had drawn from his far-away southern home one of the most original characters the college ever had among its matriculates, john hannon, of montgomery, ala. john hannon's sketch of dr. duncan. "in the autumn of upon the train i first met dr. james a. duncan, as i was going to ashland. full-orbed, approaching his zenith, this pulpit star thus came into my sky. though he has years since set behind the grassy hills of hollywood, the light of his great character still lingers in the valleys and on the high places of my being. "it is impossible in a sketch like this to give the full spectrum of a character so rich as that of dr. duncan. there were x-rays, delicate gleamings of light from his presence, that could be felt, but do not photograph themselves upon the plates of a biography. he was not a man easy to forget. "there is a sense in which every man is a word of god, or a syllable of the word. but in some the divine articulation is not so distinct. regarding humanity as a written word, such characters are what scholars would call a 'disputed text.' not so with james a. duncan. looking upon him no man could doubt the authorship. the divine autograph was there in capital letters. a look at him shook our faith in man as an evolution. we felt that _that_ man was a creation. "would i had a presence,' said one of our brainiest men to me. a lady of my congregation asked a friend in a boston dining parlor who a certain man was, remarking that she knew he must be a distinguished person, for she said, 'he has a presence.' the man was phillips brooks. "dr. duncan had a _presence_. who will ever forget that napoleonic build? that physique, the very motion of which was silent music. [illustration: rev. j. w. compton, r. m. c. -' -- -' . _removed with college from boydton to ashland. pioneer preacher pacific coast for twenty-three years._] [illustration: rev. w. wadsworth, d. d., _author and minister north-georgia conference._] "tremendous was to be the draft on this superb physique during the ten years that followed the day i first looked on it. the college with its endowment had gone down amid the ruins of the confederacy. the outlook was gloomy; but it was resolved to remove the tree to ashland. here the railway system of the south would renew its roots and make it bud and bloom again. jefferson davis was thought of for the presidency, but in a happy hour dr. duncan was chosen to lead the forlorn hope in its rebuilding. without funds, without laboratory, without proper buildings, he addressed himself to the task. providence came to his rescue. by one of those flashes of common sense, which not always light up church enterprises, a faculty pre-eminently adapted to the work had been chosen. professor thomas r. price, a name synonymous now with scholarship, was in the chair of ancient languages. harry estill filled the chair of mathematics. professor richard m. smith brought the ripe wisdom and experience of his distinguished life to the chair of natural sciences. w. w. valentine held the keys of the modern languages. "it has been said that what a university needs is not so much an endowment as a _man_. randolph-macon had men, and dr. duncan, a _man_ among _men_. the faculty itself was an endowment. good material gathered around them as students. '_facile princeps_' among these were wm. w. smith, now ll. d., and president of the randolph-macon system of colleges and schools; charles carroll, now a brilliant lawyer of the crescent city; rhodes, since a judge in baltimore; j. f. twitty, of blessed memory, and a number of others. "dr. duncan, while not technically trained as a teacher, yet showed himself a great teacher. what an inspiration he imparted to the band that gathered around him! how he lit up every dreary field of text! blessed, yea, thrice blessed, was that school of young prophets. while himself the finest of models, nothing was farther from his thought than to make little 'duncans' of every student. bring up a boy in the way he should go, according to his bent, this was his idea. he would never have been guilty of putting the toga of cicero upon charles spurgeon. with him good 'pork and beans' was not to be made into bad 'quail on toast.' 'sing your own song,' only let that song be the best possible to you. broad, catholic-hearted duncan! "making a great teacher did not spoil a great preacher in duncan's case. on a 'star-map' of the pulpits of that day, the pulpit in the old ball-room chapel at ashland would shine as a star of 'the first magnitude.' his sermons were not like robertson's eruptions of internal volcanic fires lifting up new heights of thought; they were not munsey's great, gorgeous cathedrals of polished words; neither were they keener's cyclones filling the air with boulders of logic, cutting a pathway through forests of prejudice as old as our being. his eloquence was not the glacial magnificence of wilson's great icebergs floating in polar seas with grassy shores; it was not galloway's mountain torrent with 'optimism,' that music of heaven in its splash and the swiftness of redeeming love in its rush to the low places of earth. very different was it from sam jones' wild tanglewood of tropic forest of mingled fruit and flowers and thorns. his sermons were the expression of what carlyle would style a healthy nature. there was nothing wild or abnormal. they were like landscapes in a civilized land--great, like the movement of the seasons, like the coming of the tides--as the processes of nature are great; great as a summer day is great. the introduction was morning!--sunrise! not striking, not surprising. the thoughts not larks soaring heavenward, were rather sparrows on the sward. but we could see great stretches of thought before us. now the morning changes into high noon. it is the sermon proper. we are now in the midst of vast grain-fields of ripe thought. divisions barely visible above the heads of the choicest of the wheat waving now in the zephyrs of pathos. shouts at times among the listeners, as like reapers they garner ripe sheaves into their bosoms; orchards now growing with ripe fruit. "the peroration comes naturally, as evening follows noon. we hardly know when it comes. a splendid sunset, often tears like the dewdrops in the flowers of new resolves, now springing in the soul; solemn impressions, like shadows, growing larger; a deep hush upon everything. the sermon closes. it is night. but stars of hope are shining in the sky of the soul. "at haslup's grove, in the seventies, in a great sermon, the rush to the altar was so great that the enclosure had to be torn down. it was pentecostal. "i heard him on two great occasions. in , along with dr. landon c. garland and lovick pierce, he was fraternal delegate from our church to our sister methodism at the general conference in baltimore. after years of estrangement the two methodisms were meeting again. it was an occasion. you could feel it. the great building was thronged. when the time came for duncan to speak he threw his soul into the 'god speed you!' of seven hundred thousand southern methodists. the audience for awhile it seemed would go wild. the day was a great triumph. "during that same conference the princely 'jeff. magruder' organized a great mass-meeting of the sunday-schools of the southern methodist churches in baltimore. bishop vincent, secretary of the sunday-school board of the methodist episcopal church, then in the prime of his powers, general clinton b. fiske, and dr. duncan were to speak. the speeches of vincent and fiske had been so superb that a gifted minister remarked to me, 'i am sorry for duncan.' i responded, 'i am sorry for any man who has to follow two such speeches.' but i found that i did not yet know him. he pulled out new organ stops in his great soul that afternoon. his speech was a brilliant improvisation. the audience was captured. southern methodists who gloried in the flesh were radiant. "when going to new orleans, in , i met him going to washington city to preach the first sermon to the president-elect, r. b. hayes. it was not long before wires flashed to me the startling news of his death. duncan, marvin, a. t. bledsoe, doggett, in a single year. heaven was drawing heavily upon our beloved church. duncan's old pupil, president smith, took up the work he and the sainted bennett laid down. "the randolph-macon system of schools and colleges is a worthy monument to the memory of our dead duncan. may the graduates of these schools be living stones in the living shaft, ever rising higher and higher to the memory of olin, garland, smith, and their successors, who spent their best days for the advancement of christian education at our alma mater." the number of students matriculated the first session was . under all the embarrassments and difficulties of the situation, this number was as great as could have been expected. the income from such a small number was insufficient to meet the expenses, and here ensued the old trouble, which had been such a clog in the past, that is, straitened finances. the condition of the country was anything but favorable to any effort to raise funds for the college. various plans were proposed, some of which were adopted, but none of them brought speedy relief, and the embarrassment became very onerous and trying. by the efforts of the agent, rev. w. b. rowzie, and the securing of a loan by d'arcy paul, esq., the college was carried through the first session. the first annual report of the president was made june , . the following synopsis is given: congratulates the board on the increase of patronage; the zeal and efficiency of the faculty; the diligence and good order of the students; the general healthfulness and pleasant harmony of all connected with the institution, and the increased confidence of the public in the permanency and success of randolph-macon college; expresses the conviction that the only condition prerequisite to complete success, under the providence of god, is a _determined_ and energetic purpose to succeed; affirms that the demand for such an institution to secure important interests of methodism is imperative;.... refers to his visit to the baltimore and north carolina conferences and the cordial reception given by these conferences; recommends a fiscal secretary or director, whose duty it shall be to take entire control of the financial interests of the college, except as to matters in the hands of the proctor, and to do all he can by travelling and speaking for the college. the following degrees were conferred, on the recommendation of the faculty, viz.: ll. d., on professor francis h. smith, of the university of virginia; d. d., on rev. james l. pierce, of the georgia conference, rev. william g. connor, of the texas conference, and rev. john c. granbery, of the virginia conference. the commencement in june was well attended, especially by visiting trustees and others from the baltimore conference. an excellent dwelling for the president had been erected by the liberal aid of a friend in richmond. at an adjourned meeting of the board, held in richmond, va., next november, there were several causes for encouragement. the agent reported subscriptions amounting to over $ , . of this samuel o. moon, esq., of albemarle, gave $ , in virginia bonds; the society of alumni, $ , ; major w. t. sutherlin, of danville, $ , ($ per annum for five years to meet current expenses). but the most important action taken was on the suggestion of rev. w. h. christian, an alumnus of the college (class of .) in response to this suggestion, the following resolutions were adopted: "_resolved_, that we request the virginia conference to order that the deficiency in the yearly revenues of the college (which shall be reported by the board to each annual session of the conference) shall be divided among all the districts of the conference, and sub-divided among all the stations and circuits by the district stewards, as in case of the conference collection, and shall be raised by collections in every congregation, and embraced in the annual report of the recording steward of every charge to the financial board of the conference. "_resolved_, that when the virginia conference shall have adopted the plan proposed, all its ministers shall be entitled to send their sons of proper age and acquirements to college without payment of tuition fees; that the baltimore conference, by adopting the same plan, shall be entitled to the same privilege, and that $ , be fixed as the amount to be raised by each of these conferences for the next year." this action has been considered, and rightly so, to have been for the time and under the embarrassments of the surroundings the most important and efficient ever taken by the board. with a small assessment of about five cents on each member of the church in the two conferences, the annual income was in a short time increased by the sum of $ , , which was equal to the dividends on an endowment of about $ , . the conferences adopted the plan, and have annually raised a large percentage of the assessment, the virginia conference having in increased its assessment to $ , . [illustration: rev. w. h. christian, d. d., _virginia conference._] in looking back on the period since, nearly thirty years, it really looks as if, without this action, the college could not have continued its work. certainly this work would have been greatly narrowed and restricted. great honor, therefore, should be bestowed on the name of william h. christian as the mover of this plan, and the friends of christian education in the state should render to the conferences grateful thanks for having, under the promptings of the good spirit, acted so promptly on the suggestion and carried it out for so many years. [illustration: john howard, a. m.] the year was otherwise a notable year. in the latter part of the year the first general election for state officers and a legislature was held since the close of the war. with the inauguration of the governor elected at this election and resumption of the legislative functions by the general assembly, the state resumed its normal condition, and military rule ceased to exist. at the meeting of this first legislature, a committee, which had been charged with that duty, appeared before the body and asked and obtained the change of the charter, and the sanction to the removal of the college from its original site to ashland. the amended charter reads as follows: "[section] i. that the removal of the aforesaid college is hereby ratified and confirmed, and that there be, and is hereby, established at ashland, in the county of hanover, in this commonwealth, a seminary of learning for the instruction of youth in the various branches of science and literature, the useful arts, agriculture, and the learned and foreign languages." the suit which was instituted to enjoin the removal of the college never came to an issue. it was ably defended on the part of the majority of the board by john howard, esq., of richmond (class of ), and the argument was printed. it is worthy of reprinting here, but space will not permit. the second session of the college had a larger attendance than the first by fifty, of which number twenty-five were ministerial students. about the close of the first term of the second session ( -' ) one of the professors was taken from the college by death--richard m. smith, professor of natural science. he was the oldest man of the faculty. the following preamble and resolutions, drafted by professor price and adopted by the faculty, was endorsed and adopted by the trustees at an adjourned meeting held in richmond, february , : "upon us as friends who loved and honored him, upon the college whose faithful officer he was, upon the classes he taught with self-sacrificing zeal, upon the community and the church in which his virtues made him eminent, an overwhelming sorrow has, under god's will, fallen in the death of our late colleague, professor richard m. smith. even those who had not the pleasure of knowing, from intimate association, the beauties of his private character, may from the knowledge of his career form some conception of the vigor of his mind and the unspotted virtue of his life. for us, who had in him the closer and tenderer interests of a common work and an undisturbed friendship, his sweet temper, his wise conversation and lofty unselfishness, will ever be a source of blended sorrow and consolation; be it, therefore, "_resolved_, . that we tender, as a body, to the widow and family of our dearly beloved colleague, our respectful sympathy in their bereavement. " . that we request our president to publish this expression of our heart-felt sorrow for the friend whom we have lost." professor smith had been a prominent man in his native state, first as an educator, then as editor of the _alexandria sentinel_, afterwards of the _richmond enquirer_. he was the first professor to die at his post. [illustration: prof. wm. a. shepard, a. m., _class ; major confederate states army._] the board, after paying tribute to his memory, proceeded to supply the vacant chair. on the first ballot professor william arthur shepard, of the southern female college of petersburg, was elected to the place. he was no stranger to the college, having served as professor prior to the war, and having resigned his place to go into the service. though a northern man by birth, he threw his heart and energies into the southern cause, and was so true and faithful that, after having been disabled for field service by wounds, he was promoted to be major and assistant commissary. it would be safe to say that the college never had a warmer friend or a truer man in its service than he proved himself to be for over thirty years. he entered at once on the duties of his chair. at a meeting of the board held in baltimore, march, , at the session of the baltimore conference, that conference was requested to make an assessment to aid the college, on the same plan as that adopted by the virginia conference. this the conference agreed to make. at the annual meeting, june, , the president made the annual report, which gave the attendance as ; total earnings from fees for the session, $ , . a preparatory school was recommended to take charge of students unable to take college courses; recommended employment of assistants in the departments of mathematics and ancient languages, particularly the latter, so that prof. price might initiate the school of english, as described in the catalogue. reference was made to the old trouble of financial embarrassment; also, to his efforts during the last summer's vacation to arouse interest in the college, which efforts he proposed to continue the coming summer as far as practicable. [illustration: james m. barrow, a. m., _superintendent of public schools, columbus, miss._] the executive committee reported that they had appointed as instructor in the introductory department, as authorized, col. henry w. wingfield (a. m. randolph-macon college), at a salary not to exceed $ . the finance committee reported as follows: liabilities, $ , ; assets (outside of college buildings and lots), $ , . on some of the bills payable a discount of per cent. had been charged. at this meeting rev. w. e. munsey, d. d., was elected financial secretary. this position dr. munsey declined to accept. dr. william w. bennett resigned the place of agent, and rev. george w. nolley was elected in his place. [illustration: charles carroll, a. m. . _washington hall builder._] on the recommendation of the faculty, the following degrees were conferred: master of arts, on james m. barrow, of virginia; doctor of divinity, on rev. james w. wightman, of kentucky. rev. david thomas was appointed as agent to attend to subscriptions and collections within the bounds of the baltimore conference. richard irby resigned the office of treasurer, which he had held for two years, and william willis, jr., was elected in his stead. [illustration: h. c. paulett, _one of the builders of library hall._] in the third session ( -' ) the effort to build the library building for the halls and libraries of the two literary societies was inaugurated. up to this time the two societies had occupied the ante-rooms attached to the chapel, which were very cramped and inconvenient. who was the first to suggest the building of the new edifice is not known to this writer, but it is well known who the parties were who did the main work in raising the funds. they were, on the part of the washington society, charles carroll, of north carolina, and h. c. paulett, of virginia; and on the part of the franklin society, william w. smith and jordan w. lambert, of virginia. an old alumnus offered to give to the society which should raise the largest amount a copy of audubon's _birds of america_. [illustration: jordan w. lambert, _franklin hall builder._] this enterprise was prosecuted with great zeal and skill, and the building devised by the young men, let to contract by them, and paid for by them (in most part), went on to completion. it was the first brick building ever erected on the campus, and the first ever built in the town. more will be said of this in due time. at a called meeting of the board, held in richmond, february, , the committee appointed to make sale of the buildings and property near boydton reported the sale of the same to henry g. mcgonegal, of new york city. the sum of the purchase money was $ , . this included the claim on the united states government, which was transferred with the property to the purchaser. this sale was a great sacrifice, embracing as it did the two large college buildings, the steward's hall, hotel, and president's residence, all brick structures, and, in addition, the old preparatory school building (also brick), and three other dwellings, and several hundred acres of land. but the pecuniary obligations of the college were heavy and pressing, and the rate of interest, even on bonds secured by real estate, ten per cent. under these circumstances, the sale was ratified, and the board parted with the old premises, built, for the most part, in -' , at a cost largely over $ , . at the annual meeting in june, , the president, in his report, spoke in high terms of the studiousness and good deportment of the students. the whole number in attendance was . the prospects for further increase were encouraging. prof. w. w. valentine resigned the chair of modern languages, chiefly on account of delicate health. he was a faithful officer and a nice gentleman; he enjoyed the respect and regard of his colleagues and the board. great embarrassment had been experienced on account of want of funds to meet promptly the salaries of the faculty. the appointment of a "fiscal executive officer, competent to execute the plans of the board, and also to invent schemes of his own for obtaining funds," was strongly pressed. this recommendation was promptly adopted, and a committee appointed to define his duties and to nominate a suitable man for the place. during the session this committee made report, defining the duties of the financial secretary, and placing all the business matters and financial interests in the hands of said officer. he was also to travel as much as practicable through the conferences to influence patronage, secure donations and bequests, and also to encourage the conference educational collections. the salary of the officer was fixed at $ , per annum. [illustration: rev. a. g. brown., d. d.] to fill the office the committee nominated rev. a. g. brown, of the virginia conference. he was not a stranger to the college, having served as chaplain there in former years. he was duly elected, and a resolution adopted asking the virginia conference to assign him to this work. this was a fortunate appointment. the financial secretary, after entering on his duties, proceeded promptly to adjust the matters of the college, and soon got them into manageable shape. prof. thomas r. price appeared before the board and explained his views in regard to the "school of english." on motion, it was-- _resolved_, that the faculty be, and they are hereby, authorized to establish, if they find it possible, "a school of english and literature." this most important move was on the same general plan adopted in , and carried out for several years by prof. e. d. sims after his return from europe, where he had spent several years studying anglo-saxon and other languages preparatory to this course. it does not seem, however, that prof. price was aware that such a course had been previously established, and it was as original with him as it was with the first mover in it. fortunately, in this second movement it became a permanent course, and the influence of the move has spread far and wide. [illustration: rev. w. w. royall, d. d., (r. m. c., -' .) _missionary to china. member virginia conference, m. e. church south._] letter of prof. thomas r. price, ll. d. "columbia university, new york. "_capt. richard irby, randolph-macon college:_ "dear sir,--the president and trustees of randolph-macon college, in -' , deserve, i think, the credit of having made the boldest and wisest move in education that has taken place in my time. dr. duncan, above all, so great and wise in many directions, was, in my judgment, the most deeply devoted and the most far-sighted friend of collegiate education i have known. when made a member of his faculty, in , as professor of greek and latin, i had, with my large classes, to struggle against great difficulties and grave discouragements. amid all i had his tender sympathy and wise and loving help. the fundamental difficulty of all soon revealed itself to me. i was seeking, as all instructors of greek and latin of that period were seeking, to give a knowledge of the ancient languages to boys and young men that knew not enough of their own language to receive it or apply it. it was irrational, absurd, almost criminal, for example, to expect, a young man, whose knowledge of english words and construction was scant and inexact, to put into english a difficult thought of plato or an involved period of cicero. dr. duncan, to whom i imparted my conviction, shared with me the sense of the grave evil. braver and more hopeful than i, he bade me not to despair, but to cut at the root of the trouble by introducing the study of english. his eloquence and radical good sense won the majority of the trustees, and the english school was founded. i had the honor, which i prize highly, of having been made professor of english, giving up the latin to dr. james a. harrison. i had the duty laid on me, by the trustees, of drawing up the programme of the new course and of selecting text-books and supplementing text-books by lectures. my plan was, through the course of five years, to make the literary and historical study of our great language go forward evenly balanced. i began with the study of grammar and of easy texts in the preparatory section, and then, year after year, thus formed in succession the four college classes up to the senior and graduation. i cannot give you the exact dates. the struggle began, i think, in , and it was carried on to full success by -' . the catalogues of the college will give the work and programme of each year. "to dr. duncan, and to the good and wise men of the trustees, i am profoundly grateful for having used me to carry out the bold and noble design. it was their own work--not suggested from the outside at all, imitating nothing that existed, springing from their clear perception of what education meant and from their sense of duty to their church and their people. "yours very truly. thomas r. price." randolph-macon college and the study of english. prof. j. b. henneman, of the university of tennessee, writes as follows in the _sewanee review_. it is gratitying that the good work done by randolph-macon is so freely acknowledged: "it was randolph-macon college, rather than the state university of virginia, though it was the work of one of her graduates, that was to have the distinction of creating a school of english in the south which should send forth apostles with all the fervor of converts and enthusiasts. randolph-macon college would have deserved notice for devoting a separate chair to english literature as early as , almost from its inception; and edward dromgoole sims, a master of arts of the university of north carolina, gave a course on historical english in the year . he was installed in that year as professor of english, after a stay in europe, where he heard lectures on anglo-saxon. tradition tells how, having no text-books, he used the blackboards for his philological work. at the end of three years he removed to the university of alabama in consequence of having contracted a marriage not then allowed under the laws of virginia. he was preparing a series of text-books in old english, tradition again says, when he died, in . had he accomplished his purpose, these works would have preceded klipstein's in point of time. (other occupants of the chair of english at randolph-macon were william m. wightman and david s. doggett, both afterwards bishops in the methodist church, south.) it was again at randolph-macon college (though now removed from mecklenburg to hanover county) that, immediately after the war, there was founded a distinct school of english, based on historic and scientific principles, and productive of far-reaching results. i believe that i am but paying a worthy tribute to one whom all his pupils have found a helpful guide and inspiring instructor in making the statement that this movement was mainly due to the inspiration and effort of one man--thomas r. price. "the suggestion of the course of english at randolph-macon college sprang from the study of the ancient languages. the feeling existed that it was impossible to expect appreciation of idioms in a foreign language when students knew nothing about those in their own tongue. to quote from professor price's own words at the time: 'it was irrational, absurd, almost criminal, for example, to expect a young man, whose knowledge of english words and constructions was scant and inexact, to put into english a difficult thought of plato or an involved period of cicero.' the course pursued in consequence was entirely original in its premises, and endeavored to meet these difficulties. both the disease and remedy were brought out by the conditions present; and to this, i think, may be ascribed, in large measure, the success of the movement and its value as a stimulus. the end set was to place, in the ordinary college course, the study of english on an equal footing with that of latin or greek, giving it the same time and attention, aiming at the same thoroughness, and enforcing the same strictness of method. a knowledge of the early forms of english was demanded, not as philology pure and simple, constituting an end in itself, but as a means for acquiring a true, appreciative knowledge of the mother tongue, and thereby for understanding its literature and other literatures all the more. it now seems almost incredible that it required so great an effort at the time to take this step or that old traditions could become so firmly crystallized. "professor price's efforts succeeded all the more easily in that they were seconded by his presiding officer, the rev. dr. james a. duncan, a man of singular breadth and sympathy of mind, who had grouped about him, irrespective of church and denominational ties, a band of worthy associates. price, as professor of greek and latin, gave up the latter to his colleague, james a. harrison, who had charge of the modern languages, and taking control of the english, developed it side by side with his greek, so as to cover a course through four continuous years. this was the result of the work of two sessions, -' . the movement soon spread far and wide. other institutions, impelled by the same needs, either imitated it outright--some of them actually going so far as always to unite the english department with the greek, as if there were some subtle virtue in the connection (building possibly even wiser than they knew)--or developed out of their own necessities similar arrangements. "after the men at randolph-macon had been drilled in the rudiments and given their primary inspiration, many of them were dispatched to europe for further training, and returned doctors of leipzig and fired with a new zeal. in mere appearances, it should seem as if this randolph-macon migration to leipzig was the beginning of the attraction exerted by that university on young southern scholars, an attraction which has been rivalled in recent years only by that of the neighboring johns hopkins. the land lay open before these young men, and they proceeded to occupy it. robert sharp returned doctor from leipzig, and was soon called to tulane; william m. baskervill returned doctor from leipzig, and started an impulse at wofford college, south carolina, which he broadened and deepened after his transfer, in , to vanderbilt; robert emory blackwell returned from leipzig and succeeded professor price in his work at randolph-macon; frank c. woodward succeeded baskervill at wofford in , and removed to the south carolina college in ; w. a. frantz has built up a following in central college, missouri; john r. ficklen, having followed dr. price to the state university, has become associated with sharp at tulane. the english fever at randolph-macon became epidemic. dr. james a. harrison accepted a call, in , to washington and lee as professor of modern languages, and formed a new virginian centre for specialists. even price's successor in the greek chair at randolph-macon, charles morris, soon resigned to go to the university of georgia as professor of english. nor has the manufacture of randolph-macon professors of english ever entirely ceased. howard edwards, formerly of the university of kansas; j. l. armstrong, late of trinity college, north carolina, and now of the randolph-macon woman's college; john d. epes, of st. john's college, maryland; john lesslie hall, ph. d. (johns hopkins), of william and mary, are later accessions to a list by no means complete. "it is very curious to trace these various ramifications of mutual influences, and to see them acting and interacting, crossing and recrossing. three main lines may be detected. just as the university of virginia, through its graduates, became the pattern for many, especially state institutions, and hampden-sidney, davidson, central, and, particularly, presbyterian colleges, felt the influence of the course at washington and lee; so randolph-macon affected, among others, wofford, and then vanderbilt, which, in turn, has become a new centre of activity. "the transmission of this spirit to wofford college, and thence to vanderbilt university at nashville, is peculiarly instructive. w. m. baskervill, trained under price and harrison, and in leipzig, came to wofford in , where he met with a sympathetic circle. the president, dr. james h. carlisle, had always been interested in english work, and was a close student of the history and meaning of words. charles foster smith was fellow-professor with baskervill, and james h. kirkland, first an appreciative pupil, was afterwards colleague as smith's successor. all three of these young scholars ultimately took their degrees in leipzig, and were called to vanderbilt university, of which dr. kirkland is the newly-elected chancellor. the english language and letters have been steadily emphasized by the close sympathies uniting these three men in their common work in the department of languages. kirkland's leipzig dissertation was on an english subject, though he is now professor of latin; smith, the professor of greek, has been a constant contributor on english points, and baskervill is specifically professor in charge. through the standard which their fortunate circumstances allowed them to set, a new centre of influence has been formed in nashville. [illustration: rev. john hannon, a. m., d. d., _ukiah, california._] "it was this wofford influence, if i may be personal for a space, that had much to do with sending me to the university of virginia to hear price in greek. and i but echo the feeling of many in professor price's class-room, that it was hard to know to which of the two languages his class leaned the more, greek or english, so intimately upon one another, especially in the work of translating, did the two depend. at any rate, it is singular that his pupils, stirred by the greek, just as at randolph-macon, have used this classical impulse to enter upon the keener study of their native language and literature. i was privileged to be in the last greek class which professor price taught at the university of virginia; and contemporaneous with me at the university were other pupils: charles w. kent, ph. d., of leipzig, just returned to his _alma mater_ as linden kent professor of english literature; james douglas bruce, of bryn mawr, pennsylvania, and the editor of this _review_. eventually professor price's strong predilections for english, and the memory of the work wrought while at randolph-macon, led, in , to his acceptance of a call to the chair of english in columbia college, new york, a change which, in the face of all he had accomplished at the south, many of his old pupils were selfish enough to regard with regret." on the recommendation of the faculty, the degree of a. m. was conferred on john hannon, of alabama, and william waugh smith, of virginia. the vacant chair of modern languages was filled by the election of mr. james a. harrison, of new orleans. this officer proved to be a valuable accession to the faculty, and his success at randolph-macon was the prophecy of further success at washington and lee university, and the university of virginia, where he is at this writing. in regard to the enterprise referred to at the last annual meeting, the board adopted the following resolutions: "whereas suitable halls for the literary societies of this college are imperatively necessary in the work of this institution; and whereas the washington and franklin literary societies have taken this enterprise in hand with commendable zeal and liberality: therefore, "_resolved_, i. that we gratefully recognize the efforts of the young gentlemen in projecting and prosecuting this enterprise. "ii. that we consider the success which has already attended their efforts as a gratifying evidence of the speedy completion of the work. "iii. that we commend this enterprise and the young gentlemen engaged in it to the liberality of all the friends of this college and the cause of liberal education. "iv. that we pledge our hearty co-operation in this work in every way in our power." [illustration: prof. j. a. harrison, m. a., ll. d.] at the close of the college year ending june, , the following items of interest were reported to the board at the annual meeting: the richmond, fredericksburg and potomac railroad company conveyed to the board of trustees a tract of land lying on the south of the line of said railroad, near what was called the club house, containing about twenty acres, "on condition that the trustees erect on the said land permanent college buildings within fifteen years after the date of conveyance, and that the deed shall contain the _prohibition of the sale of ardent spirits without the written consent of said company_." this was considered to have been a better location for college buildings than the first occupied, and the project might have been carried out but for want of means to erect the buildings. the financial agent further reported the need of additional college buildings on account of increased attendance of students. the number in attendance the past session was , being more than any previous session at ashland. amount of fees, $ , . ; amount remitted to privileged students, $ , . ; amount received from the virginia and baltimore conferences, $ , . . this was a gratifying result. available assets, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , assets not now available, . . . . . . . . . . . . . , total, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , liabilities, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , resolutions commending the agent for his work were adopted, and pledging the support of the board to him in his work. the absence of the two oldest members of the board, viz., bishop john early and d'arcy paul, esq., on account of age and feebleness, were noted by suitable resolutions. [illustration: library hall.--built by the washington and franklin societies .] president duncan, in his annual report, said: "it is specially gratifying that i can congratulate the board on the plan of fiscal management adopted at your last meeting. the experience of the last twelve months has demonstrated the wisdom of your action, and the same illustrating your good fortune in securing an officer whose efficiency in a most laborious task merits your high commendation.... the large number of students have been generally studious and well behaved, a large proportion of them are christians, and thirty-two are candidates for the ministry. during the year the reputation of the college has extended, and its patronage steadily increased. both the patronizing conferences manifest increasing interest in the college." the degree of a. m., on recommendation of the faculty, was conferred on charles carroll, of north carolina. mr. jordan w. lambert, on behalf of the building committee of the literary societies, reported the hall building as completed, at a cost of $ , . , on which the committee had raised $ , . , leaving a balance still due, $ , . . a committee appointed to consider this report submitted the following: "your committee, after a full conference with the committee of the two societies, submit a proposition made by them to secure from the board of trustees the necessary amount to discharge the existing obligations of the societies, which proposition is made the basis of this report, and is most heartily recommended to the favorable consideration of the board. "it may be proper to state, in connection with this report, that the committee submitted in detail the accounts with the various persons from whom they had secured material, both by donation and purchase, and also the correspondence with various friends of education both north and south, all of which was most gratifying to your committee, as they exhibited on their face the evidence of great energy, system, and tact, which not only reflects credit on themselves, but also on the societies represented by the committee as well as the college itself. "in consideration of the foregoing facts, we offer for adoption the following resolution: "_resolved_, that the proper officers of the college proceed at once to raise $ , , and if it be necessary, they be authorized to create a lien upon the property referred to, to secure the payment of principal and interest, and the financial secretary be instructed to pass over the amount thus raised to the building committee, to be used by them in liquidating the obligations created in the erection of the hall." accompanying this report was the following paper: "ashland, va., _june , _. "in consideration of $ , to be advanced by the board of trustees of randolph-macon college, the washington and franklin societies will undertake and pledge themselves to use their best efforts to pay $ , annually upon the principal until the whole amount is liquidated, interest to be paid by the board of trustees. it is understood and agreed that if the board of trustees should find it necessary to create a lien upon the property to raise the amount so advanced, they will not in any way bind the furniture of the two societies. [transcribers' note: in the original text, the names of those belonging to each society were bracketted, and "committee f. l. s." and "committee, w. l. s." appeared on the right-hand side of the page, beside their respective brackets.] _committee f. l. s._ (signed) "j. w. lambert, "f. c. woodward, "r. e. blackwell, _committee w. l. s._ (signed) "charles carroll, "herbert m. hope, "w. b. page, "h. c. paulett, "john m. burton," [illustration: washington hall, randolph-macon college.] [illustration: franklin hall, randolph-macon college.] to show the appreciation of the work done by the societies, the board, on motion of rev. a. w. wilson, adopted the following: "_resolved_, that the president be instructed to express in the chapel, during the public exercises of the day, the board's appreciation of the energy and zeal of the literary societies in the erection of the library building, and that the secretary furnish the societies with a copy of the action of the board." in the chapel the same day maj. sutherlin pledged the board to a subscription of $ towards the library hall. the above record in relation to this worthy and remarkable effort--one that has found few, if any, parallels in the history of colleges--is given at some length to show the spirit of the young men of the period succeeding the war, and also to stimulate a like spirit in the young men who are now filling these halls and others after them. such an example seems to be needed at this time to rekindle the interest in these most worthy societies, which is not as great as it formerly was, and as it should be. at this meeting major william t. sutherlin, of danville, who had manifested his interest in the college by agreeing to pay three hundred dollars annually towards the current expenses of the college for five years, submitted the following proposition: "_to the board of trustees of randolph-macon college_: "i propose to place in your hands good eight per cent. securities to the amount of four hundred dollars ($ ), the interest to be collected by you, and invested in a suitable medal, to be presented at each annual commencement to _the best orator_ connected with the college who shall contend for the same, to be decided by three competent judges who have no official connection with the college, to be selected by yourselves, whose decision shall be final. the fund hereby donated shall be held by you and appropriated to the above purpose in perpetuity, and to no other. respectfully, (signed) "w. t. sutherlin." on motion of rev. a. w. wilson-- "_resolved_, that the proposition be accepted, and that the thanks of the board be returned to major sutherlin for the generous donation, and that the medal be styled the _sutherlin prize medal for oratory_." rev. a. g. brown, financial secretary, made the following review of the financial operations of the year: " . that the current expenses of this session have been promptly and fully paid to june st. " . that means are in hand to meet obligations to july st. " . that we rely principally upon the assessments and special donations to the college for the succeeding three months. " . that the assets of the college have been improved in value and in the amount of interest they yield. " . that the liabilities have been materially reduced. " . that the financial interests of the college are freed from legal or legislative embarrassments. "these are gratifying results. i mention them for your information and encouragement. they are the sign of a better day. let us consecrate ourselves to this noble institution, and, with the blessing of god on our duty faithfully performed, we may expect to see it what it ought to be in the scope of its usefulness and the development of its resources, a strictly first-class college. (signed) "a. g. brown, "_financial secretary randolph-macon college_." this gratifying report, the best that had been submitted for years, caused the trustees to adjourn in a cheerful mood. [illustration: g. e. m. walton, _founder of the walton greek library._] [illustration: maj. w. t. sutherlin, elected trustee, . _founder of the sutherlin prize for oratory._] a called meeting of the board was held in richmond october , . a letter was presented from prof. thomas r. price, which was as follows: "_rev. james a. duncan, president_: "dear sir,--as professor of greek in our college, i feel great pleasure in informing you, and through you the board, of the noble act of generosity by which mr. george e. m. walton, of hanover county, va., has planned a lasting benefit to the school of greek. "mr. walton was, as you know, the father of mr. andrew minor walton, who, with rare learning and diligence, discharged until his death, in september, , the duties of assistant greek professor in randolph-macon college. in order, then, to foster in the college the studies that his son loved so well, and at the same time to keep alive in the college history and traditions the memory of that son, mr. walton has offered to give to randolph-macon college the sum of one thousand dollars to create and endow what shall be called the _walton greek library_. this donation mr. walton desires to see, without delay, put into the proper legal form. his own wishes and intentions, as given to me in conversation, are: " . that the money shall, in consultation between him and the agents of the college, be securely and permanently invested. " . that ten dollars of the annual income shall be used to buy, in the shape of a valuable greek book, or other appropriate gift, as the faculty may decide, a prize that shall be called the _walton greek prize_, and bestowed on the student that, in the judgment of the faculty, has made during the session the best progress in greek studies. " . that the remainder of the income arising from the investment of the fund shall be annually expended, under such regulations as the board and faculty may establish, in the purchase of greek books, including the texts of greek authors, greek lexicons, commentaries on greek authors, works on greek history, geography, grammar, antiquities, etc., and all direct auxiliaries to greek study, to form a special and distinct collection, to be called the _walton greek library_. " . that this library shall be carefully guarded by the college authorities and secure adequate protection from theft and fire. "there is visible in this act of mr. walton no less wisdom than of generosity and tenderness. the helps to the successful carrying on of greek study are becoming year by year more numerous and more masterly, but, unluckily, more costly, too. to use them is indeed necessary for every earnest student, but to buy them is oft-times to the student impossible. to meet this necessity is the object of mr. walton's gift, while his prize will serve to stimulate and reward greek study; in all the classes of our school the library will, year after year, as it widens, open to students that are more advanced the treasures of greek learning. "being sure that you will feel the same pleasure that i feel in this wisely-devised increase to our means of education, i ask you to make mr. walton's purpose known to the board, and to have the proper measures taken for the consummation of the gift. "with great respect, your obedient servant, "thomas r. price, "_professor of greek._" the donation of mr. walton was accepted with thanks, and an order was made to carry out his intentions as speedily as possible. it may be stated here that this fund was safely invested, and the annual proceeds, from the year of its establishment, have been applied, as directed, in annual prizes and the purchase of books, until, at this writing, the collection has, become imposing and very valuable. the first prize was awarded june, , to r. e. blackwell, of virginia. the college year -' was remarkable in the patronage and financial outcome. the number of students was , the largest in the history of the college up to that year. the receipts for fees amounted to $ , ; conference educational collections, $ , . the excess of current receipts over current expenses reported, for the first time in the history of the college, went towards needed improvements of the property and reduction of debts of other years. available assets were reported at $ , ; liabilities, $ , --net assets, $ , . this exhibit, made by rev. a. g. brown, financial secretary, was highly gratifying to the board, so long accustomed to discouraging reports. of the students, were studying with a view to the ministry, and sons of ministers. the honorary degree of d. d., on recommendation of the faculty, was conferred on the following: rev. john c. wills, president of central college, missouri; rev. alpheus w. wilson, of the baltimore conference; rev. john d. blackwell, of the virginia conference. the degree of a. m. was conferred on franklin c. woodward, of virginia. the "sutherlin medal for oratory" was awarded franklin c. woodward, of virginia. [illustration: franklin c. woodward, a. m., d. d., _sutherlin medalist, ; president south carolina college._] the "walton greek prize" was awarded to robert sharp, of virginia. an educational convention to devise plans to increase the endowment and building funds of the college was held in richmond, april, . the following plan was adopted: "i. that delegates shall be appointed (by the committee under item iii.), consisting of one layman and one preacher in each district, whose duty it shall be to present the subject to the several district conferences at their meetings during the summer and fall of this year, and take up collections for this object, and that the presiding elders be requested to arrange the exercises of their district meetings so as to secure _one whole day_ for the interests of randolph-macon college. "ii. that we earnestly solicit the co-operation of the presiding elders in this great work, and request the appointment of meetings in the several pastoral charges, in which this cause shall be presented and collections taken. [illustration: prof. w. m. baskerville, ph. d., _vanderbilt university._] "iii. that a committee be appointed, who shall attend these meetings, take up collections, etc." (_committee_: rev. j. a. duncan, d. d., rev. a. g. brown, and richard irby, esq.) it was resolved that a committee be appointed to mature a plan for the further prosecution of this work, and report to an adjourned meeting at ashland in june, . it was resolved that any contributor of $ , shall have the privilege of naming a professorship in the college. it does not appear on the record that any direct and decided benefit resulted from this convention, but it kept the subject before the people, and doubtless bore good fruit in after times. [illustration: john t. moore, _of the virginia conference; sutherlin medalist, ._] at the annual meeting, june, , it was found that, by inadvertence, the amendment to the charter approved april , , contained a clause which read as follows: "[section] . that the said board of trustees shall never be less than twenty-four nor more than forty-four, one of whom shall be elected by the board president thereof; provided, also, that no member of the faculty or board of instruction in the college shall be a member of the board of trustees." this vacated the office of the president of the board, inasmuch as dr. duncan was a member of the faculty. steps were taken to have the above clause stricken out by the legislature. [illustration: [portrait of thomas branch, inscribed "tho. branch", and captioned "_trustee president board of trustees ._"]] to the office thus vacated thomas branch, esq., of richmond, va., was elected. he was the only layman ever elected to that office. mr. branch had been a trustee for thirty years. he was one of the most zealous and constant friends the college had. his donations to the college had been frequent and liberal. he had been largely instrumental in having the college moved to ashland. recognizing the faithful service and devotion of mr. branch to the college, the board thus unanimously elected him president. at the same time rev. alpheus w. wilson, of the baltimore conference, was unanimously elected vice-president. [illustration: george merritt nolley, a. m.] the attendance of students for the closing year had been , one in excess of the previous year's number. in the record of this year the regular report of the president and faculty is not found, though doubtless one was made. on the recommendation of the faculty, the following degrees were conferred: a. m.--george merritt nolley, of virginia; robert emory blackwell, of virginia. d. d.--rev. c. green andrews, of mississippi; rev. william a. harris, president of the wesleyan female institute, staunton, va. on motion of rev. j. c. granbery, the following was adopted: "whereas, since the last annual meeting of the board the venerated bishop john early, for many years the president of the board, has been taken from us by death: therefore, "_resolved_, that in the death of bishop john early the college has lost one of its most zealous, faithful and useful friends, and the board of trustees one of its most honored and efficient members." his term of service ( - ) was the longest on record. the school of english, under prof. price, had shown great progress, and had become the most popular of all in the college, evidenced by the fact that out of students, took the english course. the report of the financial secretary gave the following items: assets, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , liabilities, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , net balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ , this exhibit of the finances was particularly favorable and gratifying when it is remembered that the country had in the past year passed through one of the severest financial panics ever known, a panic whose withering effects on business did not cease for many years. the college, in common with all other enterprises requiring the use of money, felt the effects of it, and it might be said that it felt it for nearly a score of years. a called meeting of the board was held in richmond during the session of the virginia conference, november, . this meeting was held to bring the college more particularly to the attention of the conference with a view of enlisting its members in a hearty effort to raise $ , , to be used in increasing the facilities of the college, specially in buildings and apparatus. the action of the trustees was laid before the conference, and the following action was taken thereon: " . that we will seek to raise within the bounds of the virginia conference $ , for the college, to be expended in the erection of suitable buildings under the direction of the board. " . that the joint board of finance apportion this amount among the districts of the conference. " . that all the preachers be solicited to do their utmost to secure the full amounts apportioned to their respective districts." at the annual meeting of the board, held june, , the announcement was made of the death of two of its most useful and venerable members, viz., d'arcy paul, of petersburg, and rev. henry b. cowles, of the virginia conference. it would be meet and right to give the tributes paid to these trustees, so worthy of them, if space allowed. the first had served most faithfully for a period of thirty-five years, and the other thirty-three. the annual report of the financial secretary was not so satisfactory as to current receipts, the number of students at the college having fallen down to , instead of . there had been deficiencies in other items. all these deficiences were caused, in the main, by the financial condition of the country, which was so sadly affected by the panic of . there were some cheering signs, however, to offset these deficiencies. the largest donation ever made to the college up to this time had been received the past year. this was made by mr. james b. pace, of richmond, va., viz., $ , in virginia state bonds. this was given to build the pace lecture hall, a building so much needed, and which is now, and will be for years to come, a monument to the liberal donor. [illustration: james b. pace, _trustee, and founder of pace hall._] [illustration: randolph-macon college, to .] [illustration: pace hall.] another donation of $ , was made by the old and fast friend of the college, thomas branch, president of the board; by others, $ . --total, $ , . . the financial statement for this year is given in the comparative statement furnished by the financial secretary in his annual report: assets. liabilities. balance. , . . $ , $ , $ , , . . . , , , . . , , , , . . . , , , increase, - / per cent. the degree of master of arts was conferred on john w. redd, of virginia. rev. a. g. brown reported the building by him as a private enterprise of the hotel near the southwest corner of the campus. this was a much-needed improvement. notwithstanding the increase in assets during the year, the current receipts were not sufficient to meet current expenses. at this meeting rev. john c. granbery, who had served the board faithfully as secretary since , resigned the position, on account of his having accepted a professorship at the vanderbilt university. he also resigned his place as trustee of the college. rev. paul whitehead was elected to succeed him as trustee and secretary, and he has been secretary of the board from that meeting to the present time ( ). [illustration: john b. wardlaw, _of georgia; sutherlin medalist, ._] at a called meeting of the board in october, , president duncan informed the board that the condition of his health was such that he felt unable to do the heavy work devolved on him. an arrangement was therefore made to lighten his duties, and he was requested to travel as much as practicable in the interest of the college. [illustration: john w. redd, a. m., . _prof. centre college, ky._] at an adjourned meeting of the board, held november, , rev. a. g. brown, financial secretary, tendered his resignation. a portion of his letter is here given, partly as history, and in justice to him: "that my labors have not been more efficient, i deeply regret, yet in what has been accomplished i am not without cause for gratitude to god, to whose merciful kindness i am infinitely indebted. [illustration: rev. paul whitehead, d. d., _secretary board of trustees, -' ._] "the assets of the college have been increased in value about one hundred per cent.; nearly fifteen thousand dollars of its debt has been paid; valuable additions and improvements have been made to the grounds and buildings; the state stock owned by the college has been materially increased in value; the annual deficit on account of current expenses, ranging from twenty-five hundred to three thousand dollars a year, has been provided for; all claims for interest on college debts, amounting to about eighteen hundred dollars per annum, have been promptly paid; the salaries of the professors and employees have been paid in full to october st, as well as all bills on current account. in no instance has the credit of the college been allowed to suffer. its business has been systematized so as to be easily understood. the patronage of the college has been largely increased; its interests have been faithfully represented in the patronizing conferences.... i have never hesitated to use my personal means and influence in financial circles whenever exigencies required my so doing. meanwhile the country has passed through a period of unprecedented financial depression. the wisest schemes have failed; the ample fortunes of wealthy citizens and corporations have been swept away; the active industries of the country have been fearfully impaired, and the shrinkage in the marketable value of property of all descriptions has scarcely been less than one-third. this sad condition of business, without a parallel in the history of this country, has seriously hindered all our efforts in behalf of the college. i have done what i could. that i have not accomplished more has not resulted from any lack of love or zeal for the college, but is mainly referable to the mysterious adversity which has come upon us. "in resigning my office as financial secretary, i do not abate one jot or tittle of my interest in the college. no! i love the college as i love the church; and fidelity to the church enjoins upon me and upon all fidelity to the interests of this institution. be assured of my hearty prayers and co-operation in the future as in the past. as a member of this board, i shall stand shoulder to shoulder with you to make randolph-macon a permanent and ever-increasing blessing to church and state." the following resolution, offered by rev. paul whitehead, was then adopted: "_resolved_, that the resignation of rev. a. g. brown as financial secretary be accepted, to take effect december , , and that the board hereby express their appreciation of the fidelity, ability, and integrity with which he has discharged the duties of his office." this resolution was not any too flattering. it may be truly said that it is doubtful whether any man in the conference could have brought the college through the trying period of the panic as well as the late financial secretary. it was "_resolved_, that the presiding bishop be requested to appoint at the ensuing virginia conference an agent for the college." at an adjourned meeting held at danville, november, , the board abolished the office of financial secretary. william willis, jr., of richmond, was appointed treasurer, and prof. william a. shepard, proctor. at the request of the board, the bishop appointed rev. thomas a. ware, agent. [illustration: walter h. page, _of north carolina; sutherlin medalist; editor atlantic monthly._] at the annual meeting in june, , the building committee reported the pace lecture hall as being about half completed, with funds on hand to meet expenses of completion. this was the second brick building erected on the campus. the following received the degree of a. m.: john m. burton, of virginia; howard edwards, of virginia; robert sharp, of virginia; r. bascom smithey, of virginia. the president, in his annual report, does not give the statistics as to the number of students in attendance, but the catalogue for the year gives it as . he, evidently regarding this as the last he would make, takes the occasion to speak in the kindest and most commendatory terms of his associates of the faculty. he was on the most cordial terms with them, and his kindly regard was fully reciprocated. referring to his resignation, which he was about to tender, he said: "and now i approach a matter which it gives me very great pain to announce. many reasons combine to make it best, however, that i take the step now; but these reasons i do not propose to open for discussion, because i have become satisfied and decided in my convictions. "i have worked earnestly, in all good conscience, before god for eight years to promote the cause of christian education in connection with randolph-macon college; nor have i spared myself till my health demanded it. i have done what i could. eight years ago, in a critical moment in the history of the college, your flattering representations of the service you believed i might render to christian education induced me to sacrifice my own inclinations and to accept the presidency of randolph-macon. "what has been done is too well known to you to make it necessary for me to recount the familiar facts. my rejoicing in it all is the blessing the college has been to our young men, and the fact that, by abundant labors, i have also had a personal share in the rebuilding and re-establishing an institution whose work is its best witness. in god's providence these labors have, i trust, been blessed unto permanent good. "but in the meanwhile i have found that to repeat or continue them would be a tax on my health and strength too great for me to bear. i am fully satisfied that the confining duties of college life are entirely incompatible with my future health and consequent usefulness; but i cannot consent to be a nominal president of an institution whose funds are not sufficient for the support of all the active officers she needs. when invitations to more lucrative positions were extended to me i have not entertained them for a moment, simply because i could not allow my duty, as a minister of christ, in relation to this work to be governed by monetary considerations. but now, when unembarrassed by any invitations whatever, after calm reflection on all the reasons which favor or oppose it, after careful and prayerful meditation upon it as a question of duty as under god's guidance, i am fully persuaded that the moment has come when i may and ought dutifully to return to the position i formerly occupied as a preacher in the church of god. this conviction is too firmly and clearly fixed for me to alter it at present. "i hardly need to say that my devotion to the college is unchanged. my readiness to do whatever i can to advance its welfare, i know you will believe and appreciate. therefore, most respectfully, with the warmest wishes for your success personally and officially, i feel it my duty to tender my resignation as president of randolph-macon college. this i propose shall take effect at the beginning of the next session, or at the meeting of the virginia conference. "with many prayers for the prosperity of the great cause, which i must now serve less efficiently, but not less earnestly, and with immutable love for randolph-macon, i am, most respectfully and sincerely yours, "james a. duncan." [illustration: rev. john d. blackwell, d. d., _vice-president board of trustees, and president elect, ._] the resignation of president duncan was most reluctantly accepted, with resolutions of highest regard for him personally and commendation of his great services to the college. it may be stated here that he continued to act as president in the interval between the annual meeting and the adjourned meeting, held in richmond, july, . at this meeting rev. john d. blackwell, d. d., was elected president. he declined to accept the office. at the adjourned meeting, in november, dr. duncan was re-elected, and he consented to serve again, under the most pressing solicitation of the board and the evident urgency of the case. it has been said that "coming events cast their shadows before." so this resignation of dr. duncan, on account of the consciousness of failing health, was a shadow, and a very dark one it was, of the event of the coming year, which was to cause mourning in all southern methodism and in regions beyond. the annual meeting adjourned, in sadness and gloom, to meet again in richmond, july th. the financial condition was not satisfactory, and the old embarrassment of former years was again felt. at the adjourned meeting, held in richmond, va., july , , the resignations of professors thomas r. price and james a. harrison were tendered. professor price had been elected to the chair of greek at the university of virginia, and prof. harrison to the chair of latin at washington and lee university. [illustration: prof. r. e. blackwell, a. m.] changes were made in the chairs to be filled, viz., one to be that of english and modern languages, and the other that of latin and greek. to fill the first robert emory blackwell, a. m., was elected, and to the other prof. charles morris, m. a., of the university of georgia. prof. blackwell was in europe at the time, taking a course at leipzig. he took his degree of master of arts in . he had served as assistant in the school of english under prof. price, and was recommended by him in the highest terms. he was the first of prof. price's graduates, of a long list, to be elected to a chair of english. prof. morris was, when elected, professor of latin and greek at the university of georgia. he, also, was highly commended to the board by prof. price, who was a fellow-student with him at the university of virginia. a more whole-souled, ingenuous man never lived than he, and his character was beaming from his face. though a member of the episcopal church, he threw his whole soul into the religious work of the college, and no one would have known that he was not a member of the methodist church. [illustration: charles morris, m. a., _professor of greek and latin, - ._] the scale of salaries was changed. the salary of the president was fixed at $ , : of professors, $ , . dr. t. h. bagwell was elected college physician, in place of dr. h. m. houston, resigned. in parting with prof. price, the board expressed for him the kindest and highest appreciation of his long and distinguished services. complimentary resolutions were also adopted in regard to prof. harrison. as a part of a great educational advance, the following extract is given from professor price's letter of resignation: "you have used me to do one piece of work that was so bold, and timely, and wise as to draw the attention of educated men throughout america to our college, and to win for your system of education the hearty applause of all that love the culture of our young men. "in establishing the chair of english you have taken a bold step and wise innovation. you have pushed the whole system of virginia education distinctly forward, and you have given to your system of collegiate education a firm basis in the needs of our people. i have felt the sweetest joy of my life to have been permitted to help in this great work. i have seen the school of english, from session to session, bear richer fruits in the development of our whole student class and in the growing power of the college over the educated opinion of the state. i beseech you now, in parting from you, to take the chair of english under your fostering care, not only to uphold it, but to develop and expand it as the characteristic and special glory of the college, and to bring it to pass that every alumnus of randolph-macon college shall be, to his own benefit and to your honor, as soundly and correctly educated as man ought to be in the knowledge and use of his mother tongue." at this meeting dr. w. w. bennett, chairman of the building committee, announced to the board the completion of the pace lecture building, at a cost of about $ , . at the annual meeting of the board of trustees, held june, , the reports made by the president and treasurer showed great embarrassment in financial matters, which, as a matter of course, affected the prompt payment of salaries to the members of the faculty. the patronage for the year was reported to be . [illustration: prof. w. a. frantz, a. m., _prof. english, central college, missouri._] the degree of a. m. was conferred on william abner frantz, of virginia. at the june meeting, , thomas branch, esq., resigned the office of president of the board. resolutions of regret at his action, and expressive of the kind regard of the trustees towards him, were adopted. dr. j. a. duncan was elected to fill the vacancy. william willis, jr., resigned the oflice of treasurer of the board on account of ill-health and defective eyesight. this was accepted with great reluctance by the board, and resolutions of sympathy for him in his afflictions and thanks for his faithful service were adopted. prof. w. a. shepard was elected treasurer _pro tempore_. when the board adjourned, it closed its last meeting in connection with the president who had inaugurated the college at ashland, and had presided over it for nine years. a few days after the opening of the session of - he passed away, after a brief illness. the record of the journal made by the secretary, and enclosed in black lines, is as follows: [transcribers' note: in the original book, the following paragraph is also enclosed in black lines.] on monday, september , , at o'clock a. m., rev. james a. duncan, d. d., president of randolph-macon college, died at the president's house, ashland, va., after a brief illness. on tuesday, the th, a brief funeral service was conducted in the college chapel by rev. leroy m. lee, d. d.; after which the corpse was conveyed by a special train to richmond. funeral service conducted at broad-street church by bishop d. s. doggett, d. d.; a procession formed to hollywood, and the body of this faithful and illustrious servant of god buried there, in the hope of a glorious resurrection. "this writer was a student at randolph-macon when dr. duncan was a little boy, not yet in his _teens_. he was then as full of fun and mischief as a boy could be, which, with his sprightliness, made him an uncommonly interesting boy. he was a scholar in the first sunday-school class he ever taught, and along with him were dick and gib leigh and dick manson. he was intimately associated with him in re-establishing the college at ashland, he beginning his presidency, with this writer as treasurer and chairman of the executive committee. then, from to his last illness, he sat under his ministry in the old ball-room chapel, whose walls echoed to the tones of his wondrous voice, such as cathedrals rarely, if ever, have heard. this ought to render him competent, in part, to write of this most gifted man. [illustration: wilbur f. tillett, a. b., d. d., _sutherlin medalist, ; dean theological faculty, vanderbilt university._] but others have written tributes so much better and worthier of the subject that he will let them speak. the first tribute to him was given by prof. thos. r. price, ll. d., who has more than once expressed to this writer the great remissness of the methodist church in not having had prepared a memoir of one of its greatest preachers and wisest men. the following is prof. price's sketch of dr. james a. duncan: "the great preacher." "the bitterest hour for them that mourn their dead is not when the breath rattles in the throat nor when the clod rattles on the coffin. it comes when, after all the stir and turmoil of death and funeral are over, the family go back to the ravaged home, and grope their ways, blinded with tears, through the rooms that the dead man has left forever empty. not even the sudden jar of the final separation strikes so deep a wound as the growing sense of loss, as the accumulating despair of unsatisfied longing. so, in all the many regions where dr. duncan, the great apostle of virginia, was known and loved, the deepest grief was not felt when all those thousands followed the hearse and sobbed around the open grave under the stars at hollywood. a deeper sorrow comes to us now, after taking up again the task of life, when we feel, amid our pleasures and our business, that the great advocate of god, who lived christ among us as sublimely as he preached him, has been withdrawn forever from among the potencies of our time; when we remember that, in evil days, when many bad men are seeking to break down the honesty and to dull the moral sense of the virginia people, we are left without the mighty aid of that one man who knew best of all how to stir the hearts and to guide the acts of our people to good. yet with the calmness of the deeper sorrow comes, too, the calmness to think out the secret of the dead man's power over the great masses of the southern people, for that power was one that reached far outside of his church and of all churches deep down into the moral life of virginia. thus even for us laymen, for us that have no right to preach and no theology to teach, the character of this wonderful man has an abiding interest. it is worth while for us all to know what were the means by which he worked. as his life did such immense good to so many thousands of our people, the contemplation, and, if possible, the understanding, of that life, can hardly fail to do good to the great communities that are now mourning for him. "on the first meeting with dr. duncan, were it only a hurried talk at a street-corner or a few minutes' conversation on a railway train, the first impression that came to the stranger from his sweet eyes and tender lips was the sense of a strange and overpowering love and loveableness in the man. the face and voice stole their way to the heart and mastered the affections. all the children were drawn to his caressing hands by a charm that their little hearts could not withstand. the negro servants in the houses that he visited could be seen to hang upon his words and to strive to catch his smile. the belle of the springs, on her way to the ball-room; the roughest mountaineer loafing on the skirts of a camp-meeting; boys and old men, the ignorant and the educated, had to yield themselves to the fascination of the fresh and guileless love that emanated from his beaming eyes and tender, penetrating voice. whether he was moving with his exquisite grace, smiling and talking, through a parlor, or standing all aglow in his passionate eloquence beside his pulpit; whether he spoke to one man, soul to soul, in the quiet of his study, or faced the thousands of eyes that looked up to him from a great city church, or from the green hillsides of a rustic amphitheatre, the power that went forth from him, winning all hearts and softening all hardness, was the power of an exquisitely loveable nature, giving love richly and pleading for love in return. but as you listened to him, as you watched the play of his mobile features, and took in the rich, sweet tones of his voice, this first impression of the man's intense loveableness was deepened by the impression of his marvellous intellectual power. the shrewdness of his observation, the penetrating keenness of his intelligence, the splendid precision of his thought and of his utterance, took instantaneous possession of the hearer's mind. his knowledge of human character as men moved before him, his ready insight into the tangled web of human motives, was almost infallible. in spite of his boundless charity and graciousness, he was a man that could not be deceived or cheated. he took men in at a glance. the smile that curled around his lips, the light that sparkled in his eyes, showed to the dullest, as to the wiliest, that the secrets of their character were seen, that the very depths of their soul lay unveiled before him. thus, when you talked with him, you were sure to feel that, while his love opened his heart to you, his intellect opened yours to him. in managing men, above all, in wielding the discipline of a college, the amazing quickness and penetration of his intellect made him the fittest of all men to control both character and conduct. the offender who came to hide his sin beneath a lie, found the lie impossible, and flung himself with passionate tears upon the love of the man that both understood and pitied his weakness. even in great audiences, when he spoke to thousands of god and goodness, the veils of self-deception fell away before the glances that he shot into the souls of men. in all the history of christianity no man ever pleaded for christ before men with a mightier control over the secrets of human hearts, with a sharper penetration into the weakness and badness of each human soul. it was this union of moral with intellectual force, this union of the attractive power of love with the penetrative power of understanding, that gave to dr. duncan his unrivalled and irresistible control over the heart and intellect of the virginia people. the world is so bad that we are apt to confuse amiability with silliness, and to see a sign of intellectual weakness in a good man's love and care for his fellow-men. but here, at least, it was one man as strong as he was good, a man that joined to the charm of a tenderly loving heart the power of a splendid genius and of an incisive intelligence. thus he rose on the hearts of men to be a living power in our state and time. thus to each man that saw much of him, to every human being that was exposed for long to the influence of his words and actions, the man, simple and kindly, and great in all his deeds, shone forth as the revelation of a higher life, as the proof and example of what christ's teaching meant. "the mystery both of the moral power and of the intellectual power of this great man lay in his astounding unselfishness; for the egoistic habit of mind is a hindrance not only to the moral but also to the intellectual progress of the man. a selfish regard for one's own interests, the bad trait of regarding all things and all men as subordinate to one's own designs, not only deadens the moral sensibility, but it even distorts and discolors all intellectual insight into the world. if we fail to care for other men's good by being so busy about our own, we fail equally to penetrate into their characters and to see the good and evil that is in them by being unable to remove from our intellectual vision the beam of our own desires and designs. from all these obstacles, to noble acting and to accurate thinking, dr. duncan was sublimely free. he had resigned himself so fully into the hands of god that he had ceased absolutely to care for his own advantage or to be perplexed by the contemplation of his own aims. thus he moved through the annual courses of his serene and glorious activity, preaching and teaching and helping all good causes, with a mind unperverted from great things by any care for little ones, with a soul ready for any sacrifice, and, what is harder still, ready to throw itself into full and instantaneous sympathy with any soul that opened to his approach. in all his dealings with men, as friend with his friends, as preacher with his congregations, as teacher with his pupils, the loveliness and warmth of his affections were equalled only by the pliability and penetration of his intellect, by his wisdom in advising, by his discretion in helping. "all the ordinary temptations to self-seeking fell off powerless from the supreme unselfishness of his nature. when the fame of his eloquence spread over many states; when he was acknowledged as the greatest orator of his church, and, perhaps, of his country; when the richest churches of the greatest cities offered him vast salaries to leave the struggling people and the impoverished college that he loved, he clung fast to poverty, and put aside, without a struggle, the temptations of ease and wealth. even when temptation assailed him in craftier forms; when men told him of the mighty congregations that new york or st. louis or san francisco would pour forth to catch from him the words of life, he said that 'he loved his own people best, and must stay to help virginia along.' like his master, he chose poverty rather than riches; like his master, he chose to work in a little village, among a small band of disciples, rather than among the splendors and plaudits of cities; like his master, he made of life one long series of sweetly-borne self-sacrifices. before the spectacle of such sublime self-depression all words of common praise are unseemly. but to them that lived with him, who saw the great soul take up so bravely and bear so lovingly the burthen of poverty, trouble, and suffering, the life he led was a miracle of beauty and holiness, making the world brighter and nobler by even the remembrance of him. "in his preaching, as in his life, the same blending of love with wisdom, of childlike simplicity with manly power, was revealed. there was no fierceness, no affectation, no struggling after oratorical effects; but, as the powers of his mind got into motion, as the thoughts rolled on, clear and massive, the words and sentences grew rich and lofty, the sweet voice swelled out into organ tones, the small and graceful figure swayed to the pulsations of his thought, and the beautiful face glowed with all the illumination of love. there was no theology in his sermons, no polemical divinity in his conception of divine truth. to love god, and to love men was for him, as christ taught him, the sum of all righteousness. this power of love was the agency through which he did his work in the world. as the warmth of the sun controls all the processes of nature and commands all the movements of the universe, so warmth of love, as the central fact of god's moral government, was for him the source of all power, the means of subduing all wrong, and of bringing the world back into harmony with god's laws. "no human life ever lived in this world of ours was attuned more fully to a loftier harmony. as we think of all the good deeds he did, of all the wise words he spoke, of his solemn yet tender warnings against evil, of the love that charmed so many souls to do right, of the sublime unselfishness that made his life a sacrifice to other men's good, we can feel that to us, in our own state, born of our own stock, in full sight of us all, a man has been given to live for our good, as nearly as man may, up to the life-story of the christ himself. "_university of virginia._ t. r. price." the following is taken from the minutes of the virginia conference, and was written by an old college mate, dr. j. c. granbery, now bishop: "james armstrong duncan was born in norfolk, va., april , . he was dedicated to god from his birth and trained in piety by his father, the venerable david duncan, who has been prominent through two generations in the education of the youth of the southern states, and who accepted the chair of ancient languages in randolph-macon college while james was a child; and by his mother, a woman of saintly character, who preceded her son by a few years to the heavenly land. in his boyhood he was a universal favorite, and displayed the gifts of mind and genial spirit and grace of manner which became so conspicuous in his riper years. we may mention his overflowing humor and gaiety, tempered with a kind and generous nature; and a wonderful power of mimicry, which furnished unbounded amusement to his comrades, and, indeed, to persons of mature age, but was never used to wound in feeling or reputation. in , during one of those gracious revivals with which our church has been signally blessed year after year, he sought and found jesus. in one of his latest and most effective sermons, he has described his conversion and affirmed that the vow of consecration then made had been the controlling principle of his ministry and the motive of those labors which his brethren sometimes thought excessive. "he was licensed to preach probably the next year. the people of mecklenburg still speak of his first sermons, in which they saw the prophecy of his future greatness. having graduated in june, , he was immediately placed in charge of a society in alexandria, which had just organized in connection with the methodist episcopal church, south. from that hour his popularity and success as a preacher and pastor began, and they steadily waxed fuller and more lustrous until his death quenched a star than which none shone with a purer and more brilliant radiance in the whole firmament of methodism. a great revival attended his labors during the few months before the session of our conference and the prosperity of the church was secured. he was kept on our northern border for nine years, in fairfax, leesburg, alexandria and washington--everywhere beloved with enthusiasm, everywhere successful in his ministry. then followed nine years of faithful labor in the city of richmond. in he was sent to trinity, one of our oldest and most important stations. there had come a crisis in the history of that church. its prosperity was already impaired and seriously threatened by the unfortunate location of the house of worship. the young pastor soon had the building crowded with an eager congregation. the eloquence of his discourses and the charm of his social manners were a theme of general comment throughout the city. two series of sermons to young men and women proved peculiarly attractive, and resulted in extensive and lasting benefit. he took front rank among the pulpit orators of the land. all denominations flocked to hear him, and delighted in his company and friendship. these honors he bore with modest dignity and consecrated with godly simplicity to the service of the master. a little band from trinity determined, under his leadership, to build a handsome and commodious church on broad street near the capitol square. in he was appointed to this new charge, and preached in a rented hall until the church was completed. it was dedicated in march, , and, with the exception of two years, he continued in pastoral charge until the conference of . all this time his influence widened and deepened. he was a power in that city. when it became the capital of the confederate states, and was crowded with representatives from all parts of the south, his faithful, spiritual, eloquent preaching entranced, edified, encouraged, and impressed with a saving efficacy an untold multitude, whose number eternity must reveal. no man in our day has accomplished more for methodism or for the cause of christ in the capital of virginia than james a. duncan. "in addition to his pastorate, he edited the _richmond christian advocate_ from the fall of to the fall of . with characteristic generosity he did this work without money and price--a free-will offering to the church, except the two years he devoted his whole time to the paper. the readiness and versatility of his talents were admirably shown in this office, for, with many other claims upon his time, he wrote not only the editorials, but much of the most popular and enjoyable correspondence with which the _advocate_ was enriched during those years. great curiosity was aroused to find out the anonymous authors of series of letters published in the paper; but few, if any, suspected that they came from the fertile brain of the editor. "two years he was pastor of the washington-street church, in petersburg. such men as d'arcy paul loved to speak of the rich spiritual feasts on which he fed them from the pulpit, and the no less precious influence of his pastoral visits. in that city he suffered a severe spell of nervous fever, his first illness since childhood. "this brings us to a third era of nine years in his eventful life. after the war randolph-macon college re-opened and feebly struggled for life. dr. duncan was among the strongest advocates of its removal from boydton to ashland. the board of trustees resolved on this critical movement in the summer of . the faculty resigned, and an election was held to fill the vacant places. dr. duncan was unanimously chosen president. he signified promptly a disposition to accept the responsible post, but demanded a few days in which to carry the question in private prayer to the god whose he was and whom he served. repeatedly and emphatically he declared the singleness of purpose with which he entered on this office, and that he would not remain one day in it if it were not for the conviction that he was thereby serving most efficiently the church of christ. "no one who knew the man doubted his sincerity and simplicity of aim. he never sought self. he was indifferent to wealth in a degree which some even censured as extreme. he served not ambition. the esteem and approval of good men he must have prized, but never, so far as we know, did he exhibit any undue concern about such things. he belonged to christ, and to the church for christ's sake. he went in the courage of faith and the spirit of consecration to the college, and devoted himself to the duties in the chair of moral philosophy and in the presidency. the halls were filled with a larger number of students than had ever sought its advantages in its palmiest days before the war. he governed by his personal influence, by the love and confidence with which he inspired the young men, and diligence and good behavior were the rule with rare exceptions. "the reputation of the institution for a high grade of scholarship and thoroughness of culture was inferior to that of no other college in the land. young preachers, often numbering more than forty in a single session, sat under his special lectures in theology, and were moulded by his example and his teaching. with the authority of a prophet, with the gentleness of a father, he preached to the students, week after week, the word of life, and saw many of them accept with glad heart the yoke and burden of christ. in private they revealed to him all that was in their hearts, and sought his sympathy and counsel. in public, whatever the occasion on which he spoke, they hung breathless on his lips, and received what he said as if from an angel of god. those who have attended the commencements can bear witness to the outgushing of love, the wise and noble utterances, the manly frankness and boldness, and the tenderness, almost motherly, with which he bade those young men farewell in unstudied words of genuine eloquence, and the beaming faces, the streaming eyes, the thunders of applause with which they responded. nor were these his only labors. often during the sessions he hurried off to preach in city or country at the call of the churches of the virginia and baltimore conferences, or in order to raise money for the college. the summer vacation was no rest to him, but his busiest period. incessantly he travelled through the two conferences, speaking on christian education, and speaking at district conferences, at protracted and camp-meetings. he was in labors more abundant, not sparing himself, never reluctant to help in any good work. everywhere he was sought, everywhere he was welcome. thousands ascribe to him, under god, their first impulse to serve christ, their revival from a lukewarm and languishing state, or their fuller consecration and seeking of a higher spiritual life. we may safely affirm that no man of his own generation has so powerfully impressed the religious character of an equal number within the bounds of these two conferences as james a. duncan. he was elected to the general conferences of , , and . that of he did not attend, his duties at the college not allowing his absence. he lacked only a few votes to be chosen bishop at that session, several delegates of this body, who held him in high admiration, and thought him in every way worthy of the honor, withholding their votes because they believed him essential to randolph-macon college. from that time the mind of the whole church turned to him as the fittest person to be elected to the episcopacy. in he attended the general conference of the methodist episcopal church as one of three fraternal messengers from our general conference, and his address on that occasion was marked by its catholic spirit, fervent love for christ, and grand and thrilling eloquence. "in the summer of , exhausted by ceaseless toil of travel and preaching, and exposed to a malarial atmosphere at a camp-meeting, he was seized with a fever, which took a typhoid phase, and he lay for weeks at the point of death. for one year he was scarcely fit for any work, and though he afterwards rallied and resumed his course of untiring labors, the seeds of disease lurked in his system, and often developed in severe spells of sickness; yet he worked on, cheerful, energetic, consumed with zeal. the past summer he spoke and preached with an ardor, power, and success equal to his happiest efforts in the years of his vigorous health. sunday, september the th, he was in baltimore, to preach at the re-opening of trinity, and this he did, in the forenoon with great power, despite intense physical pain. on his return to ashland it was found that his jawbone was decayed, and poison diffused throughout his frame. erysipelas attacked his face. his sufferings were great, but borne with patience and sweetness. he sat up, however, a part of each day, and seemed not to suspect that his end drew near. monday morning, the th, he fell asleep in jesus. "oh! the surprise, the shock, the grief of heart, the sense of loss, the feeling of desolation, which that news produced. crowds attended his funeral at broad-street church, which, by a marble tablet, acknowledges him its founder, and bishop doggett pronounced his eulogy. memorial services were held in richmond, petersburg, and baltimore. resolutions of highest praise were passed by quarterly conferences and by the faculties of colleges and universities. the secular and religious press honored his memory with heartfelt tributes; but all these honors fell far short of expressing the reverence and love with which he is cherished in thousands of hearts and thousands of homes. we yield to our sorrow of personal bereavement, and then chide ourselves for the selfishness when we ought to be grieving over the loss to the church. we think with sadness and almost with despondency of the bereavement of our college, and conference, and church, and tears fill our eyes, and a sword pierces our heart, at the unbidden suggestion of the void in our own life which the death of this dear, this noble friend and brother has made. "we have said little of his private life. he was early married to miss twitty, of north carolina, who for many years proved a companion and helpmeet worthy of such a man, and passed away in . he married in , miss wade, a daughter of a minister of the baltimore conference, who ministered to him and comforted him through the last years of his life, years of comparative weakness and pain, and now mourns, yet in resignation and trust, his death. he leaves four children of the first and one of the second marriage. the widow and children have the deepest sympathies and fervent prayers of this conference. "a few more words we must say about this loved brother. he was a natural orator. perhaps this remark should be changed, not to abate its force, but to enlarge its application. he was a born talker, equally gifted in conversation and in public discourse. he had every physical advantage--grace of attitude and gesture, a voice which everybody likened, in sweetness, richness, and compass, to the organ, and, we must add, to the organ when struck by a master musician, for he had his voice under perfect command, and moderated it to convey the fullest variety of pure and worthy sentiment; a countenance on which one loved to gaze, handsome in repose, lovely when lit up by the noble thoughts and feelings of his great soul. he had every intellectual and moral advantage; a ready flow of happy diction, which seemed perfectly spontaneous, and yet exactly suited the thought; a playful humor, and, when needed, keenness of wit and satire which added zest to his serious speech, but detracted not from its weight; a quick insight into the heart of a subject, judgment remarkably sound, the logical spirit without slavery to logical forms, and an imagination which could sport like a butterfly amid flowers, or soar like an eagle beyond the clouds; sensibility delicate, deep, strong--acute sympathy with his fellow-man; a response in his feelings to everything true, pure, generous, and grand. above all, he was full of the holy ghost, and could say, 'for the love of christ constraineth me.' his adaptation to all classes of hearers, to all classes of circumstances, was marvellous. he could interest and edify the child, the unlettered, the cultivated, the scholar, with equal ease. every variety of style came naturally to him, from a familiar home talk, through all gradations of argument, instruction and pathos, to the impassioned, sublime and overwhelming appeal. the earnestness and simplicity of his soul were ever manifest; that he preached not self, not philosophy, not human wisdom, not excellency of speech, but christ and him crucified, not for fame, but to win souls. "in his social and pastoral qualities he no less excelled. others have equalled, none surpassed him in diligence and fidelity; but who can compare in charm, in breadth and tenderness of sympathy, in aptness to guide and comfort, in power to draw forth trust and love? place him in any parlor, at any table, among the rich or poor, and he would be the centre of attraction--every eye fixed on him, every ear attend his voice. let him sit by the bed of any invalid, though a stranger before that hour, and soon he would soothe and cheer, and the heart would open to his words as though he had been a life-long friend. the young and old, men and women, the rude and the cultivated, felt free to confide to him their troubles and ask his sympathy and aid; yet, in the narrower circle of long-tried friendship and of home, never did there beat a truer, more constant, more generous heart; so unselfish, so frank, so forbearing, so trustful, so magnanimous, never giving up a friend, though he may have strayed far, and long, and fallen low; never slow in responding to any call for help. "but we must close this sketch. he was our favorite and our ornament, we might almost say our idol; but we glorify god in him. he has been taken away in his prime, at the height of his usefulness, when we were leaning on his counsel and strength, when we were rejoicing in the prospect of many years of his company and service. but we thank god for his example, his work, and his prayers. he rests from his labors, and his works do follow him." a meeting of the board was called, to assemble at broad-street church october , , to make provision for the college after the loss of president duncan. dr. a. w. wilson, vice-president, announced his death, and a committee, consisting of dr. w. w. bennett, dr. samuel rodgers, and hon. wm. milnes, jr., was appointed to report suitable resolutions to the board, and they presented the following, which was unanimously adopted: "_resolved_, that, as the board of trustees of randolph-macon college, we have the deepest sorrow in our hearts in announcing to our church and people the great loss we have sustained in the death of rev. james a. duncan, d. d., our late president. his devoted life as a christian minister and his constant and arduous labors for the past nine years in behalf of randolph-macon college, and the high position to which he and his co-laborers in the faculty have brought the institution, demand that our people should give some expression of their appreciation of this work, which, in its widening influence, we trust shall abide for generations to come. and in the judgment of this board nothing can more adequately express our conviction of the value of his life and work for the college and the cause of christian education than that the church should determine to raise a 'memorial fund' of $ , for the accomplishment of an earnest and often-expressed wish of our deceased president, the permanent endowment of the college and the enlargement of its sphere of usefulness." the presidency of the board having been made vacant by the death of president duncan, rev. w. w. bennett was elected to it. to fill the presidency of the college, rev. w. w. duncan, brother of the late president, was elected. at an adjourned meeting, held in lynchburg, va., november , , secretary rev. paul whitehead presented a letter from the rev. w. w. duncan, professor in wofford college, south carolina, declining the presidency, to which he had been elected in july last. this declination and the financial embarrassment of the college elicited the hearty interest of the virginia conference, then in session. a large committee from that body was appointed to confer with the board to concert measures which would meet the serious condition of the affairs of the college. the joint conference was held for several days. after the joint conference was concluded, on the th of november, the board proceeded to elect a president of the college. the result of the first ballot was: for r. n. sledd, votes; for w. w. bennett, votes. necessary to a choice, . the second ballot resulted in the same vote. the third ballot, other members having come in, resulted as follows: w. w. bennett, votes; r. n. sledd, votes. necessary to a choice, votes. so rev. w. w. bennett, d. d., was declared elected. [illustration: bishop w. w. duncan. _elected president .--declined to accept._] [illustration: rev. w. w. bennett, d. d., _president of the board of trustees, ; president of the college. - ._] resolutions respecting the death of william willis, jr., late treasurer of the board, who had died since the last meeting of the board, were adopted. at this meeting rev. thomas a. ware resigned his place as agent. the new president, when elected, was the editor of the richmond _christian advocate_, of which he had been the proprietor, wholly or in part, for ten years. he was a leading man in the virginia conference, and largely acquainted with the ministers and people of the church in virginia and elsewhere, having been a member of the general conference for a number of sessions. he was in the full vigor of manhood. his education had been secured at the university of virginia. having been an active member of the board for years, and frequently on important committees of the board, and having lived in ashland for a number of years, he was thoroughly conversant with the affairs of the college. he felt and appreciated the great purposes of its establishment and the capabilities which it might be endowed with by the action of the church. he also knew what a burden he was about to take up and carry--a burden which had taxed the energies and heart of his predecessor; but, hopeful and sanguine, he probably did not appreciate the full weight of the burden which was to test his heart and energies, in turn, to their utmost strain. it was well that he was hopeful and trustful. dr. bennett commenced his duties with the following colleagues in the faculty december , : robert emory blackwell, a. m., professor of english and modern languages; harry estill, a. m., professor of mathematics; william a. shepard, a. m., professor of chemistry; charles morriss, m. a., professor of greek and latin. at a meeting of the board, held in baltimore, march, , the faculty was increased by the election of william waugh smith, a. m., to the chair of moral and mental philosophy. some time afterward he entered upon his duties as professor, and his connection, in some capacity, has continued to this day. of his connection with the college more will be recorded further on in this narrative. [illustration: gray carroll, _sutherlin medalist, ; district solicitor, little rock, ark._] at this meeting it was proposed to have published a memorial volume of the late president duncan. that it was not done promptly, and in a manner worthy of him, is, and always will be, a source of regret to those who knew and loved him. this affords another instance and example of how little has been done to let the lives and labors of virginia's gifted men speak after they are dead. surely he was worthy of a fitting biography. [illustration: richard b. davis, a. b., ., _member board of trustees._] at the annual meeting, june, , the president, in his annual report, gave the number of students in attendance as , from twelve different states. he reported a revival of religion as having occurred, with twenty converts among the students. [illustration: frank noland, _first "pace" medalist, ; assistant editor "landmark."_] an effort has been made, with some success, to retire the floating debt of the college, amounting to about $ , , on some of which ten per cent. interest was being paid, averaging eight per cent. the president was hopeful of good patronage and retiring the debt. the following, on recommendation of the faculty, received degrees, viz.: henry a. boyd, of north carolina, a. m.; mansfield t. peed, of virginia, a. m.; william j. sebrell, of virginia, a. b.; wilbur fisk tillett, of north carolina, a. b.; m. p. rice, b. s. the "sutherlin medal for oratory" was won by gray carroll, of virginia. the "walton greek prize" went to clarence edwards, of virginia. [illustration: prof. r. bascom smithey, a. m.] the "pace" medal for the best english essay was awarded to frank noland, of virginia, the first to win it. this medal was offered by mr. james b. pace, of richmond, va. prof. harry estill resigned, july , , the chair of mathematics after ten years' service. he was the last of president duncan's faculty to leave. he went to the washington and lee university, and took the same chair at that institution, his alma mater. to the chair thus vacated royal bascom smithey (a. m. ) was elected, and he has filled it with great satisfaction to his pupils and the board to the present time ( ). [illustration: clarence edwards, a.m., _"pace" medalist, ; attorney-at-law._] the old chapel was consumed by fire march , . fortunately there was nothing in it but the furniture, which was saved. it had a varied history. before the war it was a ball-room; during the war a hospital; after the war a place for religious service for nearly eleven years. its walls had resounded with the eloquence of duncan, wightman, guard, ran. tucker, rosser, bennett, and others. in it many of randolph-macon's brightest sons had received their diplomas; in it many had been "born again" to a new life. services were held afterwards in the mathematical lecture-room in the pace building until the "duncan memorial" building, with church and chapel, had been completed. [illustration: charles w. tillet, a. b., _sutherlin medalist, ; member of north carolina senate._] immediate steps were taken to erect the new building, and rev. george w. nolley took an active and successful part in raising the funds for its erection. the ladies of the church also did a good part in this work; also the faculty and the students. in june, , the finance committee reported that about one-half the "floating debt" had been subscribed. nevertheless, for want of endowment, the current expenses of the year had exceeded the income. they therefore recommended that the president be requested to devote his time and attention specially to the raising of funds for retiring the debt. the following degrees were conferred, viz.: a. m. t. e. crenshaw, virginia. clarence edwards, virginia. wm. j. sebrell, virginia. a. b. william h. edwards, virginia. clarence edwards won the "pace" medal. charles w. tillett won the "sutherlin" medal. the number of students for the session of -' was . the session of - was not marked by much that is worthy of record. the president of the college devoted his time largely in raising funds to discharge the debt of the college. in his annual report, june, , he announced the completion of the new college chapel, built in place of the old chapel. although there was an increase of students, still the expenses exceeded the income by over $ , . at the commencement, june, , degrees were conferred as follows, viz.: a. m. jesse talbott littleton, of virginia. a. b. w. w. sawyer, virginia. chas. w. tillett, n. carolina. d. d. rev. adolphus w. mangum, a. m., prof. university of north carolina (class ). at a called meeting of the board, held at danville, va., november, , the announcement was made that the sum required to cancel the debt of the college had been subscribed. this gratifying result was achieved by the long and arduous labors of dr. bennett, president of the college. [illustration: doctor m. james, _of west virginia. sutherlin medalist._] - . the following received degrees at the annual commencement, june, : a. m. joseph c. jones, virginia. john b. crenshaw, virginia. basil w. waters, maryland. james c. shelton, virginia. robert w. tomlin, virginia. james w. morris, virginia. a. b. john f. blackwell, virginia. joseph c. terrell, virginia. d. m. james, west virginia. wm. b. crenshaw, kentucky. e. e. harrell, n. carolina. the following resolution was adopted by the board, on motion of dr. paul whitehead: "_resolved_, that the rev. w. w. bennett, d. d., president of this college, deserves, and we hereby tender to him, the thanks of the trustees for the patient and indefatigable manner in which he has performed the duty committed to him of raising, by subscription, the amount necessary to pay the debt of the college, amid discouragements and difficulties which have rendered the work at once thankless and toilsome." [illustration: jesse talbott littleton, _prof. emory and henry college; pace medalist, ._] in the annual report of the president the following items are noted: the number of students matriculated was . the debt of the college had been considerably reduced by collection of subscriptions. the finance committee reported that if the subscriptions were paid up the financial condition of the college would be better than it had been at any period of its recent history. [illustration: rev. basil w. waters, a.m., _missionary to japan._] at the close of this session, after spending four years in college, diplomas in greek and mathematics, and the mathematical prize were awarded to a young man whose subsequent career has marked him as one of the first mathematical scholars of the age. this was david w. taylor, of louisa county, va. in september, , he was second among one hundred and fifty candidates for entrance as cadet engineer at the united states naval academy. he graduated from the naval academy june, , standing first in his class each year; was ordered to the flagship of the european station, under the command of (then) captain dewey; then sent to the royal naval college at greenwich, near london, england, taking at that place a three-years' course in naval architecture and marine engineering; graduated there in at the head of his class, _receiving the highest marks ever obtained for the course by either an english or foreign student_. he is now ( ) an assistant to chief of the bureau of construction and repair, washington, d. c. [illustration: rev. samuel rodgers, d. d., _vice-president of the board of trustees._] [illustration: james w. morris, a. m. _sutherlin medalist; pace medalist, ; missionary to brazil._] - . at the close of the year -' the following received degrees: a. m. r. e. l. holmes, virginia. edgar a. potts, virginia. edmund s. ruffin, virginia. joseph t. reese, georgia. a. b. hugh c. davis, virginia. j. p. mauzy, virginia. thomas n. potts, virginia. d. d. rev. charles b. stuart (class ), texas. _sutherlin medalist_.--samuel m. garland, of virginia. _pace medalist_.--john newton mccormick, of maryland. the number of students, by the president's report, was , a decrease of . [illustration: david w. taylor, _mathematical prize, ; naval constructor, u. s. navy._] [illustration: bishop a. w. wilson, _president board of trustees._] the completion of the duncan memorial church was announced. the credit of this work was given to ladies of the congregation, who had worked with great zeal and efficiency to raise the needed funds. at the annual meeting president w. w. bennett tendered his resignation of the presidency of the board of trustees and of the college. bishop alpheus w. wilson was elected president of the board, and rev. john d. blackwell vice-president. [illustration: hugh c. davis, a. b., , _attorney-at-law._] the vacancy of the presidency of the college was not filled, but the board adjourned to meet in centenary church, richmond, july , , to fill the office. petitions were laid before the board, sent by a number of ministers and friends of the college, and also by a large number of the students, asking the board to re-elect dr. bennett to the presidency of the college. at the adjourned meeting, held july , , dr. bennett was re-elected president, almost unanimously, and he accepted the oflice. he stated that he had labored under a wrong impression in regard to the sentiments of the board when he resigned the presidency. [illustration: duncan memorial church.] at a called meeting, held in november, , the resignation of charles morris, professor of latin and french, was made known to the board. this resignation was accepted with expressions of the high appreciation by the board of the personal character and fidelity of prof. morris. he accepted a professorship in the university of georgia. prof. william w. smith was elected to have charge of latin and greek. at the annual conference, held in november, , the annual assessment made by the conference for the college was increased by $ , making it $ , , which amount has been the assessment to this date, june, . [illustration: claude a. swanson, _sutherlin medalist; member of congress from virginia._] - . the degree men for the year ending june, , were a. m. john f. blackwell, virginia. w. a. crenshaw, virginia. john morris, georgia. e. e. harrell, n. c. lewis miller, massachusetts. a. b. george b. davis. virginia. john d. epes, virginia. thomas d. newson, virginia. sydney b. wright, virginia. john newton mccormick, maryland. d. d. rev. w. s. black, of the north carolina conference. rev. w. e. edwards, of the virginia conference. rev. p. h. whisner, of the baltimore conference. _sutherlin medalist_.--claude a. swanson, virginia. _pace medalist_.--charles emory kregloe, virginia. [illustration: john morris, a. m., _professor of english, university of georgia._] thomas branch, esq., who had served on the board for forty years, tendered his resignation as a trustee. this was received, with a resolution of the high appreciation of his services as president of the board and trustee, and his liberality and devotion to the college. he was succeeded by his son, john p. branch. the president's report showed the attendance to be . in this report the president recommended the system of co-education of males and females for the first time. the recommendation of the president was not adopted. the board took steps to have erected new dormitories on the campus. [illustration: charles emory kregloe, _pace medalist; professor alleghany institute._] - . this year, the anniversary year of the methodist episcopal church in the united states, was to prove the turning point in the financial history of the college. the movement towards the increase of the endowment was not general, but it was in the right direction. the first subscription was for $ , , as in ; it was made by mr. e. m. tilley, of berkley, va., a northern man living in that town, not then a member of the methodist church. the larger part of the funds raised was from the norfolk district, apart from the subscription made by members of the board at the annual meeting, june, , which amounted to $ , . from this time forward the increase of the capital of the college has been steady, and, at times, very material and gratifying. [illustration: james a. duncan, d. d., _sutherlin medalist; holston conference._] the virginia and baltimore conferences had, at their last session, directed that all funds raised this centennial year should, unless otherwise specially noted, go towards the endowment fund of the college. at the annual meeting the following received degrees: a. m. thomas d. newson, virginia. a. b. r. h. bennett, virginia. james cannon, jr., maryland. n. h. robertson, virginia. theodore h. white, virginia. james a. duncan, of virginia, won the sutherlin medal. james cannon, jr., of maryland, won the pace medal. the number of matriculates for the session of -' was . [illustration: james cannon, jr., _of maryland; pace medalist; president blackstone institute._] - . the session of -' opened with students. the president, in his annual report, said it was one of the most satisfactory that had occurred during his administration. five new dormitories had been built to take the place of old ones. steps were taken to build new houses for two professors. he reported the acceptance of the chair of greek and the oriental languages by dr. richard m. smith, to which he had been elected at the last annual meeting. [illustration: dr. richard m. smith, ph. d. (leipzig), _professor of greek and the oriental languages ( - )._] the following received degrees, june, : a. m. r. h. bennett, virginia. james m. page, virginia. harry lee stuart, texas. a. b. wm. h. barley, virginia. eugene h. rawlings, virginia. f. p. hammond, maryland. claude a. swanson, virginia. _sutherlin medalist_.--thomas f. sherrill, of north carolina. _pace medalist_.--james m. page, of virginia. at a called meeting, held in centenary church, richmond, va., may , , the following letter of resignation was laid before the board: "bishop a. w. wilson, president of the trustees of randolph-macon college: "my dear brother,--the poor condition of my health through this entire session thus far admonishes me that i cannot continue to hold the presidency of the college. i am compelled, therefore, to hand you this, my resignation of the office, to take effect on the st of september next, which will give the trustees a period of five months, though i am sure they will not need so much time, in which to secure a suitable person for my successor. "it is a source of great gratification to me that i shall leave the college in good condition in every respect. "yours very truly, "w. w. bennett. "ashland, va., _march_ , ." [illustration: richard heber bennett, a. m., _of the virginia conference._] [illustration: thomas f. sherrill, of n. c., _sutherlin medalist, ._] the resignation of dr. bennett was accepted, and a committee was appointed to notify him of the action of the board, and to express to him the appreciation by the board of the value of his services. on motion, it was-- "resolved, that at the annual meeting in june next the board will proceed to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of dr. bennett." the president's annual report gave the attendance as for the session ending june, . [illustration: james m. page, a. m., ph. d., of virginia, _pace medalist, ; professor university of virginia._] on the recommendation of the faculty, the following received degrees, viz.: a. m. f. p. hammond, maryland. langhorne leitch, virginia. m. l. shackelford, virginia. sydney b. wright, virginia. a. b. thomas j. barham, virginia. james s. chapman, virginia. frank l. crocker, virginia. arthur k. davis, virginia. f. v. russell, virginia. samuel d. turner, virginia. d. d. rev. wilbur f. tillett, vanderbilt university. rev. h. melville jackson, richmond, va. ll. d. prof. james a. harrison, washington and lee university. _sutherlin medalist_.--j. s. chapman, of virginia. _pace medalist_.--langhorne leitch, of virginia. [illustration: james s. chapman, _sutherlin medalist; attorney-at-law._] the endowment and investment committee made the following gratifying announcement: "we respectfully report that there has been raised, through the instrumentality of prof. w. w. smith, dr. r. n. sledd, and others, $ , , $ , of which is in the hands of the local committee at lynchburg, and the balance in the hands of captain richard irby for collection." special credit ought to be given here to the liberal citizens of lynchburg, who subscribed this amount of endowment, ever since kept separate, and designated lynchburg endowment fund. this has brought into the current receipts each year about $ , . it was the prophecy and forecast of greater liberality in . from this time the professors and officers have always been paid their salaries promptly. the direct and material aid thus afforded was of great benefit, but the influence of such action on other communities and on individuals has been of far greater value. lynchburg, therefore, deserves, and should have, the gratitude of every randolph-macon alumnus and friend. [illustration: langhorne leitch, a. m., _pace medalist; missionary to china._] in the election to fill the office of president the following nominations were made: rev. john d. blackwell, d. d., by paul whitehead. rev. robert n. sledd, d. d., by w. e. judkins. rev. wilbur f. tillett, by j. e. edwards. rev. john a. kern, by w. t. chandler. rev. paul whitehead, d. d., by p. a. peterson. prof. wm. w. smith, a. m., by richard irby. [illustration: r. n. sledd, d. d., _class of ; first vice-president of the board._] on the first ballot prof. w. w. smith received ten votes out of twenty. on the second ballot he received twelve, and was declared elected. inasmuch as the history of the college has been so intimately linked with the life of president smith for so many years, it is not necessary to say much of him just here. he was born in fauquier county in . his father, richard m. smith, afterwards moved to alexandria, where he was associated with the celebrated benjamin hallowell in his school. afterwards he became editor of the _alexandria sentinel_, which was removed to richmond at the breaking out of hostilities, april, . he afterwards edited the _enquirer_. at the early age of sixteen william waugh smith volunteered in the confederate service, in which he continued to the close of the war. after the war he was associated with his father in the publication of the _enquirer_, which had been revived. he attended the university of virginia one session. when the college was moved to ashland, and his father became a professor in it, he matriculated at the college and took the degree of a. m., with john hannon, in . after leaving college he became the assistant to his uncle, albert smith, at bethel academy, near warrenton, va., which rapidly grew into prominence as a school. here he remained till , when he was elected professor of moral and mental science in randolph-macon college. in he showed his great talent for raising funds for the college, by securing the "lynchburg endowment," in connection with dr. r. n. sledd and others. his energy and aptitude for administration, in addition to the successful experience he had gained at bethel academy, pointed him out as the man for the vacant position, and subsequent events have justified the selection. [illustration: president wm. w. smith, a. m., ll. d.] [illustration: richard irby, secretary and treasurer. _elected june, ._] [illustration: randolph-macon woman's college, lynchburg, va. opened for students .] [illustration: [five small pictures, displayed in a quincunx. pictures are individually captioned, as follows: "rev. r.m. saunders, chaplain", "prof. knight.", "miss louise j. smith.", "prof. schehlmann.", "prof. adams." at the bottom of the page, the quincunx is captioned, "faculty randolph-macon woman's college, - .]] [illustration: [five more small pictures, displayed in a quincunx. pictures are individually captioned, as follows: "president smith.", "prof. sharp.", "dr. martin.", "prof. armstrong.", "miss parrish.". at the bottom of the page, the quincunx is captioned, "faculty randolph-macon woman's college, - .]] [illustration: [a third set of five small pictures, displayed in a quincunx. pictures are individually captioned, as follows: "prof landon", "mrs. saunders.", "prof. riddick.", "prof. page.", "dr. terrell." at the bottom of the page, the quincunx is captioned, "faculty randolph-macon woman's college, - .]] on motion of john p. branch (substitute for one offered by a. g. brown), it was "_resolved_, that richard irby be appointed secretary and treasurer, the same to give half of his time to the business of the college." his duties were defined as follows: to have charge of the financial and business concerns of the college, and also of the library, grounds, buildings, etc. this office was accepted, and he entered upon his duties the first day of july following. at the same session the board proceeded to fill the chair of moral and mental science and biblical literature. rev. john a. kern, of the baltimore conference, was elected to the chair, and he accepted the same. prof. kern was a graduate of the university of virginia. in he entered the baltimore conference of the methodist episcopal church, south. he had filled many of the most important appointments of that conference, and was then, as now, esteemed a man of talent, and growing year by-year in ability and acceptability. the estimate placed on him by his friends was not too high, as his subsequent career has proven. the board accepted the libraries which had been offered to it by the literary societies, consisting of about four thousand volumes, and the librarian was directed to consolidate them with the college library. this was a much-needed and timely improvement, and became a nucleus for a library which, in course of time, will be, it is hoped, a credit to the college. [illustration: rev. john a. kern, d. d. _elected president of randolph-macon college in ._] the new president was requested to continue his efforts in raising funds for the endowment, which had so far been attended with laudable success. this he was not slow in heeding. on account of failure to record the financial statement of , the exact amount of net assets of the college cannot here be given. the retiring president served nine years, almost identically the same period served by his predecessor, dr. duncan. his administration was also, like dr. duncan's, marked by great financial embarrassment, which had a depressing influence on a sensitive temperament like his was. that his days were shortened by the constant burden of care, like his predecessor's, can hardly be doubted. both of them were, in a sense, martyrs to the cause of christian education. dr. bennett never regained his health. he moved to his farm, in louisa county, and took work on the contiguous appointment at the conference of . while engaged in the work of his charge he gradually declined in health, and died june , . rev. w. w. bennett, d. d. "william wallace bennett, son of eli and mary c. bennett, was born in the city of richmond, february , . he was reared under the fostering care and social surroundings of methodism, and was the subject of religious impressions from an early period. "in , under the ministry of rev. gervas m. keesee, he made a profession of religion, and united with the methodist episcopal church in portsmouth. here, with the help of class-meetings and other social, as well as the public means of grace, his religious experience had a healthful beginning, that developed the elevated character and useful life that our beloved brother has bequeathed to the church. soon after his conversion, he, and several others who were exercised about a call to the ministry, met and conversed upon the subject, and prayed for divine guidance, giving evidence that when he entered the itinerancy it was no rash adventure. in the fall of , he removed to mecklenburg county, where his brother, rev. john r. bennett, was in charge of the circuit. there he pursued his studies, obtained license to preach, and began his ministry, passing through what he conceived to be the crucial test of his call to preach. discouraged, as he informed the writer, by what he conceived to be a failure in the pulpit before a large congregation, he was tempted to give up the ministry; but falling in the hands of an experienced and godly class-leader, who encouraged him by his counsel and his prayers, he returned to his work with renewed consecration, and a conviction too strong to be jostled again. "from the best information obtained (the records of four years of this conference being lost) he was admitted on trial into the virginia conference in , and travelled as junior preacher on louisa and bedford circuits. in -' he was in charge of powhatan circuit, and in was stationed in charlottesville, where he availed himself of the educational advantages of the university of virginia, and graduated in several of the schools in . at the conference of this year he was stationed in washington city, organizing the first society of the m. e. church, south, at our national capital. in he was elected chaplain of the university of virginia, but on account of sickness resigned the position. he soon, however, regained his accustomed health, and in -' travelled loudoun circuit with w. w. berry and john c. granbery, respectively, as junior preachers. in -' -' -' he was presiding elder of the washington district. while on this appointment he was married, december , , to virginia lee, daughter of edward and mary kendall lee sangster, of alexandria. a wise and happy union. in -' he was appointed to union station, richmond, and in -' was stationed at centenary, in the same city. "in he was appointed chaplain in the confederate army, and assigned to the superintendency of the tract association. seeing the necessity of a more generous distribution of bibles and religious literature among the troops, he arranged to go abroad for a supply, and during the last winter of the war successfully 'ran the blockade.' he had scarcely, however, entered upon the work in london when the war ended, and he returned to virginia. "in -' he travelled nottoway circuit, and in november, , was appointed editor of the _richmond christian advocate_. by judicious management and editorial ability, this necessary and popular journal was established on a promising basis. in rev. j. j. lafferty became his associate, who, in , by satisfactory negotiations, assumed control, and was appointed editor of the paper. the motives influencing dr. bennett in this change were characteristic of the man and the result of thoughtful conversation. his successor well understood him, and tells us, in his affecting notice of his death, that 'he made known to him his uneasiness in conscience as to his position--that he was too stout in health to be out of the regular ranks. with much emphasis, he declared his wish to be found in the pastorate when god called him.' before the conference met in lynchburg dr. bennett had arranged to change his position. it was then made to appear his duty to go to the college, and he yielded. but there must have been a peculiar joy when the summons came that he was in his loved employ--the shepherd of a flock. "in he was elected president of randolph-macon college. this position he held for nine years, during, perhaps, its most critical history; but by able, kind, and impartial administration, with the confidence of his brethren in the ministry, the active co-operation of his professorial associates, and the affection of the students, the college accomplished a noble work. by his activity in visiting throughout the baltimore and virginia conferences and elsewhere, and under his stirring appeals, the number of students compared favorably with other institutions, and a large amount of money was raised in the interest of the college. the sentiments of a writer from the pacific coast, we are sure, find echo here, that 'virginia methodism owes dr. bennett a great debt for the work done by him at randolph-macon at the crucial period of its history.' he left the college an enduring monument of his heroic devotion, but, as many think, at the cost of his life. at the close of the session in his health was so impaired that he resigned the presidency of the college, and secured a retired home near trevilian's, in louisa county, hoping that relief from the burdens and cares of college work and the quiet of the country might nurse him back to health again. but, alas! his disease baffled the best medical skill and the loving attentions of his family and friends. he was prevailed upon during the summer to visit the mountains, and, with some slight improvement, he was in his place at the last conference, believing that he could even then attend to the work on some fields that would be open, but naming none. the change disease had wrought in his robust frame was a subject of mournful remark by all that knew him, and grave apprehensions were felt that he would never recuperate. from that conference he was sent to gordonsville and orange, where he gave for a time pastoral care and pulpit work that was surprising to his friends. but as the summer advanced, he was compelled to yield, and after a short confinement to his bed, his earthly labors ended. "dr. bennett, in health, will always be remembered by his acquaintances as an incomparable specimen of physical manhood, with a face bearing the lines of strong character. indeed, he seemed moulded for any work or position in methodism. his mental endowments were of a high order. his early advantages were such as to secure a good english education, with some knowledge of latin; and from our knowledge of the man, we may safely conclude that his opportunities were well improved. a schoolmate says of him: 'he was studious, with great grasp of intellect and steadiness of purpose.' the writer, and others, perhaps, will remember his modest reference to his fondness for reading while a boy, in using 'the first money he could command to subscribe for the _richmond advocate_,' which he subsequently edited with so much ability. by judicious reading and study, and by such collegiate helps as his appointments favored, he became the peer of any. ten years before he was elected president of randolph-macon college he received from that institution the degree of d. d., was a member of every general conference since , and was a representative of our church at the ecumenical conference in london in . the opinion of the editor of the _richmond christian advocate_, no doubt, is the judgment of his brethren, that 'he was the best-rooted man in the conference in theology, and saturated with church history, dogma, and doctrine.' "as a preacher, he occupied the front rank in pulpit power, and his discourses were such as lived in the memory and hearts of his hearers. 'his sermons,' says bishop granbery, 'were stately, elaborate, and massive, mighty discussions of great truths, with wide range of thought, lucid and forcible argument, earnest, solemn, and often impassioned application.' bishop doggett says of him: 'bennett, at times, is the greatest preacher i ever heard. his sermon at the late camp-meeting, on matthew xxiii. , , surpassed anything i ever listened to from the pulpit. his description of the desolate house i can never forget. i remember,' says he, 'to have heard him at charlottesville, on the flood, when for more than an hour the congregation seemed dazed by the power of his eloquence.' "his character was differently analyzed by some of his friends, though all accorded him unexceptionable integrity, a high order of piety, and a noble, generous heart. his occasional serious expression and brusque manner awakened the suspicion with some that he was wanting in sympathy, but those who knew him best indulged no such estimate of him. with all his firmness of conviction and stern independence, where was to be found greater gentleness and consideration of the feelings of others? he was emphatically the friend of the friendless, the persecuted and neglected, and was unchanging in his friendships. he was slow to find fault, and indulged in no depreciation of others. at any time it required a great provocation, and something more than mere personal affront or injury, to evoke rebuke; but when it did come, it was felt, but was more the utterance of conscientious impulse than the ebullition of personal resentment. "he was the head of a christian household, where piety was fostered and practised, and where methodism was honored. he, with his devoted wife, sought to make home attractive, and succeeded. while the proprieties of religious training and filial respect were never relaxed, there was no constraint on the freedom of social and religious intercourse, and no lack of sympathy for such enjoyments as were proper, entertaining and improving in a christian home. he was looked up to by his family as a practical and safe counsellor, and beyond whom there was rarely even the desire to appeal. his brethren, i am sure, will endorse the sentiments of his distinguished eulogist: 'his virtues were many, steadfast and bright. the whole church will feel his loss. the virginia conference, as one man, will cherish his memory with deep admiration and love.' "after his confinement to bed the ravages of his rare disease were very rapid and severe. he early sank into a comatose condition, yet responding when spoken to. it will be gratifying to his brethren, nevertheless, to know that his end was a great spiritual triumph. on monday, june th, at an early hour, with the family and a few friends about him, fearful that he might pass away without again rousing from his lethargy, his wife, under her stress of grief, urged all to united prayer. they knelt, and his eldest son led in prayer, expressing assurance of the blessed result to the dying husband and father, yet craving a lucid interval and some words of affectionate counsel. in a few moments he asked to be turned on his back, and, opening his eyes, he exclaimed, 'i am quickened up into a higher life!' when his wife exulted in such an answer to prayer, he said: 'my dear, i have known for more than forty years that god answers prayer.' then, feeling his pulse, and turning to dr. wills, his physician, he said: 'i suppose this thing is steadily progressing to the end, is it not?' 'yes,' said the doctor, 'but you have the everlasting arms around you.' 'oh, yes,' he replied, 'and have had for more than forty years, and they have never failed me. but i have much to say, and must speak slowly, so i wanted to know how much time--a half hour?' 'yes,' the doctor replied, 'perhaps several hours.' he then called his family--but we must drop the curtain on a scene in many respects too sacred and impossible to describe. with affectionate counsel to each, he commended them to god. when one of the family spoke of meeting him in heaven, he replied, 'and what a happy meeting that will be!' he then asked his physician if he had shown any signs of nervousness. when told he had not, with a tender consideration for his loved ones, he said: 'i did not want to excite the family unnecessarily, but i want you all to know that there is not a cloud, not the semblance of a shadow, dark or small, between my lord and me. all is bright and clear.' he joined in singing that hymn of christian triumph commencing, 'how happy are they,' and when the family, by reason of their emotions, were unable to sing, he carried the tune. he then sent messages of love to his friends and brethren. 'give my love,' said he, 'to the professors and students of randolph-macon college, and may the blessing of god be upon them and their work forever.' then, with his heart going out to his brethren in the ministry, with whom he had labored so long and so successfully, he said: 'give my love to the preachers--all of them. i am so weak my feelings would overcome me. i can only give them my general blessing.' at intervals till he died the expressions caught from his failing voice were, 'hallelujah,' 'glory to god,' 'the portals on high,' 'always the blood--saved by it,' and almost with his expiring breath, and as if descriptive of his triumphant passage from earth to heaven, he exclaimed, 'i am rising higher and higher!' and at : o'clock p. m., june th, he passed away from his family, a wife and six children, all one in christ, who, though desolated by their loss, are comforted in the blessed hope of meeting in heaven. "his remains were carried to randolph-macon college, where solemn and touching services were held. the next day they were conveyed to centenary church, richmond, one of his old charges, where, by request of his family, rev. s. s. lambeth, assisted by bishop granbery and some of the ministers of the city and vicinity, in the presence of a large number of friends and acquaintances, held appropriate and affecting services. his body was then carried to hollywood cemetery and laid to rest 'till christ shall bid it rise.'" [illustration: rev. w. g. starr, a. m., d. d., _member board of trustees._] [illustration: major c. v. winfree, _member board of trustees._] this writer had intended to bring the history down to june, . for reasons satisfactory to himself, but not necessary to be given here, he has concluded to discontinue the historical narration of events which occurred during the twelve years from june, , to . the appendix will give some of the most important data, which may be interesting to many, and may be used by the future historian. he cannot close this narration of events without again expressing his regret at the imperfections of this book, written and printed under many interruptions and difficulties; but he trusts that the intrinsic interest of the narrative will cause readers to overlook or forgive its imperfections and defects. hoping that some more competent writer may in due time take the crude materials given, along with others of like interest, and do full justice to the oldest of methodist colleges in america, he lays down his pen. [illustration: view of campus of randolph-macon college, .] appendix. degrees conferred. session - . degree graduates. a. m. eugene h. rawlings, virginia. arthur k. davis, virginia. a. b. george c. bidgood, virginia. edwin w. bowen, maryland. john l. bruce, virginia. thomas e. hunt, virginia. james lindsay patton, virginia. henry r. pemberton, virginia. george shipley, maryland. d. d. rev. peter archer peterson, virginia conference. medalists. _sutherlin medalist_.--w. h. h. joyce, maryland. _pace medalist_.--james c. martin, virginia. [illustration: rev. john l. bruce, _missionary to brazil._] [illustration: rev. frank w. crowder, _east new york conference._] session - . degree graduates. a. m. george shipley, maryland. james c. martin, virginia. a. b. w. douglas macon, virginia. peyton b. winfree, virginia. paul pettit, virginia. james w. howell, virginia. carlton d. harris, virginia. james c. dolley, virginia. _sutherlin medalist_.--frank w. crowder, maryland. _pace medalist_.--george shipley, maryland. [illustration: [a collage of three photographs arranged in a triangle, captioned "duncan memorial church and chapel, and laboratories, randolph-macon college, ashland"]] [illustration: rev. w. h. h. joyce, _baltimore conference._] [illustration: rev. james lindsay patton, a. b., _missionary protestant episcopal church to japan._] [illustration: rev. wm. mcgee, trustee. _founder mcgee endowment fund._] [illustration: [a collage of four photographs arranged in a square, captioned "college buildings, randolph-macon college, ashland, va., ."]] [illustration: john p. pettyjohn. _founder of science hall._] session - . degree graduates. a. m. edwin w. bowen, maryland. thomas w. page, virginia. a. b. charles d. ragland, virginia. j. gilchrist herndon, virginia. b. s. w. alphonzo murrill, virginia. _sutherlin medalist_.--a. m. hughlett, virginia. _pace medalist_.--jos. h. riddick, jr., virginia. d. d. rev. a. p. parker, missionary to china. [illustration: prof. john l. buchanan, ll. d., _elected professor of latin, ._] session of - . degree graduates. a. m. j. jordan leake, virginia. c. dabney ragland, virginia. john s. richardson, virginia. w. carroll vaden, virginia. a. b. e. c. armstrong, maryland. w. b. beauchamp, virginia. w. asbury christian, virginia. wellford h. cook, virginia. c. c. cunningham, virginia. samuel w. eason, virginia. w. alphonzo murrill, virginia. w. levi old, virginia. marshall r. peterson, virginia. jos. h. riddick, jr., virginia. samuel c. starke. virginia. h. m. strickler, virginia. walter l. turner, virginia. geo. w. warren, virginia. d. d. rev. w. e. judkins, virginia conference. rev. b. w. bond, baltimore conference. _sutherlin medalist_.--joseph h. riddick. jr., virginia. _murray scholarship medalist_.--a. r. dudderar, maryland. _pace medalist_.--frank g. newbill, virginia. session -' . a. m. charles hall davis, virginia, samuel w. eason, virginia. de la warr b. easter, virginia. w. alphonzo murrill, virginia. d'arcy paul parham, virginia. samuel c. starke, virginia. a. b. benj. w. arnold, jr., virginia. george e. barnett, maryland. benj. w, beckham, virginia. henry d. blackwell, virginia. major s. colonna, jr., virginia. charles hall davis, virginia. alfred r. dudderar, maryland. gustavus w. dyer, virginia. robert l. fultz, virginia. john calvin hawk, w. va. aretas m. hughlett, virginia. walter r. old, virginia. george h. ray, jr., virginia. robert t. webb, jr., virginia ll. d. prof. c. t. winchester, of wesleyan university, connecticut. d. d. rev. walter r. lambuth, of japan. rev. james f. twitty, virginia conference. rev. edward m. peterson, virginia conference rev. william e. evans, virginia conference. _sutherlin medalist_.--robert w. patton, of virginia [illustration: class of .] [illustration: randolph-macon academy, bedford city, va, .] [illustration: [key to the illustration captioned, "class of ." names are given as follows: . m. r. peterson . w. b. beauchamp . e. c. armstrong . w. l. turner . c. c. cunningham . w. a. murrill . hon. j. w. daniel, orator. . w. h. cooke . j. s. richardson . w. a. christian . g. w. warren . prof. j. b. crenshaw . prof. r. m. smith . prof. j. l. buchanan . prof. r. e. blackwell . pres. w. w. smith . prof. w. a. shepard . prof. r. b. smithey . prof. j. a. kern . w. c. vaden . d. b. easter . c. d. ragland . h. m. strickler . s. w. eason . j. h. riddick, jr. . j. j. leake . s. c. starke]] [illustration: frank g. newbill, a.m., _pace medalist, ._] [illustration: a. r. dudderar, a. b.] [illustration: rev. robert w. patton, _chaplain of nd virginia regiment ( )._] session - . a. m. george pilcher, virginia. charles l. melton, virginia a. b. r. h. t. adams, jr., virginia. hall canter, virginia. wm. holmes davis, virginia. thos. r. freeman, virginia. willie d. keene, virginia. david h. kern, w. virginia bolivar clarke nettles, texas scott ray, virginia. w. r. smithwick, n. carolina j. s. zimmerman, maryland harry l. moore, maryland. _sutherlin medalist_.--i. w. eason, virginia. _pace medalist_.--jos. n. latham. _murray medals_.--scholarship, harry ludwell moore, maryland; proficiency, james elliott wamsley, virginia. [illustration: harry ludwell moore, a. b., ph. d., _instructor at johns hopkins university; professor smith college, massachusetts._] session - . a. m. c. c. cunningham, virginia. geo. w. russell, virginia. homer h. sherman, virginia. wm. j. whitesell, virginia. a. b. r. h. hood, north carolina. james t. myers, maryland. alfred c. ray, virginia. clarence h. rector, virginia. b. s. homer h. sherman, virginia. d. d. rev. w. t. young, virginia. conference. _sutherlin medalist_.--joseph deming langley, virginia. _murray medalists_.--scholarship, homer h. sherman, virginia; proficiency, thomas m. jones, virginia. [illustration: randolph-macon academy, front royal, va., built .] [illustration: jos. n. latham, _pace medalist, ._] [illustration: james e. wamsley, _prof. kentucky wesleyan college. murray medalist._] [illustration: [a collage of four photographs arranged in a square, captioned "president's house, professor's house, gymnasium, rail road station, ashland, va."]] [illustration: rev. james t. myers, a. b., _missionary to japan._] session - . a. m. e. c. armstrong, maryland. b. w. arnold, jr., virginia. *r. ferguson, sr., virginia. r. ferguson, jr., virginia. *john w. jones, idaho. frank g. newbill, virginia. andrew sledd, virginia. james e. wamsley, virginia. a. m. hughlett, virginia. * under the old law existing when his a. b. was taken. a. b. w. m. blanchard, n. carolina. r. w. buchanan, virginia. h. m. carter, dist. columbia. evan a. edwards, maryland. w. t. a. haynes, virginia. thos. m. jones, virginia. john l. terrell, texas. s. h. turner, virginia. ernest linwood wright, virginia. d. d. rev. william h. christian, virginia conference. _sutherlin medalist_.--andrew sledd, virginia. _murray medalist_.--scholarship, thomas madison jones, virginia; proficiency, george virgil rector, virginia. [illustration: jos. d. langley, _sutherlin medalist-- ._] [illustration: class of .] [illustration: [key to the illustration captioned, "class of ." names are given as follows: . d. t. merritt. . a. h. whisner. . c. m. baggarly. . j. t. porter. . e. l. woolf. . r. e. leigh. . c. e. armentrout. . h. fletcher. . i. h. blackwell. . richard irby, sec'y and treas. . prof. r. m. smith. . prof. r. e. blackwell. . pres. w. w. smith. . prof. j. a. kern. . prof. r. b. smithey. . prof. e. w. bowen. . prof. a. c. wightman. . c. g. evans. . b. m. beckham. . h. a. christian. . j. d. hank, jr.]] session - . a. m. benj. m. beckham, virginia. henry a. christian, virginia. c. g. evans, north carolina. josiah d. hank, jr., virginia. a. b. c. e. armentrout, virginia. carroll m. baggarly, virginia. irving h. blackwell, virginia. henry a. christian, virginia. c. g. evans, north carolina. howard fletcher, virginia. josiah d. hank, jr., virginia. ernest lee woolf, virginia. john b. henry, maryland. robert c. howison, virginia. richard e. leigh, mississippi daniel t. merritt, virginia. benj. f. montgomery, virginia. james t. porter, maryland. a. h. whisner, west virginia. ernest lee woolf, virginia. d. d. rev. john c. kilgo, president trinity college, north carolina. _sutherlin medalist_.---david spence hill, missouri. _murray medalists_.--proficiency, marvin e. smithey, virginia; scholarship, charles e. armentrout, virginia. [illustration: thomas madison jones, _murray scholarship medalist, ._] [illustration: david spence hill, _sutherlin medalist, ._] [illustration: faculty and officers and class of .] [illustration: [key to the illustration captioned, "faculty and officers and class of ." names are given as follows: . p. h. drewry. . h. o'b. cooper. . s. d. boyd, jr. . j. s. poindexter. . j. mullen. . prof. knight. . prof. blackwell. . j. h. robertson. . p. h. williams. . f. w. hilbert . g. t. tyler, jr. . a. s. thompson, ins. ph. cul. . prof. bowen. . prof. easter. . richard irby, sec'y and treas. . prof. kern. . pres. smith. . prof. smithey. . rev. w. e. judkins, chaplain. . prof. wightman. . m. e. smithey. . c. m. kilby. . c. w. watts. . s. h. watts. and, unnumbered, at the bottom of the list, w. s. anderson.]] [illustration: class -' . [the names of the classmates are written in staggered rows, corresponding to their places in the picture. from left to right and top to bottom, roughly, they are: wise, dulin, blackwell, litchfield, scott, dolly, simpson, colonna, kilby, mccartney, campbell, licklider, blanchard, carter, tyler, cooper.]] [illustration: [a collage of twelve photographs, arranged in a circle, and captioned "faculty and officers, randolph-macon college, .]] session - . june, . randolph-macon college. a. m. w. s. anderson, west virginia. clinton m. kilby, virginia. n. h. robertson, virginia. stephen h. watts, virginia. a. b. john f. blackwell, virginia. stephen d. boyd, jr., virginia henry o'b. cooper, virginia. patrick h. drewry, virginia. john c. granbery, jr., virginia. f. w. hilbert, maryland. james mullen, virginia. john s. poindexter, virginia. john h. robertson, virginia. marvin e. smithey, virginia. john a. g. shipley. maryland. george t. tyler, jr., virginia. charles w. watts, virginia. p. h. williams, north carolina. _sutherlin medalist_.--boyd valentine switzer, virginia. _pace medalist_.--walter sewall anderson, west virginia. _murray medalists_.--scholarship, patrick h. williams, north carolina; proficiency, frank allen simpson, virginia. randolph-macon woman's college. a. m. emma e. cheatham, virginia. e. b. williams, north carolina. june, . randolph-macon college. a. m. w. m. blanchard, n. carolina. horace campbell, virginia. hall canter, maryland. henry o'b. cooper, virginia. fred. w. hilbert, maryland. bradford kilby, virginia. albert h. licklider, virginia. g. v. litchfield, jr., virginia. james e. mccartney, virginia. george t. tyler, jr., virginia. a. b. william h. best, maryland. william veitch boyle, maryland. karl s. blackwell, virginia. william b. colonna, virginia. david hough dolly, virginia. john henry dulin, virginia. neil courtice scott, virginia. frank a. simpson, virginia. boyd ashby wise, virginia. d. d. rev. collins denney, baltimore conference, prof. vanderbilt university. _sutherlin medalist_.--william martin blanchard, north carolina. _murray medalists_.--scholarship, frank a. simpson, virginia; proficiency, george l. bradford, virginia. randolph-macon woman's college. a. m. sallie adams, virginia. martha a. franklin, virginia. esten holmes jennings, west virginia. a. b. celeste alspaugh, n. carolina. edith s. blackwell, virginia. martha mcgavock, virginia. session - . randolph-macon college, since june, , has grown into a system of colleges (female as well as male), and fitting schools for both sexes. at the joint commencement, held at lynchburg, va., june - , , all these schools were represented. the lynchburg _daily news_ gave the report of the commencement, as follows: "the big randolph-macon joint commencement was formally opened by a reception tendered the visiting students, alumni, and friends of the school at the woman's college. an address of welcome was made by chancellor w. w. smith. the night was beautiful, the skies being clear and studded with glittering stars. an immense crowd was present, and the profound silence that prevailed during the speech evidenced the deep interest with which it was being received. "the various trains yesterday brought the students and the visiting alumni to the city. the union station on their arrival presented an animated scene. the young men and young ladies seemed determined to make of the occasion a delightful excursion, and an experience worth carrying in their memories for many years to come. everybody remarked on the personnel of the students, and their quiet demeanor. they made a fine impression, and their sojourn in the city promises to be profitable to all interested. "randolph-macon college is represented by about ninety students; the front royal academy, by seventy; bedford city academy, by about eighty; the blackstone female institute,* by one hundred and thirty-five; and the danville female institute, by sixty. as there are at the randolph-macon woman's college, including the day scholars, two hundred and twenty young ladies, the total number of students present is between six and seven hundred. *not a school of the system, but present by special invitation. "to adequately describe the appearance of the college with its elaborate decorations would be a herculean task. all that artistic taste and ingenuity of invention could suggest was abundantly in evidence. as the street-cars moved rapidly over the hill at the base-ball park in the direction of the college, the first glimpse of the building was obtained. to the observer it looked like a light glimmering and glowing in the night. as the car drew nearer it was seen that the large structure, from one end to the other and all over the front, was alive with varicolored chinese and japanese lanterns, which shed a soft and pleasant radiance over the scene. on the big campus, hanging to the branches of the trees and arranged in symmetrical lines on hundreds of poles, were lanterns without end. down to the left of the building, where the ground slopes gently to a ravine, seats were placed in comfortable positions. everybody seemed to be there for the purpose of spending a pleasant time and contributing to his neighbor's happiness. callers were received in the large and spacious parlor on the first floor just to the left of the main entrance. to everyone was extended such a warm, cordial welcome that he felt at once as if he were perfectly at home and as if he were just where he ought to be. tuesday. "while the reception monday night at the woman's college may be said to have opened the exercises of the randolph-macon joint commencement, yet tuesday morning the first regular programme was carried out in the auditorium at moorman's warehouse, which, long before the time announced for the first number, was crowded with a happy, well-dressed and interested audience. "in the bright sunlight of the pleasant morning the scene presented in the auditorium was indeed good to look upon. the draping of the entire edifice was most skillfully carried out; the ceiling covered with blue and white cloth, while the sides of the building were hidden by artistic folds of lemon and black. "a well-built stage, extending the entire width of the spacious auditorium, and decorated with potted plants and flowers, afforded plenty of room for the speakers, visitors, and contestants for honors. arrangements were made to comfortably seat some two or three thousand people, fully that many chairs being placed in regular rows, divided by two aisles extending the length of the hall. "the pupils of the different schools and colleges being among the first to arrive, the spare time was utilized for a rehearsal of college songs, interspersed with the different college yells of the system, some of which occasioned hearty laughter. [illustration: randolph-macon institute, danville, va.] "upon the arrival of chancellor smith, the representatives of the various schools of the system took their places upon the stage, as well as those pupils who were to contest for the elocution and declaimer's medals. after music by the band and prayer by rev. oscar littleton, the first number was announced, it being a contest for the declaimer's medal of randolph-macon academy, of bedford city. mr. j. k. holman opened with a humorous selection entitled 'uncle peter and the trolly car.' he was followed by mr. w. e. wood, who declaimed an historical poem of the revolutionary period, 'the black horse and his rider.' between this contest and the next the pupils of the bedford school, accompanied by the band, rendered with much spirit an 'academy' song, the words of which were composed by wirt holloway, a pupil. "a contest for the recitation medal of the randolph-macon institute, of danville, followed, the first being miss janie howard, who had chosen a dialect story, 'rubaiyat of doc sifers.' 'the set of turquoise' was delivered by miss sue bethel. the young ladies of the danville institute then closed their part of the programme with their favorite song, 'the lemon and black,' in the course of which they were assisted by the young men of the system. "j. william kight came forward as a representative of the academy at front royal, and with a humorous description of a new england debating society, in which he gave practical illustrations of the different classes of village oratory. "mr. j. l. humphrey, also of the front royal academy, gave a declamation entitled 'laska.' "the contest for the woman's college medal was introduced by miss nellie underwood, whose subject was 'the courtin' of t'nowhead's bell.' "miss underwood was followed by miss hathryn p. acree, whose subject was 'parnassius and the captive.' "the rendition of the woman's college song, 'merry girls of r. m. w. c.,' was followed by the contest for the woman's college medal for best address. the contestants were miss addie taylor and miss sadie jacobs. miss taylor was the first speaker. her subject was 'the supremacy of the anglo-saxon.' miss jacobs' subject was 'demands of our civilization.' "the closing exercise was the contest for the sutherlin orator's medal of the randolph-macon college, ashland. the contestants were f. raymond hill, b. a. wise, e. k. odell, and s. m. janney. "mr. hill opened the contest with an oration on 'the price of progress.' "mr. janney's subject was 'what for?' "'the power of a noble example' was the subject of mr. wise's oration. "mr. odell followed in an oration entitled, 'de oratoribus.' the exercises were closed with the singing of the commencement chorus. "a feature of the morning's programme, which was of a decidedly interesting character, was the calisthenic drill, under the direction of miss alice hargrove, of a number of young ladies of the woman's college. field-day exercises. "tuesday afternoon was devoted to field day exercises in the rivermont base-ball park. a sound mind in a sound body has for a long time been a leading maxim in the randolph-macon system. each institution has its well-equipped gymnasium, under the instruction of an efficient instructor, and during the unseasonable days of winter every student of the system is required to go through an hour's drill in the gymnasium three afternoons in the week. the average man gets his idea of college athletics from the base-ball and foot-ball teams, which generally tour the state annually. randolph-macon recognizes the fact that base-ball and foot-ball are but a small part of college athletics, and consequently every student is encouraged to allot a portion of his time to the general training of his body, and especially to athletic feats requiring more or less skill and grace. in early spring, at each school in the system, a day known as field-day is set aside for athletic exercises, for which prizes and medals are offered as a special inducement, to ensure a large number of contestants. the concert. "tuesday night a concert was given at the opera-house by the young ladies of the woman's college and the danville female institute. of the character of the music of the programme the highest praise has been spoken. in the instrumental and the chorus selections the participants presented music of the highest perfection music that possessed a charm and inspiration for every listener. wednesday. "about half-past nine o'clock wednesday morning the students of the several schools and colleges, together with the alumni, met at old st. paul's church, on church street, and there, after forming into a procession and led by the band, marched to the auditorium. here the graduating class, in orthodox cap and gown, ascended the stage, where, with the alumni, they were seated in chairs arranged in semi-circular lines, forming altogether a pleasing and impressive picture. "a few minutes were spent in rehearsing college songs. in this connection it may be well to note that the randolph-macon system is rich with songs suitable for commencement season, and written principally by those who have studied within its classic halls. after prayer by rev. dr. james a. duncan, of knoxville, tenn., mr. w. s. bell, president of the class of ' , introduced miss blanche e. cheatham, of martinsville, who delivered the salutatory address. "the history of the class of ' and its twenty-nine members was told by mr. j. t. porter, and as each name was called it was greeted with applause, while the historian made a brief comment upon its owner. the class song of ' , composed by mr. e. t. adams, jr., was next sung, after which miss lily g. egbert, of atlee, va., read the class poem, an original composition entitled 'the evolution of a soul.' "mr. j. e. mcculloch, of roanoke, delivered the class oration. "the hall song, evidently a favorite with the male students, was sung with considerable spirit, especially the chorus, which eulogizes as 'the very best of all' the two halls of the two rival literary societies, those of washington and franklin. the president of the class next introduced miss eloise richardson, of richmond, who read a class prophecy, in which she drew vivid pictures of the bright futures awaiting many of this year's class. "mr. sydenstricker, of loudoun, read a paper entitled 'recommendations.' in it he indicated, with a prescient knowledge of seemingly remarkable accuracy, the future employments and professions of the members of the graduating classes of randolph-macon college, ashland, and the woman's college, lynchburg. "after singing 'gaudeamus,' the last will and testament of the graduating classes of the two institutions was read by mr. f. c. campbell, of ashland. again was the audience treated to a series of 'hits' at the expense of certain members of the faculties, pupils, etc., of the two schools. "the valedictory of mr. f. r. hill, of west virginia, the next feature of the programme, was an eloquent and interesting address, and in its delivery made a deep impression on the large audience. mr. hill, unlike the majority of college valedictorians, introduced into his composition much originality of thought and feeling. his manner was marked by that simplicity which always distinguishes the true orator, and which invariably attracts and holds the closest attention of an audience. mr. tillett's address. "after singing 'the randolph-macon roundelay,'the alumni address was delivered by hon. charles w. tillett, of north carolina. this eloquent speaker dwelt in feeling terms upon the great randolph-macon system. the foundation, he declared, had been laid with enduring material, and to-day all could unite in applauding the distinguished success of the master hand. the occasion was one on which a little glorification was pardonable, and every randolph-macon man and woman might well feel proud of his or her alma mater, and particularly of the joint commencement, which they all recognized as the grandest and most successful commencement of randolph-macon's career. "the exercises were brought to a close with the singing of the song, 'alma mater, o.' the ball game. "an immense crowd gathered at the park in the afternoon to witness the ball game between the bedford and the front royal academies. the boys from bedford had the best of the contest from start to finish, and won out by a score of to ." franklin hall. "at night the exercises of the 'frank' hall were introduced with prayer by rev. w. h. atwill. the declamations were: 'the fireman's prayer,' by w. w. wood, of bedford; 'the innocent drummer,' by miss bethel, of danville, and 'the village schoolmaster,' by j. l. humphrey. w. j. gills, of the college, delivered an oration on 'true patriotism,' and the exercises closed with an essay by miss lula b. woolridge, of the woman's college, on 'triumphant life.' the society medals were awarded as follows: john kilby, of suffolk, for declamation; f. c. campbell, of ashland, for debate, and marvin e. smithey, of brunswick, for improvement in debate. the alumni banquet. "the annual banquet of the alumni association was held at the 'carroll' wednesday night from to o'clock. after half an hour's feasting, the remaining time was devoted to speeches of prominent members of the association. the following toasts were responded to: 'randolph-macon college,' dr. j. a. kern; 'randolph-macon woman's college,' dr. n. knight; 'randolph-macon academy' (bedford), principal e. sumter smith; 'randolph-macon academy' (front royal), dr. b. w. arnold; 'randolph-macon institute' (danville), miss nellie blackwell; 'blackstone female institute,' rev. james cannon, jr.; 'board of trustees,' dr. e. b. prettyman; 'randolph-macon of ,' j. e. mcculloch; 'the alumni,' charles w. tillett; 'glories of the past,' captain richard irby; 'randolph-macon of the future,' dr. w. w. smith." [illustration: edward s. brown, a. b.] the oldest alumnus present was edward s. brown (class ), a prominent and most estimable citizen of lynchburg, who matriculated in . letters were received from the oldest alumnus now living, and one of the members of the graduating class of , who, with thomas h. garnett, of buckingham county, va., of same class, still survives. the oldest living alumnus, dr. theophilus s. stewart, of marietta, ga., graduated in . he accompanied dr. olin to europe, and took his degree of m. d. in paris in . the letters of dr. stewart and rev. james f. smith, of spartanburg, s. c., referred in tenderest terms to the college. [illustration: dr. theophilus s. stewart, a. b., (class, .)] "thursday. the opening prayer was made by rev. dr. arnold, of north carolina, at the conclusion of which the commencement hymn (no. ) was sung by the students to the air of 'america,' all standing. bishop vincent, of kansas, the speaker of the occasion, was then introduced by the chancellor. the bishop, who is a man of fine appearance, with a pleasant voice, launched forth in these words: 'notable days to the individual, to associations, to state and to church, come into all lives. this is an interesting day to the individual, to families, and to the institution. it is a day of an ending and a day of a beginning. i see a picture, as i stand in this place to-day, of closing doors and of doors ajar, the end of complete or partial course of study and the beginning of lessons in the great school of life. here, with the fragrance and flowers, under the spell of music, beneath these glorious skies and amid these mountains of virginia, we need not only to look backward, but to look forward.' "he closed his address as follows: 'above all things, a man wants character; for if you presented yourself at the gate of heaven without the quality that would make you worthy to dwell there, you would find the beauties and glories of the home of god uncongenial to you. live, not that you may have your name in washington with a big pension or something of that kind, but in order that you may contribute to the betterment of the environment of those about you.' "to the students before him he said he would recommend the whole world and the universe as a university in which to learn and in which to strive to ascend to the university of the most high god. honors awarded. "after a song, 'columbia, the pride of the nation,' the distinguished under-graduates were announced by printed sheets. then followed the awarding of prizes and medals, the randolph-macon institute, of danville, being first, followed in regular order by the randolph-macon academy, bedford city; randolph-macon academy, front royal; randolph-macon woman's college, lynchburg, and randolph-macon college, ashland. "diplomas in courses were awarded by president kern, of the randolph- macon college, and vice-president knight, of the randolph-macon woman's college. the graduates. "degrees were conferred on the following: randolph-macon college. a. m. karl s. blackwell, virginia. a. judson chalkley, virginia. david hough dolly, virginia. james c. dolly, kentucky. james t. porter, virginia. raymond r. ross, virginia. frank a. simpson, virginia. marvin e. smithey, virginia. boyd ashby wise, virginia. a. b. william solon bell, virginia. william g. burch, virginia. f. c. campbell, virginia. merrick clements, maryland. carl hall davis, virginia. f. b. fitzpatrick, virginia. frank r. hill, west virginia. edward b. jones, virginia. h. alfred allen kern, virginia. leroy e. kern, virginia. james e. mcculloch, virginia. geo. l. neville, jr., virginia. arthur v. nunnally, virginia. robert h. sheppe, virginia. hampden h. smith, virginia. h. sydenstricker, w. virginia. james t. walker, virginia. randolph-macon woman's college. a. b. lily garland egbert, virginia. eloise richardson, virginia. blanche e. cheatham, virginia. cornelia poindexter, virginia. medalists. sutherlin medal. samuel mcpherson janney, virginia. murray medals. proficiency medal, thomas moody campbell, virginia; scholarship medal, george lafayette bradford, virginia of randolph-macon college. walton greek prize. david h. dolly, virginia. medal for best essay. sadie jacobs, virginia of randolph-macon woman's college. washington society. "with the excellent programme of the annual celebration of the washington literary society the exercises of the joint commencement of the randolph-macon system of educational institutions were brought to a close. "prayer was offered by bishop granbery, after which edwin b. jones, president of the society, welcomed those present, and introduced j. w. kight, of front royal, who entertained his hearers with a short, humorous sketch. miss swanson, of the danville institute, followed with a dialect recitation, entitled 'writin' back to the home folks.' 'flying jim's last leap' was the declamation given by mr. taylor, of the bedford city academy, and the next was an oration by f. burke fitzpatrick, of randolph-macon college. his speech was devoted to prophesying as to the future of virginia, basing his remarks upon the record of the past. "miss edith cheatham's address was 'college men and women.' "the programme was brought to a close by an oration, 'a great work; our share in it,' delivered by frank a. simpson, of richmond, va. "on behalf of the washington literary society, professor r. b. smithey presented three medals one to the best declaimer, d. r. anderson; to the best debater, f. r. hill; to the best orator, s. r. tyler. "dr. e. e. hoss, of nashville, the speaker of the evening, was then introduced. his subject was 'the forces that make character.' he delivered a strong and thoughtful address, which would have been more fully appreciated at an earlier hour." awards of prizes and medals. [transcribers' note: in the original book, the walton greek prize recipients for each year are listed on the left-hand side of the page, and the mathematical prize recipients on the right. the note (discontinued) at the end of the mathematical prize column is faithfully reproduced from the original text.] walton greek prize. . r. e. blackwell, va. . robert sharp, va. . wm. a. frantz, va. . w. h. page, n. c. . cyrus thompson, n. c. . m. t. peed, va. . clarence edwards, va. . j. b. crenshaw, va. . r. e. l. holmes, va. . d. w. taylor, va. . r. e. l. holmes, va. . james m. page, va. . l. leitch, va. . thos. w. page, va. . e. h. rawlings, va. . j. h. riddick, jr., va. . j. jordan leake, va. . de la warre easter, va. . c. d. ragland, va. . e. c. armstrong, md. . andrew sledd, va. . j. e. wamsley, va. . e. p. dahl, va. . c. e. armentrout, va. . bradford kilby, va. . j. w. lillaston, va. . david h. dolly, va. mathematical prize. . howard edwards, va. . w. f. tillett, n. c. . m. t. peed, va. m. t. peed, va. . j. t. littleton, va. . j. b. crenshaw, va. . r. e. l. holmes, va. . d. w. taylor, va. . james h. moss, va. . richard h. bennett, va. . james m. page, va. . wm. h. barley, va. . george shipley. va. . j. jordan leake, va. . a. m. hughlett, va. . e. w. bowen, md. . andrew sledd, va. . h. h. sherman, va. . (discontinued.) [transcribers' note: in the original book, the washington literary society award-winners and judges for each year are listed on the left-hand side of the page, and the franklin literary society award-winners and judges on the right.] washington literary society. . a. h. c. russell, la. . j. b. mccabe, va. . t.mcn. simpson, n.c. . gray carroll, n. c. . jno. w. carroll, va. . w. w. sawyer, n. c. . d. m. james, w. va. . e. s. ruffin, va. franklin literary society. . j. b. powell, ala. . w. f. tillett, n. c. . [none listed] . w. j. sebrell, va. . chas. w. tillett, n. c. . h. a. southall, va. . frank thompson, n. c. judge. washington literary society. . s. m. garland, va. . j. h. light, va. . c. a. swanson, va. . jas. cannon, jr., md. . t. w. page, jr., va. . c. l. bane, w. va. . c. f. sherrill, n. c. . w. h. h. joyce, va. . m. r. peterson, va. . i. w. eason, va. . j. n. latham, va. . d. h. kern, w. va. . s. c. hatcher, va. . j. h. hatcher, va. . b. v. switzer, va. . f. r. hill, w. va. . s. r. tyler, va. franklin literary society. . harry l. stuart, texas. . john morris, ga. . w. m. lane, va. . thos. f. sherrill, n. c. . e. h. rawlings, va. . sherrard r. tabb, va. . a. m. hughlett, va. . w. a. christian, va. . w. b. beauchamp, va. . h. g. buchanan, va. . w. stevens, w. va. . r. h. hood, n. c. . andrew sledd, va. . p. h. williams, n. c. . f. w. hilbert, md. . w. m. blanchard, n. c. . f. c. campbell, va. ======= transcribers' notes: we have corrected "presi-ident" to "president", p. . we have let "accepe hoc diploma," p. , stand as written (it should be "accipe"). we have corrected "in o near large towns" to "in or near large towns," p. . we have removed extraneous punctuation after "trinity college," p. , and after "randolph-macon college," p. . we have corrected "peferred" to "preferred," and "greal" to "great," p. . we have added a period after b. in "a. b." on p. . we have corrected "held it annual session" to "held its annual session," p. . we have let "bondfires were kindled," p. , stand as written, though we suspect that "bonfires" was intended. we have let the comma after "the bare chimneys only" stand on page . the punctuation is odd, and we suspect it may be an error, but we can think of reasons irby might have chosen to use it. we have let the spelling "eak" stand on p. . we have let "professor's" stand on p. . we have corrected "compen-pensated" to "compensated" on p. . we have corrected "frof. w. a. frantz" to "prof. w. a. frantz" in the caption on p. . team. johns hopkins university studies in historical and political science herbert b. adams, editor history is past politics and politics present history--_freeman_ ninth series iii-iv the history of university education in maryland by bernard c. steiner, a.m. (yale) _fellow in history_ the johns hopkins university ( - ) by daniel c. gilman, ll.d. _president of the university_ _with supplementary notes on university extension and the university of the future, by r.g. moulton, a.m., cambridge, england_ baltimore the johns hopkins press march-april, contents. the history of university education in maryland: colonial attempts to found a college the first university of maryland the second university of maryland cokesbury college asbury college other extinct colleges mount hope college the college of st. james newton university roman catholic colleges st. mary's seminary mount st. mary's college st. charles's college loyola college rock hill college western maryland college female education the baltimore female college woman's college of baltimore conclusion the johns hopkins university ( - ): foundation preliminary organization inaugural assembly address of president eliot inaugural address of the first president the faculty distinction between collegiate and university courses students, courses of studies, and degrees publications, seminaries, societies buildings, libraries, and collections statistics trustees university extension and the university of the future the history of university education in maryland. by bernard c. steiner. colonial attempts to found a college. the state of maryland has been almost extravagantly liberal in bestowing charters on colleges and professional schools. over forty such charters have been given by the legislature and, in many cases, the result has proved that the gift of a charter was not warranted by the stability of the institution, to which was thus granted the power of conferring degrees. in many other cases, however, the institutions have grown and flourished, and have had an honorable history. collegiate education in maryland did not begin until after the revolution. in the colonial period there was no demand for it sufficient to warrant the establishment of a seat of higher learning. for this state of things there were several causes. the majority of the early settlers were planters and frontiersmen, having little need for an extended education and desiring it still less. of the wealthier classes, some were like the fox-hunting english gentry, caring for little else than sport; and others, who did desire the advantages of a culture higher than that obtainable from a village schoolmaster or a private tutor, found it elsewhere. they went over to william and mary's college in virginia, across the ocean to england, or, in case of some catholics like charles carroll, to the institutions on the continent of europe. but, though no college was established in colonial times, there was no lack of plans and attempts for one. in , while as yet harvard was the only american college, there was read and passed in the upper house of the assembly "an act for the founding and erecting of a school or college within this province for the education of youth in learning and virtue." the lower house amended and passed the bill; but the plan seems never to have progressed further. according to the bill the lord proprietor was "to set out his declaration of what privileges and immunities shall be enjoyed by the schollars;" and "the tutors or school masters" were to be of "the reformed church of england" or, if two in number, to be "the one for the catholick and other for the protestants' children."[ ] a second collegiate plan was brought before the legislature in ; but, having passed the upper house, was seemingly not acted on by the lower. this proposed college was intended to be placed at annapolis and was to offer instruction in "theology, law, medicine, and the higher branches of a collegiate education." the governor of the colony was to be its chancellor and provision was made for a faculty of five, under whom students were to be instructed in everything from their alphabet upwards.[ ] a third unsuccessful attempt to secure the founding of a college was made in ,[ ] and a fourth in , when contrary to the earlier course of events, the rock, on which the project was shipwrecked, was found in the upper house. the college was to be placed at annapolis, to occupy governor bladen's mansion, and to have a faculty of seven masters, who were to be provided with five servants. the expense was to be defrayed from the colonial treasury, in case a tax to be levied on bachelors should prove insufficient for the purpose.[ ] the failure of these projects did not dampen the zeal of the advocates of higher education. in we find william eddis, surveyor of customs at annapolis, writing that the legislature of the province had determined to fit up governor bladen's mansion and "to endow and form a college for the education of youth in every liberal and useful branch of science," which college, "conducted under excellent regulations, will shortly preclude the necessity of crossing the atlantic for the completion of a classical and polite education."[ ] the gathering storm of war, however, drew men's attention away from this project. the first university of maryland. the rev. dr. william smith,[ ] head of what is now the university of pennsylvania, being out of employment on account of the revocation of that college's charter, was called as pastor in chestertown on the eastern shore in . to add to his income, he conceived the idea "of opening a school for instruction in higher branches of education." as a nucleus for his school, he took an old academy, the kent county school, and, beginning the work of teaching, was so successful, that in the legislature, on his application, granted the school a charter as maryland's first college. to it the name of _washington_ was given, "in honorable and perpetual memory of his excellency, general george washington." dr. smith was so earnest and zealous in the presentation of the claims of the college, that in five years he had raised $ , from the people of the eastern shore. all seemed propitious for the college. in the first class graduated and the first degrees ever granted in maryland were conferred, at the same time the corner-stone of the college building was laid, and in general washington himself visited the college. dr. smith prepared a three years' curriculum for the institution, equal to that of any college of the day and similar to the one used at the university of pennsylvania. but the western shore could not endure that the educational success of its rival section of the state should so far outstrip its own. in the early days of the state, the sections were nearly equal in importance and the prevailing dualism of the political system invaded the field of education. in , two years after the founding of washington college, _st. john's college_ was chartered.[ ] it was to be placed at annapolis, and in it was merged the old county academy, "king william's school," founded some eighty years before. by the same act, the two colleges were united in the _university of maryland_. this university was modeled on the english type: the governor was to be its chancellor, and the governing body was to be the "convocation of the university of maryland." the convocation was to be composed of seven members of the board of visitors and governors and two of the faculty of each college; it was to establish ordinances for the government of the colleges, to cause a uniformity in the "manners and literature," to receive appeals from the students, and to confer "the higher degrees and honors of the university." its meetings were to be annual, and to be held alternately at each college on its commencement day. the provisions of the act were never carried out; two fruitless attempts were made to hold sessions of convocation in and , and then nothing was even attempted. so thoroughly was the project forgotten, that the legislature of , in withdrawing the state appropriations from the two colleges, did not even mention the university, and in , though the old charter had never been repealed, there was no hesitation in bestowing the name of university of maryland on a second institution.[ ] the two colleges which constituted this first university are still existing and doing good work. the elder, washington college, lost dr. smith in by his return to philadelphia and re-accession to his old position there. he was succeeded by rev. colin ferguson, a native of kent county, and educated at edinburgh university. under him the college continued to flourish, until the withdrawal of the state's appropriation in . the constitutionality of this withdrawal is questionable, as the original grant was to be paid annually "forever;" but the state refused to permit itself to be sued by the college and, some years later, on increasing its appropriation to the college, the legislature required a release of all claims on the state under the original act. by the act of , the activity of the college was paralyzed and its usefulness much impaired. it had not yet become strong enough to stand alone and, when the helping hand of the state was taken away, it was almost obliged to close its doors to students. since that time the state has renewed its grants to the college and has greatly aided it in performing its functions; but from the disastrous effects of the act of , the institution has never fully recovered. indeed, from to , nothing but a grammar school seems to have been maintained in the college building. in the latter year, however, the college was re-opened, since the legislature had granted it a lottery of $ , . a year later rev. dr. francis waters became "principal," and under his able leadership the college bid fair to regain its old position; but in a second great misfortune overtook it. on january , , the college building was discovered to be on fire, and, in spite of the most zealous efforts, was entirely consumed. after this misfortune the college proper seems to have been suspended a second time, and only a grammar school maintained with one instructor. the classes were conducted in a building intended originally for a rectory, until that was destroyed by fire in , when the school was again moved. richard w. ringgold, the principal of the school from to , seems to have been a man of ability, and under him the number of students so much increased that in it was resolved to rebuild the college on the old site and to revive the college course. as a result, the present main building was erected, the corner-stone laid with imposing ceremonies on may , , and the college was reopened in its own edifice on january , . in , a class of four was graduated, and in , two additional buildings were erected; one for the principal's residence and the other for dormitories and recitation rooms. the college continued prosperous during the second administration of rev. dr. waters from to ; but in the presidency of his successor, rev. andrew j. sutton, came the civil war, depriving the college of its southern constituency and distracting men's minds from learning. after the rebellion, an unfortunate selection of teachers and laxness of discipline caused the college to lose still more ground, and wm. j. rivers, principal from to , had much to do to build it up again. he was a faithful and diligent teacher, and under him the moral tone of the college was improved and the course of instruction enlarged. the present head, c.w. reid, ph.d., is still further advancing the cause of the institution and a new career of prosperity seems opening before maryland's oldest college and the only one on the eastern shore of the chesapeake bay. st. john's college, like its sister institution, founded on a non-denominational basis, started out under even fairer auspices.[ ] it was granted, by the state, governor bladen's mansion and four acres of land surrounding it, was made heir to the funds of king william's school, and secured £ , from private beneficence in the first two years of its history. the bladen mansion, now known as mcdowell hall, was repaired and enlarged and, on august , , bishop carroll was elected president of the board of visitors and governors and dr. john mcdowell accepted the professorship of mathematics. after unsuccessful attempts to obtain a principal from england, dr. mcdowell was chosen to that position in the following year and continued in office, until the state withdrew its aid to the college in . he was a man of great learning and was very successful at st. john's and later at the university of pennsylvania as provost. under him, st. john's flourished greatly and many men of a national reputation were enrolled among its students, from the time the first class graduated in . the same disaster fell on st. john's, as on washington college. the legislature withdrew the annual grant given by the state. the same doubt as to the constitutionality of this withdrawal existed here, and the state confirmed its position in the same way, by increasing its appropriation in ,[ ] on condition of the college's accepting it in full satisfaction of all claims against the state under the original charter. of late years maryland has been quite generous to st. john's, but it has never quite recovered the station and prestige it lost by the taking away of the state's grant in . in the first despair over the act of the legislature, the visitors and governors voted to discontinue the college, but their courage soon returned and the rev. bethel judd, elected principal in , was able to graduate a class in . after his withdrawal in , matters were in a disturbed state for some years and no classes were graduated until , when rev. henry l. davis, the father of maryland's famous orator, henry winter davis, was principal. after that year there were no graduates until , when rev. william rafferty was head of the college. the struggle for existence was a hard one and the wonder is that the college succeeded as well as it did. with , however, began a third and more successful period in the history of st. john's. in that year the rev. hector humphreys, then only thirty-four years of age, was chosen president. he was a native of connecticut and a graduate of yale college in , and was called to st. john's from the professorship of ancient languages at washington (trinity) college in his native state. the effect of his energy and devotion was soon recognized, and, largely through his efforts, was passed the compromise of . the curriculum was enlarged, the instruction made more thorough, and classes were yearly graduated, with but six exceptions, until his death in . his energy was very great, his learning wide and accurate. in , after travelling about the state in the interests of the college, he succeeded in raising about $ , , which were used in the erection of a second building for the college, which most appropriately has since been called by his name. during his administration, the professors' houses were also built, as was pinkney hall, a third building for the use of the college. dr. humphreys also secured cabinets and philosophical apparatus for the college and gave instruction in political economy, latin and greek, chemistry, geology, natural philosophy, astronomy, composition, elocution, evidences of christianity, moral and intellectual philosophy, rhetoric, and logic. verily, an encyclopaedic man of vast industry! only four years after dr. humphreys' death the war of the rebellion broke out, and st. john's, unlike the temple of janus, closed its doors at the rumors of war. the buildings were used as an hospital, and not until was the college again reopened with the well-known educator, henry barnard, at its head. in less than a year he resigned to become the first united states commissioner of education, and neither he nor his successor, dr. james c. welling, who was principal until , was able to graduate a class. since the beginning of the administration of the next principal, james m. garnett, ll. d., the succession of classes has been unbroken and the college has steadily advanced in reputation and usefulness. dr. garnett made the english department especially excellent and, after ten years faithful service, resigned in . the rev. j.d. leavitt, his successor, made a departure from the old classic curriculum and organized a department of mechanical engineering. after he resigned prof. w.h. hopkins acted as principal for a time and introduced military discipline, having secured the detail of an officer from the united states army as instructor in military tactics. st. john's celebrated its centennial in , and has begun its second century with excellent prospects. the four years' administration of its present principal, thomas fell, ll. d., has been a most successful one, and st. john's is fulfilling the purpose of its founders "to train up and perpetuate a succession of able and honest men, for discharging the various offices and duties of life, both civil and religious, with usefulness and reputation." the second university of maryland. most universities have developed from a college; the university of maryland differs from them, for it originated in a medical school.[ ] in dr. john b. davidge of baltimore began a private class in medicine and was so successful in it, that, in , he associated with himself drs. james cocke and john shaw and these three obtained from the legislature a charter for the school, under the name of "the college of medicine of maryland."[ ] there was made a close connection between the college of medicine and the state "medical and chirurgical faculty," and its board of medical examiners were made _ex-officio_ members of the board of trustees of the college. the legislature also granted the college a lottery of $ , .[ ] lectures, which had been carried on at the professors' houses, were begun in , at a building on the corner of fayette (chatham) street and mcclellan's alley, and the first class, consisting of five, received its degrees in . as the school grew and nourished, the ideas of its founders become more extensive and, in , a long act was passed,[ ] authorizing "the college for the promotion of medical knowledge" "to constitute, appoint, and annex to itself the other three colleges or faculties, viz.: the faculty of divinity, the faculty of law, and the faculty of the arts and sciences; and that the four faculties or colleges thus united, shall be and they are hereby constituted an university, by the name and under the title of the university of maryland." the connection with the medical and chirurgical faculty was severed and the members of the four faculties, under the name of the regents of the university of maryland, were to have full powers over the university and be permitted to hold property not exceeding $ , in yearly value. each faculty was allowed to appoint its own professors and lecturers, to choose a dean, and to exercise such powers as the regents shall delegate. the faculty of physic was to be composed of the professors in the medical college; that of theology, of the professor of theology and any "six ordained ministers of any religious society or denomination;" that of law, of the professor of law, "together with six qualified members of the bar;" that of the arts and sciences, of the professors in that department, "together with three of the principals of any three academies or colleges of the state." such a strangely formed and loosely united body could not succeed, as a more homogeneous and closely compacted one would have done. the university was founded "on the most liberal plan, for the benefit of students of every country and every religious denomination, who shall be freely admitted to equal privileges and advantages of education, and to all the honors of the university, according to their merit, without requiring or enforcing any religious or civil test, urging their attendance upon any particular plan of religious worship or service." with these broad powers and provisions,[ ] "the faculty of phisick, late of the college of medicine of maryland, *** convened and, by the authority vested in it by said charter and with the advice and recommendations of learned men of the several professions of divinity, law, and the arts and sciences, proceeded to annex to itself the other three faculties." on april , , the hon. robert smith, formerly united states secretary of state, was chosen the first provost, and the organization of the regents was completed.[ ] a lottery of $ , was granted the university in , and another of $ , in .[ ] from the proceeds of these lotteries and other sources was built the building of the medical department on the corner of lombard and greene streets. it was modelled on the pantheon at rome, and, when built, is said to have been without an equal in america. the medical school grew extremely fast; a loan of $ , from the state in [ ] enabled it to build a practice hall and purchase a fine collection for its museum, and the university hospital across the street was opened in . in the number of students in attendance on lectures amounted to . the other faculties took no active steps for some time and, not until , did the regents urge them to proceed to deliver lectures as soon as possible and to lay before the regents annually a report as to their progress and condition. in , possibly on account of this vote. prof. david hoffman began the instruction in the faculty of law, his school being known as the "maryland law institute." he published part of his lecture notes in a book called _legal outlines_ and continued lecturing about ten years. after his withdrawal, the law school was given up; but the organization of the faculty was still maintained. the faculty of theology reported in "no active organization of the faculty has ever been attempted and, in view of the character of the department contemplated by the charter, none seems desirable." its only activity was a course or two of lectures on the evidences of christianity, delivered before the medical students about by the rev. william e. wyatt, professor of theology. a nominal organization of the faculty was kept up, however, until . the prosperity of the medical department was destroyed by the effort of some of its professors, discontented with being prohibited from having private classes, to have the legislature do away with the regents and replace them with a board of trustees, in whom should vest the property. as early as november , , the regents feared trouble and obtained from william wirt, john purviance and daniel webster, a legal opinion that their position was inexpugnable. with this conclusion the legislature did not agree, and on march , , an act was passed abolishing the regents and appointing a board of twenty-one trustees in their place.[ ] the trustees, by decree of the courts, obtained control of the property and forced the professors to accept them as the legal authority. so matters went on for twelve years, until in , the trustees appointed a professor personally objectionable to some of the others, who resigned their positions under the trustees and opened a separate medical school in the indian queen hotel at the corner of baltimore and hanover streets. few out-of-town students attended either school, for the quarrel frightened them away, and the baltimore students largely attended the regents' school. feeling ran high at one time, the regents took possession of the university buildings by force, and bloodshed was feared. the board of regents reorganized with ashton alexander, m.d., as provost, and employed distinguished counsel to plead the case for them in the courts. the legislature authorized the court of appeals to try the suit, and maryland's dartmouth college case was decided in june, , entirely in favor of the regents. the court held that the act of was void, since it was "a judicial act, a sentence that condemned without a hearing. the legislature has no right, without the assent of a corporation, to alter its charter, or take from it any of its franchises or property." the trustees would not yield at once and, in march, , presented a petition to the legislature, praying it not to pass an act requiring them to give up the property to the regents. the memorial was referred to a joint committee, which reported a bill restoring the property to the regents. the bill was enacted and the regents have since ruled. during the supremacy of the trustees, the faculty of the arts and sciences was organized. they contemplated activity in , and issued a circular, which drew down on them the wrath of professor hoffman, inasmuch as they "contemplated 'academic' instruction" not intended by the charter. the founders, he said, intended that instruction should be conveyed by lectures and that no other form of instruction should be allowed. the discussion which followed seems to show that he had the idea of having work carried on, like that done by graduate students to-day. but nothing was done, apparently, until baltimore college was annexed in . that institution was chartered on january , ,[ ] and was the development of an academy kept by james priestley, the first president, on paul's lane (st. paul street). "it was hoped that it would, together with the other valuable seminaries of education in the same city and in the state, become adequate to the wants and wishes of our citizens," and from the proceeds of a lottery, the grant of which was an easy way for a state to be benevolent, a plain but convenient building was erected on mulberry street.[ ] it is very doubtful if it ever graduated any students, and we learn in that "the celebrity and, in some cases, the superior existing advantages of other institutions have prevented the accomplishment of this object." still a school had been kept up continuously, and from time to time, we catch glimpses of its lectures, &c. in january, , a joint petition of the trustees of the university of maryland and of baltimore college to the legislature "proposed the charter of baltimore college shall be surrendered to the state, on the condition that the property belonging to the college shall be invested in the trustees of the university of maryland." the petition was granted,[ ] and in , we learn that "the baltimore college *** has now been merged in the university of maryland and constitutes the chair of ancient languages."[ ] on october , , the trustees issued a prospectus, from which we learn that it was intended "to maintain an institution on the most enlarged scale of usefulness and responsibility," and that there was a "necessity for the proposed organization of a department in the university of maryland, exclusively collegiate in its system, requiring an advanced state of classical and scientific attainments for admission to its lectures, calculated to conduct its pupils through the highest branches of a liberal education and to afford them advantages similar to what may be obtained in the distant universities of this country and europe." a course of study equal to that of any college of the country was announced, and a brilliant faculty appointed; but the time was not yet come for a great college in baltimore and the institution languished away. in , the commissioners of public schools petitioned to have it transferred to the city as a high school, and in , it had only one teacher and scholars, a mere boys' school. in it was reorganized as the "school of letters under the faculty of arts and sciences," with rev. e.a. dalrymple, formerly of the episcopal theological seminary at alexandria, as its head. on paper the course was fairly complete, and the faculty an able one, and there were graduates in , ' , ' , and ' . the course was to be a three years' one; for "the studies of freshman year will be pursued in the preparatory department, where experience has shown they may be attended with greater advantage." gradually students fell off, it became a mere boys' school, and finally dr. dalrymple was all that was left of the "school of letters" and the "faculty of the arts and sciences," and at his death, both formally became extinct. with the restoration of the property to the regents, the classes in the medical school increased to a size somewhat like that attained in years previous to , although, owing to the opening of new schools, they never quite equalled it. during the war of the rebellion, the school suffered from the loss of southern patronage; but at its close, students came back and the school took on fresh life. it has always been in the front rank; first of all american medical schools it recognized gynecology as a separate branch of instruction, and it was second in making practical anatomy a compulsory study. with the session of it will require a three years' graded course of all candidates for degrees. in the hon. john p. kennedy, statesman and author, was chosen provost, and on his death in , the hon. s. teackle wallis was made his successor and he now fills the office with honor. the faculty of law revived the law school in the beginning of , with a class of . an efficient faculty has caused a steady increase, until, in , there were students in the three years' course. the instruction is given by lectures, examinations, and moot-courts. in , the law department moved from its former quarters in the old baltimore college building on mulberry street, to a new building erected for it on the university property on lombard street, next to the building of the medical department. in , the university of maryland obtained from the legislature authority to open a dental department.[ ] in , the first dental lectures in america had been delivered before the medical students of the university, and it was quite fitting that there should be a dental school connected with it. the first class numbered , the last , and in eight years there have been graduates. this fact and the further one that twice has it been found necessary to make large additions to the buildings of the department on green street, adjoining those of the medical school, will show how rapid has been its growth. the university has, at present, flourishing departments of medicine, law, and dentistry, and worthily maintains the reputation of thorough and careful training, which it has gained in its history of eighty years. cokesbury college. in maryland was the first methodist church in america, and it was natural that here too should be the first methodist college in the world. there was no permanent organization of this denomination in the united states, until john wesley, on the petition of the american churches, consecrated rev. thomas coke, superintendent for the united states, in . dr. coke sailed directly from england, and arrived in new york on november , . he thence traveled southward and, on the th of the same month, met francis asbury at dover, delaware. at this first meeting, coke suggested the founding of an institution for higher education, to be under the patronage of the methodist church.[ ] this was not a new idea to asbury; for, four years previous to this meeting, john dickins had made the same suggestion to him. the earlier idea had contemplated only a school, on the plan of wesley's at knightwood, england, and for that purpose, a subscription had been opened in north carolina in .[ ] coke's suggestion, to have a college, was favorably received and, at the famous christmas conference at baltimore in , the church was formally organized, with coke and asbury as bishops, and the first methodist college was founded. thus the denomination which has increased to be the largest in the united states, recognized the paramount importance of education at its very foundation.[ ] to the new institution, the name of cokesbury was given, in honor of the two bishops, from whose names the title was compounded. for this college, collections were yearly taken, amounting in to £ and implying great self-denial by the struggling churches ill-supplied with wealth.[ ] as early as january , , only two weeks after the college was decided on, its managers were able to report that £ , had been subscribed, a sum that put the enterprise on a firm footing. the site was next to be chosen, and abingdon in harford county was pitched upon. of the , methodists in the union in , over one-third were in maryland, and hence, it had the best claim for the college, and the beauty of the situation of abingdon charmed coke so much that he determined upon placing the college there. it was also a place easy of access, being on the direct stage line from baltimore to philadelphia and near the chesapeake bay. bishop coke, the most zealous advocate of the college, contracted for the building materials; but was prevented from being present at the laying of the corner-stone. bishop asbury, however, was present and preached a sermon on psalms , verses to .[ ] in this sermon, "he dwelt on the importance of a thoroughly religious education, and looked forward to the effects, which would result to the generality, to come from the streams which should spring from this opening fountain of sanctified learning." the building was built of brick, one hundred feet in length and forty in width, faced east and west, and stood on "the summit and centre of six acres of land, with an equal proportion of ground on each side." it was said to be in architecture "fully equal, if not superior, to anything of the kind in the country." dormitory accommodations were provided in the building; but it was intended that "as many of the students as possible, shall be lodged and boarded in the town of abingdon among our pious friends,"[ ] gardening, working in wood in a building called the "taberna lignaria," bathing under supervision of a master, walking, and riding were the only outdoor exercises permitted. the students were prohibited "from indulging in anything which the world calls play. let this rule be observed with the strictest nicety; for those who play when they are young, will play when they are old." in the bishops issued a "plan for erecting a college intended to advance religion in america." it is quite long and many of its provisions are very quaint. from it we learn that cokesbury is intended "to receive for education and board the sons of the elders and preachers of the methodist episcopal church, poor orphans, and the sons of the subscribers and other friends. it will be expected that all our friends, who send their children to the college, will, if they be able, pay a moderate sum for their education and board; the others will be taught and boarded and, if our finances allow it, clothed gratis. the institution is also intended for the benefit of our young men, who are called to preach, that they may receive a measure of that improvement, which is highly expedient as a preparation for public service." teachers of ancient languages and of english will be provided, and no necessary branch of literature shall be omitted. "above all, especial care shall be taken that due attention be paid to the religion and morals of the children, and to the exclusion of all such as continue of an ungovernable temper." "the expense of such an undertaking will be very large, and the best means we could think of, at our late conference, to accomplish our design, was to desire the assistance of all those in every place who wish well to the cause of god. the students will be instructed in english, latin, greek, logic, rhetoric, history, geography, natural philosophy, and astronomy. to these languages and sciences shall be added, when the finances of our college will admit of it, the hebrew, french, and german languages. but our first object shall be, to answer the designs of _christian_ education, by forming the minds of the youth, through divine aid, to wisdom and holiness by instilling into their minds the principles of true religion--speculative, experimental, and practical--and training them in the ancient way, that they may be rational, spiritual christians. we have consented to receive children of seven years of age, as we wish to have the opportunity of teaching 'the young idea how to shoot' and gradually forming their minds, through the divine blessing, almost from their infancy, to holiness and heavenly wisdom, as well as human learning. we shall rigidly insist on their rising early in the morning (five a.m.), and we are convinced by constant observation and experience, that it is of vast importance, both to body and mind. "we prohibit play in the strongest terms, and in this we have the two greatest writers on the subject that, perhaps, any age has produced (mr. locke and mr. rousseau) of our sentiments; for, though the latter was essentially mistaken in his religious system, yet his wisdom in other respects and extensive genius are indisputably acknowledged. the employments, therefore, which we have chosen for the recreation of the students are such as are of greatest public utility:--agriculture and architecture. "in conformity to this sentiment, one of the completest poetic pieces of antiquity (the georgics of virgil) is written on the subject of husbandry; by the perusal of which and submission to the above regulations, the students may delightfully unite the theory and practice together." there is something extremely ludicrous in the idea of making the average student delight in spending his leisure hours in farming, by means of a study of the georgics in the original. but we can hardly laugh at these men, they were too much in earnest. to return to the circular, "the four guineas a year for tuition, we are persuaded cannot be lowered, if we give the students that finished education, which we are determined they shall have. and, though our principal object is to instruct them in the doctrines, spirit, and practice of christianity, yet we trust that our college will, in due time, send forth men that will be a blessing to their country in every laudable office and employment of life, thereby uniting the two greatest ornaments of human beings which are too often separated: _deep learning_ and _genuine piety_." as soon as the building was under roof, a preparatory school was opened and the trustees applied to john wesley for a president. he suggested a rev. mr. heath, and this suggestion was accepted on december , .[ ] his inauguration occurred a year later and was a grand affair. asbury presided on each of the three days of the ceremony, and his text on the second day, "o man of god, there is death in the pot,"[ ] was looked on by the superstitious, in time to come, as a presage of disaster. the faculty was filled up and all seemed to bid fair for prosperity; but mr. heath remained in charge of the college less than a year, resigning because of certain charges of insufficiency, which seem rather trival. another professor left to go into business and asbury's soul was tried by these "heavy tidings." the good bishop was indefatigable in his care of cokesbury. his visits were frequent, and while there, he was very active, examining the pupils, preaching, and arranging the affairs, both temporal and spiritual. abingdon became a centre of methodism, families moved there to enjoy the educational advantages, and the conference regularly visited the college, coming over from baltimore for that purpose. dr. jacob hall, of abingdon, was the second president, and had under him a faculty of three professors and a chaplain. the school prospered and had public exhibitions of its students' proficiency from time to time. it is doubtful if sufficient care was exercised in the expenditure of money and, in december, , the trustees felt obliged to contract a loan of £ . the charitable contributions fell off, and asbury was forced to go from house to house in baltimore, "through the snow and cold, begging money for the support of the poor orphans at cokesbury."[ ] the instruction was good, and asbury could write to coke, then in england, that "one promising young man has gone forth into the ministry, another is ready, and several have been under awakenings. none so healthy and orderly as our children, and some promise great talents for learning."[ ] still, "all was not well there," and on october , , he "found matters in a poor state at college; £ in debt, and our employes £ in arrears." a year later, matters were desperate and the good bishop wrote that "we now make a sudden and dead pause--we mean to incorporate and breathe and take some better plan. if we can not have a christian school (_i.e._ a school under christian discipline and pious teachers), we will have none."[ ] the project of incorporation was not favored by some, who feared that the college would not be thereby so directly under the control of the conference, but was carried through, and the charter bears date, december , .[ ] by it, the institution was allowed to have an income not exceeding £ , . how a charter was to avoid increased indebtedness does not appear and the college's debt had so increased, that the conference in decided to suspend the collegiate department and have only an english free school kept in the buildings.[ ] misfortunes never come singly: an unsuccessful attempt to burn the buildings had been made in the fall of , and now, on december , , a completely successful one was made, and the building and its contents were consumed. rewards to discover the incendiary were offered in vain, and asbury writes:[ ] "we have a second and confirmed report that cokesbury college is consumed to ashes--a sacrifice of £ , in about ten years. if any man should give me £ , to do and suffer again what i have done for that house, i would not do it. the lord called not mr. whitefield, nor the methodists to build colleges. i wished only for schools; dr. coke wanted a college. i feel distressed at the loss of the library." asbury despaired, but coke did not and, going to work, he raised £ , from his friends. after the determination was made to move the college to baltimore, the church there gave £ , and a house to house solicitation brought in £ more. a building originally erected for balls and assemblies was purchased and fitted up. it stood next the old light street methodist church and a co-educational school was opened therein on may , . the high course planned for girls is especially noticeable at this early period. the school opened with promises of success, and within a month there were nearly scholars. fatality pursued the enterprise, however, and a year to a day from the burning of the first building, this second one was reduced to ashes, with the adjoining church and several houses. asbury writes rather philosophically:[ ] "i conclude god loveth the people of baltimore, and he will keep them poor to make them pure;" but even coke gave up hope at this new disaster, and it was twenty years before a second methodist college was attempted. asbury college. this was the second methodist college in the world, and was organized in , the year of bishop asbury's death. after a year or two of successful work, a charter was applied for and it was granted to the college february , .[ ] the president, samuel k. jennings, m.d., a methodist local preacher, was a rather remarkable man. coming from new jersey, graduating at rutgers, and settling in the practice of the medical profession in virginia, he was converted by the preaching of asbury, and was persuaded by him some years later, to move to baltimore and take the leadership of the new enterprise.[ ] he was said to be, at one time, the only methodist preacher with a collegiate education and was well adapted to the task, from his administrative ability and wide learning. around him, he gathered an undenominational faculty of four professors and began the life of the institution in a large brick building on the corner of park avenue and franklin street. in march, , the _methodist magazine_ tells us that there were one hundred and seventy students, and that "the asbury college has probably exceeded in its progress, considering the short time it has been established, any literary institution in the country."[ ] in that spring, a class was graduated, and yet only a few months later dr. bangs wrote that the college "continued for a short time and then, greatly to the disappointment and mortification of its friends, went down as suddenly as it had come up, and asbury college lives only in the recollection of those who rejoiced over its rise and mourned over its fall." this statement is not absolutely correct; it is probable that there was some catastrophe, and possibly dr. jennings then began to break away from the methodist episcopal church, which he left entirely, when the methodist protestant church was formed in . still some sort of an organization was kept up under the old name; for does not good hezekiah niles, of register fame, tell us of examinations and exhibitions he witnessed in the early spring of ,[ ] at which time prodigies of learning and cramming were exhibited, and do we not find in , a pamphlet published by dr. jennings, entitled "remarks on the subject of education, to which are added the general rules of the school under the appellation of asbury college." apparently the college had passed entirely out of the control of the church, and having lowered its grade, was now little more than dr. jennings' private school. the school was then situated on the corner of charles and baltimore streets and, in , when we catch the last glimpse of it, another removal had taken it to the corner of south and fayette streets. it was then merely a boys' day school and doubtless soon perished. so the second methodist college failed as the first had done and another was added to the many abortive attempts to found a college in maryland. other extinct colleges. three other attempts to found colleges demand a passing notice. _mount hope college_ stood at the corner of eutaw place and north avenue, and was charted as a college in .[ ] the building was constructed by the baltimore branch of the united states bank in , during an epidemic of yellow fever in the city. people feared to come into town to transact business and so a suburban banking house was built. this building was bought by the rev. frederick hall in and in it a school was begun, which was later expanded into the college. the institution lasted some ten years and is worthy of note from the fact that among the teachers were two young yale graduates, who afterwards obtained considerable renown: professor elias loomis and rev. s.w.s. dutton. _the college of st. james_ was situated in washington county and was originally intended by its founder, bishop whittingham, as a preparatory school. it was opened in october, , with rev. j.b. kerfoot,[ ] afterwards bishop of pittsburg, as principal, and had such speedy and encouraging success, that it was chartered as a college in , under the control of the protestant episcopal church. the college prospered greatly under bishop kerfoot's able management, and was kept up during the war of the rebellion in spite of the loss of southern students, a large portion of the entire number. in , however, general early, of the confederate army, invaded maryland and took dr. kerfoot and professor coit prisoners, and the college thus forcibly discontinued, was never again reorganized. _newton university_ was chartered by the legislature[ ] on march , and was situated on lexington street, between north and calvert. it was originally intended to combine the baltimore preparatory schools and to furnish boys, graduating from them, the means of completing their education without leaving the city. there was an enormous list of trustees and the unwieldy character of the board, coupled with the irregular habits of the president, made the failure of the enterprise inevitable. still it offered in its catalogues a good course of study and gave exhibitions, at which polyglot orations were delivered. the late prof. perley r. lovejoy was the life of the institution and, after several classes had graduated, the university finally ceased to be, when mr. lovejoy accepted a position as professor in the baltimore city college. roman catholic colleges. maryland has been the cradle of the roman catholic church in america, as well as of the methodist and the presbyterian. the centenary of the consecration of john carroll, as the first roman catholic bishop in the united states, occurred little more than a year ago. a few months after bishop carroll's consecration, he received from the superior of the order of st. sulpice an offer to found a seminary in baltimore for the education of priests. this offer was accepted and, on july , , four sulpician priests arrived in baltimore. they soon bought a house known as "one mile tavern" with four acres of land and there they opened _st. mary's seminary_, on the first sunday in october, . the seminary still occupies the same site, at the corner of paca and st. mary's streets. the number of the candidates for the priesthood, who entered the seminary, was disappointing from its smallness and, in order to procure clerics, an academy was opened in the rooms of the seminary, on august , . this was presided over by rev. wm. du bourg, and proved so successful, as to demand a separate building. accordingly, the corner-stone of st. mary's college was laid on april , . at bishop carroll's request, no american boys were admitted for a time and only spaniards and french were received. in , however, the college was opened to all day scholars or boarders, without reference to birth or religion. this step roused some opposition and many communications upon the subject appeared in the newspapers, which were afterwards collected in pamphlet form. the students soon became numerous and the institution grew to such an extent that, in january, , it was chartered as st. mary's university. on august , , the first class was graduated; in that year there were students. new buildings were erected and a superb botanical garden was laid out. the chapel, built soon after the incorporation, was said to be the most beautiful in the united states. the rev. william du bourg, the president, was a man of great ability and the reputation of the college rapidly spread. many prominent men, roman catholics and protestants, were graduated from st. mary's; but the sulpicians felt that their vocation was to educate young men exclusively for the priesthood, and not for secular life, and they finally closed st. mary's college in , in order to devote all their energies to the theological seminary, which has continued its prosperous career to this present day.[ ] a second roman catholic college was formed by the sulpicians in at emmittsburg, frederick county. it was begun by rev. john dubois and was soon chartered as _mount saint mary's college_. the exercises were first held in a log house with a handful of pupils, who increased to within five years. with the growth of the institution came the demand for larger accommodations. better buildings were erected and a large stone edifice was undertaken in . when nearly ready for occupancy, it was destroyed by fire; but father dubois did not despair and, aided by the people of the vicinity, at once began a new building. in he was appointed bishop of new york, and in the same year, the connection of the college with the sulpician order was terminated. although originally intended chiefly as a place for the education of clerics, mt. st. mary's has ever kept in view the preparation of students for a secular life, and many of its graduates have been distinguished in state, as well as in church. in , rev. john mccaffrey, d.d., became president, and under his able control, the college prospered until . during this period, the jubilee of the institution was celebrated with great ceremony in . the civil war injured the college greatly and the declaration of peace found it burdened with a heavy load of debt. for twenty years the struggle went on and it was doubtful all the time, whether the college could survive. finally dr. william bryne, at his leaving the presidency in , was able to report that the institution was placed on a firm financial basis as to the future, and that the debt had been reduced to $ , . the present president, rev. edward p. allen, has still further diminished the debt by more than half and the attendance has been largely increased through his efficient administration. a third roman catholic college is _st. charles's_, situated in howard county, near ellicott city. it is situated on land given by charles carroll of carroll ton, and was chartered on february , ,[ ] its name being taken from that of its founder and of the great archbishop of milan.[ ] the institution was placed under the control of the society of st. sulpice and was established "exclusively for the education of pious young men of the catholic persuasion for the ministry of the gospel." the corner-stone was laid by the venerable charles carroll, on july , ; but, for want of funds to carry on the work successfully, the institution was not opened until the fall of . the first president, rev. o.l. jenkins, began the institution with four pupils, and at his death in , the number had grown to . since the closing of st. mary's college in , st. charles's has been used by the sulpicians as preparatory to st. mary's seminary. to supply the want of a college, to which baltimore boys of roman catholic families could go without leaving home, _loyola college_ was opened in september, . it is under the control of the jesuits and has confined itself to receiving day scholars. the fifth and last roman catholic college, _rock hill_, was chartered in .[ ] it is situated near ellicott city, as is st. charles's, and is under the supervision of the brothers of the christian schools. it prepares youth for the various duties and occupations of life with great thoroughness, and has ever been noted especially for the attention paid to the development of the body as well as the mind of its pupils. westeen maryland college. in , mr. fayette r. buell began an academy for boys and girls at westminster, carroll county,[ ] and, in the spring of , he proposed to the conference of the methodist protestant church, of which he was a member, that the school should be chartered as a college and taken under the church's patronage. this proposition was not acceded to, but mr. buell went on with his plan. confidence in the rev. j.t. ward, one of the teachers in mr. buell's school, induced two of his friends to lend the enterprise $ , , and the corner-stone of the college building was laid on september , . the college opened a year later with seventy-three pupils. in february, , mr. buell found himself so much in debt, that he appealed to the conference to take the property off his hands. this was done, and a board of trustees appointed by the conference was incorporated by the legislature on march , . the next fall, the institution reopened with rev. j.t. ward as president, in which office he continued for seventeen years. these were years of trouble and severe work to make the college a success. there was no endowment, and only by the most strenuous efforts was the college saved on several occasions from being overwhelmed with debt. still, in spite of all disadvantages, good work was done and valuable experience was gained. the college has been a co-educational one from the first, and connected with it was a department of biblical literature, for such as intended to become clergymen, until a separate theological school was opened in . during dr. ward's administration, new buildings were erected and, at his resignation in , he left the institution ready to be made still more efficient by his successor. rev. thomas h. lewis succeeded as president and, while he has caused the work and equipment of the college to be further enlarged, he has also been successful in paying off the last dollar of the debt that had hung over it so long as an incubus. female education. _the baltimore female college_, so long presided over by dr. n.c. brooks, was the pioneer institution in maryland for the higher education of women. founded in , it long had a prosperous existence; but finally was obliged to close its doors in june, , on account of the withdrawal of the grant formerly given by the state. besides this institution there was no successful attempt in maryland to found a college for female education, until the _woman's college of baltimore_ was chartered in .[ ] it was founded by the methodist episcopal church, in honor of the centenary of its organized existence in this country, and is "denominational but not sectarian." for it beautiful buildings, adjoining the first methodist church, have been erected on st. paul street. much of the money for its endowment was given by the present president, the rev. j.f. goucher, d.d., and, largely through his influence, was it able to open its doors to students on september , . it has determined, very sensibly, to grant no degrees, save to those thoroughly fitted to receive them, and so has had no graduates up to the present. its growth under the care of w.h. hopkins, ph.d., its first president, was great in numbers and endowment and the prospects are now fair for this baltimore woman's college taking high rank among similar institutions. conclusion. to a superficial observer from a distance, it sometimes seems as if university education in maryland began with the foundation of the johns hopkins university, a sketch of which follows from the pen of its honored president. our study into the history of education in the state, however, has shown us that maryland, instead of being one of the latest of the united states to conceive the university idea, was, in fact, one of the very earliest, and that her institutions have a history of which they need not be ashamed; though their work has not been so widely known as some others and though the bright promise of morning, in many cases, has not been followed by the full development of noontide. the patient labors of william smith, of hector humphreys, of francis asbury, of john dubois, and of many others, have been far from lost. wherein they failed, they gained valuable experience for their successors, and wherein they succeeded, they helped to instil "into the minds and hearts of the citizens, the principles of science and good morals." footnotes: [footnote : _md. archives_; assembly proceedings, - , pp. - .] [footnote : scharf, _hist. of md._, ii, p. .] [footnote : sharpe, _correspondence_, vol. ii, pp. - and .] [footnote : scharf, _hist, of md_., ii, p. .] [footnote : eddis, _letters from maryland_, - .] [footnote : ms. sketch of prof. rowland watts.] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : act of , ch. . the appropriation had already been diminished by act of , ch. .] [footnote : _centennial of st. john's._ address of p.r. voorhees, esq.] [footnote : resolutions of , no. .] [footnote : ms. sketch of dr. e.f. cordell.] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : _records of univ. of md_., vol. a.] [footnote : in he was succeeded by the rt. rev. james kemp, d.d.] [footnote : acts of , ch. ; , ch. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : scharf, _chron. of baltimore_, p. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : lucas, _picture of baltimore_, p. .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : stevens' _history of methodism_, ii, .] [footnote : some account of cokesbury. mss. of rev. wm. hamilton.] [footnote : _early schools of methodism_, p. .] [footnote : mss. of rev. i.p. cook.] [footnote : strickland's _asbury_, p. .] [footnote : methodist discipline, , p. .] [footnote : _asbury's journal_, vol. i, p. .] [footnote : ii kings, : .] [footnote : _journal_, december , .] [footnote : _early schools of methodism_, p. .] [footnote : _journal_, november , .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : rev. mr. hamilton's mss.] [footnote : _journal_, january , .] [footnote : _journal_, .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : sprague, _annals of american pulpit_, vii, .] [footnote : _history of the m.e. church_, vol. iii.] [footnote : _niles' register_, february , .] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : _life of bishop kerfoot_, by rev. hall harrison.] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : mss. of fr. g.e. viger.] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : mss. of rev. g.e. viger.] [footnote : act of , ch. .] [footnote : lewis, _outline of western maryland college_.] [footnote : mss. of pres. w.h. hopkins.] the johns hopkins university ( - ). by daniel c. gilman. foundation. the year is commonly taken as the date of the foundation of the johns hopkins university, as in that year its doors were opened for the reception of students. on the twenty-second of february the plans of the university were publicly made known, and consequently "washington's birthday" has since been observed as an anniversary or commemoration day. but in reality the trustees were organized nine years before. the founder, johns hopkins, as he saw the end of life approaching (although he continued in active business for several years afterwards), determined to bestow a large part of his fortune upon two institutions which he proposed to establish, a university and a hospital. these establishments were to be managed by separate boards of trustees, citizens of baltimore, whom he selected for their integrity, wisdom, and public spirit. in order that the two boards might be closely allied, the founder was careful that a majority of the trustees of one corporation should also be a majority of the trustees of the other corporation, and in a letter which he left as the final expression of his wishes, he declared it to be his "constant wish and purpose that the hospital should ultimately form a part of the medical school of the university." the hospital was opened for the reception of patients in may, ; and a volume which was prepared in the following year by dr. j.s. billings, gives a full description of the buildings, with other papers illustrative of the history and purposes of that great charity. but as the medical school, which is to form the bond of union between the two establishments has not yet been organized, the following statements will only refer to those opportunities which are here provided for the study of science and literature, in the faculty commonly known as the faculty of philosophy and the liberal arts. before speaking of his gifts, a few words should be devoted to the memory of johns hopkins. this large-minded man, whose name is now renowned in the annals of american philanthropy, acquired his fortune by slow and sagacious methods. he was born in anne arundel county, maryland, not far from the city of annapolis, of a family which for several generations had adhered to the views of the society of friends. his ancestors were among the earliest settlers of the colony. while still a boy, johns hopkins came to baltimore without any capital but good health, the good habits in which he had been brought up, and unusual capacity for a life of industrious enterprise. he began on the lowest round of the ladder of fortune, and by his economy, fidelity, sagacity, and perseverance he rose to independence and influence. he was called to many positions of financial responsibility, among the most important being that of president of the merchants' national bank, and that of a director in the baltimore and ohio railroad company. he was a man of positive opinions in political affairs, yet he never entered political life; and although he contributed to the support of educational and benevolent societies he was not active in their management. in the latter part of his life, he dwelt during the winter in a large mansion, still standing on the north side of saratoga street, west of north charles street, and during the summer on an estate called clifton, in baltimore county. in both these places he exercised hospitality without ostentation. he bought a large library and many oil paintings which are now preserved in a memorial room at the hospital. nevertheless, his pursuits were wholly mercantile, and his time and strength were chiefly devoted to the business in which he was engaged,--first as a wholesale grocer, and afterwards as a capitalist interested in many and diverse financial undertakings. more than once, in time of commercial panic, he lent his credit to the support of individuals and firms with a liberality which entitled him to general gratitude. he died in baltimore, december , , at the age of seventy-nine years. he had never married. after providing for his near relations, he gave the principal part of his estate to the two institutions which bear his name, the johns hopkins university and the johns hopkins hospital. each of them received property estimated in round numbers at three and a half million dollars. the gift to the university included his estate of clifton (three hundred and thirty acres of land), fifteen thousand shares of the common stock of the baltimore and ohio railroad, and other securities which were valued at seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. many persons have expressed surprise that mr. hopkins should have made so large an investment in one corporation. but the stock of the baltimore and ohio railroad was free from taxation, for many years it paid a dividend of ten per cent. per annum, and the managers, of whom he was one, confidently anticipated that a large stock dividend would be declared at an early day. mr. hopkins not only gave to the university all the common stock that he held in this corporation; he also advised that the trustees should not dispose of it, nor of the stock accruing thereon by way of increment or dividend. in view of the vibrations to which this stock was subjected during the fifteen years subsequent to the death of mr. hopkins, it should not be forgotten that it was his will that linked the fortune of the great educational institution, which he founded, to the fortune of another corporation, in which he had the highest confidence. fortunately, the crisis into which this union led, has been successfully passed. the friends of the university generously subscribed for its support an "emergency fund" of more than $ , . other large gifts were made and others still are known to be in the future. the trustees, moreover, have changed four-fifths of their holdings of the common stock of the railroad company above mentioned, into its preferred stock, from which a permanent income of six per centum will be derived. the finances of the university are now on a solid basis, although additional gifts will be required for the construction of buildings and for the enlargement of the course of study, and still more before a medical department can be instituted. preliminary organization. the johns hopkins university was incorporated under the laws of the state of maryland, august , . three years later, june , , the trustees met and elected a president and a secretary of the board. they did not meet again until after the death of mr. hopkins, when they entered with a definite purpose on the work for which they were associated. they collected a small but excellent library of books, illustrating the history of the universities of this and of other lands; they visited in a body cambridge, new haven, ithaca, ann arbor, philadelphia, charlottesville, and other seats of learning; they were favored with innumerable suggestions and recommendations from those who knew much about education, and from those who knew little; and they invited several scholars of distinction to give them their counsel. three presidents of colleges gave them great assistance, answering in the frankest manner all the searching questions which were put to them by a sagacious committee. grateful acknowledgments will always be due to these three gentlemen: charles w. eliot, ll. d., president of harvard university, andrew d. white, ll. d., president of cornell university, and james b. angell, ll. d., president of the university of michigan. inaugural assembly. the election of a president of the university took place in december, . he entered upon the duties of his station in the following spring, and in the summer of , at the request of the trustees, he went to europe and conferred with many leaders of university education in great britain and on the continent. at the same time he visited many of the most important seats of learning. during the following winter the plans of the university were formulated and were made public in the inaugural address of the president, which was delivered on the nd of february, , before a large audience assembled in the academy of music. on this occasion, the governor of the state, hon. john lee carroll; the mayor of the city, hon. ferdinand c. latrobe; the presidents and representative professors of a large number of universities and colleges; the trustees and other officers of the scientific, literary and educational institutions of baltimore; the state and city officers of public instruction and other invited guests, together with the trustees of johns hopkins, occupied the platform. the house was filled with an attentive audience. at eleven o'clock, the chair was taken by the president of the trustees, mr. galloway cheston. the orchestra of the peabody institute, directed by professor asger hamerik, performed several pieces of classical music. a prayer was then offered up by rev. alfred m. randolph, d d., of emmanuel church, now assistant bishop of virginia, after which the chairman of the executive committee, mr. reverdy johnson, jr., said: "our gathering to-day is one of no ordinary interest. from all sections of our state, from varied sections of our land, we have met at the opening of another avenue to social progress and national renown. after two years of pressing responsibility and anxious care the trustees of the johns hopkins university present the first detailed account of their trust. of the difficulties attending the discharge of their duty; of the nice balancing of judgment; of the careful investigation and continued labor called for in the organization of the university, this is not the place to speak; but for the board of trustees, i may be allowed to claim the credit of entire devotion to the work, and a sincere desire to make of the university all that the public could expect from the generous foundation. happily, our action is unfettered, and where mistakes occur, as occur they must, the will and power are at hand to correct them. we may say that the university's birth takes place today, and i do not think it mere sentiment, should we dwell with interest upon its concurrence with the centennial year of our national birth, and the birthday of him who led the nation from the throes of battle to maturity and peace. but it is not my province to detain you from the exercises which are to follow. i am happy to state that we have among us to-day one who represents the highest type of american education, and one who, from the beginning, has sympathized with, counselled and aided us. i know you anticipate me, as i announce the distinguished name, from the most distinguished seat of learning in our land--president eliot, of harvard university." address of president eliot. president eliot next delivered a congratulatory address in which he said: "the oldest university of the country cordially greets the youngest, and welcomes a worthy ally--an ally strong in material resources and in high purpose. "i congratulate you, gentlemen, trustees of the johns hopkins university, upon the noble work which is before you. a great property, an important part of the fruit of a long life devoted with energy and sagacity to the accumulation of riches, has been placed in your hands, upon conditions as magnanimous as they are wise, to be used for the public benefit in providing for coming generations the precious means of liberal culture. your board has great powers. it must hold and manage the property of the university, make all appointments, fix all salaries, and, while leaving both legislative and administrative details to the several faculties which it will create, it must also prescribe the general laws of the university. your cares and labor will grow heavy as time goes on; but in accordance with an admirable usage, fortunately established in this country, you will serve without other compensation than the public consideration which will justly attach to your office, and the happy sense of being useful. the actuating spirit of your board will be a spirit of scrupulous fidelity to every trust reposed in you, and of untiring zeal in promoting the welfare of the university and the advancement of learning. judged by its disinterestedness, its beneficence and its permanence, your function is as pure and high as any that the world knows, or in all time has known. may the work which you do in the discharge of your sacred trust be regarded with sympathetic and expectant forbearance by the present generation, and with admiration and gratitude by posterity. "the university which is to take its rise in the splendid benefaction of johns hopkins must be unsectarian. none other could as appropriately be established in the city named for the catholic founder of a colony to which all christian sects were welcomed, or in the state in which religious toleration was expressly declared in the name of the government for the first time in the history of the christian world. there is a too common opinion that a college or university which is not denominational must therefore be irreligious; but the absence of sectarian control should not be confounded with lack of piety. a university whose officers and students are divided among many sects need no more be irreverent and irreligious than the community which in respect to diversity of creeds it resembles. it would be a fearful portent if thorough study of nature and of man in all his attributes and works, such as befits a university, led scholars to impiety. but it does not; on the contrary, such study fills men with humility and awe, by bringing them on every hand face to face with inscrutable mystery and infinite power. the whole work of a university is uplifting, refining and spiritualizing: it embraces whatsoever touches life with upward impulse; be he nowhere else, god is in all that liberates and lifts; in all that humbles, sweetens and consoles. "a university cannot be built upon a sect, unless, indeed, it be a sect which includes the whole of the educated portion of the nation. this university will not demand of its officers and students the creed, or press upon them the doctrine of any particular religious organization; but none the less--i should better say, all the more--it can exert through high-minded teachers a strong moral and religious influence. it can implant in the young breasts of its students exalted sentiments and a worthy ambition; it can infuse into their hearts the sense of honor, of duty, and of responsibility. "i congratulate the city of baltimore, mr. mayor, that in a few generations she will be the seat of a rich and powerful university. to her citizens its grounds and buildings will in time become objects of interest and pride. the libraries and other collections of a university are storehouses of the knowledge already acquired by mankind, from which further invention and improvement proceed. they are great possessions for any intelligent community. the tone of society will be sensibly affected by the presence of a considerable number of highly educated men, whose quiet and simple lives are devoted to philosophy and teaching, to the exclusion of the common objects of human pursuit. the university will hold high the standards of public duty and public spirit, and will enlarge that cultivated class which is distinguished, not by wealth merely, but by refinement and spirituality. "i felicitate the state of maryland, whose chief magistrate honors this assembly with his presence, upon the establishment within her borders of an independent institution of the highest education. the elementary school is not more necessary to the existence of a free state than the university. the public school system depends upon the institutions of higher education, and could not be maintained in real efficiency without them. the function of colleges, universities, and professional schools is largely a public function; their work is done primarily, indeed, upon individuals, but ultimately for the public good. they help powerfully to form and mould aright the public character; and that public character is the foundation of everything which is precious in the state, including even its material prosperity. in training men thoroughly for the learned professions of law and medicine, this university will be of great service to maryland and the neighboring states. during the past forty years the rules which governed admission to these honorable and confidential professions have been carelessly relaxed in most of the states of the union, and we are now suffering great losses and injuries, both material and moral, in consequence of thus thoughtlessly abandoning the safer ways of our fathers. it is for the strong universities of the country to provide adequate means of training young men well for the learned professions, and to set a high standard for professional degrees. "president gilman, this distinguished assembly has come together to give you god-speed. i welcome you to arduous duties and grave responsibilities. in the natural course of life you will not see any large part of the real fruits of your labors; for to build a university needs not years only, but generations; but though 'deeds unfinished will weigh on the doer,' and anxieties will sometimes oppress you, great privileges are nevertheless attached to your office. it is a precious privilege that in your ordinary work you will have to do only with men of refinement and honor; it is a glad and animating sight to see successive ranks of young men pressing year by year into the battle of life, full of hope and courage, and each year better armed and equipped for the strife; it is a privilege to serve society and the country by increasing the means of culture; but, above all, you will have the great happiness of devoting yourself for life to a noble public work without reserve, or stint, or thought of self, looking for no advancement, 'hoping for nothing again,' knowing well by experience the nature of the charge which you this day publicly assume, familiar with its cares and labors, its hopes and fears, its trials and its triumphs, i give you joy of the work to which you are called, and welcome you to a service which will task your every power. "the true greatness of states lies not in territory, revenue, population, commerce, crops or manufactures, but in immaterial or spiritual tilings; in the purity, fortitude and uprightness of their people, in the poetry, literature, science and art which they give birth to, in the moral worth of their history and life. with nations, as with individuals, none but moral supremacy is immutable and forever beneficent. universities, wisely directed, store up the intellectual capital of the race, and become fountains of spiritual and moral power. therefore our whole country may well rejoice with you, that you are auspiciously founding here a worthy seat of learning and piety. here may young feet, shunning the sordid paths of low desire and worldly ambition, walk humbly in the steps of the illustrious dead--the poets, artists, philosophers and statesmen of the past; here may fresh minds explore new fields and increase the sum of knowledge; here from time to time may great men be trained up to be leaders of the people; here may the irradiating light of genius sometimes flash out to rejoice mankind; above all, here may many generations of manly youth learn righteousness." inaugural address of the first president. in his inaugural address, the president of the johns hopkins university, after a grateful reference to the founder and his generosity, and a reminder that the endowment, large as it appears, is not large when compared with the acquisitions of many other institutions, called attention to some of the special distinctions of this gift. among them were named: the freedom from conditions; the absence of political or ecclesiastical control; the connection with an endowed hospital; the geographical advantages of baltimore; and the timeliness of the foundation. five agencies for the promotion of superior instruction were next briefly discussed, universities, learned academies, colleges, technical schools, and museums. the object of these paragraphs was to suggest the distinctive idea of the university, and to show that while forms and methods vary in different countries, the freedom for investigation, the obligation to teach, and the careful bestowal of academic honors are always understood to be among the university functions. wherever a strong university is established, learned societies, colleges, technical schools, and museums are clustered. it is the sun and they are the planets. twelve points were then enumerated on which there is a consensus so general that further discussion seemed needless. . all sciences are worthy of promotion; or in other words, it is useless to dispute whether literature or science should receive most attention, or whether there is any essential difference between the old and the new education. . religion has nothing to fear from science, and science need not be afraid of religion. religion claims to interpret the word of god, and science to reveal the laws of god. the interpreters may blunder, but truths are immutable, eternal, and never in conflict. . remote utility is quite as worthy to be thought of as immediate advantage. those ventures are not always most sagacious that expect a return on the morrow. it sometimes pays to send our argosies across the seas,--to make investments with an eye to slow but sure returns. so it is always in the promotion of science. . as it is impossible for any university to encourage with equal freedom all branches of learning, a selection must be made by enlightened governors, and that selection must depend on the requirements and deficiencies of a given people, in a given period. there is no absolute standard of preference. what is more important at one time or in one place may be less needed elsewhere and otherwise. . individual students cannot pursue all branches of learning, and must be allowed to select, under the guidance of those who are appointed to counsel them. nor can able professors be governed by routine. teachers and pupils must be allowed great freedom in their method of work. recitations, lectures, examinations, laboratories, libraries, field exercises, travel, are all legitimate means of culture. . the best scholars will almost invariably be those who make special attainments on the foundation of a broad and liberal culture. . the best teachers are usually those who are free, competent, and willing to make original researches in the library and the laboratory. . the best investigators are usually those who have also the responsibilities of instruction, gaining thus the incitement of colleagues, the encouragement of pupils, the observation of the public. . universities should bestow their honors with a sparing hand; their benefits most freely. . a university cannot be created in a day; it is a slow growth. the university of berlin has been quoted as a proof of the contrary. that was indeed a quick success, but in an old, compact country, crowded with learned men eager to assemble at the prussian court. it was a change of base rather than a sudden development. . the object of the university is to develop character--to make men. it misses its aim if it produces learned pedants, or simple artisans, or cunning sophists, or pretentious practitioners. its purport is not so much to impart knowledge to the pupils, as to whet the appetite, exhibit methods, develop powers, strengthen judgment, and invigorate the intellectual and moral forces. it should prepare for the service of society a class of students who will be wise, thoughtful, progressive guides in whatever department of work or thought they may be engaged. . universities easily fall into ruts. almost every epoch requires a fresh start. if these twelve points are conceded, our task is simplified, though it is still difficult. it is to apply these principles to baltimore in . we are trying to do this with no controversy as to the relative importance of letters and science, the conflicts of religion and science, or the relation of abstractions and utilities; our simple aim is to make scholars, strong, bright, useful and true. proceeding to speak of the johns hopkins university, the speaker then announced that at first the faculty of philosophy would alone be organized, where instruction would be given in language, mathematics, ethics, history and science. the medical faculty would not long be delayed. that of jurisprudence would come in time. that of theology is not now proposed. the next paragraphs of the address will be given without abbreviation. who shall our teachers be? this question the public has answered for us; for i believe there is scarcely a preeminent man of science or letters, at home or abroad, who has not received a popular nomination for the vacant professorships. some of these candidates we shall certainly secure, and their names will be one by one made known. but i must tell you, in domestic confidence, that it is not an easy task to transplant a tree which is deeply rooted. it is especially hard to do so in our soil and climate. though a migratory people, our college professors are fixtures. such local college attachments are not known in germany; and the promotions which are frequent in germany are less thought of here. when we think of calling foreign teachers, we encounter other difficulties. many are reluctant to cross the sea; and others are, by reason of their lack of acquaintance with our language and ways, unavailable. besides we may as well admit that london, paris, leipsic, berlin, and vienna afford facilities for literary and scientific growth and influence, far beyond what our country affords. hence, it is probable that among our own countrymen, our faculty will be chiefly found. i wrote, not long ago, to an eminent physicist, presenting this problem in social mechanics, for which i asked his solution, "we cannot have a great university without great professors; we cannot get great professors till we have a great university: help us from the dilemma." let me tell his answer: "your difficulty," he says, "applies only to old men who are great; these you can rarely move; but the young men of genius, talent, learning and promise, you can draw. they should be your strength." the young americans of talent and promise--there is our strength, and a noble company they are! we do not ask from what college, or what state, or what church they come; but what do they know, and what can they do, and what do they want to find out. in the biographies of eminent scholars, it is curious to observe how many indicated in youth preeminent ability. isaac casaubon, whose name in the sixteenth century shed lustre on the learned circles of geneva, montpellier, paris, london and oxford, began as professor of greek, at the age of twenty-two; and heinsius, his leyden contemporary, at eighteen. it was at the age of twenty-eight, that linnaeus first published his _systema naturae_. cuvier was appointed a professor in paris at twenty-six, and, a few months later, a member of the institute. james kent, the great commentator on american law, began his lectures in columbia college at the age of thirty-one. henry was not far from thirty years of age when he made his world-renowned researches in electro-magnetism; and dana's great work on mineralogy was first published before he was twenty-five years old, and about four years after he graduated at new haven. look at the harvard lists:--everett was appointed professor of greek at twenty-one; benjamin peirce, of mathematics at twenty-four; and agassiz was not yet forty when he came to this country. for fifty years yale college rested on three men selected in their youth by dr. dwight, and almost simultaneously set at work; day was twenty-eight, silliman, twenty-three, and kingsley, twenty-seven, when they began their professorial lives. the university of virginia, early in its history, attracted foreign teachers, who were all young men. we shall hope to secure a strong staff of young men, appointing them because they have twenty years before them; selecting them on evidence of their ability; increasing constantly their emoluments, and promoting them because of their merit to successive posts, as scholars, fellows, assistants, adjuncts, professors and university professors. this plan will give us an opportunity to introduce some of the features of the english fellowship and the german system of privat-docents; or in other words, to furnish positions where young men desirous of a university career may have a chance to begin, sure at least of a support while waiting for promotion. our plans begin but do not end here. as men of distinction, who have won the highest rank in their callings, are known to be free, we shall invite them to come among us. if we would maintain a university, great freedom must be allowed both to teachers and scholars. this involves freedom of methods to be employed by the instructors on the one hand, and on the other, freedom of courses to be selected by the students. but this freedom is based on laws,--two of which cannot be too distinctly or too often enunciated. a law which should govern the admission of pupils is this, that before they win this privilege they must have been matured by the long, preparatory discipline of superior teachers, and by the systematic, laborious, and persistent pursuit of fundamental knowledge; and a second law, which should govern the work of professors, is this, that with unselfish devotion to the discovery and advancement of truth and righteousness, they renounce all other preferment, so that, like the greatest of all teachers, they may promote the good of mankind. i see no advantage in our attempting to maintain the traditional four-year class-system of the american colleges. it has never existed in the university of virginia; it is modified, though not nominally given up at harvard; it is not an important characteristic of michigan and cornell; it is not known in the english, french or german universities. it is a collegiate rather than a university method. if parents or students desire us to mark out prescribed courses, either classical or scientific, lasting four years, it will be easy to do so. but i apprehend that many students will come to us excellent in some branches of a liberal education and deficient in others--good perhaps in greek, latin and mathematics; deficient in chemistry, physics, zoology, history, political economy, and other progressive sciences. i would give to such candidates on examination, credit for their attainments, and assign them in each study the place for which they are fitted. a proficient in plato may be a tyro in euclid. moreover, i would make attainments rather than time the condition of promotion; and i would encourage every scholar to go forward rapidly or go forward slowly, according to the fleetness of his foot and his freedom from impediment. in other words, i would have our university seek the good of individuals rather than of classes. the sphere of a university is sometimes restricted by its walls or is limited to those who are enrolled on its lists. there are three particulars in which we shall aim at extramural influence: first, as an examining body, ready to examine and confer degrees or other academic honors on those who are trained elsewhere; next, as a teaching body, by opening to educated persons (whether enrolled as students or not) such lectures as they may wish to attend, under certain restrictions--on the plan of the lectures in the high seminaries of paris; and, finally, as in some degree at least a publishing body, by encouraging professors and lecturers to give to the world in print the results of their researches. what are we aiming at? an enduring foundation; a slow development; first local, then regional, then national influence; the most liberal promotion of all useful knowledge; the special provision of such departments as are elsewhere neglected in the country; a generous affiliation with all other institutions, avoiding interferences, and engaging in no rivalry; the encouragement of research; the promotion of young men; and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and the society where they dwell. no words could indicate our aim more fitly than those by which john henry newman expresses his "idea of the university," in a page glowing with enthusiasm, to which i delight to revert. what will be our agencies? a large staff of teachers; abundance of instruments, apparatus, diagrams, books, and other means of research and instruction; good laboratories, with all the requisite facilities; accessory influences, coming both from baltimore and washington; funds so unrestricted, charter so free, schemes so elastic, that as the world goes forward, our plans will be adjusted to its new requirements. what will be our methods? liberal advanced instruction for those who want it; distinctive honors for those who win them; appointed courses for those who need them; special courses for those who can take no other; a combination of lectures, recitations, laboratory practice, field work and private instruction; the largest discretion allowed to the faculty consistent with the purposes in view; and, finally, an appeal to the community to increase our means, to strengthen our hands, to supplement our deficiencies, and especially to surround our scholars with those social, domestic and religious influences which a corporation can at best imperfectly provide, but which may be abundantly enjoyed in the homes, the churches and the private associations of an enlightened christian city. _citizens of baltimore and maryland_.--this great undertaking does not rest upon the trustees alone; the whole community has a share in it. however strong our purposes, they will be modified, inevitably, by the opinions of enlightened men; so let parents and teachers incite the youth of this commonwealth to high aspirations; let wise and judicious counsellors continue their helpful suggestions, sure of being heard with grateful consideration; let skilful writers, avoiding captionsness on the one hand and compliment on the other, uphold or refute or amend the tenets here announced; let the guardians of the press diffuse widely a knowledge of the benefits which are here provided; let men of means largely increase the usefulness of this work by their timely gifts. at the moment there is nothing which seems to me so important, in this region, and indeed in the entire land, as the promotion of good secondary schools, preparatory to the universities. there are old foundations in maryland which require to be made strong, and there is room for newer enterprises, of various forms. every large town should have an efficient academy or high school; and men of wealth can do no greater service to the public than by liberally encouraging, in their various places of abode, the advanced instruction of the young. none can estimate too highly the good which came to england from the endowment of lawrence sheriff at rugby, and of queen elizabeth's school at westminster, or the value to new england of the phillips foundations in exeter and and over. every contribution made by others to this new university will enable the trustees to administer with greater liberality their present funds. special foundations may be affiliated with our trust, for the encouragement of particular branches of knowledge, for the reward of merit, for the construction of buildings; and each gift, like the new recruits of an army, will be more efficient because of the place it takes in an organized and efficient company. it is a great satisfaction in this world of changes and pecuniary loss to remember what safe investments have been made at harvard and yale, and other old colleges, where dollar for dollar is still shown for every gift. the atmosphere of maryland seems favorable to such deeds of piety, hospitality and "good-will to men." george calvert, the first lord baltimore, comes here, returns to england and draws up a charter which becomes memorable in the annals of civil and religious liberty, for which, "he deserves to be ranked," (as bancroft says), "among the most wise and benevolent lawgivers of all ages;" among the liberals of none was bolder than charles carroll of carrollton; john eager howard, the hero of cowpens, is almost equally worthy of gratitude for the liberality of his public gifts; john mcdonogh, of baltimore birth, bestows his fortune upon two cities for the instruction of their youth; george peabody, resident here in early life, comes back in old age to endow an athenaeum, and begins that outpouring of munificence which gives him a noble rank among modern philanthropists; moses sheppard bequeaths more than half a million for the relief of mental disease; rinehart, the teamster boy, attains distinction as a sculptor, and bequeaths his hard-won acquisitions for the encouragement of art in the city of his residence; and a baltimorean still living, provides for the foundation of an astronomical observatory in yale college; while johns hopkins lays a foundation for learning and charity, which we celebrate to-day. the closing sentences of the discourse were addressed to the young men of baltimore and to the trustees. the faculty. one of the earliest duties which devolved upon the president and trustees, after deciding upon the general scope of the university, was to select a staff of teachers by whose assistance and counsel the details of the plan should be worked out. it would hardly be right in this place to recall the distinctive merits of the able and learned scholars who have formed the academic staff during the first fourteen years, but perhaps the writer may be allowed to pay in passing a tribute of gratitude and respect to those who entered the service of the university at its beginning. to their suggestions, their enthusiasm, their learning, and above all their freedom from selfish aims and from petty jealousies, must be attributed in a great degree the early distinction of this institution. they came from widely distant places; they had been trained by widely different methods; they had widely different intellectual aptitudes; but their diversities were unified by their devotion to the university in which they were enlisted, and by their desire to promote its excellence. this spirit has continued till the present time, and has descended to those who have from time to time joined the ranks, so that it may be emphatically said that the union of the faculty has been the key to its influence. the first requisite of success in any institution is a staff of eminent teachers, each of whom gives freely the best of which he is capable. the best varies with the individual; one may be an admirable lecturer or teacher; another a profound thinker; a third a keen investigator; another a skilful experimenter; the next, a man of great acquisitions; one may excel by his industry, another by his enthusiasm, another by his learning, another by his genius; but every member of a faculty should be distinguished by some uncommon attainments and by some special aptitudes, while the faculty as a whole should be united and cooperative. each professor, according to his subject and his talents, should have his own best mode of working, adjusted to and controlled by the exigencies of the institution with which he is associated. the original professors, who were present when instructions began in october, , were these: as the head and guide of the mathematical studies, professor sylvester, of cambridge, woolwich and london, one of the foremost of european mathematicians; as the leader of classical studies, professor gildersleeve, then of the university of virginia; as director of the chemical laboratory and of instruction in chemistry, professor remsen, then of williams college; to organize the work in biology (a department then scarcely known in american institutions, but here regarded as of great importance with reference to the future school of medicine), professor martin, then of cambridge (eng.), a pupil of professor michael foster and of professor huxley; as chief in the department of physics, professor rowland, then holding a subordinate position in the rensselaer polytechnic institute, whose ability in this department had been shown by the contributions he had made to scientific journals; and as collegiate professor, or guide to the undergraduate students, professor charles d. morris, once an oxford fellow, and then of the university of the city of new york. the names of the professors in the faculty of philosophy, from to , are as follows, arranged in the order of their appointment: basil l. gildersleeve, ll. d _greek_. j.j. sylvester, ll. d _mathematics_. ira kemsen, ph. d _chemistry_. henry a. rowland, ph. d _physics_. h. newell martin, sc. d _biology_. charles d. morris, a. m _classics, (collegiate)._ paul haupt, ph. d _semitic languages_. g. stanley hall, ll. d _psychology._ william h. welch, m. d _pathology_. simon newcomb, ll. d _mathematics and astronomy_. john h. wright, a.m _classical philology_. edward h. griffin, ll.d _history of philosophy_. herbert b. adams, ph.d _amer. and inst. history_. william k. brooks, ph.d _animal morphology_. the persons below named have been appointed associate professors,--and their names are arranged in the order of their appointment: herbert b. adams, ph.d _history_. maurice bloomfield, ph.d _sanskrit and comp. philology_. william k. brooks, ph.d _animal morphology_. thomas craig, ph.d _mathematics_. charles s. hastings, ph.d _physics_. harmon n. morse, ph.d _chemistry._ william e. story, ph.d _mathematics._ minton warren, ph.d _latin._ a. marshall elliot, ph.d _romance languages_. j. rendel harris, a.m _new testament greek_. george h. emmott, a.m _logic_. c. rene gregory, ph.d _new testament greek_. george h. williams, ph.d _inorganic geology_. henry wood, ph.d _german_. richard t. ely, ph.d _political economy_. william t. councilman, m.d _anatomy_. william h. howell, ph.d _animal physiology_. arthur l. kimball, ph.d _physics_. edward h. spieker, ph.d _greek and latin_. louis duncan, ph.d _electricity_. fabian franklin, ph.d _mathematics_. at the opening of the johns hopkins hospital, the principal physicians and surgeons of that foundation were appointed professors of the university, namely, arranged in the order of their appointment: william osler, m.d _medicine._ henry m. hurd, m.d _psychiatry_. howard a. kelly, m.d _gynecology_. william s. halsted, m.d _surgery_. in selecting a staff of teachers, the trustees have endeavored to consider especially the devotion of the candidate to some particular line of study and the certainty of his eminence in that specialty; the power to pursue independent and original investigation, and to inspire the young with enthusiasm for study and research; the willingness to coöperate in building up a new institution; and the freedom from tendencies toward ecclesiastical or sectional controversies. they announced that they would not be governed by denominational or geographical considerations in the appointment of any teacher; but would endeavor to select the best person whose services they could secure in the position to be filled,--irrespective of the place where he was born, or the college in which he was trained, or the religious body with which he might be enrolled. it is obvious that in addition to the qualifications above mentioned, regard has always been paid to those personal characteristics which cannot be rigorously defined, but which cannot be overlooked if the ethical as well as the intellectual character of a professorial station is considered, and if the social relations of a teacher to his colleagues, his pupils, and their friends, are to be harmoniously maintained. the professor in a university teaches as much by his example as by his precepts. besides the resident professors, it has been the policy of the university to enlist from time to time the services of distinguished scholars as lecturers on those subjects to which their studies have been particularly directed. during the first few years the number of such lecturers was larger, and the duration of their visits was longer than it has been recently. when the faculty was small, the need of the occasional lecturer was more apparent for obvious reasons, than it has been in later days. still the university continues to invite the cooperation of non-resident professors, and the proximity of baltimore to washington makes it particularly easy to engage learned gentlemen from the capital to give occasional lectures upon their favorite studies. recently a lectureship of poetry has been founded by mr. and mrs. turnbull of baltimore, in memory of a son who is no longer living, and an annual course may be expected from writers of distinction who are known either as poets, or as critics, or as historians of poetry. the first lecturer on this foundation will be mr. e.c. stedman, of new york, the second, professor jebb, of cambridge (eng.). another lectureship has been instituted by mr. eugene levering with the object of promoting the purposes of the young men's christian association. the first lecturer on this foundation was rev. dr. broadus, of louisville, ky. a few of those who held the position of lecturers made baltimore their home for such prolonged periods that they could not properly be called non-resident. the following list contains the principal appointments. it might be much enlarged by naming those persons who have lectured at the request of one department of the university and not of the trustees, and by naming some who gave but single lectures. simon newcomb _astronomy_. lÉonce rabillon _french_. john s. billings _medical history, etc_. francis j. child _english literature_, thomas m. cooley _law._ julius e. hilgard _geodetic surveys_. james russell lowell _romance literature_. john w. mallet _technological chemistry_. francis a. walker _political economy_. william d. whitney _comparative philology_. william f. allen _history_. william james _psychology_. george s. morris _history of philosophy_. j. lewis diman _history._ h. von holst _history_. william g. farlow _botany_. j. willard gibbs _theoretical mechanics_. sidney lanier _english literature_. charles s. peirce _logic_. john trowbridge _physics_. a. graham bell _phonology_. s.p. langley _physics_. john mccrady _biology_. james bryce _political science_. edward a. freeman _history_. john j. knox _banking_. arthur cayley _mathematics_. william w. goodwin _plato_. g. stanley hall _psychology_. richard m. venable _constitutional law_. james a. harrison _anglo-saxon_. j. rendel harris _new testament greek_. george w. cable _english literature_. william w. story _michel angela_. hiram corson _english literature_. f. seymour haden _etchers and etching_. john s. billings _municipal hygiene_. james bryce _roman law_. h. von holst _political science_. william trelease _botany_. j. thacher clarke _explorations in assos_. josiah royce _philosophy_. william j. stillman _archaeology_. charles waldstein _archaeology_. sir william thomson _molecular dynamics_. a. melville bell _phonetics, etc_. edmund gosse _english literature_. eugene schuyler _u.s. diplomacy_. justin winsor _shakespeare_. frederick wedmore _modern art_. isaac h. hall _new testament_. william hayes ward _assyria_. william libbey, jr _alaska_. alfred r. wallace _island life_. mandell creighton _rise of european universities_. arthur l. frothingham, jr _babylonian and assyrian art_. rodolfo lanciani _roman archaeology_. andrew d. white _the french revolution_. john a. broadus _origin of christianity_. the number of associates, readers, and assistants has been very large, most such appointments having been made for brief periods among young men of promise looking forward to preferment in this institution or elsewhere. distinction between collegiate and university courses. from the opening of the university until now a sharp distinction has been made between the methods of university instruction and those of collegiate instruction. in the third annual report, september , , the views which had been announced at the opening of the university are expanded and are illustrated by the action of the trustees and the faculty during the first two years. the terms university and college have been so frequently interchanged in this country that their significance is liable to be confounded; and it may be worth while, once more at least, to call attention to the distinction which is recognized among us. by the college is understood a place for the orderly training of youth in those elements of learning which should underlie all liberal and professional culture. the ordinary conclusion of a college course is the bachelor's degree. usually, but not necessarily, the college provides for the ecclesiastical and religious as well as the intellectual training of its scholars. its scheme admits but little choice. frequent daily drill in languages, mathematics, and science, with compulsory attendance and frequent formal examinations, is the discipline to which each student is submitted. this work is simple, methodical, and comparatively inexpensive. it is understood and appreciated in every part of this country. in the university more advanced and special instruction is given to those who have already received a college training or its equivalent, and who now desire to concentrate their attention upon special departments of learning and research. libraries, laboratories, and apparatus require to be liberally provided and maintained. the holders of professorial chairs must be expected and encouraged to advance by positive researches the sciences to which they are devoted; and arrangements must be made in some way to publish and bring before the criticism of the world the results of such investigations. primarily, instruction is the duty of the professor in a university as it is in a college; but university students should be so mature and so well trained as to exact from their teachers the most advanced instruction, and even to quicken and inspire by their appreciative responses the new investigations which their professors undertake. such work is costly and complex; it varies with time, place, and teacher; it is always somewhat remote from popular sympathy, and liable to be depreciated by the ignorant and thoughtless. but it is by the influence of universities, with their comprehensive libraries, their costly instruments, their stimulating associations and helpful criticisms, and especially their great professors, indifferent to popular applause, superior to authoritative dicta, devoted to the discovery and revelation of truth, that knowledge has been promoted, and society released from the fetters of superstition and the trammels of ignorance, ever since the revival of letters. in further exposition of these views, from men of different pursuits, reference should be made to an article on classics and colleges, by professor gildersleeve _(princeton review_, july, ), lately reprinted in the author's "essays and studies," (baltimore, ); to an address by professor sylvester before the university on "mathematical studies and university life," (february , ); to an address by professor martin on the study of biology _(popular science monthly,_ january, ); to some remarks on the study of chemistry by professor remsen _(popular science monthly,_ april, ); and to an address entitled "a plea for pure science" (salem, ), by professor rowland, as a vice-president of the american association for the advancement of science. although of a much later date, reference should also be made to an address by professor adams (february , ) on the work of the johns hopkins university, printed in the _johns hopkins university circulars_, no. . an address by dr. james carey thomas, one of the trustees, at the tenth anniversary, in , may also be consulted _(ibid._ no. ). reference may also be made to the fifteen annual reports of the university and to the articles below named, by the writer of this sketch. the group system of college courses in the johns hopkins university _(andover review,_ june, ); the benefits which society derives from universities: annual address on commemoration day, _(johns hopkins university circulars_, no. ); article on universities in lalor's _cyclopaedia of political science_; an address before the phi beta kappa society of harvard university, july , ; an address at the opening of bryn mawr college, . students, courses of studies, and degrees. in accordance with the plans thus formulated, the students have included those who have already taken an academic degree, and who have here engaged in advanced studies; those who have entered as candidates for the bachelors' degree; and those who have pursued special courses without reference to degrees. the whole number of persons enrolled in these three classes during the first fourteen years ( - ) is fifteen hundred and seventy-one. seven hundred and three persons have pursued undergraduate courses and nine hundred and two have followed graduate studies. many of those who entered as undergraduates have continued as graduates, and have proceeded to the degree of doctor of philosophy. these students have come from nearly every state in the union, and not a few of them have come from foreign lands. many of those who received degrees before coming here were graduates of the principal institutions of this country. the degree of doctor of philosophy has been awarded after three years or more of graduate studies to one hundred and eighty-four persons, and that of bachelor of arts to two hundred and fifty at the end of their collegiate course. two degrees, and two only, have been opened to the students of this university. believing that the manifold forms in which the baccalaurate degree is conferred are confusing the public, and that they tend to lessen the respect for academic titles, the authorities of the johns hopkins university determined to bestow upon all those who complete their collegiate courses the title of bachelor of arts. this degree is intended to indicate that its possessor has received a liberal education, or in other words that he has completed a prolonged and systematic course of studies in which languages, mathematics, sciences, history, and philosophy have been included. the amount of time devoted to each of these various subjects varies according to individual needs and preference, but all the combinations are supposed to be equally difficult and honorable. seven such combinations or groups of studies have been definitely arranged, and "the group system," thus introduced, combines many of the advantages of the elective system, with many of the advantages of a fixed curriculum. the undergraduate has his choice among many different lines of study, but having made this determination he is expected to follow the sequence prescribed for him by his teachers. he may follow the old classical course; or he may give decided preference to mathematics and physics; or he may select a group of studies, antecedent to the studies of a medical school; or he may pursue a scientific course in which chemistry predominates; or he may lay a foundation for the profession of law by the study of history and political science; or he may give to modern languages the preference accorded in the first group to the ancient classics. in making his selection, and indeed in prosecuting the career of an undergraduate, he has the counsel of some member of the faculty who is called his adviser. while each course has its predominant studies, each comprises in addition the study of french and german, and at least one branch of science, usually chemistry or physics, with laboratory exercises. the degree of doctor of philosophy is offered to those who continue their studies in a university for three years or more after having attained the baccalaureate degree. their attention must be given to studies which are included in the faculty of philosophy and the liberal arts, and not to the professional faculties of law, medicine, and theology. students who have graduated in other institutions of repute may offer themselves as candidates for this degree. in addition to the requirements above mentioned, the student must show his proficiency in one principal subject and in two that are secondary, and must submit himself to rigid examinations, first written and then oral. he must also present a thesis which must gain the approval of the special committee to which it may be referred, and must subsequently be printed. all these requisitions are enforced by a faculty which is known as the board of university studies. as an encouragement to the systematic prosecution of university studies, the degree of doctor of philosophy in this university is offered under the following conditions. a board of university studies is constituted for the purpose of guiding the work of those who may become candidates for this degree. the time of study is a period of at least three years of distinctive university work in the philosophical faculty. it is desirable that the student accepted as a candidate should reside here continuously until his final examinations are passed, and he is required to spend the last year before he is graduated in definite courses of study at this university. before he can be accepted as a candidate, he must satisfy the examiners that he has received a good collegiate education, that he has a reading knowledge of french and german, and that he has a good command of literary expression. he must also name his principal subject of study and the two subordinate subjects. the board reserves the right to say in each case whether the antecedent training has been satisfactory, and, if any of the years of advanced work have been passed by the candidate away from this university, whether they may be regarded as spent in university studies under suitable guidance and favorable conditions. such studies must have been pursued without serious distractions and under qualified teachers. private study, or study pursued at a distance from libraries and laboratories and other facilities, will not be considered as equivalent to university study. in the conditions which are stated below, it will appear that there are several tests of the proficiency of the candidate, in addition to the constant observation of his instructors. a carefully prepared thesis must be presented by the candidate on a subject approved by his chief adviser, and this thesis must receive the approbation of the board. there are private examinations of the candidate, both in his chief subject and in the subordinate subjects. if these tests are successfully passed, there is a final oral examination in the presence of the board. as an indication of the possible combinations which may be made by those who are studying for the degree of doctor of philosophy, the following schedule is presented: physics, mathematics, and chemistry; animal physiology, animal morphology, and chemistry; chemistry, mineralogy, and geology; mathematics, astronomy, and physics; sanskrit, greek, and latin; history, political economy, and international law; greek, sanskrit, and latin; french, italian and spanish, and german; latin, sanskrit, and roman law; latin, sanskrit, and german; assyriology, ethiopic and arabic, and greek; political economy, history, and administration; english, german, and old norse; inorganic geology and petrography, mineralogy, and chemistry; geology and mineralogy, chemistry, and physics; romance languages, german, and english; latin, greek, and sanskrit; german, english, and sanskrit. while students are encouraged to proceed to academic degrees, the authorities have always borne in mind the needs of those who could not, for one reason or another, remain in the university for more than a year or two, and who might wish to prosecute their studies in a particular direction without any reference to academic honors. such students have always been welcome, especially those who have been mature enough to know their own requirements and to follow their chosen courses, without the incentive of examinations and diplomas. publications, seminaries, societies. the johns hopkins university has encouraged publication. in addition to the annual register or catalogue, the report of the president is annually published, and from time to time during the year "circulars" are printed, in which the progress of investigations, the proceedings of societies, reports of lectures, and the appearance of books and essays are recorded. encouragement is also given by the trustees to the publication of literary and scientific periodicals and occasionally of learned essays and books. the journals regularly issued are: i. _american journal of mathematics_. s. newcomb, editor, and t. craig, associate editor. quarterly. to. volume xiii in progress. ii. _american chemical journal_. i. remsen, editor. nos. yearly. vo. volume xiii in progress. iii. _american journal of philology_. b.l. gildersleeve, editor. quarterly, vo. volume xi in progress. iv. _studies from the biological laboratory_. ii. n. martin, editor, and w.k. brooks, associate editor. vo. volume v in progress. v. _studies in historical and political science_, ii. b. adams, editor. monthly. vo. vol. ix in progress. vi. _contributions to assyriology, etc_. fr. delitzsch and paul haupt, editors. vol. ii in progress. vii. _johns hopkins university circulars_. numbers issued. another form of intellectual activity is shown in the seminaries and scientific associations which have more or less of an official character. in the seminary, the professor engages with a small company of advanced students, in some line of investigation--the results of which, if found important, are often published. the relations of the head of a seminary to those whom he admits to this advanced work, are very close. the younger men have an opportunity of seeing the methods by which older men work. the sources of knowledge, the so-called authorities, are constantly examined. the drift of modern discussions is followed. investigations, sometimes of a very special character, are carefully prosecuted. all this is done upon a plan, and with the incessant supervision of the director, upon whose learning, enthusiasm, and suggestiveness, the success of the seminary depends. each such seminary among us has its own collection of books. the associations or societies serve a different purpose. they bring together larger companies of professors and graduate students, who hear and discuss such papers as the members may present. these papers are not connected by one thread like those which come before the seminaries. they are usually of more general interest, and they often present the results of long continued thought and investigation. buildings, libraries, and collections. the site selected when the university was opened in the heart of baltimore, near the corner of howard and monument streets, has proved so convenient, that from time to time additional property in that neighborhood has been secured and the buildings thus purchased have either been modified so as to meet the academic needs, or have given place to new and commodious edifices. the principal buildings now in use are these: ( ). a central administration building, in which are the class-rooms for classical and oriental studies. ( ). a library building, in which are also rooms devoted especially to history and political science. ( ). a chemical laboratory well equipped for the service of more than a hundred workers. ( ). a biological laboratory, with excellent arrangements for physiological and morphological investigations. ( ). a physical laboratory--the latest and best of the laboratories--with excellent accommodations for physical research and instruction. ( ). a gymnasium for bodily exercise. ( ). two dwelling houses, appropriated to the collections in mineralogy and geology until a suitable museum and laboratory can be constructed. ( ). levering hall, constructed for the uses of the young men's christian association, and containing a large hall which may be used for general purpeses. ( ). smaller buildings used for the smaller classes. ( ). an official residence of the president, which came to the university as a part of the bequest of the late john w. mccoy, esq. the library of the university numbers nearly , well selected volumes,--including "the mccoy library" not yet incorporated with the other books, and numbering , volumes. not far from , periodicals are received, from every part of the civilized world. quite near to the university is the library of the peabody institute, a large, well-chosen, well-arranged, and well-catalogued collection. it numbers more than one hundred thousand volumes. the university has extensive collections of minerals and fossils, a select zoological and botanical museum, a valuable collection of ancient coins, a remarkable collection of egyptian antiquities (formed by col. mendes i. cohen, of baltimore), a bureau of maps and charts, a number of noteworthy autographs and literary manuscripts of modern date, and a large amount of the latest and best scientific apparatus--astronomical, physical, chemical, biological, photographical, and petrographical. statistics. _summary of attendance_, - . total enrolled years. teachers. students. graduates. matriculates. special. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _summary of attendance_, - (continued). degrees conferred. years. a.b. ph.d. - -- -- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- trustees. it should never be forgotten in considering the history of such a foundation that the ultimate responsibility for its organization and government rests upon the board of trustees. if they are enlightened and high-minded men, devoted to the advancement of education, their influence will be felt in every department of instruction. the johns hopkins university has been exceptionally favored in this respect. mr. hopkins chose the original body with the same sagacity that he showed in all his career as a business man; and as, one by one, vacancies have occurred, men of the same type have been selected, by coöptation, for these important positions. the names of the trustees from the beginning are as follows: * george william brown. * galloway cheston. george w. dobbin. * john fonerden. * john w. garrett. charles j.m. gwinn. lewis n. hopkins. * william hopkins. reverdy johnson, jr. francis t. king. * thomas m. smith. francis white. james carey thomas. c. morton stewart. joseph p. elliott. j. hall pleasants. alan p. smith. robert garrett. james l. mclane. * deceased. notes supplementary to the johns hopkins university studies in historical and political science, , no. . university extension and the university of the future. the substance of addresses delivered before the johns hopkins and other university audiences. by richard g. moulton, a.m., _of cambridge university, england_. i am requested to furnish information with reference to the university extension movement in england. it will be desirable that side by side with the facts i should put the ideas of the movement, for, in matters like these, the ideas are the inspiration of the work; the ideas, moreover, are the same for all, whereas the detailed methods must vary with different localities. the idea of the movement is its soul; the practical working is no more than the body. but body and soul alike are subject to growth, and so it has been in the present case. the english university extension movement was in no sense a carefully planned scheme, put forward as a feat of institutional symmetry; it was the product of a simple purpose pursued through many years, amid varying external conditions, in which each modification was suggested by circumstances and tested by experience. and with the complexity of our operations our animating ideas have been striking deeper and growing bolder. speaking then up to date, i would define the root idea of 'university extension' in the following simple formula: university education for the whole nation organized on a basis of itinerant teachers. but every clause in this defining formula will need explanation and defence. the term 'university' extension has no doubt grown up from the circumstance that the movement in england was started and directed by the universities, which have controlled its operations by precisely the same machinery by which they manage every other department of university business. i do not know that this is an essential feature of the movement. the london branch presents an example of a flourishing organization directed by a committee formed for the purpose, though this committee at present acts in concert with three universities. i can conceive the new type of education managed apart from any university superintendence; only i should look upon such severance as a far more serious evil for the universities than for the popular movement. but i use the term 'university education' for the further purpose of defining the type of instruction offered. it is thus distinguished from school education, being moulded to meet the wants of adults. it is distinguished from the technical training necessary for the higher handicrafts or for the learned professions. it is no doubt to the busy classes that the movement addresses itself, but we make no secret of the fact that our education will not help them in their business, except that, the mind not being built in water-tight compartments, it is impossible to stimulate one set of faculties without the stimulus reacting upon all the rest. the education that is properly associated with universities is not to be regarded as leading up to anything beyond, but is an end in itself, and applies to life as a whole. and the foundation for university extension is a change, subtle but clear, that may be seen to be coming over the attitude of the public mind to higher education, varying in intensity in different localities, but capable of being encouraged where it is least perceptible,--a change by which education is ceasing to be regarded as a thing proper to particular classes of society or particular periods of life, and is coming to be recognized as one of the permanent interests of life, side by side with such universal interests as religion and politics. for persons of leisure and means such growing demand can be met by increased activity of the universities. university extension is to be the university of the busy. my definition puts the hope of extending university education in this sense to the whole nation without exception. i am aware that to some minds such indiscriminate extension will seem like an educational communism, on a par with benevolent schemes for redistributing the wealth of society so as to give everybody a comfortable income all round. but it surely ought not to be necessary to explain that in proposing a universal system of education we are not meaning that what each individual draws from the system will be the same in all cases. in this as in every other public benefit that which each person draws from it must depend upon that which he brings to it. university extension may be conceived as a stream flowing from the high ground of universities through the length and breadth of the country; from this stream each individual helps himself according to his means and his needs; one takes but a cupful, another uses a bucket, a third claims to have a cistern to himself: every one suits his own capacity, while our duty is to see that the stream is pure and that it is kept running. the truth is that the wide-reaching purpose of university extension will seem visionary or practicable according to the conception formed of education, as to what in education is essential and what accidental. if i am asked whether i think of shop-assistants, porters, factory-hands, miners, dock or agricultural laborers, women with families and constant home duties, as classes of people who can be turned into economists, physicists, literary critics, art connoisseurs,--i admit that i have no such idea. but i do believe, or rather, from my experience in england i know, that all such classes can be _interested_ in economic, scientific, literary and artistic questions. and i say boldly that to interest in intellectual pursuits is the essential of education, in comparison with which all other educational purposes must be called secondary. i do not consider that a child has been taught to read unless he has been made to like reading; i find it difficult to think of a man as having received a classical education if the man, however scholarly, leaves college with no interest in classical literature such as will lead him to go on reading for himself. in education the interest is the life. if a system of instruction gives discipline, method, and even originating power, without rousing a lasting love for the subject studied, the whole process is but a mental galvanism, generating a delusive activity that ceases when the connection between instructor and pupil is broken off. but if a teacher makes it his first business to stir up an interest in the matter of study, the education becomes self-continuing when teacher and pupil have parted, and the subject becomes its own educator. if then it be conceded that the essence of education is to interest, does it not seem a soberly practical purpose that we should open up to the whole nation without exception an interest in intellectual pursuits? i take my stand on the broad moral ground that every human being, from the highest to the lowest, has two sides to his life--his work and his leisure. to be without work in life is selfishness and sloth. but if a man or woman is so entangled in routine duties as never to command leisure, we have a right to say to such persons that they are leading an immoral life. such an individual has no claim to the title of a working man, he is a slave. it may be cruel circumstances that have thus absorbed him in business, but that does not alter the fact: slavery was a misfortune rather than a fault to those who suffered it, but in any case to be content with slavery is a crime. once get society to recognize the duty of leisure, and there is immediately a scope for such institutions as university extension that exist for the purpose of giving intellectual interests for such leisure time. the movement is thus one of the greatest movements for the 'raising of the masses.' with a large section of the people there is, at the present moment, no conception of 'rising' in life, except that of rising out of one social rank into another. this last is of course a perfectly legitimate ambition, but it is outside the present discussion: university extension knows nothing of social distinctions. it has to do with a far more important mode of 'rising' in life,--that of rising in the rank to which a man happens to belong at the moment, whether it be the rank in which he started or any other. there is a saying that all men are equal after dinner: and it is true that, while in the material wealth we seek in our working hours equality is a chimera, yet in the intellectual pursuits that belong to leisure there is no bar to the equality of all, except the difference of individual capacity and desire. macaulay tells of the dutch farmers who worked in the fields all day, and at night read the georgics in the original. scotch and american universities are largely attended by students who have had to engage in menial duties all the summer in order to gain funds for their high education during the winter. and every university extension lecturer, highly trained specialist as he is, will testify how his work has continually brought him into contact with persons of the humblest social condition whom a moment's conversation has made him recognize as his intellectual equals. no one has any difficulty in understanding that in religious intercourse and experience all classes stand upon an equality; and i have spoken of the foundation for the university extension movement as being the growing recognition of education as a permanent human interest akin to religion. the experience of a few years has sufficiently demonstrated the possibility of arousing such interest: to make it universal is no more than a practical question of time, money and methods. but no doubt when we come to _modus operandi_ the main difficulty of the movement is the diversity of the classes it seeks to approach--diversity in individual capacity, in leisure, means, and previous training. opposite policies have been urged upon us. some have said: whatever you do, you must never lower the standard; let the extension movement present outside the universities precisely the same education as the universities themselves are giving, however long you may have to wait for its acceptance. on the other hand, it has been urged: you must go first where you are most needed; be content with a makeshift education until the people are ready for something better. the movement has accepted neither of these policies, but has made a distinction between two elements of university training--method and curriculum. so far as method is concerned we have considered that we are bound to be not less thorough, but more thorough, if possible, than the universities themselves, in proportion as our clients work under peculiar difficulties. but in the matter of curriculum we have felt it our first duty to be elastic, and to offer little or much as may in each case be desired. accordingly, we have elaborated an educational unit--the three months' course of instruction in a single subject: this unit course we have used all the resources we could command for making as thorough in method as possible; where more than this is desired, we arrange that more in a combination or series of such unit courses. the instruction can thus be taken by retail or wholesale: but in all cases it, must be administered on the same rigorous method. the key to the whole system is thus the unit course of three months' instruction in a single subject. the method of such a course is conveyed by the technical terms lecture, syllabus, exercises, class. the lectures are addressed to audiences as miscellaneous as the congregation of a church, or the people in a street car; and it is the duty of the teacher to attract such miscellaneous audiences, as well as to hold and instruct them. those who do nothing more than simply attend the lectures will at least have gained the education of continuous interest; it is something to have one's attention kept upon the same subject for three months together. but it may be assumed that in every such audience there will be a nucleus of students, by which term we simply mean persons willing to do some work between one lecture and another. the lectures are delivered no oftener than once a week; for the idea is not that the lectures convey the actual instruction--great part of which is better obtained from books, but the office of the lecture is to throw into prominence the salient points of the study, and rouse the hearers to read, for themselves. the course of instruction is laid down in the syllabus--a document of perhaps thirty or forty pages, sold for a trifling sum; by referring for details to the pages of books this pamphlet can be made to serve as a text-book for the whole course, making the teacher independent in his order of exposition of any other text-book. the syllabus assists the general audience in following the lectures without the distraction of taking notes; and guides the reading and thinking of the students during the week. the syllabus contains a set of 'exercises' on each lecture. these exercises, unlike examination questions or 'quizzes,' are not tests of memory, but are intended to train the student to work for himself; they are thus to be done under the freest conditions--at home, with full leisure, and all possible access to books, notes or help from other persons. the written answers are sent to the lecturer for marginal comment, and returned by him at the 'class.' this class is a second meeting for students and others, at which no formal lecture is given, but there is free talk on points suggested to the teacher by the exercises he has received: the usual experience is that it is more interesting than the lecture. this weekly routine of lecture, syllabus-reading, exercise and class goes on for a period of twelve weeks. there is then an 'examination' in the work of the course held for students who desire to take it. certificates are given by the university, but it is an important arrangement that these certificates are awarded _jointly_ on the result of the weekly exercises and the final examination. the subjects treated have been determined by the demand. literature stands at the head in popularity, history with economy is but little behind. all the physical sciences have been freely asked for. art constitutes a department of work; but it is art-appreciation, not art-production; the movement has no function to train artists, but to make audiences and visitors to art-galleries more intelligent. it will be observed that the great study known as 'classics' is not mentioned in this list. but it is an instructive fact that a considerable number of the courses in literature have been on subjects of greek and latin literature treated in english, and some of these have been at once the most successful in numbers and the most technical in treatment. i am not without hope that our english university extension may react upon our english universities, and correct the vicious conception of classical studies which gives to the great mass of university men a more or less scholarly hold upon ancient languages without any interest whatever in ancient literatures. this university extension method claims to be an advance on existing systems partly because under no circumstances does it ever give lectures unaccompanied by a regular plan of reading and exercises for students. these exercises moreover are designed, not for mental drill, but for stimulus to original work. the association of students with a general audience is a gain to both parties. many persons follow regularly the instruction of the class who have not participated in the exercises. moreover, the students, by their connection with the popular audience, are saved from the academic bias which is the besetting sin of teachers: more human interest is drawn into the study. the same effect follows from the miscellaneous character of the students who contribute exercises. high university graduates, experts in special pursuits, deeply cultured individuals who have never before had any field in which to exhibit the fruits of their culture, as well as persons whose spelling and writing would pass muster nowhere else, or casual visitors from the world of business, or young men and women fresh from school, or even children writing in round text,--all these classes may be represented in a single week's work; and the papers sent in will vary in elaborateness from a scrawl on a post-card to a magazine article or treatise. i have received an exercise of such a character that the student considerately furnished me with an index; i remember one longer still, but as this hailed from a lunatic asylum i will quote it only for illustrating the diversity of the spheres reached by the movement. study participated in by such diverse classes cannot but have an all-roundness which is to teachers and students one of the main attractions of the movement. but we shall be expected to judge our system by results: and, so far as the unit courses are concerned, we have every reason to be satisfied. very few persons fail in our final examinations, and yet examiners report that the standard in university extension is substantially the same as that in the universities--our pass students being on a par with pass men in the universities, our students of 'distinction' reaching the standard of honors schools. personally i attach high importance to results which can never be expressed in statistics. we are in a position to assert that a successful course perceptibly influences the _tone_ of a locality for the period it lasts: librarians volunteer reports of an entirely changed demand for books, and we have even assurances that the character of conversation at 'five o'clock teas' has undergone marked alteration. i may be permitted an anecdote illustrating the impression made upon the universities themselves. i once heard a brilliant university lecturer, who had had occasional experience of extension teaching, describe a course of investigation which had interested him. with an eye to business i asked him if he would not give it in an extension course. he became grave. "well, no," he replied, "i have not thought it out sufficiently for that;" and when he saw my look of surprise he added, "you know, anything goes down in college; but when i have to face your mature classes i must know my ground well." i believe the impression thus suggested is not uncommon amongst experts who really know the movement. our results are much less satisfactory when we turn to the other side of our system, and enquire as to curriculum. it must be admitted that the larger part of our local centres can only take unit courses; there may be often a considerable interval between one course and another; or where courses are taken regularly the necessity of meeting popular interest involves a distracting variety of subjects; while an appreciable portion of our energies have to be taken up with preliminary half-courses, rather intended to illustrate the working of the movement than as possessing any high educational value. the most important advance from the unit course is the affiliation system of cambridge university. by this a town that becomes regularly affiliated, has arranged for it a series of unit courses, put together upon proper sequence of educational topics, and covering some three or four years: students satisfying the lecturers and examiners in this extended course are recognized as 'students affiliated' (s.a.), and can at any time enter the university with the status of second year's men,--the local work being accepted in place of one year's residence and study. apart from this, the steps in our educational ladder other than the first are still in the stage of prophecy. but it is universally recognized that this drawback is a matter solely of funds: once let the movement command endowment and the localities will certainly demand the wider curriculum that the universities are only too anxious to supply. the third point in our definition was that the movement was to be organized on a basis of itinerant teachers. this differentiates university extension from local colleges, from correspondence teaching, and from the systems of which chautauqua is the type. the chief function of a university is to teach, and university extension must stand or fall with its teachers. it may or may not be desirable on other grounds to multiply universities; but there is no necessity for it on grounds of popular education, the itinerancy being a sufficient means of bringing any university into touch with the people as a whole. and the adoption of such a system seems to be a natural step in the evolution of universities. in the middle ages the whole body of those who sought a liberal education were to be found crowded into the limits of university towns, where alone were teachers to listen to and manuscripts to copy: the population of such university centres then numbered hundreds where to-day it numbers tens. the first university extension was the invention of printing, which sent the books itinerating through the country, and reduced to a fraction the actual attendance at the university, while it vastly increased the circle of the educated. the time has now come to send teachers to follow the books: the ideas of the university being circulated through the country as a whole, while residence at a university is reserved as the apex only of the university system. an itinerancy implies central and local management, and travelling lecturers who connect the two. the central management is a university, or its equivalent; this is responsible for the educational side of the movement, and negotiates for the supply of its courses of instruction at a fixed price per course.[ ] the local management may be in the hands of a committee formed for the purpose, or of some local institution--such as a scientific or literary club or institute--which may care to connect itself with the universities. on the local management devolves the raising funds for the university fee, and for local expenses, as well as the duty of putting the advantages of the course offered before the local community. the widest diversity of practice prevails in reference to modes of raising funds. a considerable part of the cost will be met by the tickets of those attending the lectures, the prices of which i have known to vary from a shilling to a guinea for the unit course, while admission to single lectures has varied from a penny to half a crown. but all experience goes to show that only a part of this cost can be met in this way; individual courses may bring in a handsome profit, but taking account over various terms and various districts, we find that not more than two-thirds of the total cost will be covered by ticket money. and even this is estimated on the assumption that no more than the unit course is aimed at: while even for this the choice of subjects, and the chance of continuity of subject from term to term are seriously limited by the consideration of meeting cost as far as possible from fees. university extension is a system of higher education, and higher education has no market value, but needs the help of endowment. but the present age is no way behind past ages in the number of generous citizens it exhibits as ready to help good causes. the millionaire who will take up university extension will leave a greater mark on the history of his country than even the pious founder of university scholarships and chairs. and even if individuals fail us, we have the common purse of the public or the nation to fall back upon. the itinerant lecturers, not less than the university and the local management, have responsibility for the progress of the cause. an extension lecturer must be something more than a good teacher, something more even than an attractive lecturer: he must be imbued with the ideas of the movement, and ever on the watch for opportunities of putting them forward. it is only the lecturer who can maintain in audiences the feeling that they are not simply receiving entertainment or instruction which they have paid for, but that they are taking part in a public work, and are responsible for giving their locality a worthy place in a national scheme of university education. the lecturer again must mediate between the local and the central management, always ready to assist local committees with suggestions from the experience of other places, and equally attentive to bringing the special wants of different centres before the university authorities. the movement is essentially a teaching movement, and it is to the body of teachers i look for the discovery of the further steps in the development of popular education. for such a purpose lecturers and directors alike must be imbued with the missionary spirit. for university extension is a missionary university, not content with supplying culture, but seeking to stimulate the demand for it. this is just the point in which education in the past has shown badly in comparison with religion or politics. when a man is touched with religious ideas he seeks to make converts, when he has views on political questions he agitates to make his views prevail: culture on the other hand has been only too often cherished as a badge of exclusiveness, instead of the very consciousness of superior education being felt as a responsibility which could only be satisfied by efforts to educate others. to infuse a missionary spirit into culture is not the least purpose of university extension. i cannot resist the temptation to carry forward this thought from the present into the future. in university extension so described may we not see a germ for the university of the future? i have made the foundation of our movement the growing conception of education as a permanent interest of adult life side by side with religion and politics. the change is at best only beginning; it tasks the imagination to conceive all it will imply when it is complete. to me it appears that this expanding view of education is the third of the three great waves of change the succession of which has made up our modern history. there was a time when religion itself was identified with a particular class, the clergy alone thinking out what the rest of the nation simply accepted; then came the series of revolutions popularly summed up as the reformation, by which the whole adult nation claimed to think for itself in matters of religion, and the special profession of the clergy became no more than a single element in the religious life of the nation. again, there has been in the past a distinct governing class, to which the rest of society submitted; until a series of political revolutions lifted the whole adult population into self-government, using the services of political experts, but making public progress the interest of all. before the more quiet changes of the present age the conception of an isolated learned class is giving way before the ideal of a national culture, in which universities will still be centres for educational experts, while university extension offers liberal education to all, until educationally the whole adult population will be just as much within the university as politically the adult population is within the constitution. it would appear then that the university of such a future would be by no means a repetition of existing types, such as oxford or cambridge, harvard or johns hopkins. these institutions would exist and be more flourishing than ever, but they would all be merged in a wider 'university of england,' or 'university of america'; and, just as the state means the whole nation acting in its political capacity through municipal or national institutions, so the university would mean the whole adult nation acting in its educational capacity through whatever institutions might be found desirable. such a university would never be chartered; no building could ever house it; no royal personage or president of the united states would ever be asked to inaugurate it; the very attempt to found it would imply misconception of its essential character. it would be no more than a floating aggregation of voluntary associations; like the companies of which a nation's commerce is made up such associations would not be organized, but would simply tend to coöperate because of their common object. each association would have its local and its central side, formed for the purpose of mediating between the wants of a locality and the educational supply offered by universities or similar central institutions. no doubt such a scheme is widely different from the ideal education of european countries, so highly organized from above that the minister of education can look at his watch and know at any moment all that is being done throughout the country. on the contrary the genius of the anglo-saxon race leans towards self-help; it has been the mission of the race in the past to develop self-government in religion and politics, it remains to crown this work with the application of the voluntary system to liberal education. in indulging this piece of speculation i have had a practical purpose before me. if what i have described be a reasonable forecast for the university of the future, does it not follow that university extension, as the germ of it, presents a field for the very highest academic ambition? to my mind it appears that existing types of university have reached a point where further development in the same direction would mean decline. in english universities the ideal is 'scholarship.' scholarship is a good thing, and we produce it. but the system which turns out a few good scholars every year passes over the heads of the great mass of university students without having awakened them to any intellectual life; the universities are scholarship-factories producing good articles but with a terrible waste of raw material. the other main type of university enthrones 'research' as its summum bonum. possibly research is as good a purpose as a man can set before him, but it is not the sole aim in life. and when one contemplates the band of recruits added each year to the army of investigators, and the choice of ever minuter fields--not to say lanes and alleys--of research, one is led to doubt whether research is not one of the disintegrating forces of society, and whether ever increasing specialisation must not mean a perpetual narrowing of human sympathies in the intellectual leaders of mankind. both types of university appear to me to present the phenomena of a country suffering from the effects of overproduction, where the energies of workers had been concentrated upon adding to the sum of wealth, and all too little attention had been given to the distribution of that wealth through the different ranks of the community. just at this point the university extension movement appears to recall academic energy from production to distribution; suggesting that devotion to physics, economics, art, can be just as truly shown by raising new classes of the people to an interest in physical and economic and aesthetic pursuits, as by adding to the discoveries of science, or increasing the mass of art products. to the young graduate, conscious that he has fairly mastered the teaching of the past, and that he has within him powers to make advances, i would suggest the question whether, even for the highest powers, there is any worthier field than to work through university extension towards the university of the future. footnotes: [footnote : the cambridge fee is £ per course of three months.] the story of wellesley by florence converse alma mater to alma mater, wellesley's daughters, all together join and sing. thro' all her wealth of woods and water let your happy voices ring; in every changing mood we love her, love her towers and woods and lake; oh, changeful sky, bend blue above her, wake, ye birds, your chorus wake! we'll sing her praises now and ever, blessed fount of truth and love. our heart's devotion, may it never faithless or unworthy prove, we'll give our lives and hopes to serve her, humblest, highest, noblest--all; a stainless name we will preserve her, answer to her every call. anne l. barrett, ' preface the day after the wellesley fire, an eager young reporter on a boston paper came out to the college by appointment to interview a group of wellesley women, alumnae and teachers, grief-stricken by the catastrophe which had befallen them. he came impetuously, with that light-hearted breathlessness so characteristic of young reporters in the plays of bernard shaw and arnold bennett. he was charmingly in character, and he sent his voice out on the run to meet the smallest alumna in the group: "now tell me some pranks!" he cried, with pencil poised. what she did tell him need not be recorded here. neither was it set down in the courteous and sympathetic report which he afterwards wrote for his paper. and readers who come to this story of wellesley for pranks will be disappointed likewise. not that the lighter side of the wellesley life is omitted; play-days and pageants, all the bright revelry of the college year, belong to the story. wellesley would not be wellesley if they were left out. but her alumnae, her faculty, and her undergraduates all agree that the college was not founded primarily for the sake of tree day, and that the senior play is not the goal of the year's endeavor. it is the story of the wellesley her daughters and lovers know that i have tried to tell: the wellesley of serious purpose, consecrated to the noble ideals of christian scholarship. i am indebted for criticism, to president pendleton who kindly read certain parts of the manuscript, to professor katharine lee bates, professor vida d. scudder, and mrs. marian pelton guild; for historical material, to miss charlotte howard conant's "address delivered in memory of henry fowle durant in wellesley college chapel", february , , to mrs. louise mccoy north's historical address, delivered at wellesley's quarter centennial, in june , to professor george herbert palmer's "life of alice freeman palmer," published by the houghton mifflin co., to professor margarethe muller's "carla wenckebach, pioneer," published by ginn & co.; to dean waite, miss edith souther tufts, professor sarah f. whiting, miss louise manning hodgkins, professor emeritus mary a. willcox, mrs. mary gilman ahlers; to miss candace c. stimson, miss mary b. jenkins, the secretary of the alumnae restoration and endowment committee, and to the many others among alumnae and faculty, whose letters and articles i quote. last but not least in my grateful memory are all those painstaking and accurate chroniclers, the editors of the wellesley courant, prelude, magazine, news, and legenda, whose labors went so far to lighten mine. f.c. contents i. the founder and his ideals ii. the presidents and their achievement iii. the faculty and their methods iv. the students at work and play v. the fire: an interlude vi. the loyal alumnae index [not included] chapter i the founder and his ideals i. as the nineteenth century recedes into history and the essentially romantic quality of its great adventures is confirmed by the "beauty touched with strangeness" which illumines their true perspective, we are discovering, what the adventurers themselves always knew, that the movement for the higher education of women was not the least romantic of those victorian quests and stirrings, and that its relation to the greatest adventure of all, democracy, was peculiarly vital and close. we know that the "man in the street", in the sixties and seventies, watching with perplexity and scornful amusement the endeavor of his sisters and his daughters--or more probably other men's daughters--to prove that the intellectual heritage must be a common heritage if democracy was to be a working theory, missed the beauty of the picture. he saw the slim beginning of a procession of young women, whose obstinate, dreaming eyes beheld the visions hitherto relegated by scriptural prerogative and masculine commentary to their brothers; inevitably his outraged conservatism missed the beauty; and the strangeness he called queer. that he should have missed the democratic significance of the movement is less to his credit. but he did miss it, fifty years ago and for several years thereafter, even as he is still missing the democratic significance of other movements to-day. processions still pass him by,--for peace, for universal suffrage, may day, labor day, and those black days when the nations mobilize for war, they pass him by,--and the last thing he seems to discover about them is their democratic significance. but after a long while the meaning of it all has begun to penetrate. to-day, his daughters go to college as a matter of course, and he has forgotten that he ever grudged them the opportunity. they remind him of it, sometimes, with filial indirection, by celebrating the benevolence, the intellectual acumen, the idealism of the few men, exceptional in their day, who saw eye to eye with mary lyon and her kind; the men who welcomed women to oberlin and michigan, who founded vassar and wellesley and bryn mawr, and so helped to organize the procession. their reminders are even beginning to take form as records of achievement; annals very far from meager, for achievement piles up faster since democracy set the gate of opportunity on the crack, and we pack more into a half century than we used to. and women, more obviously than men, perhaps, have "speeded up" in response to the democratic stimulus; their accomplishment along social, political, industrial, and above all, educational lines, since the first woman's college was founded, is not inconsiderable. how much, or how little, would have been accomplished, industrially, socially, and politically, without that first woman's college, we shall never know, but the alumnae registers, with their statistics concerning the occupations of graduates, are suggestive reading. how little would have been accomplished educationally for women, it is not so difficult to imagine: vassar, wellesley, smith, mt. holyoke, bryn mawr,--with all the bright visions, the fullness of life that they connote to american women, middle-aged and young,--blotted out; coeducational institutions harassed by numbers and inventing drastic legislation to keep out the women; man still the almoner of education, and woman his dependent. from all these hampering probabilities the women's colleges save us to-day. this is what constitutes their negative value to education. their positive contribution cannot be summarized so briefly; its scattered chronicle must be sought in the minutes of trustees' meetings, where it modestly evades the public eye, in the academic formalities of presidents' reports and the journalistic naivete of college periodicals; in the diaries of early graduates; in newspaper clippings and magazine "write-ups"; in historical sketches to commemorate the decennial or the quarter-century; and from the lips of the pioneers,--teacher and student. for, in the words of the graduate thesis, "we are still in the period of the sources." the would-be historian of a woman's college to-day is in much the same relation to her material as the venerable bede was to his when he set out to write his ecclesiastical history. the thought brings us its own inspiration. if we sift our miracles with as much discrimination as he sifted his, we shall be doing well. we shall discover, among other things, that in addition to the composite influence which these colleges all together exert, each one also brings to bear upon our educational problems her individual experience and ideals. wellesley, for example, with her women-presidents, and the heads of her departments all women but three,--the professors of music, education, and french,--has her peculiar testimony to offer concerning the administrative and executive powers of women as educators, their capacity for initiative and organization. this is why a general history of the movement for the higher education of women, although of value, cannot tell us all we need to know, since of necessity it approaches the subject from the outside. the women's colleges must speak as individuals; each one must tell her own story, and tell it soon. the bright, experimental days are definitely past--except in the sense in which all education, alike for men and women, is perennially an experiment--and if the romance of those days is to quicken the imaginations of college girls one hundred, two hundred, five hundred years hence, the women who were the experiment and who lived the romance must write it down. for wellesley in particular this consciousness of standing at the threshold of a new epoch is especially poignant. inevitably those forty years before the fire of will go down in her history as a period apart. already for her freshmen the old college hall is a mythical labyrinth of memory and custom to which they have no clue. new happiness will come to the hill above the lake, new beauty will crown it, new memories will hallow it, but--they will all be new. and if the coming generations of students are to realize that the new wellesley is what she is because her ideals, though purged as by fire, are still the old ideals; if they are to understand the continuity of wellesley's tradition, we who have come through the fire must tell them the story. ii. on wednesday, november , , the workmen who were digging among the fire-scarred ruins at the extreme northeast corner of old college hall unearthed a buried treasure. to the ordinary treasure seeker it would have been a thing of little worth,--a rough bowlder of irregular shape and commonplace proportions,--but wellesley eyes saw the symbol. it was the first stone laid in the foundations of wellesley college. there was no ceremony when it was laid, and there were no guests. mr. and mrs. henry fowle durant came up the hill on a summer morning--friday, august , , was the day--and with the help of the workmen set the stone in place. a month later, on the afternoon of thursday, september , , the corner stone was laid, by mrs. durant, at the northwest corner of the building, under the dining-room wing; it is significant that from the foundations up through the growth and expansion of all the years, women have had a hand in the making of wellesley. in september, as in august, there were no guests invited, but at the laying of the corner stone there was a simple ceremony; each workman was given a bible, by mr. durant, and a bible was placed in the corner stone. on december , , this stone was uncovered, and the bible was found in a tin box in a hollow of the stone. as most of the members of the college had scattered for the christmas vacation, only a little group of people gathered about the place where, forty-three years before, mrs. durant had laid the stone. mrs. durant was too ill to be present, but her cousin, miss fannie massie, lifted the tin box out of its hollow and handed it to president pendleton who opened the bible and read aloud the inscription: "this building is humbly dedicated to our heavenly father with the hope and prayer that he may always be first in everything in this institution; that his word may be faithfully taught here; and that he will use it as a means of leading precious souls to the lord jesus christ." there followed, also in mrs. durant's handwriting, two passages from the scriptures: ii chronicles, : - , and the phrase from the one hundred twenty-seventh psalm: "except the lord build the house they labor in vain that build it." this stone is now the corner stone of the new building which rises on college hill, and another, the keystone of the arch above the north door of old college hall, will be set above the doorway of the new administration building, where its deep-graven i.h.s. will daily remind those who pass beneath it of wellesley's unbroken tradition of christian scholarship and service. but we must go back to the days before one stone was laid upon another, if we are to begin at the beginning of wellesley's story. it was in , the year after his marriage, that mr. durant bought land in wellesley village, then a part of needham, and planned to make the place his summer home. every one who knew him speaks of his passion for beauty, and he gave that passion free play when he chose, all unwittingly, the future site for his college. there is no fairer region around boston than this wooded, hilly country near natick--"the place of hills"--with its little lakes, its tranquil, winding river, its hallowed memories of john eliot and his christian indian chieftains, waban and pegan, its treasured literary associations with harriet beecher stowe. chief waban gave his name, "wind" or "breath", to the college lake; on pegan hill, from which so many wellesley girls have looked out over the blue distances of massachusetts, chief pegan's efficient and time-saving squaw used to knit his stockings without heels, because "he handsome foot, and he shapes it hisself"; and natick is the old town of mrs. stowe's "old town folks." in those first years after they began to spend their summers at wellesley, the family lived in a brown house near what is now the college greenhouse, but mr. durant meant to build his new house on the hill above the lake, or on the site of stone hall, and to found a great estate for his little son. from time to time he bought more land; he laid out avenues and planted them with trees; and then, the little boy for whom all this joy and beauty were destined fell ill of diphtheria and died, july , , after a short illness. the effect upon the grief-stricken father was startling, and to many who knew him and more who did not, it was incomprehensible. in the quaint phraseology of one of his contemporaries, he had "avoided the snares of infidelity" hitherto, but his religion had been of a conventional type. during the child's illness he underwent an old-fashioned religious conversion. the miracle has happened before, to greater men, and the world has always looked askance. boston in , and later, was no exception. mr. durant's career as a lawyer had been brilliant and worldly; he had rarely lost a case. in an article on "anglo-american memories" which appeared in the new york tribune in , he is described as having "a powerful head, chiseled features, black hair, which he wore rather long, an olive complexion, and eyes which flashed the lightnings of wrath and scorn and irony; then suddenly the soft rays of sweetness and persuasion for the jury. he could coax, intimidate, terrify; and his questions cut like knives." the author of "bench and bar in massachusetts", who was in college with him, says of him: "during the five years of his practice at the middlesex bar he underwent such an initiation into the profession as no other county could furnish. shrewdness, energy, resource, strong nerves and mental muscles were needed to ward off the blows which the trained gladiators of this bar were accustomed to inflict. with the lessons learned at the middlesex bar he removed to boston in , where he became associated with the honorable joseph bell, the brother-in-law of rufus choate, and began a career almost phenomenal in its success. his management of cases in court was artistic. so well taken were the preliminary steps, so deeply laid was the foundation, so complete and comprehensive was the preparation of evidence and so adroitly was it brought out, so carefully studied and understood were the characters of jurors,--with their whims and fancies and prejudices,--that he won verdict after verdict in the face of the ablest opponents and placed himself by general consent at the head of the jury lawyers of the suffolk bar." adjectives less ambiguous and more uncomplimentary than "shrewd" were also applied to him, and his manner of dominating his juries did not always call forth praise from his contemporaries. in one of the newspaper obituaries at the time of his death it is admitted that he had been "charged with resorting to tricks unbecoming the dignity of a lawyer," but the writer adds that it is an open question if some, or indeed all of them were not legitimate enough, and might not have been paralleled by the practices of some of the ablest of british and irish barristers. both in law and in business--for he had important commercial interests--he had prospered. he was rich and a man of the world. boston, although critical, had not found it unnatural that he should make himself talked about in his conduct of jury trials; but the conspicuousness of his conversion was of another sort: it offended against good taste, and incurred for him the suspicion of hypocrisy. for, with that ardor and impetuosity which seem always to have made half measures impossible to him, mr. durant declared that so far as he was concerned, the law and the gospel were irreconcilable, and gave up his legal practice. a case which he had already undertaken for edward everett, and from which mr. everett was unwilling to release him, is said to be the last one he conducted; and he pleaded in public for the last time in a hearing at the state house in boston, some years later, when he won for the college the right to confer degrees, a privilege which had not been specifically included in the original charter. his zeal in conducting religious meetings also offended conventional people. it was unusual, and therefore unsuitable, for a layman to preach sermons in public. st. francis and his preaching friars had established no precedent in boston of the 'sixties and 'seventies, and indeed mr. durant's evangelical protestantism might not have relished the parallel. boston seems, for the most part, to have averted its eyes from the spectacle of the brilliant, possibly unscrupulous, some said tricky, lawyer bringing souls to christ. but he did bring them. we are told that "the halls and churches where he spoke were crowded. the training and experience which had made him so successful a pleader before judge and jury, now, when he was fired with zeal for christ's cause, made him almost irresistible as a preacher. very many were led by him to confess the christian faith. henry wilson, then senator, afterwards vice president, was among them. the influence of the meetings was wonderful and far-reaching." we are assured that he "would go nowhere unless the evangelical christians of the place united in an invitation and the ministers were ready to cooperate." but the whole affair was of course intensely distasteful to unemotional people; the very fact that a man could be converted argued his instability; and it is unquestionably true that boston's attitude toward mr. durant was reflected for many years in her attitude toward the college which he founded. but over against this picture we can set another, more intimate, more pleasing, although possibly not more discriminating. when the early graduates of wellesley and the early teachers write of mr. durant, they dip their pens in honey and sunshine. the result is radiant, fiery even, but unconvincingly archangelic. we see him, "a slight, well-knit figure of medium height in a suit of gray, with a gray felt hat, the brim slightly turned down; beneath one could see the beautiful gray hair slightly curling at the ends; the fine, clear-cut features, the piercing dark eyes, the mouth that could smile or be stern as occasion might demand. he seemed to have the working power of half a dozen ordinary persons and everything received his attention. he took the greatest pride and delight in making things as beautiful as possible." or he is described as "a slight man--with eyes keen as a lawyer's should be, but gentle and wise as a good man's are, and with a halo of wavy silver hair. his step was alert, his whole form illuminate with life." he is sketched for us addressing the college, in chapel, one september morning of , on the supremacy of greek literature, "urging in conclusion all who would venture upon hadley's grammar as the first thorny stretch toward that celestial mountain peak, to rise." it is professor katharine lee bates, writing in , who gives us the picture: "my next neighbor, a valorous little mortal, now a member of the smith faculty, was the first upon her feet, pulling me after her by a tug at my sleeve, coupled with a moral tug more efficacious still. perhaps a dozen of us freshmen, all told, filed into professor horton's recitation room that morning." and again, "his prompt and vigorous method of introducing a fresh subject to college notice was the making it a required study for the senior class of the year. ' grappled with biology, ' had a senior diet of geology and astronomy." to these young women, as to his juries in earlier days, he could use words "that burned and cut like the lash of a scourge," and it is evident that they feared "the somber lightnings of his eyes." but he won their affection by his sympathy and humor perhaps, quite as much as by his personal beauty, and his ideals of scholarship, and despite his imperious desire to bring their souls to christ. they remember lovingly his little jokes. they tell of how he came into college hall one evening, and said that a mother and daughter had just arrived, and he was perplexed to know where to put them, but he thought they might stay under the staircase leading up from the center. and students and teachers, puzzled by this inhospitality but suspecting a joke somewhere, came out into the center to find the great cast of niobe and her daughter under the stairway at the left, where it stayed through all the years that followed, until college hall burned down. they tell also of the moral he pointed at the unveiling of "the reading girl", by john adams jackson, which stood for many years in the browning room. she was reading no light reading, said mr. durant, as the twelve men who brought her in could testify. "she is reading greek, and observe--she doesn't wear bangs." they saw him ardent in friendship as in all else. his devoted friend, and wellesley's, professor eben n. horsford, has given us a picture of him which it would be a pity to miss. the two men are standing on the oak-crowned hill, overlooking the lake. "we wandered on," says professor horsford, "over the hill and future site of norumbega, till we came where now stands the monument to the munificence of valeria stone. there in the shadow of the evergreens we lay down on the carpet of pine foliage and talked,--i remember it well,--talked long of the problems of life, of things worth living for; of the hidden ways of providence as well as of the subtle ways of men; of the few who rule and are not always recognized; of the many who are led and are not always conscious of it; of the survival of the fittest in the battle of life, and of the constant presence of the infinite pity; of the difficulties, the resolution, the struggle, the conquest that make up the history of every worthy achievement. i arose with the feeling that i had been taken into the confidence of one of the most gifted of all the men it had been my privilege to know. we had not talked of friendship; we had been unconsciously sowing its seed. he loved to illustrate its strength and its steadfastness to me; i have lived to appreciate and reverence the grandeur of the work which he accomplished here." iii. if we set them over against each other, the hearsay that besmirches and the reminiscence that canonizes, we evoke a very human, living personality: a man of keen intellect, of ardent and emotional temperament, autocratic, fanatical, fastidious, and beauty-loving; a loyal friend; an unpleasant enemy. "he saw black black and white white, for him there was no gray." he was impatient of mediocrity. "he could not suffer fools gladly." no archangel this, but unquestionably a man of genius, consecrated to the fulfillment of a great vision. it is no wonder that the early graduates living in the very presence of his high purpose, his pure intention, his spendthrift selflessness, remember these things best when they recall old days. after all, these are the things most worth remembering. the best and most carefully balanced study of him which we have is by miss charlotte howard conant of the class of ' , in an address delivered by her in the college chapel, february , , to commemorate mr. durant's birthday. miss conant's use of the biographical material available, and her careful and restrained estimate of mr. durant's character cannot be bettered, and it is a temptation to incorporate her entire pamphlet in this chapter, but we shall have to content ourselves with cogent extracts. henry fowle durant, or henry welles smith as he was called in his boyhood, was born february , , in hanover, new hampshire. his father, william smith, "was a lawyer of limited means, but versatile mind and genial disposition." his mother, harriet fowle smith of watertown, massachusetts, was one of five sisters renowned for their beauty and amiability; she was, we are told, intelligent as well as beautiful, "a great reader, and a devoted christian all her long life." young henry went to school in hanover, and in peacham, vermont, but in his early boyhood the family moved to lowell, massachusetts, and from there he was sent to the private school of mr. and mrs. samuel ripley in waltham, to complete his preparation for harvard. miss conant writes: "mr. ripley was pastor of the unitarian church there (in waltham) from to , and during most of that time supplemented the small salary of a country minister by receiving twelve or fourteen boys into his family to fit for college. from time to time youths rusticated from harvard were also sent there to keep up college work." "mrs. ripley was one of the most remarkable women of her generation. born in , she very early began to show unusual intellectual ability, and before she was seventeen she had become a fine latin scholar and had read also all the odyssey in the original." her life-long friend, ralph waldo emerson, writes in praise of her: "the rare accomplishments and singular loveliness of her character endeared her to all.... she became one of the best greek scholars in the country, and continued in her latest years the habit of reading homer, the tragedians, and plato. but her studies took a wide range in mathematics, natural philosophy, psychology, theology, and ancient and modern literature. her keen ear was open to whatever new facts astronomy, chemistry, or the theories of light and heat had to furnish. absolutely without pedantry, she had no desire to shine. she was faithful to all the duties of wife and mother in a well-ordered and eminently hospitable household wherein she was dearly loved. she was without appetite for luxury or display or praise or influence, with entire indifference to triffles.... as she advanced in life her personal beauty, not remarked in youth, drew the notice of all." there could have been no nobler, saner influence for an intellectual boy than the companionship of this unusual woman, and if we are to begin at the beginning of wellesley's story, we must begin with mrs. ripley, for mr. durant often said that she had great influence in inclining his mind in later life to the higher education of women. from waltham the young man went in to harvard, where we hear of him as "not specially studious, and possessing refined and luxurious tastes which interfered somewhat with his pursuit of the regular studies of the college." but evidently he was no ordinary idler, for he haunted the harvard library, and we know that all his life he was a lover of books. in he was graduated from harvard, and went home to lowell to read law in his father's office, where benjamin f. butler was at that time a partner. the dilettante attitude which characterized his college years is now no longer in evidence. he writes to a friend, "i shall study law for the present to oblige father; he is in some trouble, and i wish to make him as happy as possible. the future course of my life is undetermined, except that all shall yield to holy poetry. indeed it is a sacred duty. i have begun studying law; don't be afraid, however, that i intend to give up poetry. i shall always be a worshiper of that divinity, and i hope in a few years to be able to give up everything and be a priest in her temple." after a year he writes, "i have not written any poetry this whole summer. old mrs. themis says that i shall not visit any more at the miss muses. i'll see the old catamaran hanged, though, but what i will, and i'll write a sonnet to my old shoe directly, out of mere desperation. pity and sympathize with me." and on march , , we find him writing to a college friend: "i have been attending courts of all kinds and assisting as junior counsel in trying cases and all the drudgery of a lawyer's life. one end of my labor has been happily attained, for about three weeks ago i arrived at the age of twenty-one, and last week i mustered courage to stand an examination of my qualifications for an attorney, and the result (unlike that of some examinations during my college life) was fortunate, with compliments from the judge. i feel a certain vanity (not unmixed, by the way, with self-contempt) at my success, for i well remember i and a dear friend of mine used to mourn over the impossibility of our ever becoming business men, and lo, i am a lawyer.-- i have a right to bestow my tediousness on any court of the commonwealth, and they are bound to hear me." from to he practiced at the middlesex bar, and from , when he went to live in boston, until , he was a member of the suffolk bar. on november , , he had his name changed by act of the legislature. there were eleven other lawyers by the name of smith, practicing in boston, and two of them were henry smiths. to avoid the inevitable confusion, henry welles smith became henry fowle durant, both fowle and durant being family names. in mr. durant was a member of the boston city council, but did not again hold political office. on may , , he married his cousin, pauline adeline fowle, of virginia, daughter of the late lieutenant-colonel john fowle of the united states army and paulina cazenove. on march , , the little boy, henry fowle durant, jr., was born, and on october , , a little girl, pauline cazenove durant, who lived less than two months. on june , , we find the boston evening courier saying of the prominent lawyer: "what the future has in store for mr. durant can of course be only predicted, but his past is secure, and if he never rises higher, he can rest in the consciousness that no man ever rose more rapidly at the suffolk bar than he has." and within a year he had put it all behind him,--a sinful and unworthy life,--and had set out to be a new man. that there was sin and unworthiness in the old life we, who look into our own hearts, need not doubt; but how much of sin, how much of unworthiness, happily we need not determine. mr. durant was probably his own severest critic. miss conant's characterization of mr. durant, in his own words describing james otis, is particularly illuminating in its revelation of his temperament. in february, , he said of james otis, in an address delivered in the boston mercantile library lecture course: "one cannot study his writings and history and escape the conviction that there were two natures in this great man. there was the trained lawyer, man of action, prompt and brave in every emergency. but there was in him another nature higher than this. in all times men have entertained angels unawares, ministering spirits, whose missions are not wholly known to themselves even, men living beyond and in advance of their age. "we call them prophets, inspired seers,--in the widest and largest sense poets, for they come to create new empires of thought, new realms in the history of the mind.... but more ample traditions remain of his powers as an orator and of the astonishing effects of his eloquence. he was eminently an orator of action in its finest sense; his contemporaries speak of him as a flame of fire and repeat the phrase as if it were the only one which could express the intense passion of his eloquence, the electric flames which his genius kindled, the magical power which swayed the great assemblies with the irresistible sweep of the whirlwind." mr. durant's attitude toward education is also elucidated for us by miss conant in her apt quotations from his address on the american scholar, delivered at bowdoin college, august, : "the cause of god's poor is the sublime gospel of american freedom. it is our faith that national greatness has its only enduring foundation in the intelligence and integrity of the whole people. it is our faith that our institutions approach perfection only when every child can be educated and elevated to the station of a free and intelligent citizen, and we mourn for each one who goes astray as a loss to the country that cannot be repaired.... from this fundamental truth that the end of our republic is to educate and elevate all our people, you can deduce the future of the american scholar. "the great dangers in the future of america which we have to fear are from our own neglect of our duty. foes from within are the most deadly enemies, and suicide is the great danger of our republic. with the increase of wealth and commerce comes the growing power of gold, and it is a fearful truth for states as well as for individual men that 'gold rusts deeper than iron.' wealth breeds sensuality, degradation, ignorance, and crime. "the first object and duty of the true patriot should be to elevate and educate the poor. ignorance is the modern devil, and the inkstand that martin luther hurled at his head in the castle of wartburg is the true weapon to fight him with." this helps us to understand his desire that wellesley should welcome poor girls and should give them every opportunity for study. despite his aristocratic tastes he was a true son of democracy; the following, from an address on "the influences of rural life", delivered by him before the norfolk agricultural society, in september, , might have been written in the twentieth century, so modern is its animus: "the age of iron is passed and the age of gold is passing away; the age of labor is coming. already we speak of the dignity of labor, and that phrase is anything but an idle and unmeaning one. it is a true gospel to the man who takes its full meaning; the nation that understands it is free and independent and great. "the dignity of labor is but another name for liberty. the chivalry of labor is now the battle cry of the old world and the new. ask your cornfields to what mysterious power they do homage and pay tribute, and they will answer--to labor. in a thousand forms nature repeats the truth, that the laborer alone is what is called respectable, is alone worthy of praise and honor and reward." iv. in a letter accompanying his will, in , mr. durant wrote: "the great object we both have in view is the appropriation and consecration of our country place and other property to the service of the lord jesus christ, by erecting a seminary on the plan (modified by circumstances) of south hadley, and by having an orphan asylum, not only for orphans, but for those who are more forlorn than orphans in having wicked parents. did our property suffice i would prefer both, as the care (christian and charitable) of the children would be blessed work for the pupils of the seminary." the orphanage was, indeed, their first idea, and was, obviously, the more natural and conventional memorial for a little eight-year-old lad, but the idea of the seminary gradually superseded it as mr. and mrs. durant came to take a greater and greater interest in educational problems as distinguished from mere philanthropy. miss conant wisely reminds us that, "just at this time new conditions confronted the common schools of the country. the effects of the civil war were felt in education as in everything else. during the war the business of teaching had fallen into women's hands, and the close of the war found a great multitude of new and often very incompetent women teachers filling positions previously held by men. the opportunities for the higher education of women were entirely inadequate. mt. holyoke was turning away hundreds of girls every year, and there were few or no other advanced schools for girls of limited means." in mr. durant was elected a trustee of mt. holyoke. in mrs. durant gave to mt. holyoke ten thousand dollars, which enabled the seminary to build its first library building. we are told that mr. and mrs. durant used to say that there could not be too many mt. holyokes. and in , on march , the charter of wellesley female seminary was signed by governor william claflin. on april , , the first meeting of the board of trustees was held, at mr. durant's marlborough street house in boston, and the reverend edward n. kirk, pastor of the mt. vernon church in boston, was elected president of the board. mr. durant arranged that both men and women should constitute the board of trustees, but that women should constitute the faculty; and by his choice the first and second presidents of the college were women. the continuance of this tradition by the trustees has in every respect justified the ideal and the vision of the founder. the trustees were to be members of evangelical churches, but no denomination was to have a majority upon the board. on march , , the name of the institution was changed by legislative act to wellesley college. possibly visits to vassar had had something to do with the change, for mr. and mrs. durant studied vassar when they were making their own plans. and meanwhile, since the summer of , the great house on the hill above lake waban had been rising, story on story. miss martha hale shackford, wellesley, , in her valuable little pamphlet, "college hall", written immediately after the fire, to preserve for future generations of wellesley women the traditions of the vanished building, tells us with what intentness mr. durant studied other colleges, and how, working with the architect, mr. hammatt billings of boston, "details of line and contour were determined before ground was broken, and the symmetry of the huge building was assured from the beginning." "reminiscences of those days are given by residents of wellesley, who recall the intense interest of the whole countryside in this experiment. from natick came many high-school girls, on saturday afternoons, to watch the work and to make plans for attending the college. as the brick-work advanced and the scaffolding rose higher and higher, the building assumed gigantic proportions, impressive in the extreme. the bricks were brought from cambridge in small cars, which ran as far as the north lodge and were then drawn, on a roughly laid switch track, to the side of the building by a team of eight mules. other building materials were unloaded in the meadow and then transferred by cars. as eighteen loads of bricks arrived daily the pre-academic aspect of the campus was one of noise and excitement. at certain periods during the finishing of the interior, there were almost three hundred workmen." a pretty story has come down to us of one of these workmen who fell ill, and when he found that he could not complete his work, begged that he might lay one more brick before he was taken away, and was lifted up by his comrades that he might set the brick in its place. mr. durant's eye was upon every detail. he was at hand every day and sometimes all day, for he often took his lunch up to the campus with him, and ate it with the workmen in their noon hour. in he writes: "the work is very hard and i get very tired. i do feel thankful for the privilege of trying to do something in the cause of christ. i feel daily that i am not worthy of such a privilege, and i do wish to be a faithful servant to my master. yet this does not prevent me from being very weary and sorely discouraged at times. to-night i am so tired i can hardly sit up to write." and from one who, as a young girl, was visiting at his country house when the house was building, we have this vivid reminiscence: "my first impression of mr. durant was, 'here is the quickest thinker'--my next--'and the keenest wit i have ever met.' then came the day when under the long walls that stood roofed but bare in the solitude above lake waban, i sat upon a pile of plank, now the flooring of wellesley college, and listened to mr. durant. i could not repeat a word he said. i only knew as he spoke and i listened, the door between the seen and the unseen opened and i saw a great soul and its quest, god's glory. i came back to earth to find this seer, with his vision of the wonder that should be, a master of detail and the most tireless worker. the same day as this apocalypse, or soon after, i went with mr. durant up a skeleton stairway to see the view from an upper window. the workmen were all gone but one man, who stood resting a grimy hand on the fair newly finished wall. for one second i feared to see a blow follow the flash of mr. durant's eye, but he lowered rather than raised his voice, as after an impressive silence he showed the scared man the mark left on the wall and his enormity.... life was keyed high in mr. durant's home, and the keynote was wellesley college. while the walls were rising he kept workman's hours. long before the family breakfast he was with the builders. at prayers i learned to listen night and morning for the prayer for wellesley--sometimes simply an earnest 'bless thy college.' we sat on chairs wonderful in their variety, but all on trial for the ease and rest of wellesley, and who can count the stairways mrs. durant went up, not that she might know how steep the stairs of another, but to find the least toilsome steps for wellesley feet. "night did not bring rest, only a change of work. letters came and went like the correspondence of a secretary of state. devotion and consecration i had seen before, and sacrifice and self-forgetting, but never anything like the relentless toil of those two who toiled not for themselves. if genius and infinite patience met for the making of wellesley, side by side with them went the angels of work and prayer; the twin angels were to have their shrine in the college." v. on september , , the college opened its doors to three hundred and fourteen students. more than two hundred other applicants for admission had been refused for lack of room. we can imagine the excitement of the fortunate three hundred and fourteen, driving up to the college in family groups,--for their fathers and mothers, and sometimes their grandparents or their aunts came with them. they went up washington street, "the long way", past the little gothic lodge, and up the avenue between the rows of young elms and purple beeches. there was a herd of jersey cows grazing in the meadow that day, and there is a tradition that the first student entered the college by walking over a narrow plank, as the steps up to the front door were not yet in place; but the story, though pleasantly symbolical, does not square with the well-known energy and impatience of the founder. the students were received on their arrival by the president, miss ada l. howard, in the reception room. they were then shown to their rooms by teachers. the majority of the rooms were in suites, a study and bedroom or bedrooms for two, three, and in a few suites, four girls. there were almost no single rooms in those days, even for the teachers. with a few exceptions, every bedroom and every study had a large window opening outdoors. there were carpets on the floors, and bookshelves in the studies, and the black walnut furniture was simple in design. as one alumna writes: "the wooden bedsteads with their wooden slats, of vivid memory, the wardrobes, so much more hospitable than the two hooks on the door, which matthew vassar vouchsafed to his protegees, the high, commodious bureaus, with their 'scant' glass of fashion, are all endeared to us by long association, and by our straining endeavors to rearrange them in our rooms, without the help of man." when the student had showed her room to her anxious relatives, on that first day, she came down to the room that was then the president's office, but later became the office of the registrar. there she found miss sarah p. eastman, who, for the first six years of the college life, was teacher of history and director of domestic work. later, with her sister, miss julia a. eastman, she became one of the founders of dana hall, the preparatory school in wellesley village. an alumna of the class of ' who evidently had dreaded this much-heralded domestic work, writes that miss eastman's personality robbed it of its horrors and made it seem a noble and womanly thing. "when, in her sweet and gracious manner, she asked, 'how would you like to be on the circle to scrape dinner dishes?' you straightway felt that no occupation could be more noble than scraping those mussy plates." "all that day," we are told, "confusion was inevitable. mr. durant hovered about, excited, anxious, yet reassured by the enthusiasm of the students, who entered with eagerness into the new world. he superintended feeding the hungry, answered questions, and studied with great keenness the faces of the girls who were entering wellesley college. in the middle of the afternoon it had been discovered that no bell had been provided for waking the students, so a messenger went to the village to beg help of mrs. horton (the mother of the professor of greek), who promptly provided a large brass dinnerbell. at six o'clock the next morning two students, side by side, walked through all the corridors, ringing the rising-bell,--an act, as miss eastman says, symbolic of the inner awakening to come to all those girls." thirty-nine years later, at the sound of a bell in the early morning, the household were to awake to duty for the last time in the great building. the unquestioning obedience, the prompt intelligence, the unconscious selflessness with which they obeyed that summons in the dawn of march , , witness to that "inner awakening." the early days of that first term were given over to examinations, and it was presently discovered that only thirty of the three hundred and fourteen would-be college students were really of college grade. the others were relegated to a preparatory department, of which mr. durant was always intolerant, and which was finally discontinued in , the year of his death. mr. durant's ideals for the college were of the highest, and in many respects he was far in advance of his times in his attitude toward educational matters. he meant wellesley to be a university some day. there is a pretty story, which cannot be told too often, of how he stood one morning with miss louise manning hodgkins, who was professor of english literature from to , and looked out over the beautiful campus. "do you see what i see?" he asked. "no," was the quiet answer, for there were few who would venture to say they saw the visions in his eyes. "then i will tell you," he said. "on that hill an art school, down there a musical conservatory, on the elevation yonder a scientific school, and just beyond that an observatory, at the farthest right a medical college, and just there in the center a new stone chapel, built as the college outgrew the old one. yes,--this will all be some time--but i shall not be here." it is significant that the able lawyer did not number a law school among his university buildings, and that although he gave to wellesley his personal library, the gift did not include his law library. nevertheless, there are lawyers among the wellesley graduates, and one or two of distinction. mr. durant's desire that the college should do thorough, original, first-hand work, cannot be too strongly emphasized. miss conant tells us that, "for all scientific work he planned laboratories where students might make their own investigations, a very unusual step for those times." in , when the physics laboratory was started at wellesley, under the direction of professor whiting, harvard had no such laboratory for students. in chemistry also, the wellesley students had unusual opportunities for conducting their own experimental work. mr. durant also began the collection of scientific and literary periodicals containing the original papers of the great investigators, now so valuable to the college. "this same idea of original work led him to purchase for the library books for the study of icelandic and allied languages, so that the english department might also begin its work at the root of things. he wished students of greek and latin to illuminate their work by the light of archeology, topography, and epigraphy. such books as then existed on these subjects were accordingly procured. in no handbooks of archeology had been prepared, and even in no university in america offered courses in that subject." his emphasis on physical training for the students was also an advance upon the general attitude of the time. he realized that the victorian young lady, with her chignon and her grecian bend, could not hope to make a strong student. the girls were encouraged to row on the lake, to take long, brisk walks, to exercise in the gymnasium. mr. durant sent to england for a tennis set, as none could be procured in america, "but had some difficulty in persuading many of the students to take such very violent exercise." but despite these far-seeing plans, he was often, during his lifetime, his own greatest obstacle to their achievement. he brought to his task a large inexperience of the genus girl, a despotic habit of mind, and a temperamental tendency to play providence. theoretically, he wished to give the teachers and students of wellesley an opportunity to show what women, with the same educational facilities as their brothers and a free hand in directing their own academic life, could accomplish for civilization. practically, they had to do as he said, as long as he lived. the records in the diaries, letters, and reminiscences which have come down to us from those early days, are full of mr. durant's commands and coercions. on one historic occasion he decides that the entire freshman schedule shall be changed, for one day, from morning to afternoon, in order that a convention of massachusetts school superintendents, meeting in boston, may hear the wellesley students recite their greek, latin, and mathematics. in vain do the students protest at being treated like district school children; in vain do the teachers point out the injury to the college dignity; in vain do the superintendents evince an unflattering lack of interest in the scholarship of wellesley. it must be done. it is done. the president of the freshman class is called upon to recite her greek lesson. she begins. the superintendents chatter and laugh discourteously among themselves. but the president of the freshman class has her own ideas of classroom etiquette. she pauses. she waits, silent, until the room is hushed, then she resumes her recitation before the properly disciplined superintendents. in religious matters, mr. durant was, of course, especially active. like the christian converts of an earlier day, he would have harried and hurried souls to christ. but victorian girls were less docile than the medieval franks and goths. they seem, many of them, to have eluded or withstood this forceful shepherding with a vigilance as determined as mr. durant's own. but some of the letters and diaries give us such a vivid picture of this early wellesley that it would be a pity not to let them speak. the diary quoted is that of florence morse kingsley, the novelist, who was a student at wellesley from to , but left before she was graduated because of trouble with her eyes. already in the daily record of the sixteen-year-old girl we find the little turns and twinkles of phrase which make mrs. kingsley's books such good reading. vi. wellesley college, september th., . i haven't had time to write in this journal since i came. there is so much to do here all the time. besides, i have changed rooms and room-mates. i am in no. now and i have a funny little octagon-shaped bedroom all to myself, and two room-mates, i. w. and j.s. both of these are in the preparatory department. but i am in the semi-collegiate class, because i passed all my mathematics. but i didn't have quite enough of the right latin to be a full freshman. we get up at . , have breakfast at , then a class at . , after that comes silent hour, chapel, and section bible class. then hours again till dinner-time at one, and after dinner till . . we can go outdoors all we want to and to the library, but we can't go in each other's rooms, which is a blessing. there are some girls here who would like to talk every minute, morning, noon and night. i went out to walk this afternoon with b. we were walking very slow and talking very fast, when all of a sudden we met mr. durant. he was coming along like a steam engine, his white hair flying out in the wind. when he saw us he stopped; of course we stopped too, for we saw he wanted to speak to us. "that isn't the way to walk, girls," he said, very briskly. "you need to make the blood bound through your veins; that will stimulate the mind and help to make you good students. come now, i'll walk with you as far as the lodge, and show you what i mean." b. and i just straightened up and walked! mr. durant talked to us some about our lessons. he seemed pleased when we told him we liked geometry. when we got back to the college we told the girls about meeting mr. durant. i guess nobody will want to dawdle along after this; i'm sure i shan't. oct. . i broke an oar to-day. i'm not used to rowing anyway, and the oar was long; two of us sit on one seat, each pulling an oar. there is room for eight in the boat, beside the captain. we went out to-day in a boat called the ellida and after going all around the lake we thought it would be fun to go under a little stone bridge. the captain told us to ship our oars; i didn't ship mine enough, and it struck the side of the bridge and snapped right off. i was dreadfully frightened; especially as the captain said right away, "you'll have to tell mr. durant." the captain's name is ----. she was a first year girl, and on that account thinks a great deal of herself. i wish i'd come last year. it must have been lots of fun. well, anyway, i thought i might as well have the matter of the oar over with, so as soon as we landed i took the two pieces of the oar and marched straight into the office. mr. durant sat there at the desk. he appeared to be very busy and he didn't look at me at first. when he did my heart beat so fast i could hardly speak. i guess he saw i was frightened, for he laughed a little and said, "oh ho, you've had an accident, i see." i told him how it happened, and he said, "well, you've learned that stone bridges are stronger than oars; and that bit of information will cost you seventy cents." i was so relieved that i laughed right out. "i thought it would cost as much as five dollars," i said. i like mr. durant. october . mr. durant talked to us in chapel this morning on the subject of being honest about our domestic work. of course some girls are used to working and can hurry, while others... don't even know how to tie their shoestrings or braid their hair properly when they first come.... my work is to dust the center on the first floor. it's easy, and if i didn't take lots of time to look at the pictures and palms and things while i am doing it i couldn't possibly make it last an hour. but i'm thorough, so my conscience didn't prick me a bit. but some of the girls got as red as beets and... cried afterward; she hadn't swept her corridor for two whole days. mr. durant certainly does get down to the roots of things, and if you haven't a pretty decent conscience about your lessons and everything, you feel as though you had a clear little window right in the middle of your forehead through which he can look in and see the disorder. some of the girls say they are just paralyzed when he looks at them; but i'm not. i feel like doing things just as well as i can. sunday, november . we had a missionary from south africa to preach in the chapel this morning. he seemed to think we were all getting ready to be missionaries, because he said among other things that he hoped to welcome us to the field as soon as possible after we graduated. his complexion was very yellow. it reminded one of ivory, elephants' tusks and that sort of thing. we heard afterward that he wasn't married, and that he hoped to find a suitable helpmate here. but although mr. durant introduced him to all the ' girls i didn't think he liked the looks of any of them. at least he didn't propose to any of them on the spot. they're only sophomores, anyway, when one comes to think of it, but they certainly act as if the dignity of the whole institution rested on their shoulders. most of them wear trails every day. i wish i had a trail. to complete this picture of the college woman in we need the description of the college president, by a member of the class of ' : "miss howard with her young face, pink cheeks, blue eyes, and puffs of snow-white hair, wearing always a long trailing gown of black silk, cut low at the throat and finished with folds of snowy tulle." none of these writers gives the date at which the trail disappeared from the classroom. the following letters are from mary elizabeth stilwell, a member of that same class of ' which wore the trails. she, like florence morse, left college on account of her health. the letters are printed by the courtesy of her daughter, ruth eleanor mckibben, a graduate of denison college and a graduate student at wellesley during and . elizabeth stilwell was older and more mature than florence morse, and her letters give us the old wellesley from quite a different angle. wellesley college-- oct. , ' . my dear mother:-- if you are at all discouraged or feel the need of something to cheer you up you had better lay this letter aside and read it some other time, for i expect it will be exceedingly doleful. but really, mother, i am exceedingly in earnest in what i am going to write and have thought the whole matter over carefully before i have ventured a word on the subject. wellesley is not a college. the buildings are beautiful, perfect almost; the rooms and their appointments delightful, most of the professors are all that could be desired, some of them are very fine indeed in their several departments, but all these delightful things are not the things that make a college.... and, oh! the experiments! it is enough to try the patience of a job. i came here to take a college course, and not to dabble in a little of every insignificant thing that comes up. more than half of my time is taken up in writing essays, practicing elocution, trotting to chapel, and reading poetry with the teacher of english literature, and it seems to make no difference to miss howard and mr. durant whether the latin, greek and mathematics are well learned or not. the result is that i do not have time to half learn my lessons. my real college work is unsatisfactory, poorly done, and so of course amounts to about nothing. i am not the only one that feels it, but every member of the freshman class has the same feeling, and not only the students but even the professors. you can have no idea of how these very professors have worked to have things different and have expostulated and expostulated with mr. durant, but all to no avail. he is as hard as a flint and his mind is made up of the most beautiful theories, but he is perfectly blind to facts. he rules the college, from the amount of latin we shall read to the kind of meat we shall have for dinner; he even went out into the kitchen the other day and told the cook not to waste so much butter in making the hash, for i heard him myself. we must remember that the writer is a young girl, intolerant, as youth is always intolerant, and that she was writing only one month after the college had opened. it is not to be expected that she could understand the creative excitement under which the founder was laboring in those first years. we, who look back, can appreciate what it must have meant to a man of his imagination and intensity, to see his ideal coming true; naturally, he could not keep his hands off. and we must remember also that until his death mr. durant met the yearly deficit of the college. this gave him a peculiar claim to have his wishes carried out, whether in the classroom or in the kitchen. miss stilwell continues: i know there are a great many things to be taken into consideration. i know that the college is new and that all sorts of discouragements are to be expected, and that the best way is to bear them patiently and hope that all will come out right in the end. at the same time i am determined to have a certain sort of an education, and i must go where i can get it.... oh! if i could only make you see it as we all feel it! it is such a bitter disappointment when i had looked forward for so long to going to college, to find the same narrowness and cramped feeling.--there is one other thing that mrs. s. (the mother of one of the students) spoke of yesterday, which is very true i am sorry to say, and that is in regard to the religious influence. she said that she thought that mr. durant by driving the girls so, and continually harping on the subject, was losing all his influence and was doing just the opposite of what he intended. i know that with my room-mate and her set he is a constant source of ridicule and his exhortations and prayers are retailed in the most terrible way. i have set my foot down on it and i will not allow anything of the sort done in my room, but i know that it is done elsewhere, and that every spark of religious interest is killed by the process. i have firmly made up my mind that it shall not affect me and i have succeeded in controlling myself this far. on december , we find her writing: "my greek is the only pleasant thing to which i can look forward, and i am quite sure good instruction awaits me there." in she cheers up a bit, and on september , writes: "i am going to like miss lord (professor of latin) very much indeed and shall derive a great deal of profit from her teaching." and on october , "having already had so much greek, i think i could take the classical course for honors right through, even though i did not begin german until another year, and as i am quite anxious to study chemistry and have the laboratory practice perhaps i had best take chemistry now and leave german for another year. it is indeed a problem and a profound one as to what i am to do with my education and i am very anxious to hear from father in answer to my letter and get his thoughts on the matter. i have the utmost confidence in miss horton's judgment (professor of greek) and i think i shall talk the matter over with her in a day or two." evidently the "experiments" which had taken so much of her time in had now been eliminated, and she was able to respect the work which she was doing. her sunday schedule, which she sends her mother on october , , will be of interest to the modern college girl. rising bell breakfast . silent hour . bible class . church dinner prayer meeting supper . section prayer meeting . once a month missionary prayer meeting silent hour bed . and in addition to her required work, this ambitious young student has arranged a course of reading for herself: during the last week i have been in the library a great deal and have been browsing for two or three hours at a time among those delightful books. i have arranged a course of reading upon art, which i hope to have time to pursue, and then i have made selections from some such authors as kingsley, ruskin, de quincey, hawthorne,--and mrs. jameson, for which i hope to find time. besides all this you can't imagine what domestic work has been given me. it is in the library where i am to spend / of an hour a day in arranging "studies" in shakespeare. the work will be like this:--mr. durant has sent for five hundred volumes to form a "shakespeare library." i will read some fully detailed life of shakespeare and note down as i go along such topics as i think are interesting and which will come up next year when the juniors study shakespeare. for instance, each one of his plays will form a separate topic, also his early home, his education, his friendships, the different characteristics of his genius, &c. then all there is in the library upon this author must be read enough to know under what topic or topics it belongs and then noted under these topics. so that when the literature class come to study shakespeare next year, each one will know just where to go for any information she may want. mr. durant came to me himself about it and explained to me what it would be and asked me if i would be willing to take it. he said i could do just as i wanted to about it and if i felt that it would be tiresome and too much like a study and so a strain upon me, he did not want me to take it. i have been thinking of it now for a day or two and have come to the conclusion to undertake it. for it seems to me that it will be an unusual advantage and of great benefit to me.--another reason why i am pleased and which i could tell to no one but you and father is that i think it shows that mr. durant has some confidence in me and what i can do. but--"tell it not in gath"--that i ever said anything of the kind. thus do we trace literature (the shakespeare course) to its modest fountainhead. elizabeth stilwell left her alma mater in , but so cherished were the memories of the life which she had criticized as a girl, and so thoroughly did she come to respect its academic standards, that her own daughters grew up thinking that the goal of happy girlhood was wellesley college. from such naive beginnings, amateur in the best sense of the word, the wellesley of to-day has arisen. details of the founder's plan have been changed and modified to meet conditions which he could not foresee. but his "five great essentials for education at wellesley college" are still the touchstones of wellesley scholarship. in the founder's own words they are: first. god with us; no plan can prosper without him. second. health; no system of education can be in accordance with god's laws which injures health. third. usefulness; all beauty is the flower of use. fourth. thoroughness. fifth. the one great truth of higher education which the noblest womanhood demands; viz. the supreme development and unfolding of every power and faculty, of the kingly reason, the beautiful imagination, the sensitive emotional nature, and the religious aspirations. the ideal is of the highest learning in full harmony with the noblest soul, grand by every charm of culture, useful and beautiful because useful; feminine purity and delicacy and refinement giving their luster and their power to the most absolute science--woman learned without infidelity and wise without conceit, the crowned queen of the world by right of that knowledge which is power and that beauty which is truth." chapter ii the presidents and their achievement wellesley's career differs in at least one obvious and important particular from the careers of her sister colleges, smith, vassar, and bryn mawr,--in the swift succession of her presidents during her formative years. smith college, opening in the same year as wellesley, , remained under president seelye's wise guidance for thirty-five years. vassar, between and , had but one president. bryn mawr, in , still followed the lead of miss thomas, first dean and then president. in , wellesley's sixth president was inaugurated. of the five who preceded president pendleton, only miss hazard served more than six years, and even miss hazard's term of eleven years was broken by more than one long absence because of illness. it is useless to deny that this lack of administrative continuity had its disadvantages, yet no one who watched the growth and development of wellesley during her first forty years could fail to mark the genuine progression of her scholarly ideal. despite an increasingly hampering lack of funds--poverty is not too strong a word--and the disconcerting breaks and changes in her presidential policy, she never took a backward step, and she never stood still. the wellesley that miss freeman inherited was already straining at its leading strings and impatient of its boarding-school horizons; the wellesley that miss shafer left was a college in every modern acceptation of the term, and its academic prestige has been confirmed and enhanced by each successive president. of these six women who were called to direct the affairs of wellesley in her first half century, miss ada l. howard seems to have been the least forceful; but her position was one of peculiar difficulty, and she apparently took pains to adjust herself with tact and dignity to conditions which her more spirited successors would have found unbearably galling. professor george herbert palmer, in his biography of his wife, epitomizes the early situation when he says that mr. durant "had, it is true, appointed miss ada l. howard president; but her duties as an executive officer were nominal rather than real; neither his disposition, her health, nor her previous training allowing her much power." miss howard was a new hampshire woman, the daughter of william hawkins howard and adaline cowden howard. three of her great grandfathers were officers in the war of the revolution. her father is said to have been a good scholar and an able teacher as well as a scientific agriculturist, and her mother was "a gentlewoman of sweetness, strength and high womanhood." when their daughter was born, the father and mother were living in temple, a village of southern new hampshire not very far from jaffrey. the little girl was taught by her father, and was later sent to the academy at new ipswich, new hampshire, to the high school at lowell, and to mt. holyoke seminary, where she was graduated. after leaving mt. holyoke, she taught at oxford, ohio, and she was at one time the principal of the woman's department of knox college, illinois. in the early ' 's this was a career of some distinction, for a woman, and mr. durant was justified in thinking that he had found the suitable executive head for his college. we hear of his saying, "i have been four years looking for a president. she will be a target to be shot at, and for the present the position will be one of severe trials." miss howard came to wellesley in , giving up a private school of her own, ivy hall, in bridgeton, new jersey, in order to become a college president. no far-seeing policies can be traced to her, however; she seems to have been content to press her somewhat narrow and rigid conception of discipline upon a more or less restive student body, and to follow mr. durant's lead in all matters pertaining to scholarship and academic expansion. we can trace that expansion from year to year through this first administration. in the board of visitors was established, and eminent educators and clergymen were invited to visit the college at stated intervals and stimulate by their criticism the college routine. in the students' aid society was founded to help the many young women who were in need of a college training, but who could not afford to pay their own way. through the wise generosity of mrs. durant and a group of boston women, the society was set upon its feet, and its long career of blessed usefulness was begun. this is only one of the many gifts which wellesley owes to mrs. durant. as professor katharine lee bates has said in her charming sketch of mrs. durant in the wellesley legenda for : "her specific gifts to wellesley it is impossible to completely enumerate. she has forgotten, and no one else ever knew. so long as mr. durant was living, husband and wife were one and inseparable in service and donation. but since his death, while it has been obvious that she spends herself unsparingly in college cares, adding many of his functions to her own, a continuous flow of benefits, almost unperceived, has come to wellesley from her open hand." as long as her health permitted, she lavished "her very life in labor of hand and brain for wellesley, even as her husband lavished his." in the teachers' registry was also established, a method of registration by which those students who expected to teach might bring their names and qualifications before the schools of the country. but the most important academic events of this year, and those which reacted directly upon the intellectual life of the college, were the establishment of the physics laboratory, under the careful supervision of professor whiting, and the endowment of the library by professor eben n. horsford of cambridge. this endowment provided a fund for the purchase of new books and for various expenses of maintenance, and was only one of the many gifts which wellesley was to receive from this generous benefactor. another gift, of this year, was the pipe organ, presented by mr. william h. groves, for the college hall chapel. later, when the new memorial chapel was built, this organ was removed to billings hall, the concert room of the department of music. on june , , wellesley held her first commencement exercises, with a graduating class of eighteen and an address by the reverend richard s. storrs, d.d., on the "influence of woman in the future." in , on may , the corner stone of stone hall was laid, the second building on the college campus. it was the gift of mrs. valeria g. stone, and was intended, in the beginning, as a dormitory for the "teacher specials." doctor william a. willcox of malden, a devoted trustee of wellesley from to , and a relative of mrs. stone, was influential in securing this gift for the college, and it was he who first turned the attention of mr. and mrs. durant to the needs of the women who had already been engaged in teaching, but who wished to fit themselves for higher positions by advanced work in one or more particular directions. at first, there were a good many of them, and even as late as and there were a few still in evidence; but gradually, as the number of regular students increased, and accommodations became more limited, and as opportunities for college training multiplied, these "t. specs." as they were irreverently dubbed by the undergraduates, disappeared, and stone hall has for many years been filled with students in regular standing. on june , , the corner stone of music hall was laid; the inscription in the stone reads: "the college of music is dedicated to almighty god with the hope that it will be used in his service." there are added the following passages from the bible: "trust ye in the lord forever: for in the lord jehovah is everlasting strength." isaiah, : . "sing praises to god, sing praises: sing praises unto our king, sing praises. for god is the king of all the earth." psalms, : - . the building was given by the founders. the year is marked by the closing, in june, of wellesley's preparatory department, another intellectual advance. in june also, on the tenth, the corner stone of simpson cottage was laid. the building was the gift of mr. michael simpson, and has been used since as the college hospital. in the autumn of , stone hall and waban cottage--the latter another gift from the founders were opened for students. on october , , mr. durant died, and shortly afterwards miss howard resigned. after leaving wellesley, she lived in methuen, massachusetts, and in brooklyn, new york, where she died, march , . mrs. marion pelton guild, of the class of ' , says of miss howard, in an article on wellesley written for the new england magazine, october, , that "she was in the difficult position of the nominal captain, who is in fact only a lieutenant. yet she held it with a true self-respect, honoring the fiery genius of her leader, if she could not always follow its more startling fights; and not hesitating to withstand him in his most positive plans, if her long practical experience suggested that it was necessary." from mt. holyoke, her alma mater, miss howard received, in the latter part of her life, the honorary degree of doctor of letters. ii. wellesley's second president, alice e. freeman, is, of all the six, the one most widely known. her magnetic personality, her continued and successful efforts during her administration to bring wellesley out of its obscurity and into the public eye, her extended activity in educational matters after her marriage, gave her a prominence throughout the country which was surpassed by very few women of her generation. and her husband's reverent and poetical interpretation of her character has secured for her reputation a literary permanence unusual to the woman of affairs who "wrote no books and published only half a dozen articles", and whose many public addresses were never written. it is from professor palmer's "life of alice freeman palmer", published by the houghton mifflin co., that the biographical material for the brief sketch following is derived. alice elvira freeman was born at colesville, broome county, new york, on february , . she was a country child, a farmer's daughter as her mother was before her. james warren freeman, the father, was of scottish blood. his mother was a knox, and his maternal grandfather was james knox of washington's life guard. james freeman was, as we should expect, an elder of the presbyterian church. the mother, elizabeth josephine higley, "had unusual executive ability and a strong disposition to improve social conditions around her. she interested herself in temperance, and in legislation for the better protection of women and children." their little daughter alice, the eldest of four children, taught herself to read when she was three years old, and we find her going to school at the age of four. when she was seven, her father, urged by his wife, decided to be a physician, and during his two years' absence at the albany medical school, mrs. freeman supported him and the four little children. the incident helps us to understand the ambition and determination of the seventeen-year-old daughter when she declared in the face of her parents' opposition, "that she meant to have a college degree if it took her till she was fifty to get it. if her parents could help her, even partially, she would promise never to marry until she had herself put her brother through college and given to each of her sisters whatever education they might wish--a promise subsequently performed." and the girl had her own ideas about the kind of college she meant to attend. it must be a real college. mt. holyoke she rejected because it was a young ladies' seminary, and elmira and vassar fell under the same suspicion, in her mind, although they were nominally colleges. she chose michigan, the strongest of the coeducational colleges, and she entered only two years after its doors were opened to women. she did not enter in triumph, however; the academy at windsor, new york, where she had gone to school after her father became a physician, was good at supplying "general knowledge" but "poorly equipped for preparing pupils for college", and doctor freeman's daughter failed to pass her entrance examinations for michigan university. president angell tells the story sympathetically in "the life", as follows: "in , when alice freeman presented herself at my office, accompanied by her father, to apply for admission to the university, she was a simple, modest girl of seventeen. she had pursued her studies in the little academy at windsor. her teacher regarded her as a child of much promise, precocious, possessed of a bright, alert mind, of great industry, of quick sympathies, and of an instinctive desire to be helpful to others. her preparation for college had been meager, and both she and her father were doubtful of her ability to pass the required examinations. the doubts were not without foundation. the examiners, on inspecting her work, were inclined to decide that she ought to do more preparatory work before they could accept her. meantime i had had not a little conversation with her and her father, and had been impressed with her high intelligence. at my request the examiners decided to allow her to enter on a trial of six weeks. i was confident she would demonstrate her capacity to go on with her class. i need hardly add that it was soon apparent to her instructors that my confidence was fully justified. she speedily gained and constantly held an excellent position as a scholar." president angell is of course using the term "scholar" in its undergraduate connotation for, as professor palmer has been careful to state, "in no field of scholarship was she eminent." despite her eagerness for knowledge, her bent was for people rather than for books; for what we call the active and objective life, rather than for the life of thought. wellesley has had her scholar presidents, but miss freeman was not one of them. this friendly, human temper showed itself early in her college days. to quote again from president angell: "one of her most striking characteristics in college was her warm and demonstrative sympathy with her circle of friends.... without assuming or striving for leadership, she could not but be to a certain degree a leader among these, some of whom have since attained positions only less conspicuous for usefulness than her own.... no girl of her time on withdrawing from college would have been more missed than she." it is for this eagerness in friendship, this sympathetic and helpful interest in the lives of others that mrs. palmer is especially remembered at wellesley. her own college days made her quick to understand the struggles and ambitions of other girls who were hampered by inadequate preparation, or by poverty. her husband tells us that, "when a girl had once been spoken to, however briefly, her face and name were fixed on a memory where each incident of her subsequent career found its place beside the original record." and he gives the following incident as told by a superintendent of education. "once after she had been speaking in my city, she asked me to stand beside her at a reception. as the wellesley graduates came forward to greet her--there were about eighty of them--she said something to each which showed that she knew her. some she called by their first names; others she asked about their work, their families, or whether they had succeeded in plans about which they had evidently consulted her. the looks of pleased surprise which flashed over the faces of those girls i cannot forget. they revealed to me something of miss freeman's rich and radiant life. for though she seemed unconscious of doing anything unusual, and for her i suppose it was usual, her own face reflected the happiness of the girls and showed a serene joy in creating that happiness." her husband, in his analysis of her character, has a remarkable passage concerning this very quality of disinterestedness. he says: "her moral nature was grounded in sympathy. beginning early, the identification of herself with others grew into a constant habit, of unusual range and delicacy.... most persons will agree that sympathy is the predominantly feminine virtue, and that she who lacks it cannot make its absence good by any collection of other worthy qualities. in a true woman sympathy directs all else. to find a virtue equally central in a man we must turn to truthfulness or courage. these also a woman should possess, as a man too should be sympathetic; but in her they take a subordinate place, subservient to omnipresent sympathy. within these limits the ampler they are, the nobler the woman. "i believe mrs. palmer had a full share of both these manly excellences, and practiced them in thoroughly feminine fashion. she was essentially true, hating humbug in all its disguises.... her love of plainness and distaste for affectation were forms of veracity. but in narrative of hers one got much besides plain realities. these had their significance heightened by her eager emotion, and their picturesqueness by her happy artistry.... of course the warmth of her sympathy cut off all inclination to falsehood for its usual selfish purpose. but against generous untruth she was not so well guarded. kindness was the first thing.... tact too, once become a habit, made adaptation to the mind addressed a constant concern. she had extraordinary skill in stuffing kindness with truth; and into a resisting mind could without irritation convey a larger bulk of unwelcome fact than any one i have known. but that insistence on colorless statement which in our time the needs of trade and science have made current among men, she did not feel. lapses from exactitude which do not separate person from person she easily condoned." surely the manly virtues of truthfulness and courage could be no better exemplified than in the writing of this passage. whether his readers, especially the women, will agree with professor palmer that, in woman, truthfulness and courage "take a subordinate place, subservient to omnipresent sympathy", is a question. between when she was graduated from michigan, and when she went to wellesley, miss freeman taught with marked success, first at a seminary in the town of lake geneva, wisconsin, where she had charge of the greek and latin; and later as assistant principal of the high school at saginaw in northern michigan. here she was especially successful in keeping order among unruly pupils. the summer of she spent in ann arbor, studying for a higher degree, and although she never completed the thesis for this work, the university conferred upon her the degree of ph.d. in , the first year of her presidency at wellesley. in this same summer of , when she was studying at ann arbor, she received her first invitation to teach at wellesley. mr. durant offered her an instructorship in mathematics, which she declined. in she was again invited, this time to teach greek, but her sister stella was dying, and miss freeman, who had now settled her entire family at saginaw, would not leave them. in june, , the sister died, and in july miss freeman became the head of the department of history at wellesley, at the age of twenty-four. mr. durant's attention had first been drawn to her by her good friend president angell, and he had evidently followed her career as a teacher with interest. there seems to have been no abatement in his approval after she went to wellesley. we are told that they did not always agree, but this does not seem to have affected their mutual esteem. in her first year, mr. durant is said to have remarked to one of the trustees, "you see that little dark-eyed girl? she will be the next president of wellesley." and before he died, he made his wishes definitely known to the board. at a meeting of the trustees, on november , , miss freeman was appointed vice president of the college and acting president for the year. she was then twenty-six years of age and the youngest professor in the college. in she became president. during the next six years, wellesley's growth was as normal as it was rapid. this is a period of internal organization which achieved its most important result in the evolution of the academic council. "in earlier days," we are told by professor palmer, "teachers of every rank met in the not very important faculty meetings, to discuss such details of government or instruction as were not already settled by mr. durant." but even then the faculty was built up out of departmental groups, that is, "all teachers dealing with a common subject were banded together under a head professor and constituted a single unit," and, as mrs. guild tells us, miss freeman "naturally fell to consulting the heads of departments as the abler and more responsible members of the faculty," instead of laying her plans before the whole faculty at its more or less cumbersome weekly meetings. from this inner circle of heads of departments the academic council was gradually evolved. it now includes the president, the dean, professors, associate professors (unless exempted by a special tenure of office), and such other officers of instruction and administration as may be given this responsibility by vote of the trustees. miss freeman also "began the formation of standing committees of the faculty on important subjects, such as entrance examinations, graduate work, preparatory schools, etc." this faculty, over which miss freeman presided, was a notable one, a body of women exhibiting in marked degree those qualities and virtues of the true pioneer: courage, patience, originality, resourcefulness, and vision. there were strong groups from ann arbor and oberlin and mt. holyoke, and there was a fourth group of "pioneer scholars, not wholly college bred, but enriched with whatever amount of academic training they could wring or charm from a reluctant world, whom wellesley will long honor and revere." with the organization of the faculty came also the organization of the college work. entrance examinations were made more severe. greek had been first required for entrance in . a certificate of admission was drawn up, stating exactly what the candidate had accomplished in preparation for college. courses of study were standardized and simplified. in , the methods of bible study were reorganized, and instead of the daily classes, to which no serious study had been given, two hours a week of "examinable instruction" were substituted. in this year also the gymnasium was refitted under the supervision of doctor d. a. sargent of harvard. miss freeman's policy of establishing preparatory schools which should be "feeders" for wellesley was of the greatest importance to the college at this time, as "in only a few high schools were the girls allowed to join classes which fitted boys for college." when miss freeman became president, dana hall was the only wellesley preparatory school in existence; but in , through her efforts, an important school was opened in philadelphia, and before the end of her presidency, she had been instrumental in furthering the organization of fifteen other schools in different parts of the country, officered for the most part by wellesley graduates. in this same year the christian association was organized. its history, bound up as it is with the student life, will be given more fully in a later chapter, but we must not forget that miss freeman gave the association its initial impulse and established its broad type. in also, we find wellesley petitioning before the committee on education at the state house in boston, to extend its holdings from six hundred thousand dollars to five million dollars, and gaining the petition. on june , , the corner stone of the decennial cottage, afterwards called norumbega, was laid. the building was given by the alumnae, aided by professor horsford, mr. e. a. goodenow and mr. elisha s. converse of the board of trustees. norumbega was for many years known as the president's house, for here miss freeman, miss shafer, and mrs. irvine lived. in the academic year - , when miss hazard built the house for herself and her successors, the president's modest suite in norumbega was set free for other purposes. in , norumbega was opened, and in june of that year, the library festival was held to celebrate professor horsford's many benefactions to the college. these included the endowment of the library, an appropriation for scientific apparatus, and a system of pensions. in a letter to the trustees, dated january , , the donor explains that the annual appropriation for the library shall be for the salaries of the librarian and assistants, for books for the library, and for binding and repairs. that the appropriation for scientific apparatus shall go toward meeting the needs of the departments of physics, chemistry, botany, and biology. and that the system of pensions shall include a sabbatical grant, and a "salary augment and pension." by the sabbatical grant, the heads of certain departments are able to take a year of travel and residence abroad every seventh year on half salary. the donor stipulated, however, that "the offices contemplated in the grants and pensions must be held by ladies." in his memorable address on this occasion, professor horsford outlines his ideal for the library which he generously endowed: "but the uses of books at a seat of learning reach beyond the wants of the undergraduates. the faculty need supplies from the daily widening field of literature. they should have access to the periodical issues of contemporary research and criticism in the various branches of knowledge pertaining to their individual departments. in addition to these, the progressive culture of an established college demands a share in whatever adorns and ennobles scholarly life, and principally the opportunity to know something of the best of all the past,--the writers of choice and rare books. to meet this demand there will continue to grow the collections in specialties for bibliographical research, which starting like the suite of periodicals with the founder, have been nursed, as they will continue to be cherished, under the wise direction of the library council. some of these will be gathered in concert, it may be hoped, with neighboring and venerable and hospitable institutions, that costly duplicates may be avoided; some will be exclusively our own. "to these collections of specialties may come, as to a joint estate in the republic of letters, not alone the faculty of the college, but such other persons of culture engaged in literary labor as may not have found facilities for conducting their researches elsewhere, and to whom the trustees may extend invitation to avail themselves of the resources of our library." these ideals of scholarship and hospitality the wellesley college library never forgets. her plimpton collection of italian manuscripts is a treasure-house for students of the italy of the middle ages and renaissance; and her alumnae, as well as scholars from other colleges and other lands, are given every facility for study. in , two dormitories were added to the college: freeman cottage, the gift of mrs. durant, and the eliot, the joint gift of mrs. durant and mr. h. h. hunnewell. originally the eliot had been used as a boarding-house for the young women working in a shoe factory at that time running in wellesley village, but after mrs. durant had enlarged and refurnished it, students who wished to pay a part of their expenses by working their way through college were boarded there. some years later it was again enlarged, and used as a village-house for freshmen. in december, , miss freeman resigned from wellesley to marry professor george herbert palmer of harvard; but her interest in the college did not flag, and during her lifetime she continued to be a member of the board of trustees. from to she held the office of dean of women of the university of chicago; and radcliffe, bradford academy, and the international institute for girls, in spain, can all claim a share in her fostering interest. from until the end of her life, she was a member of the massachusetts board of education, having been appointed by governor ames and reappointed by governor greenhalge and governor crane. in addition to the degree of ph.d. received from michigan in , miss freeman received the honorary degree of litt.d. from columbia in , and in the honorary degree of ll.d., from union university. what she meant to the women who were her comrades at wellesley in those early days--the women who held up her hands--is expressed in an address by professor whiting at the memorial service held in the chapel in december, : "i think of her in her office, which was also her private parlor, with not even a skilled secretary at first, toiling with all the correspondence, seeing individual girls on academic and social matters, setting them right in cases of discipline, interviewing members of the faculty on necessary plans. the work was overwhelming and sometimes her one assistant would urge her, late in the evening, to nibble a bite from a tray which, to save time, had been sent in to her room at the dinner hour, only to remain untouched.... no wonder that professors often left their lectures to be written in the wee small hours, to help in uncongenial administrative work, which was not in the scope of their recognized duties." the pathos of her death in paris, in december, , came as a shock to hundreds of people whose lives had been brightened by her eager kindliness; and her memory will always be especially cherished by the college to which she gave her youth. the beautiful memorial in the college chapel will speak to generations of wellesley girls of this lovable and ardent pioneer. iii. wellesley's debt to her third president, helen a. shafer, is nowhere better defined than in the words of a distinguished alumna, sophonisba p. breckenridge, writing on miss shafer's administration, in the wellesley college news of november , . miss breckenridge says: it is said that in a great city on the shore of a western lake the discovery was made one day that the surface of the water had gradually risen and that stately buildings on the lake front designed for the lower level had been found both misplaced and inadequate to the pressure of the high level. they were fair without, well proportioned and inviting; but they were unsteady and their collapse was feared. to take them down seemed a great loss: to leave them standing as they were was to expose to certain perils those who came and went within them. they proved to be the great opportunity of the engineer. he first, without interrupting their use, or disturbing those who worked within, made them safe and sure and steady, able to meet the increased pressure of the higher level, and then, likewise without interfering with the day's work of any man, by skillful hidden work, adapted them to the new conditions by raising their level in corresponding measure. the story told of that engineer's great achievement in the mechanical world has always seemed applicable to the service rendered by miss shafer to the intellectual structure of wellesley. under the devoted and watchful supervision of the founders, and under the brilliant direction of miss freeman, brave plans had been drawn, honest foundations laid and stately walls erected. the level from which the measurements were taken was no low level. it was the level of the standard of scholarship for women as it was seen by those who designed the whole beautiful structure. to its spacious shelter were tempted women who had to do with scholarly pursuits and girls who would be fitted for a life upon that plane. but during those first years that level itself was rising, and by its rising the very structure was threatened with instability if not collapse. and then she came. much of the work of her short and unfinished administration was quietly done; making safe unsafe places, bringing stability where instability was shown, requires hidden, delicate, sure labor and absorbed attention. that labor and that attention she gave. it required exact knowledge of the danger, exact fitting of the brace to the rift. that she accomplished until the structure was again fit. and then, by fine mechanical devices, well adapted to their uses, patiently but boldly used, she undertook to raise the level of the whole, that under the new claims upon women wellesley might have as commanding a position as it had assumed under the earlier circumstances. it was a very definite undertaking to which she put her hand, which she was not allowed to complete. so clearly was it outlined in her mind, so definitely planned, that in the autumn of , she thought if she were allowed four years more she would feel that her task was done and be justified in asking to surrender to other hands the leadership. after the time at which this estimate was made, she was allowed three months, and the hands were stilled. but the hands had been so sure, the work so skillful, the plans so intelligent and the purpose so wise that the essence of the task was accomplished. the peril of collapse had been averted and the level of the whole had been forever raised. the time allowed was five short years, of which one was wholly claimed by the demands of the frail body; the situation presented many difficulties. the service, too, was in many respects of the kind whose glory is in its inconspicuousness and obscure character, a structure that would stand when builders were gone, a device that would serve its end when its inventor was no more.--these are her contribution. and because that contribution was so well made, it has been ever since taken for granted. her administration is little known and this is as she would have it--since it means that the extent to which her services were needed is likewise little realized. but to those who do know and who do realize, it is a glorious memory and a glorious aspiration. rare delicacy of perception, keen sympathy, exquisite honesty, scholarly attainment of a very high order, humility of that kind which enables one to sit without mortification among the lowly, without self-consciousness among the great--these are some of the gifts which enabled her to do just the work she did, at the time when just that contribution to the permanence and dignity of wellesley was so essential. miss freeman's work we may characterize as, in its nature, extensive. miss shafer's was intensive. the scholar and the administrator were united in her personality, but the scholar led. the crowning achievement of her administration was what was then called "the new curriculum." in the college calendars from to , we find as many as seven courses of study outlined. there was a general course for which the degree of b.a. was granted, with summa cum laude for special distinction in scholarship. there were the courses for honors, in classics, mathematics, modern languages, and science; and students doing suitable work in them could be recommended for the degree. these elective courses made a good showing on paper; but it seems to have been possible to complete them by a minimum of study. there were also courses in music and art, extending over a period of five years instead of the ordinary four allotted to the general course. under miss freeman, the courses for honors disappeared, and instead of the general course there were substituted the classical course, with greek as an entrance requirement and the degree of b.a. as its goal; and the scientific course, in which knowledge of french or german was substituted for greek at entrance, and mathematics was required through the sophomore year. the student who completed this course received the degree of b.s. the "new curriculum" substituted for the two courses, classical and scientific, hitherto offered, a single course leading to the degree of b.a. as miss shafer explains in her report to the trustees for the year - : "thus we cease to confer the b.s. for a course not essentially scientific, and incapable of becoming scientific under existing circumstances, and we offer a course broad and strong, containing, as we believe, all the elements, educational and disciplinary, which should pertain to a course in liberal arts." further modifications of the elective system were introduced in a later administration, but the "new curriculum" continues to be the basis of wellesley's academic instruction. time and labor were required to bring about these readjustments. the requirements for admission had to be altered to correspond with the new system, and the academic council spent three years in perfecting the curriculum in its new form. miss shafer's own department, mathematics, had already been brought up to a very high standard, and at one time the requirements for admission to wellesley were higher in mathematics than those for harvard. under miss shafer also, the work in english composition was placed on a new basis; elective courses were offered to seniors and juniors in the bible department; a course in pedagogy, begun toward the end of miss freeman's residency, was encouraged and increased; the laboratory of physiological psychology, the first in a woman's college and one of the earliest in any college, was opened in with professor calkins at its head. in all, sixty-seven new courses were opened to the students in these five years. the academic council, besides revising the undergraduate curriculum, also revised its rules governing the work of candidates for the master's degree. but the "new curriculum" is not the only achievement for which wellesley honors miss shafer. in june, , she recommended to the trustees that the alumnae be represented upon the board, and the recommendation was accepted and acted upon by the trustees. in , about one fifth of the trustees were alumnae. professor burrell, miss shafer's student, and later her colleague in the department of mathematics, says: "from the first she felt a genuine interest in all sides of the social life of the students, sympathized with their ambitions and understood the bearing of them on the development of the right spirit in the college." and the members of the greek letter societies bear her in especial remembrance, for it was she who aided in the reestablishing in of the societies phi sigma and zeta alpha, which had been suppressed in , under miss howard. in also the art society, later known as tau zeta epsilon, was founded; in , the agora, the political society, came into being, and saw the beginnings of alpha kappa chi, the classical society. miss shafer also approved and fostered the department clubs which began to be formed at this time. and to her wise and sympathetic assistance we owe the beginnings of the college periodicals,--the old courant, of , the prelude, which began in , and the first senior annual, the legenda of . the old boarding-school type of discipline which had flourished under miss howard, and lingered fitfully under miss freeman, gave place in miss shafer's day to a system of cuts and excuses which although very far from the self-government of the present day, still fostered and respected the dignity of the students. at the beginning of the academic year - , attendance at prayers in chapel on sunday evening and monday morning was made optional. in this year also, seniors were given "with necessary restrictions, the privilege of leaving college, or the town, at their own discretion, whenever such absence did not take them from their college duties." on september , , the seniors began to wear the cap and gown throughout the year. other notable events of these five years were the opening of the faculty parlor on monday, september , , another of the gifts of professor horsford, its gold and garlands now vanished never to return; the dedication of the farnsworth art building on october , , the gift of mr. isaac d. farnsworth, a friend of mr. durant; the presentation in this same year, by mr. stetson, of the amos w. stetson collection of paintings; the opening, also in , of wood cottage, a dormitory built by mrs. caroline a. wood; the gift of a boathouse from the students, in ; and on saturday, january , , the opening of the college post office. we learn, through the president's report for - , that during this year four professors and one instructor were called to fill professorships in other colleges and universities, with double the salary which they were then receiving, but all preferred to remain at wellesley. this custom of printing an annual report to the trustees may also be said to have been inaugurated by miss shafer. it is true that miss freeman had printed one such report at the close of her first year, but not again. miss shafer's clear and dignified presentations of events and conditions are models of their kind; they set the standard which her successors have followed. of miss shafer's early preparation for her work we have but few details. she was born in newark, new jersey, on september , , and her father was a clergyman of the congregational church, of mingled scotch and german descent. her parents moved out to oberlin when she was still a young girl, and she entered the college and was graduated in . the reverend frederick d. allen of boston, who was a classmate of miss shafer's, tells us that there were two courses at oberlin in that day, the regular college course and a parallel, four years' course for young women. it seems that women were also admitted to the college course, but only a few availed themselves of the privilege, and miss shafer was not one of these. but mr. allen remembers her as "an excellent student, certainly the best among the women of her class." after graduating from oberlin, she taught two years in new jersey, and then in the olive street high school in st. louis for ten years, "laying the foundation of her distinguished reputation as a teacher of higher mathematics." doctor william t. harris, then superintendent of public schools in st. louis, and afterwards united states commissioner of education, commended her very highly; and her old students at wellesley witness with enthusiasm to her remarkable powers as a teacher. president pendleton, who was one of those old students, says: "doubtless there was no one of these who did not receive the news of her appointment as president with something of regret. no one probably doubted the wisdom of the choice, but all were unwilling that the inspiration of miss shafer's teaching should be lost to the future wellesley students. her record as president leaves unquestioned her power in administrative work, yet all her students, i believe, would say that miss shafer was preeminently a teacher. "it was my privilege to be one of a class of ten or more students who, during the last two years of their college life ( - ) elected miss shafer's course in mathematics. it is difficult to give adequate expression to the impression which miss shafer made as a teacher. there was a friendly graciousness in her manner of meeting a class which established at once a feeling of sympathy between student and teacher.... she taught us to aim at clearness of thought and elegance of method; in short, to attempt to give to our work a certain finish which belongs only to the scholar.... i believe that it has often been the experience of a wellesley girl, that once on her feet in miss shafer's classroom, she has surprised herself by treating a subject more clearly than she would have thought possible before the recitation. the explanation of this, i think, lay in the fact that miss shafer inspired her students with her own confidence in their intellectual powers." when we realize that during the last ten years of her life she was fighting tuberculosis, and in a state of health which, for the ordinary woman, would have justified an invalid existence, we appreciate more fully her indomitable will and selflessness. during the winter of - , she was obliged to spend some months in thomasville, georgia, and in her absence the duties of her office devolved upon professor frances e. lord, the head of the department of latin, whose sympathetic understanding of miss shafer's ideals enabled her to carry through the difficult year with signal success. miss shafer rallied in the mild climate, and probably her life would have been prolonged if she had chosen to retire from the college; but her whole heart was in her work, and undoubtedly if she had known that her coming back to wellesley meant only two more years of life on earth, she would still have chosen to return. miss shafer had no surface qualities, although her friends knew well the keen sense of humor which hid beneath that grave and rather awkward exterior. but when the alumnae who knew her speak of her, the words that rise to their lips are justice, integrity, sympathy. she was an honorary member of the class of , and on december , , her portrait, painted by kenyon cox, was presented to the college by the alumnae association. miss shafer's academic degrees were from oberlin, the m.a. in and the ll.d. in . mrs. caroline williamson montgomery (wellesley, ' ), in a memorial sketch written for the ' legenda says: "i have yet to find the wellesley student who could not and would not say, 'i can always feel sure of the fairness of miss shafer's decision.' again and again have wellesley students said, 'she treats us like women, and knows that we are reasoning beings.' often she has said, 'i feel that one of wellesley's strongest points is in her alumnae.' and once more, because of this confidence, the alumnae, as when students, were spurred to do their best, were filled with loyalty for their alma mater.... if i should try to formulate an expression of that life in brief, i should say that in her relation to the students there was perfect justness; as regards her own position, a passion for duty; as regards her character, simplicity, sincerity, and selflessness." for more than sixteen years, from , when she came to the college as head of the department of mathematics, to january , , when she died, its president, she served wellesley with all her strength, and the college remains forever indebted to her high standards and wise leadership. iv. in choosing mrs. irvine to succeed miss shafer as president of wellesley, the trustees abandoned the policy which had governed their earlier choices. miss freeman and miss shafer had been connected with the college almost from the beginning. they had known its problems only from the inside. mrs. irvine was, by comparison, a newcomer; she had entered the department of greek as junior professor in . but almost at once her unusual personality made its impression, and in the four years preceding her election to the presidency, she had arisen, as it were in spite of herself, to a position of power both in the classroom and in the academic council. as an outsider, her criticism, both constructive and destructive, was peculiarly stimulating and valuable; and even those who resented her intrusion could not but recognize the noble disinterestedness of her ideal for wellesley. the trustees were quick to perceive the value to the college of this unusual combination of devotion and clearsightedness, detachment and loving service. they also realized that the junior professor of greek was especially well fitted to complete and perfect the curriculum which miss shafer had so ably inaugurated. for mrs. irvine was before all else a scholar, with a scholar's passion for rectitude and high excellence in intellectual standards. julia josephine (thomas) irvine, the daughter of owen thomas and mary frame (myers) thomas, was born at salem, ohio, november , . her grandparents, strong abolitionists, are said to have moved to the middle west from the south because they became unwilling to live in a slave state. mrs. irvine's mother was the first woman physician west of the alleghenies, and her mother's sister also studied medicine. mrs. irvine's student life began at antioch college, ohio, but later she entered cornell university, receiving her bachelor's degree in . in the same rear she was married to charles james irvine. in , cornell gave her the degree of master of arts. after her husband's death in , mrs. irvine entered upon her career as a teacher, and in came to wellesley, where her success in the classroom was immediate. students of those days will never forget the vitality of her teaching, the enthusiasm for study which pervaded her classes. wellesley has had her share of inspiring teachers, and among these mrs. irvine was undoubtedly one of the most brilliant. the new president assumed her office reluctantly, and with the understanding that she should be allowed to retire after a brief term of years, when "the exigencies which suggested her appointment had ceased to exist." she knew the college, and she knew herself. with certain aspects of the wellesley life she could never be entirely in accord. she was a hicksite quaker. the wellesley of the decade - had moved a long way from the evangelical revivalism which had been mr. durant's idea of religion, but it was not until that the quaker students first began to hold their weekly meetings in the observatory. about this time also, through the kind offices of the wellesley college christian association, a list of the roman catholic students then in college was given to the roman catholic parish priest. that the trustees in were willing to trust the leadership of the college to a woman whose religious convictions differed so widely from those of the founder indicates that even then wellesley was beginning to outgrow her religious provincialism, and to recognize that a wise tolerance is not incompatible with steadfast christian witness. the religious services which mrs. irvine, in her official capacity, conducted for the college were impressive by their simplicity and distinction. an alumna of writes: "that commanding figure behind the reading-desk of the old chapel in college hall made every one, in those days, rejoice when she was to lead the morning service." but the trustees, anxious to set her free for the academic side of her work, which now demanded the whole of her time, appointed a dean to relieve her of such other duties as she desired to delegate to another. this action was made possible by amendment of the statutes, adopted november , , and in , miss margaret e. stratton, professor of the department of rhetoric, as it was then called, was appointed the first dean of the college. the trustees did not define the precise nature of the relation between the president and the dean, but left these officers to make such division of work as should seem to them best, and we read in mrs. irvine's report for that, "for the present the dean remains in charge of all that relates to the public devotional exercises of the college, and is chairman of the committee in charge of stated religious services. she is the authority referred to in all cases of ordinary discipline, and is the chairman of the committee which includes heads of houses and permission officers, all these officers are directly responsible to her." regarded from an intellectual and academic point of view, the administrations of miss shafer and mrs. irvine are a unit. mrs. irvine developed and perfected the policy which miss shafer had initiated and outlined. by , all students were working under the new curriculum, and in the succeeding years the details of readjustment were finally completed. to carry out the necessary changes in the courses of study, certain other changes were also necessary; methods of teaching which were advanced for the ' 's and ' 's had been superseded in the ' 's, and must be modified or abandoned for wellesley's best good. to all that was involved in this ungrateful task, mrs. irvine addressed herself with a courage and determination not fully appreciated at the time. she had not mrs. palmer's skill in conveying unwelcome fact into a resisting mind without irritation; neither had she miss shafer's self-effacing, sympathetic patience. her handling of situations and individuals was what we are accustomed to call masculine; it had, as the french say, the defects of its qualities; but the general result was tonic, and wellesley's gratitude to this firm and far-seeing administrator increases with the passing of years. in november, , the board of trustees appointed a special committee on the schools of music and art, in order to reorganize the instruction in these subjects, and as a result the fine arts and music were put upon the same footing and made regular electives in the academic course, counting for a degree. the heads of these departments were made members of the academic council and the terms school of music and school of art were dropped from the calendar. in , the title director of school of music was changed to professor of music. these changes are the more significant, coming at this time, in the witness which they bear to the breadth and elasticity of mrs. irvine's academic ideal. a narrower scholasticism would not have tolerated them, much less pressed for their adoption. wellesley is one of the earliest of the colleges to place the fine arts and music on her list of electives counting for an academic degree. during the year - , the academic council reviewed its rules of procedure relating to the maintenance of scholarship throughout the course, with the result that, "in order to be recommended for the degree of b.a. a student must pass with credit in at least one half of her college work and in at least one half of the work of the senior year." this did not involve raising the actual standard of graduation as reached by the majority of recent graduates, but relieved the college of the obligation of giving its degree to a student whose work throughout a large part of her course did not rise above a mere passing grade. in mrs. irvine's report for - , we read that, "modifications have been made in the general regulations of the college by which the observation of a set period of silent time for all persons is no longer required." in the beginning, mr. durant had established two daily periods of twenty minutes each, during which students were required to be in their rooms, silent, in order that those who so desired might give themselves to meditation, prayer, and the reading of the scriptures. morning and evening, for fifteen years, the "silent bell" rang, and the college houses were hushed in literal silence. in or , the morning interval was discontinued, but evening "silent time" was not done away with until , nineteen years after its establishment, and there are many who regret its passing, and who realize that it was one of the wisest and, in a certain sense, most advanced measures instituted by mr. durant. but it was a despotic measure, and therefore better allowed to lapse; for to the student mind, especially of the late ' 's and early ' 's it was an attempt to fetter thought, to force religion upon free individuals, to prescribe times and seasons for spiritual exercises in which the founder of the college had no right to concern himself. as wellesley's understanding of democracy developed, the faculty realized that a rule of this kind, however wise in itself, cannot be impressed from without; the demand for it must come from the students themselves. whether that demand will ever be made is a question; but undoubtedly there is an increasing realization in the college world of the need of systematized daily respite of some sort from the pressure of unmitigated external activity; the need of freedom for spiritual recollection in the midst of academic and social business. it is a matter in which the student government association would have entire freedom of jurisdiction. in , domestic work was discontinued. this was a revolutionary change, for mr. durant had believed strongly in the value of this one hour a day of housework to promote democratic feeling among students of differing grades of wealth; and he had also felt that it made the college course cheaper, and therefore put its advantages within the reach of the "calico girls" as he was so fond of calling the students who had little money to spend. but domestic work, even in the early days, as we see from miss stilwell's letters, soon included more than the washing of dishes and sweeping of corridors. every department had its domestic girls, whose duties ranged from those of incipient secretary to general chore girl. the experience in setting college dinner tables or sweeping college recitation rooms counted for next to nothing in equipping a student to care for her own home; and the benefit to the "calico girls" was no longer obvious, as the price of tuition had now been raised several times. in may, , the academic council voted "that the council respectfully make known to the trustees that in their opinion domestic work is a serious hindrance to the progress of the college, and should as soon as possible be done away." but it was not until the trustees found that the fees for - must be raised, that they decided to abolish domestic work. miss shackford, in her pamphlet on college hall, describes, "for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the old regime," the system of domestic work as it obtained during the first twenty years of wellesley's life. she tells us that it "brought all students into close relation with kitchens, pantries and dining-room, with brooms, dusters and other household utensils. sweeping, dusting, distributing the mail at the various rooms, and clerical work were the favorite employments, although it is said the students always showed great generosity in allowing the girls less strong to have the lighter tasks. sweeping the matting in the center of the corridor before breakfast, or sweeping the bare 'sides' of this matting after breakfast, were tasks that developed into sinecures. the girl who went with long-handled feather duster to dust the statuary enjoyed a distinction equal to don quixote's in tilting at windmills. filling the student-lamps, serving in a department where clerical work was to be done, or, as in science, where materials and specimens had to be prepared, were on the list of possibilities. sophomores in long aprons washed beakers and slides, seniors in cap and gown acted as guides to guests. a group of girls from each table changed the courses at meals. upon one devolved the task of washing whatever silver was required for the next course. another went out through the passage into the room where heaters kept the meat and vegetables warm in their several dishes. perhaps another went further on to the bread-room, where she might even be permitted to cut bread with the bread-cutting machine. dessert was always kept in the remote apartment where dominick duckett presided, strumming a guitar, while his black face had a portentous gravity as he assigned the desserts for each table. what an ordeal it was for shy freshmen to rise and walk the length of the dining-room! how many tables were kept waiting for the next course while errant students surveyed the sunset through the kitchen windows! some of us remember the tragic moments when, coming in hot and tired from crew practice, we found on the bulletin-board by the dining-room the fateful words, 'strawberries for dinner', and we knew it was our lot to prepare them for the table." other important changes in the college regulations were the opening of the college library on sunday as a reading-room, and the removal of the ban upon the theater and the opera; both these changes took place in . on february , , the clause of the statutes concerning attendance at sunday service in chapel was amended to read, "all students are expected to attend this or some other public religious service." in - , bible study was organized into a definite department of biblical history, literature, and interpretation; and in the same year voluntary classes for bible study were inaugurated by the christian association and taught by the students. the first step toward informing the students concerning their marks and academic standing was taken in , when the so-called "credit-notes" were instituted, in which students were told whether or not they had achieved credit, grade c, in their individual studies. mr. durant had feared that a knowledge of the marks would arouse unworthy competition, but his fears have proved unfounded. in this administration also the financial methods of the college were revised. mrs. irvine, we are reminded by florence s. marcy crofut, of the class of , "established a system of management and purchasing into which all the halls of residence were brought, and this remains almost without change to the present day." on march , , mrs. durant resigned the treasurership of the college, which she had held since her husband's death, and upon her nomination, mr. alpheus h. hardy was elected to the office. in , the trustees issued a report in which they informed the friends of wellesley that although mr. durant, in his will, had made the college his residuary legatee, subject to a life tenancy, the personal estate had suffered such depreciation and loss "as to render this prospective endowment of too slight consequence to be reckoned on in any plans for the development and maintenance of the college." at this time, wellesley was in debt to the amount of $ , . . during the next nineteen years, trustees and alumnae were to labor incessantly to pay the expenses of the college and to secure an endowment fund. what wellesley owes to the unstinted devotion of mr. hardy during these lean years can never be adequately expressed. the buildings erected during mrs. irvine's tenure of office were few. fiske cottage was opened in september, , for the use of students who wished to work their way through college. the "cottage" had been originally the village grammar school, but when mr. hunnewell gave a new schoolhouse to the village, the college was able, through the generosity of mrs. joseph m. fiske, mr. william s. houghton, mr. elisha s. converse, and a few other friends, to move the old schoolhouse to the campus and remodel it as a dormitory. in february, , a chemical laboratory was built under norumbega hill,--an ugly wooden building, a distress to all who care for wellesley's beauty, and an unmistakable witness to her poverty. on november , , the corner stone of the houghton memorial chapel was laid, a building destined to be one of the most satisfactory and beautiful on the campus. it was given by miss elizabeth g. houghton and mr. clement s. houghton of cambridge as a memorial of their father, mr. william s. houghton, for many years a trustee of the college. in mrs. john c. whitin, a trustee, gave to the college an astronomical observatory and telescope. the building was completed in . another gift of , fifty thousand dollars, came from the estate of the late charles t. wilder, and was used to build wilder hall, the fourth dormitory in the group on norumbega hill. in , the first of the society houses, the shakespeare house, was opened. on november , , mrs. irvine presented before the board of trustees a review of the history of the college under the new curriculum, and a statement of urgent needs which had arisen. she closed with a recommendation that her term of office should end in june, , as she believed that the necessities which had led to her appointment no longer existed, and she recognized that new demands pressed, which she was not fitted to meet. as mrs. irvine had stated verbally, both to the board of trustees and to a committee appointed by them to consider her recommendation, that she would not serve under a permanent appointment, the committee "was limited to the consideration of the time at which that recommendation should become operative." they asked the president to change her time of withdrawal to june, , and she consented to do this, with the provision that she was to be released from her duties before the end of the year, if her successor were ready to assume the duties of the office before june, . after her retirement from wellesley, mrs. irvine made her home in the south of france, but she returned to america in to be present at the inauguration of president pendleton. and in the year - , after the death of madame colin, she performed a signal service for the college in temporarily assuming the direction of the department of french. through her good offices, the department was reorganized, but the new england winter had proved too severe for her after her long sojourn in a milder climate, and in , mrs. irvine returned again to her home in southern france, bearing with her the love and gratitude of wellesley for her years of efficient and unselfish service. during the war of - , she had charge of the linen room in the military hospital at aix-les-bains. v. on march , , the trustees announced their election of wellesley's fifth president, caroline hazard. in june, mrs. irvine retired, and the new administration dates from july , . unlike her predecessors, miss hazard brought to her office no technical academic training, and no experience as a teacher. born at peacedale, rhode island, june , , the daughter of rowland and margaret (rood) hazard, and the descendant of thomas hazard, the founder of rhode island, she had been educated by tutors and in a private school in providence, and later had carried on her studies abroad. before coming to wellesley, she had already won her own place in the annals of rhode island, as editor, by her edition of the philosophical and economic writings of her grandfather, rowland g. hazard, the wealthy woolen manufacturer of peacedale, as author, through a study of life in narragansett in the eighteenth century, entitled "thomas hazard, son of robert, called college tom", and as poet, in a volume of narragansett ballads and a number of religious sonnets, followed during her wellesley years by "a scallop shell of quiet", verses of delicate charm and dignity. mrs. guild has said that miss hazard came, "bringing the ease and breadth of the cultivated woman of the world, who is yet an idealist and a christian, into an atmosphere perhaps too strictly scholastic." but she also brought unusual executive ability and training in administrative affairs, both academic and commercial, for her father, aside from his manufacturing interests, was a member of the corporation of brown university. hers is the type of intelligence and power seen often in england, where women of her social position have an interest in large issues and an instinct for affairs, which american women of the same class have not evinced in any arresting degree. miss hazard's inauguration took place on october , , in the new houghton memorial chapel, which had been dedicated on june of that year. this was wellesley's first formal ceremony of inauguration, and the brilliant academic procession, moving among the autumn trees between old college hall and the chapel, marked the beginning of a new era of dignity and beauty for the college. in the next ten years, under the winning encouragement of her new president, wellesley blossomed in courtesy and in all those social graces and pleasant amenities of life which in earlier years she had not always cultivated with sufficient zest. all of miss hazard's influence went out to the dignifying and beautifying of the life in which she had come to bear a part. it is to her that wellesley owes the tranquil beauty of the morning chapel service. the vested choir of students, the order of service, are her ideas, as are the musical vesper services and festival vespers of christmas, easter, and baccalaureate sunday, which professor macdougall developed so ably at her instigation. by her efforts, the chair of music was endowed from the billings estate, and in december, , mr. thomas minns, the surviving executor of the estate, presented the college with an additional fifteen thousand dollars, of which two thousand dollars were set aside as a permanent fund for the establishment of the billings prize, to be awarded by the president for excellence in music,--including its theory and practice,--and the remainder was used toward the erection of billings hall, a second music building containing a much-needed concert hall and classrooms, completed in . miss hazard's love of simple, poetical ceremonial did much to increase the charm of the wellesley life. of the several hearth fires which she kindled during the years when she kept wellesley's fires alight, the observatory hearth-warming was perhaps the most charming. the beautiful little building, given and equipped by mrs. whitin, a trustee of the college, was formally opened october , , with addresses by miss hazard, professor pickering of harvard, and professor todd of amherst. in the morning, miss hazard had gone out into the college woods and plucked bright autumn leaves to bind into a torch of life to light the fire on the new hearth. digitalis, sarsaparilla, eupatorium, she had chosen, for the health of the body; a fern leaf for grace and beauty; the oak and the elm for peace and the civic virtues; evergreen, pine, and hemlock for the aspiring life of the mind and the eternity of thought; rosemary for remembrance, and pansies for thoughts. firing the torch, she said, "with these holy associations we light this fire, that from this building in which the sun and stars are to be observed, true life may ever aspire with the flame to the author of all light." mrs. whitin then took the lighted torch and kindled the hearth fire, and as the pleasant, aromatic odor spread through the room, the college choir sang the hearth song which miss hazard had written for the occasion, and which was later burned in the wooden panel above the hearth: "stars above that shine and glow, have their image here below; flames that from the earth arise, still aspiring seek the skies. upward with the flames we soar, learning ever more and more; light and love descend till we heaven reflected here shall see." at the beginning of her term of office, miss hazard had requested the trustees to make "a division of administrative duties somewhat different from that before existing," as the technical knowledge of courses of study and the wisdom to advise students as to such courses required a special training and preparation which she did not possess. it was therefore arranged that the dean should take in charge the more strictly academic work, leaving miss hazard free for "the general supervision of affairs, the external relations of the college, and the home administration," and professor coman of the department of history and economics consented to assume the duties of dean for a year. at the end of the year, however, miss hazard having now become thoroughly familiar with the financial condition of the college, felt that retrenchments were necessary, and asked the trustees to omit the appointment of a dean for the year - . the academic duties of the dean were temporarily assumed in the president's office by the secretary of the college, miss ellen f. pendleton, and professor coman returned to her teaching as head of the new department of economics, an office which she held with distinction until her retirement as professor emeritus in . mrs. guild reminds us that "the pressing problem which confronted miss hazard was monetary. the financial history of wellesley college would be a volume in itself, as those familiar with the struggles of unendowed institutions of like order can well realize.... the appointment during mrs. irvine's administration of a professional treasurer, and the gradual accumulation of small endowments, were helps in the right direction. the alumnae had early begun a series of concerted efforts to aid their alma mater in solving her ever present financial problem. miss hazard, in generous cooperation with them and with the trustees, did especially valiant work in clearing the college from its burden of debt; and during her administration the treasurer's report shows an increase in the college funds of $ , ." in round numbers, the gifts for endowments and buildings during the period amounted to one million three hundred six thousand dollars. eleven buildings were erected between and : wilder hall and the observatory were completed in ; the president's house, miss hazard's gift, in ; pomeroy and billings hall in ; cazenove in ; the observatory house, another gift from mrs. whitin, ; beebe, ; shafer, the gymnasium, and the library, in . during these years also, five professorial chairs were partially endowed. the chair of economics in ; the chair of biblical history, by helen miller gould, in december, , to be called after her mother, the helen day gould professorship; the chair of art, under the name of the clara bertram kimball professorship of art; the chair of music, from the billings estate; the chair of botany, by mr. h.h. hunnewell, january, . and in and , the arrangements with the boston normal school of gymnastics were completed, by which that school,--with an endowment of one hundred thousand dollars and a gymnasium erected on the wellesley campus through the efforts of miss amy morris homans, the director, and wellesley friends,--became a part of wellesley college: the department of hygiene and physical education. among the notable gifts were the alexandra garden in the west quadrangle, given by an alumna in memory of her little daughter; the beautiful antique marbles, presented by miss hannah parker kimball to the department of art, in memory of her brother, m. day kimball; and the plimpton collection of italian manuscripts and early editions, given by george a. plimpton in memory of his wife, frances taylor pearsons plimpton, of the class of ' . of romances of chivalry, "those poems of adventure, the sources from which boiardo and ariosto borrowed character and episodes for their real poems," we have, according to professor margaret jackson, their curator, perhaps the largest collection in this country, and one of the largest in the world. many of these books are in rare or unique editions. of the editions of , of boiardo's "innamorato" only one other copy is known, that in the royal library at stuttgart. the edition of the "orlando furioso" was unknown until , when count nilzi described the copy in his collection. of the "gigante moronte", wellesley has an absolutely unique copy. a thirteenth-century commentary on peter lombard's "sentences" has marginal notes by tasso, and a contemporary copy of savonarola's "triumph of the cross" shows on the title page a woodcut of the frate writing in his cell. bembo's "asolini" a first edition, contains autograph corrections. in , wellesley had the unusual opportunity, which she unselfishly embraced, to return to the national library at florence, italy, a very precious florentine manuscript of the fourteenth century, containing the only known copy of the sirventes and other important historical verses of antonio pucci. the most important change in the college life at this time was undoubtedly the establishment of the system of student government, in . as a student movement, this is discussed at length in a later chapter, but miss hazard's cordial sympathy with all that the change implied should be recorded here. among academic changes, the institution of the honor scholarships is the most noteworthy. in , two classes of honors for juniors and seniors were established, the durant scholarship and the wellesley college scholarship,--the durant being the higher. the names of those students attaining a certain degree of excellence, according to these standards, are annually published; the honors are non-competitive, and depend upon an absolute standard of scholarship. at about the same time, honorary mention for freshmen was also instituted. on june , , miss hazard sailed for genoa, to take a well-earned vacation. this was the first time that a president of wellesley had taken a sabbatical year; the first time that any presidential term had extended beyond six years. during miss hazard's absence, miss pendleton, who had been appointed dean in , conducted the affairs of the college. on her return, may , , miss hazard was met at the wellesley station by the dean and the senior class, about two hundred and fifty students, and was escorted to the campus by the presidents of the student government association and the senior class. the whole college had assembled to welcome her, lining the avenue from the east lodge to simpson, and waving their loving and loyal greetings. it was a touching little ceremony, witnessing as it did to the place she held, and will always hold, in the heart of the college. in the spring of and the winter of , miss hazard was obliged to be absent, because of ill health, and again for a part of . in july, , the trustees announced her resignation to the faculty. no one has expressed more happily miss hazard's service to the college than her successor in office, the friend who was her dean and comrade in work during almost her entire administration. in the dean's report for are these very human and loving words: "president hazard's great service to the college during her eleven years of office are evident to all in the way of increased endowment, new buildings, additional departments and officers, advanced salaries, improved organization and equipment; but those who have had the privilege of working with her know that even these gains, to which her personal generosity so largely contributed, are less than the gifts of character which have brought into the midst of our busy routine the graces of home and a far-pervading spirit of loving kindness. "miss hazard came to us a stranger, but by her gracious bearing and charming hospitality, by her sympathetic interest and eagerness to aid in the work of every department, together with a scrupulous respect for what she was pleased to call the expert judgment of those in charge, by the touches of beauty and gentleness accompanying all that she did, from the enrichment of our chapel service to the planting of our campus with daffodils, and by the essential consecration of her life, she has so endeared herself to her faculty that her resignation means to us not only the loss of an honored president, but the absence of a friend." miss hazard's honorary degrees are the a.m. from michigan and the litt.d. from brown university. she is also an honorary member of the eta chapter of phi beta kappa, which was installed at wellesley on january , . vi. on thursday, october , , ellen fitz pendleton was inaugurated president of wellesley college in houghton memorial chapel. professor calkins, writing in the college news in regard to this wise choice of the trustees, says: "there has been some discussion of the wisdom of appointing a woman as college president. i may frankly avow myself as one of those who have been little concerned for the appointment of a woman as such. on general principles, i would welcome the appointment of a man as the next president of bryn mawr or wellesley; and, similarly, i would as soon see a woman at the head of vassar or of smith. but if our trustees, when looking last year for a successor to miss hazard in her eminently successful administration, had rejected the ideally endowed candidate, solely because she was a woman, they would have indicated their belief that a woman is unfitted for high administrative work. the recent history of our colleges is a refutation of this conclusion. the responsible corporation of a woman's college cannot possibly take the ground that 'any man' is to be preferred to the rightly equipped woman; to quote from the nation, in its issue of june , , 'if wellesley, after its long tradition of women presidents, and able women presidents, had turned from the appointment of a woman, especially when a highly capable successor was at hand, the decision would have meant... the adoption of the principle of the ineligibility of women for the college presidency.... it is an anomaly that women should be permitted to enter upon an intellectual career and should not be permitted to look forward to the natural rewards of successful labor.'" professor calkins's personal tribute to miss pendleton's power and personality is especially gracious and deserving of quotation, coming as it does from a distinguished alumna of a sister college. she writes: "miss pendleton unites a detailed and thorough knowledge of the history, the specific excellences, and the definite needs of wellesley college, with openness of mind, breadth of outlook and the endowment for constructive leadership. no college procedure seems to her to be justified by precedent merely; no curriculum or legislation is, in her view, too sacred to be subject to revision. her wide acquaintance with the policies of other colleges and with modern tendencies in education prompts her to constant enlargement and modification, while her accurate knowledge of wellesley's conditions and her large patience are a check on the too exuberant spirit of innovation. with miss pendleton as president, the college is sure to advance with dignity and with safety. she will do better than 'build up' the college, for she will quicken and guide its growth from within. "fundamental to the professional is the personal equipment for office. miss pendleton is unswervingly just, undauntedly generous, and completely devoted to the college. not every one realizes that her reserve hides a sympathy as keen as it is deep, though no one doubts this who has ever appealed to her for help. finally, all those who really know her are well aware that she is utterly self-forgetful, or rather, that it does not occur to her to consider any decision in its bearing on her own position or popularity. this inability to take the narrowly personal point of view is, perhaps, her most distinguishing characteristic.... "miss pendleton unquestionably conceives the office of college president not as that of absolute monarch but as that of constitutional ruler; not as that of master, but as that of leader. readers of the dean's report for the sabbatical year of miss hazard's absence, in which miss pendleton was acting president, will not have failed to notice the spontaneous expression of this sense of comradeship in miss pendleton's reference to the faculty." rhode island has twice given a president to wellesley, for ellen fitz pendleton was born at westerly, on august , , the daughter of enoch burrowes pendleton and mary ette (chapman) pendleton. in , she entered wellesley college as a freshman, and since that date, her connection with her alma mater has been unbroken. her classmates seem to have recognized her power almost at once, for in june, , at the end of her freshman year, we find her on the tree day program as delivering an essay on the fern beech; and she was later invited into the shakespeare society, at that time wellesley's one and only literary society. in , miss pendleton was graduated with the degree of b.a., and entered the department of mathematics in the autumn of that year as tutor; in , she was promoted to an instructorship which she held until , with a leave of absence in and for study at newnham college, cambridge, england. in , she received the degree of m.a. from wellesley. her honorary degrees are the litt.d. from brown university in , and the ll.d. from mt. holyoke in . in , she was made schedule officer, in charge of the intricate work involved in arranging and simplifying the complicated yearly schedule of college class appointments. in , she became secretary of the college and held this position until , when she was made dean and associate professor of mathematics. during miss hazard's absences and after miss hazard's resignation in , she served the college as acting president. the announcement of her election to the presidency was made to the college on june , , by the president of the board of trustees, and the joy with which it was received by faculty, alumna, and students was as outspoken as it was genuine. and at her inauguration, many who listened to her clear and simple exposition of her conception of the function of a college must have rejoiced anew to feel that wellesley's ideals of scholarship were committed to so safe and wise a guardian. miss pendleton's ideal cannot be better expressed than in her own straightforward phrases: "happily for both, men and women must work together in the world, and i venture to say that the function of a college for men is not essentially different from that of a college for women." of the twofold function of the college, the training for citizenship and the preparation of the scholar, she says: "what are the characteristics of the ideal citizen, and how may they be developed? he must have learned the important lesson of viewing every question not only from his own standpoint but from that of the community; he must be willing to pay his share of the public tax not only in money but also in time and thought for the service of his town and state; he must have, above all, enthusiasm and capacity for working hard in whatever kind of endeavor his lot may be cast. it is evident, therefore, that the college must furnish him opportunity for acquiring a knowledge of history, of the theory of government, of the relations between capital and labor, of the laws of mathematics, chemistry, physics, which underlie our great industries, and if he is to have an intelligent and sympathetic interest in his neighbors, and be able to get another's point of view, this college-trained citizen must know something of psychology and the laws of the mind. nor can he do all this to his own satisfaction without access to other languages and literatures besides his own. moreover, the ideal citizen must have some power of initiative, and he must have acquired the ability to think clearly and independently. but it will be urged that a college course of four years is entirely too short for such a task. perhaps, but what the college cannot actually give, it can furnish the stimulus and the power for obtaining later." but although miss pendleton's attitude toward college education is characteristically practical, she is careful to make it clear that the practical educator does not necessarily approve of including vocational training in a college course. "i do not propose to discuss the question in detail, but is it not fair to ask why vocational subjects should be recognized in preparation when the aim of the college is not to prepare for a vocation but to develop personal efficiency?" and her vision includes the scholar, or the genius, as well as the commonplace student. "the college is essentially a democratic institution designed for the rank and file of youth qualified to make use of the opportunities it offers. but the material equipment, the curriculum, and the teaching force which are necessary to develop personal efficiency in the ordinary student will have failed in a part of their purpose if they do not produce a few students with the ability and the desire to extend the field of human knowledge. there will be but few, but fortunate the college, and happy the instructor, that has these few. such students have claims, and the college is bound to satisfy them without losing sight of its first great aim.... it is the task of the college to give such a student as broad a foundation as possible, while allowing him a more specialized course than is deemed wise for the ordinary student. the college will have failed in part of its function if it does not furnish such a student with the power and the stimulus to continue his search for truth after graduation.... "training for citizenship and the preparation of the scholar are then the twofold function of the college. to furnish professional training for lawyers, doctors, ministers, engineers, librarians, is manifestly the work of the university or the technical school, and not the function of the college. neither is it, in my opinion, the work of the college to prepare its students specifically to be teachers or even wives and husbands, mothers and fathers. it is rather its part to produce men and women with the power to think clearly and independently, who recognize that teaching and home-making are both fine arts worthy of careful and patient cultivation, and not the necessary accompaniment of a college diploma. college graduates ought to make, and i believe do make, better teachers, more considerate husbands and wives, wiser fathers and mothers, but the chief function of the college is larger than this. the aim of the university and the great technical school is to furnish preparation for some specific profession. the college must produce men and women capable of using the opportunities offered by the university, men and women with sound bodies, pure hearts and clear minds, who are ready to obey the commandment, 'thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself.'" in this day of diverse and confused educational theories and ideals it is refreshing to read words so discriminating and definite. the earliest events of importance in president pendleton's administration are connected, as might be expected, with the alumnae, who were quickened to a more active and objective expression of loyalty by this first election of a wellesley alumna to the presidential office. on june , , the graduate council, to be discussed in a later chapter, was established by the alumnae association; and on october , , the first number of the alumnae edition of the college news was issued. in the academic year - , the monday holiday was abolished and the new schedule with recitations from monday morning until saturday noon was established. after the mid-year examinations in , the students were for the first time told their marks. in , the village improvement association built and equipped, on the college grounds, a kindergarten to be under the joint supervision of the association and the department of education. the building is used as a free kindergarten for wellesley children, and also as a practice school for graduate students in the department. a campaign for an endowment fund of one million dollars was also started by the trustees and alumnae under the leadership and with the advice of the new president. a committee of alumnae was appointed, with miss candace c. stimson, of the class of ' as chairman, to cooperate with the trustees in raising the money, and more than four hundred thousand dollars had been promised when, in march, , occurred wellesley's great catastrophe--which she was to translate immediately into her great opportunity--the burning of old college hall. if, in the years to come, wellesley fulfills that great opportunity, and becomes in spirit and in truth, as well as in outward seeming, the college beautiful which her daughters see in their visions and dream in their dreams, it will be by the soaring, unconquerable faith--and the prompt and selfless works--of the daughter who said to a college in ruins, on that march morning, "the members of the college will report for duty on the appointed date after the spring vacation," and sent her flock away, comforted, high-hearted, expectant of miracles. chapter iii the faculty and their methods i. at wellesley, to a degree unusual in american colleges, whether for men or women, the faculty determine the general policy of the college. the president, as chairman of the academic council, is in a very real and democratic sense the representative of the faculty, not the ruler. in miss freeman's day, the excellent presidential habit of consulting with the heads of departments was formed, and many of the changes instituted by the young president were suggested and formulated by her older colleagues. in miss shafer's day, habit had become precedent, and she would be the first to point out that the "new curriculum" which will always be associated with her name, was really the achievement of the academic council and the departments, working through patient years to adjust, develop, and balance the minutest details in their composite plan. the initiative on the part of the faculty has been exerted chiefly along academic lines, but in some instances it has necessitated important emendations of the statutes; and that the trustees were willing to alter the statutes on the request of the faculty would indicate the friendly confidence felt toward the innovators. in the statutes of wellesley college, as printed in , we read that "the college was founded for the glory of god and the service of the lord jesus christ, in and by the education and culture of women. "in order to the attainment of these ends, it is required that every trustee, teacher, and officer, shall be a member of an evangelical church, and that the study of the holy scriptures shall be pursued by every student throughout the entire college course under the direction of the faculty." in the early nineties, pressure from members of the faculty, themselves members of evangelical churches, induced the trustees to alter the religious requirement for teachers; and the reorganization of the department of bible study a few years later resulted in a drastic change in the requirements for students. as printed in , the statutes read, "to realize this design it is required that every trustee shall be a member in good standing of some evangelical church; that every teacher shall be of decided christian character and influence, and in manifest sympathy with the religious spirit and aim with which the college was founded; and that the study of the sacred scriptures by every student shall extend over the first three years, with opportunities for elective studies in the same during the fourth year." but it was found that freshmen were not mature enough to study to the best advantage the new courses in biblical criticism, and the statutes as printed in record still another amendment: "and that the study of the sacred scriptures by every student shall extend over the second and third years, with opportunities for elective studies in the same during the fourth year." these changes are the more pleasantly significant, since all actual power, at wellesley as at most other colleges, resides with the trustees if they choose to use it. they "have control of the college and all its property, and of the investment and appropriation of its funds, in conformity with the design of its establishment and with the act of incorporation." they have "power to make and execute such statutes and rules as they may consider needful for the best administration of their trust, to appoint committees from their own number, or of those not otherwise connected with the college, and to prescribe their duties and powers." it is theirs to appoint "all officers of government or instruction and all employees needed for the administration of the institution whose appointment is not otherwise provided for." they determine the duties and salaries of officers and employees and may remove, either with or without notice, any person whom they have appointed. in being governed undemocratically from without by a self-perpetuating body of directors, wellesley is of course no worse off than the majority of american colleges. but that a form of college government so patently and unreasonably autocratic should have generated so little friction during forty years, speaks volumes for the broadmindedness, the generous tolerance, and the christian self-control of both faculty and trustees. if, in matters financial, the trustees have been sometimes unwilling to consider the scruples of groups of individuals on the faculty, along lines of economic morals, they have nevertheless taken no official steps to suppress the expression of such scruples. they have withstood any reactionary pressure from individuals of their board, and have always allowed the faculty entire academic freedom. in matters pertaining to the college classes, they are usually content to ratify the appointments on the faculty, and approve the alterations in the curriculum presented to them by the president of the college; and the president, in turn, leaves the professors and their associates remarkably free to choose and regulate the personnel and the courses in the departments. in this happy condition of affairs, the alumnae trustees undoubtedly play a mediating part, for they understand the college from within as no clergyman, financier, philanthropist,--no graduate of a man's college--can hope to, be he never so enthusiastic and well-meaning in the cause of woman's education. but so long as the faculty are excluded from direct representation on the board, the situation will continue to be anomalous. for it is not too sweeping to assert that wellesley's development and academic standing are due to the cooperative wisdom and devoted scholarship of her faculty. the initiative has been theirs. they have proved that a college for women can be successfully taught and administered by women. to them wellesley owes her academic status. from the beginning, women have predominated on the wellesley faculty. the head of the department of music has always been a man, but he had no seat upon the academic council until . in - , of the twenty-eight heads of departments, three were men, the professors of music, of education, and of french. of the thirty-nine professors and associate professors, not heads of departments, five were men; of the fifty-nine instructors, ten were men. it is interesting to note that there were no men in the departments of greek, latin, mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, biblical history, italian, spanish, reading and speaking, art, and archaeology, during the academic year - . critics sometimes complain of the preponderance of women upon wellesley's faculty, but her policy in this respect has been deliberate. every woman's college is making its own experiments, and the results achieved at wellesley indicate that a faculty made up largely of women, with a woman at its head, in no way militates against high academic standards, sound scholarship, and efficient administration. that a more masculine faculty would also have peculiar advantages, she does not deny. from the collegiate point of view, this feminine faculty is a very well mixed body, for it includes representative graduates from the other women's colleges, and from the more important coeducational colleges and state universities, as well as men from harvard and brown. the wellesley women on the faculty are an able minority; but it is the policy of the college to avoid academic in-breeding and to keep the wellesley influence a minority influence. of the twenty-eight heads of departments, five--the professors of english literature, chemistry, pure mathematics, biblical history, and physics--are wellesley graduates, three of them from the celebrated class of ' . of the thirty-nine professors and associate professors, in - , ten were alumnae of wellesley, and of the fifty-nine instructors, seventeen. since , when professor stratton was appointed dean to assist mrs. irvine, wellesley has had five deans, but only miss pendleton, who held the office under miss hazard from to , has been a graduate of wellesley. miss coman, who assisted miss hazard for one year only, and miss chapin, who consented to fill the office after miss pendleton's appointment to the presidency until a permanent dean could be chosen, were both graduates of the university of michigan. dean waite, who succeeded to the office in , is an alumna of smith college, and has been a member of the department of english at wellesley since . ii. only the women who have helped to promote and establish the higher education of women can know how exciting and romantic it was to be a professor in a woman's college during the last half-century. to be a teacher was no new thing for a woman; the dame school is an ancient institution; all down the centuries, in classic villas, in the convents of the middle ages, in the salons of the eighteenth century, learned ladies with a pedagogic instinct have left their impress upon the intellectual life of their times. but the possibility that women might be intellectually and physically capable of sharing equally with men the burdens and the joys of developing and directing the scholarship of the race had never been seriously considered until the nineteenth century. the women who came to teach in the women's colleges in the ' 's and ' 's and ' 's knew themselves on trial in the eyes of the world as never women had been before. and they brought to that trial the heady enthusiasm and radiant exhilaration and fiery persistence which possess all those who rediscover learning and drink deep. they knew the kind of selfless inspiration wyclif knew when he was translating the bible into the language of england's common people. they shared the elation and devotion of erasmus and his fellows. to plan a curriculum in which the humanities and the sciences should every one be given a fair chance; to distinguish intelligently between the advantages of the elective system and its disadvantages; to decide, without prejudice, at what points the education of the girl should differ or diverge from the education of the boy; to try out the pedagogic methods of the men's colleges and discover which were antiquated and should be abolished, which were susceptible of reform, which were sound; to invent new methods,--these were the romantic quests to which these enamored devotees were vowed, and to which, through more than half a century, they have been faithful. wellesley's student laboratory for experimental work in physics, established , was preceded in new england only by the student laboratory of the massachusetts institute of technology. her laboratory for work in experimental psychology, established by professor calkins in , was the first in any women's college in the country, and one of the first in any college. in , the american school of classical studies at athens invited wellesley to become one of the cooperating colleges to sustain this school and to enjoy its advantages. the invitation came quite unsolicited, and was the first extended to a woman's college. the schoolmen developing and expanding their trivium and quadrivium at oxford, paris, bologna, experienced no keener intellectual delights than did their belated sisters of vassar, smith, bryn mawr, wellesley. but in order to understand the passion of their point of view, we must remember that the higher education for which the women of the nineteenth century were enthusiastic was distinctly an education along scholarly and intellectual lines; this early and original meaning of the term "higher education", this original and distinguishing function of the woman's college, are in danger of being blurred and lost sight of to-day by a generation that knew not joseph. the zeal with which the advocates of educational and domestic training are trying to force into the curricula of women's colleges courses on housekeeping, home-making, dressmaking, dairy farming, to say nothing of stenography, typewriting, double entry, and the musical glasses minus shakespeare, is for the most part unintelligible to the women who have given their lives to the upbuilding of such colleges as bryn mawr, smith, mt. holyoke, vassar, and wellesley,--not because they minimize the civilizing value of either homemakers or business women in a community, or fail to recognize their needs, but simply because women's colleges were never intended to meet those needs. when we go to the metropolitan museum of fine arts, we do not complain because it lacks the characteristics of the smithsonian institute, or of the boston horticultural show. we are content that the massachusetts institute of technology should differ in scope from harvard university; yet some of us, college graduates even, seem to have an uneasy feeling that wellesley and bryn mawr may not be ministering adequately to life, because they do not add to their curricular activities the varied aims of an agricultural college, a business college, a school of philanthropy, and a cooking school, with required courses on the modifying of milk for infants. great institutions for vocational training, such as pratt institute in brooklyn and simmons college in boston, have a dignity and a usefulness which no one disputes. undoubtedly america needs more of their kind. but to impair the dignity and usefulness of the colleges dedicated to the higher education of women by diluting their academic programs with courses on business or domesticity will not meet that need. the unwillingness of college faculties to admit vocational courses to the curriculum is not due to academic conservatism and inability to march with the times, but to an unclouded and accurate conception of the meaning of the term "higher education." but definiteness of aim does not necessarily imply narrowness of scope. the wellesley calendar for - contains a list of three hundred and twelve courses on thirty-two subjects, exclusive of the gymnasium practice, dancing, swimming, and games required by the department of hygiene. of these subjects, four are ancient languages and their literatures, greek, latin, hebrew, sanskrit. seven are modern languages and their literatures, german, french, italian, spanish, and english literature, composition, and language. ten are sciences, mathematics, pure and applied, astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, geography, botany, zoology and physiology, hygiene. seven are scientifically concerned with the mental and spiritual evolution of the human race, biblical and secular history, economics, education, logic, psychology, and philosophy. four may be classified as arts: archaeology, art, including its history, music, and reading and speaking, which old-fashioned people still call elocution. from this wide range of subjects, the candidates for the b.a. degree are required to take one course in mathematics, the prescribed freshman course; one course in english composition, prescribed for freshmen; courses in biblical history and hygiene; a modern language, unless two modern languages have been presented for admission; two natural sciences before the junior year, unless one has already been offered for admission, in which case one is required, and a course in philosophy, which the student should ordinarily take before her senior year. these required studies cover about twenty of the fifty-nine hours prescribed for the degree; the remaining hours are elective; but the student must group her electives intelligently, and to this end she must complete either nine hours of work in each of two departments, or twelve hours in one department and six in a second; she must specialize within limits. it will be evident on examining this program that no work is required in history, economics, english literature and language, comparative philology, education, archaeology, art, reading and speaking, and music. all the courses in these departments are free electives. just what led to this legislation, only those who were present at the decisive discussions of the academic council can know. possibly they have discovered by experience that young women do not need to be coaxed or coerced into studying the arts; that they gravitate naturally to those subjects which deal with human society, such as history, economics, and english literature; and that the specialist can be depended upon to elect, without pressure, courses in philology or pedagogy. but little effort has been made at wellesley, so far, to attract graduate students. in this respect she differs from bryn mawr. she offers very few courses planned exclusively for college graduates, but opens her advanced courses in most departments to both seniors and graduates. this does not mean, however, that the graduate work is not on a sound basis. wellesley has not yet exercised her right to give the doctor's degree, but expert testimony, outside the college, has declared that some of the master's theses are of the doctorial grade in quality, if not in quantity; and the work for the master's degree is said to be more difficult and more severely scrutinized than in some other colleges where the doctor's degree is made the chief goal of the graduate student. the college has in its gift the alice freeman palmer fellowship, founded in by mrs. david p. kimball of boston, and yielding an income of about one thousand dollars. the holder must be a woman, a graduate of wellesley or some other american college of approved standing; she must be "not more than twenty-six years of age at the time of her appointment, unmarried throughout the whole of her tenure, and as free as possible from other responsibilities." she may hold the fellowship for one year only, but "within three years from entrance on the fellowship she must present to the faculty a thesis embodying the results of the research carried on during the period of tenure." wellesley is proud of her alice freeman palmer fellows. of the eleven who have held the fellowship between and , four are wellesley graduates, helen dodd cook, whose subject was philosophy; isabelle stone, working in greek; gertrude schopperle, in comparative literature; laura alandis hibbard, in english literature. two are from radcliffe, and one each from cornell, vassar, the university of dakota, ripon, and goucher. the fellow is left free to study abroad, in an american college or university, or to use the income for independent research. the list of universities at which these young women have studied is as impressive as it is long. it includes the american schools for classical studies at athens and rome; the universities of gottingen, wurzburg, munich, paris, and cambridge, england; and yale, johns hopkins, and the university of chicago. this is not the place in which to give a detailed account of the work of each one of wellesley's academic departments. any intelligent person who turns the pages of the official calendar may easily discover that the standard of admission and the requirements for the degree of bachelor of arts place wellesley in the first rank among american colleges, whether for men or for women. but every woman's college, besides conforming to the general standard, is making its own contribution to the higher education of women. at wellesley, the methods in certain departments have gained a deservedly high reputation. the department of art, under professor alice v.v. brown, formerly of the slater museum of norwich, connecticut, is doing a work in the proper interpretation and history of art as unique as it is valuable. the laboratory method is used, and all students are required to recognize and indicate the characteristic qualities and attributes of the great masters and the different schools of paintings by sketching from photographs of the pictures studied. these five and ten minute sketches by young girls, the majority of whom have had no training in drawing, are remarkable for the vivacity and accuracy with which they reproduce the salient features of the great paintings. the students are of course given the latest results of the modern school of art criticism. in addition to the work with undergraduates, the department offers courses to graduate students who wish to prepare themselves for curatorships, or lectureships in art museums, and wellesley women occupy positions of trust in the metropolitan museum in new york, in the boston art museum, in museums in chicago, worcester, and elsewhere. the "short history of italian painting" by professor brown and mr. william rankin is a standard authority. the department of music, working quite independently of the department of art, has also adapted laboratory methods to its own ends with unusual results. under professor hamilton c. macdougall, the head of the department, and associate professor clarence g. hamilton, courses in musical interpretation have been developed in connection with the courses in practical music. the first-year class, meeting once a week, listens to an anonymous musical selection played by one of its members, and must decide by internal evidence--such as simple cadences, harmonic figuration as applied to the accompaniment and other characteristics--upon the school of the composer, and biographical data. the analysis of the musical selection and the reasons for her decision are set down in her notebook by the listening student. the second-year class concerns itself with "the thematic and polyphonic melody, the larger forms, harmony in its aesthetic bearings, the aesthetic effects of the more complicated rhythms, comparative criticism and the various schools of composition." these valuable contributions to method and scope in the study of the history of art and the history of music are original with wellesley, and are distinctly a part of her history. among the departments which carry prestige outside the college walls are those of philosophy and psychology, english literature, and german. wellesley's department of english literature is unusually fortunate in having as interpreters of the great literature of england a group of women of letters of established reputation. what longfellow, lowell, norton, were to the harvard of their day, katharine lee bates, vida d. scudder, sophie jewett, and margaret sherwood are to the wellesley of their day and ours. working together, with unfailing enthusiasm for their subjects, and keen insight into the cultural needs of american girls, they have built up their department on a sure foundation of accurate scholarship and tested pedagogic method. at a time when the study of literature threatened to become, almost universally, an exercise in the dry rot of philological terms, in the cataloguing of sources, or the analyzing of literary forms, the department at wellesley continued unswervingly to make use of philology, sources, and even art forms, as means to an end; that end the interpretation of literary epochs, the illumination of intellectual and spiritual values in literary masterpieces, the revelation of the soul of poet, dramatist, essayist, novelist. no teaching of literature is less sentimental than the teaching at wellesley, and no teaching is more quickening to the imagination. now that the method of accumulated detail "about it and about it", is being defeated by its own aridity, wellesley's firm insistence upon listening to literature as to a living voice is justified of her teachers and her students. indications of the reputation achieved by wellesley's methods of teaching german are found in the increasing numbers of students who come to the college for the sake of the work in the german department, and in the fact that teachers' agencies not infrequently ask candidates for positions if they are familiar with the wellesley methods. in an address before the new hampshire state teachers' association, in , professor muller describes the aims and ideals of her department as they took shape under the constructive leadership of her predecessor, professor wenckebach, and as they have been modified and developed in later years to meet the needs of american students. "cinderella became a princess and a ruler over night," says professor muller, "that is, german suddenly took the position in our college that it has held ever since. such a result was due not merely to methods, of course, but first of all to the strong and enthusiastic personality that was identified with them, and that was the main secret of the unusual effectiveness of fraulein wenckebach's teaching. "but this german professor had not only live methods and virile personal qualities to help her along; she also had what a great many of the foreign language teachers in this country must as yet do without, that is, the absolute confidence, warm appreciation, and financial support of an enlightened administration. president freeman and the trustees seem to have done practically everything that their intrepid professor of german asked for. they not only saw that all equipments needed... were provided, but they also generously stipulated, at fraulein wenckebach's urgent request, that all the elementary and intermediate classes in the foreign language departments should be kept small, that is, that they should not exceed fifteen. if fraulein wenckebach had been obliged, as many modern language teachers still are, to teach german to classes of from thirty to forty students; if she had met in the administration of wellesley college with as little appreciation and understanding of the fine art and extreme difficulty of foreign language work as high school teachers, for instance, often encounter, her efforts could not possibly have been crowned with success. "another agent in enabling fraulein wenckebach to do such fine constructive work with her department was the general wellesley policy, still followed, i am happy to say, of centralizing all power and responsibility regarding department affairs in the person of the head of the department. centralization may not work well in politics, but a foreign language department working with the reformed methods could not develop the highest efficiency under any other form of government. with a living organism, such as a foreign language department should be, there ought to be one, and only one, responsible person to keep her finger on the pulse of things--otherwise disintegration and ineffectiveness of the work as a whole is sure to follow." professor muller goes on to say, "now joy, genuine joy, in their work, based on good, strong, mental exercise, is what we want and what on the whole we get from our students. it was so in the days of fraulein wenckebach and is so now, i am happy to say--and not in the literature courses only, but in our elementary drill work as well. "it may be of interest to note that our elementary work and also the advanced work in grammar and idiom are at present taught by americans wholly. i have come to the conclusion that well-trained americans gifted with vivid personalities get better results along those lines than the average teacher of foreign birth and breeding." even in the elementary courses, only those texts are used which illustrate german life, literature, and history; and the advanced electives are carefully guarded, so that no student may elect courses in modern german, the novel and the drama, who has not already been well grounded in goethe, schiller, and lessing. the drastic thoroughness with which unpromising students are weeded out of the courses in german enhances rather than defeats their popularity among undergraduates. the learned women who direct wellesley's work in philosophy and psychology lend their own distinction to this department. professor case, a graduate of the university of michigan, has been connected with the college since , and her courses in greek philosophy and the philosophy of religion make an appeal to thoughtful students which does not lessen as the years pass. professor gamble, wellesley's own daughter, is the foremost authority on smell, among psychologists. in her chosen field of experimental psychology she has achieved results attained by no one else, and her work has a continental reputation. professor calkins, the head of the department, is one of the distinguished alumnae of smith college. she has also passed harvard's examination for the doctor's degree; but harvard does not yet confer its degree upon women. she was the first woman to receive the degree of litt.d. from columbia university, and the first woman to be elected to the presidency of the american psychological association, succeeding william james in that office. in the department of economics and sociology, organized under the leadership of professor katharine coman, in , wellesley has been fortunate in having as teachers two women of national reputation whose interest in the human side of economic problems has vitalized for their eager classes a subject which unless sympathetically handled, lends itself all too easily to mechanical interpretations of theory. professor coman's wide and intimate knowledge of american economic conditions, as evidenced in her books, the "industrial history of the united states", and "economic beginnings of the far west", in her studies in social insurance published in the survey, and in her practical work for the college settlements association and the consumers' league, and as an active member of the strike committee during the strike of the chicago garment workers in - , lent to her teaching an appeal which more cloistered theorists can never achieve. the letters which came to her from alumnae, after her resignation from the department in , were of the sort that every teacher cherishes. since her death in january, , some of these letters have been printed in a memorial number of the wellesley college news. nothing could better illustrate her influence as an intellectual force in the college to which she came as an instructor in . one of her oldest students writes: "i am too late for the thirtieth anniversary, but still it is never too late to say how much i enjoyed my work with you in college. it always seemed such grown-up work. partly, i suppose, because it was closely related to the things of life, and partly because you demanded a more grown-up and thoughtful point of view. it was a great privilege to have your economics as a sophomore. i have always meant to tell you, too, of what great practical value your seminar in statistics was to me; it gave me enough insight into the principles and practice to encourage me to present my work the first year out of college in statistical form. it was approved. without the incentive and the little experience i had gained from you i might not have tried to do this. since then, in whatever field of social work i have been i have found this ability valuable, and i developed enough skill at it to handle the investigation into wages of the massachusetts minimum wage commission without other training. i am very grateful to you for this bit of technical training for which i would never have taken the time later." another says: "it is a pleasure to have an opportunity, after so many years, to make some expression of the gratitude i owe you. the course in political economy which i was so wise as to take with you has proved of vital importance to me. that was in - , but as i look back i see that in your teaching then, you presented to us the ideas, the concepts, which are now accepted principles of men's thought as to the relation of class to class, of man to man. and so i feel that it was to your enthusiasm, your power of inspiring your pupils that i owe my own interest in economic and sociological affairs." and still another: "i have had more real pleasure from my economics courses and sociology courses than from any others of my college course. had it not been for yourself and miss balch, that work would not have stood for so much. for your guidance and your inspiration i am most grateful. i have tried to carry out your ideals as far as possible in the visiting nurse work and the social settlement in omaha ever since leaving wellesley." professor emily greene balch, who succeeded miss coman as head of the department of economics, is herself an authority on questions of immigration; her book, "our slavic fellow citizens", is an important contribution to the history of the subject, and has been cited in the german reichstag as authoritative on slavic immigration. she has also served on more than one state commission in massachusetts,--among them the disinterested and competent city planning board,--and the sanity and judicial balance of her opinions are recognized and valued by conservatives and radicals alike. besides the traditional courses in economic history and theory, wellesley offers under miss balch a course in socialism, a critical study of its main theories and political movements, open to juniors and seniors who have already completed two other courses in economics; a course entitled "the modern labor movement", in which special attention is given to labor legislation, factory inspection, and the organization of labor, with a study of methods of meeting the difficulties of the modern industrial situation; and a course in immigration and the problems to which it gives rise in the united states. the wellesley fire did the college one good turn by bringing to the notice of the general public the departments of science. when so many of the laboratories and so much of the equipment were swept away, outsiders became aware of the excellent work which was being done in those laboratories; of the modern work in geology and geography carried on not only in wellesley but for the teachers of boston by professor fisher who is so wisely developing the department which professor niles set on its firm foundation; of the work of professor robertson who is an authority on the bryozoa fauna of the pacific coast of north america and japan; of the authoritative work on the life history of pinus, by professor ferguson of the department of botany; of the quiet, thorough, modern work for students in physics and chemistry and astronomy. an evidence of the excellent organization of departmental work at wellesley is found in the ease and smoothness with which the department of hygiene, formerly the boston normal school of gymnastics, has become a force in the wellesley curriculum under the direction of miss amy morris homans, who was also the head of the school in boston. by a gradual process of adjustment, admission to the two years' course leading to a certificate in the department of hygiene "will be limited to applicants who are candidates for the b.a. degree at wellesley college and to those who already hold the bachelor's degree either from wellesley college or from some other college." a five years' course is also offered, by which students may obtain both the b.a. degree and the certificate of the department. but all students, whether working for the certificate or not, must take a one-hour course in hygiene in the freshman year, and two periods a week of practical gymnastic work in the freshman and sophomore years. like all american colleges, wellesley makes heavy and constant demands on the mere pedagogic power of its teachers. their days are pretty well filled with the classroom routine and the necessary and incessant social intercourse with the eager crowd of youth. it may be years before an american college for women can sustain and foster creative scholarship for its own sake, after the example of the european universities; but wellesley is not ungenerous; the sabbatical grant gives certain heads of departments an opportunity for refreshment and personal work every seven years; and even those who do not profit by this privilege manage to keep their minds alive by outside work and contacts. every two years the secretary to the president issues a list of faculty publications, ranging from verse and short stories in the best magazines to papers in learned reviews for esoteric consumption only; from idyllic novels, such as margaret sherwood's "daphne", and sympathetic travel sketches like katharine lee bates's "spanish highways and byways", to scholarly translations, such as sophie jewett's "pearl" and vida d. scudder's "letters of st. catherine of siena", and philosophical treatises, of which mary whiton calkins's "persistent problems of philosophy", translated into several languages, is a notable example. but the wellesley faculty is a public-spirited body; its contribution to the general life is not only abstract and literary; for many of its members are identified with modern movements toward better citizenship. miss balch, besides her work on municipal committees, is connected with the woman's trade union league, and is interested in the great movement for peace. in the spring of , she was one of those who sailed with miss jane addams to attend the woman's peace congress at the hague, and she afterwards visited other european countries on a mission of peace. miss bates is active in promoting the interests of the international institute in spain. the american college for girls in constantinople often looks to wellesley for teachers, and more than one wellesley professor has given a sabbatical year to the schoolgirls in constantinople. during the absence of president patrick, professor roxana vivian of wellesley was acting president, and had the honor of bringing the college safely through the perplexities and terrors of the young turks' revolution in and . professor kendall, of the department of history, is wellesley's most distinguished traveler. her book, "a wayfarer in china", tells the story of some of her travels, and she has received the rare honor, for a woman, of being made a fellow of the royal geographical society. miss calkins is an officer of the consumers' league. miss scudder has been identified from its outset with the college settlements movement, and of late years with the new service to italian immigrants inaugurated by denison house. as a result of these varied interests, the intellectual fellowship among the older women in the college community is of a peculiarly stimulating quality, and the fact that it is almost exclusively a feminine fellowship does not affect its intellectuality. the wellesley faculty, like the faculty of harvard, is not a cloistered body, and contact with the minds of "a world of men" through books and the visitations of itinerant scholars is about as easy in the one case as in the other. every year wellesley has her share of distinguished visitors, american, european, and oriental, scholars, poets, scientists, statesmen, who enrich her life and enlarge her spiritual vision. iii. one chapter of wellesley's history it is too soon to write: the story of the great names and great personalities, the spiritual stuff of which every college is built. this is the chapter on which the historians of men's colleges love best to dwell. but the women's lips and pens are fountains sealed, for a reticent hundred years--or possibly less, under pressure--with the seals of academic reserve, and historic perspective, and traditional modesty. most of the women who had a hand in the making of wellesley's first forty years are still alive. there's the rub. it would not hamper the journalist. but the historian has his conventions. one hundred years from now, what names, living to-day, will be written in wellesley's golden book? already they are written in many prophetic hearts. however, women can keep a secret. even of those who have already finished their work on earth, it is too soon to speak authoritatively; but gratitude and love will not be silent, and no story of wellesley's first half-century would be complete that held no records of their devotion and continuing influence. among the pioneers, there was no more interesting and forceful personality than susan maria hallowell, who came to wellesley as professor of natural history in , the friend of agassiz and asa gray. she was a maine woman, and she had been teaching twenty-two years, in bangor and portland, before she was called to wellesley. her successor in the department of botany writes in a memorial sketch of her life: "with that indefatigable zeal so characteristic of her whole life, she began the work in preparation for the new position. she went from college to college, from university to university, studying the scientific libraries and laboratories. at the close of this investigation she announced to the founders of the college that the task which they had assigned to her was too great for any one individual to undertake. there must be several professorships rather than one. of those named she was given first choice, and when, in , she opened her laboratories and actually began her teaching in wellesley college, she did so as professor of botany, although her title was not formally changed until . "the foundations which she laid were so broad and sure, the several courses which she organized were so carefully outlined, that, except where necessitated by more recent developments in science, only very slight changes in the arrangement and distribution of the work in her department have since been necessary.... she organized and built up a botanical library which from the first was second to that of no other college in the country, and is to-day only surpassed by the botanical libraries of a few of our great universities." fortunately the botanical library and the laboratories were housed in stone hall, and escaped devastation by the fire. professor hallowell was the first woman to be admitted to the botanical lectures and laboratories of the university of berlin. she "was not a productive scholar", again we quote from professor ferguson, "as that term is now used, and hence her gifts and her achievements are but little known to the botanists of to-day. she was preeminently a teacher and an organizer. only those who knew her in this double capacity can fully realize the richness of her nature and the power of her personality." she retired from active service at the college in february, , when she was made professor emeritus; but she lived in wellesley village with her friend, miss horton, the former professor of greek, until her death in . mrs. north gives us a charming glimpse of the quaint and dignified little old lady. "when in recent years the blossoming forth of academic dress made a pageant of our great occasions, the badges of scholarship seemed to her foreign to the simplicity of true learning, and she walked bravely in the commencement procession, wearing the little bonnet which henceforth became a distinction." another early member of the department of botany, clara eaton cummings, who came to wellesley as a student in and kept her connection with the college until her death, as associate professor, in , was a scientific scholar of distinguished reputation. her work in cryptogamic botany gained the respect of botanists for wellesley. with this pioneer group belongs also professor niles, who was actively connected with the college from until his retirement as professor emeritus in . wellesley shares with the massachusetts institute of technology her precious memories of this devoted gentleman and scholar. his wise planning set the department of geology and geography on its present excellent basis. at his death in , a valuable legacy of geological specimens came to wellesley, only to be destroyed in by the fire. but his greatest gifts to the college are those which no fire can ever harm. anne eugenia morgan, professor in the department of philosophy from to ; mary adams currier, enthusiastic head of the department of elocution from to , the founder of the monroe fund for her department; doctor speakman, doctor barker, wellesley's resident physicians in the early days; dear mrs. newman, who mothered so many college generations of girls at norumbega, and will always be to them the ideal house-mother,--when old alumnae speak these names, their hearts glow with unchanging affection. but the most vivid of all these pioneers, and one of the most widely known, was carla wenckebach. of her, wellesley has a picture and a memory which will not fade, in the brilliant biography [carla wenckebach, pioneer (ginn & co. pub.).] by her colleague and close friend, margarethe muller, who succeeded her in the department of german. as an interpretation of character and personality, this book takes its place with professor palmer's "life of alice freeman palmer", among literary biographies of the first rank. professor wenckebach came to wellesley in , and we have the story of her coming, in her own letters, given us in translation by professor muller. she was attending the sauveur summer school of languages at amherst, and had been asked to take some classes there, in elementary german, where her methods immediately attracted attention; and presently we find her writing: "hurrah! i have made a superb catch--not a widower nor a bachelor, but something infinitely superior! i must not anticipate, though, but proceed according to program.... "the other day, when i was in my room digging away at my greek lessons, the landlady brings in three visiting cards, remarking that the three ladies who wish to see me are in the reception room. i look at the cards and read: miss alice freeman, president (in german, rector magnificus) of wellesley college; mrs. durant, treasurer; and miss denio, professor of german literature at wellesley college (wellesley, you must know, is the largest and most magnificent of all the women's colleges in the united states). i immediately comprehended that these were three lions (grosse tiere), and i began to have curious presentiments. fortunately, i was in correct dress, so that i could rush down into our elegant reception room. here i made a solemn bow, the three ladies returning the compliment. the president, a lady who must be a good deal younger than myself, a real ph.d. (of philosophy and history), told me that she had heard of me and therefore wished to see me in regard to a vacancy at wellesley college, which, according to the statutes, must not be filled by a man so long as a woman could be procured. the woman she was looking for must be able, she said, to give lectures on german literature in german, and to expound the works of german writers thoroughly; she would engage me for this position, she added, if she found that i was the right person for it. "i was dumfounded at the mere suggestion of this gift of heaven coming to me, for i had heard so many beautiful things about wellesley that the idea of possibly getting a position there totally dazed me. summoning up courage, however, i controlled my wild joy, and pulling myself together with determination, i gave the ladies the desired account of my studies, my journalistic work, etc., whereupon the president informed me that she would attend my class the next day." the ordeal was successfully passed, and the position of "head teacher in the german department at wellesley" was immediately offered her. "now you think, i suppose, that i fell round the necks of those angels of joy! i didn't though!" she blithely writes. but she agreed to visit wellesley, and her description of this visit gives us old college hall in a new light. "the place in itself is so beautiful that we could hardly realize its being merely a school. the royal palace in berlin is small compared to the main building, which in length and stateliness of appearance surpasses even the great winter palace in st. petersburg. the entrance hall is decorated with magnificent palms, with valuable paintings, and choice statuary. the walls in all the corridors are covered with fine engravings; there are carpets everywhere and elegant pieces of furniture; there is gas, steam heat, and a big elevator; everything, down to the bathrooms, is princely." professor muller adds, "of course, she was 'kind enough' to accept the position offered, although it was not especially lucrative. 'but what is a high salary,' she exclaims, 'in comparison to the ease and enthusiasm with which i can here plow a new field of work! that, and the honor attached to the position, are worth more to me than thousands of dollars. i am to be a regular grosses tier now myself,--what fun, after having been a beast of burden so long!'" from the first, wellesley recognized her quality, and wisely gave it freedom. in addition to her work in german, we owe to her the beginnings of the department of education, through her lectures on pedagogy. speaking of her power, professor muller says: "truly, as a teacher, especially a teacher of youth, fraulein wenckebach was unexcelled. there was that relieving and inspiring, that broadening and yet deepening quality in her work, that ease and grace and joy, that mark the work of the elect only,--of those rare souls among us who are 'near the shaping hand of the creator.'" and fraulein wenckebach herself said of her profession: "every teacher, every educator, should above all be a guide. not one of those who, like signposts, stretch their wooden arms with pedantic insistence in a given direction, but one, rather, who, after the manner of the heavenly bodies, diffusing warmth and light and cheer, draws the young soul irresistibly to leave its dark jungles of prejudice and ignorance for the promised land of wisdom and freedom." and her students testify enthusiastically to her unusual success. one of them writes: "to fraulein wenckebach as a teacher, i owe more than to any other teacher i ever had. i cannot remember that she reproved any student or that she ever directly urged us to do our best. she made no efforts to make her lectures attractive by witticisms, anecdotes, or entertaining illustrations. yet her students worked with eager faithfulness, and i, personally, have never been so absorbed and inspired by any lectures as by hers. the secret of her power was not merely that she was master of the art of teaching and knew how to arouse interest and awaken the mind to independent thought and inquiry, but that her own earnestness and high purpose touched our lives and made anything less than the highest possible degree of effort and attainment seem not worth while."--"we girls used to say to each other that if we ever taught we should want to be to our students what she was to us, and if they could feel as we felt toward her and her work we should want no more. she demanded the best of us, without demanding, and what she gave us was beyond measure.--it was courses like hers that made us feel that college work was the best part of college life." these are the things that teachers care most to hear, and in the nineteen years of her service at wellesley, there were many students eager to tell her what she had been to them. she writes in : "what a privilege to pour into the receptive mind of young american girls the fullness of all that is precious about the german spirit; and how enthusiastically they receive all i can give them!" in the late eighties and early nineties there came to the college a notable group of younger women, destined to play an important part in wellesley's life and to increase her academic reputation: mary whiton calkins, margarethe muller, adeline b. hawes, the able head of the department of latin, katharine m. edwards, of the department of greek, sophie de chantal hart, of the department of english composition, vida d. scudder, margaret sherwood, and sophie jewett, of the department of english literature. in the autumn of , sophie jewett died, and never has the college been stirred to more intimate and personal grief. so many poets, so many scholars, are not lovable; but this scholar-poet quickened every heart to love her. to live in her house, to sit at her table, to listen to her "cadenced voice" in the classrooms, were privileges which those who shared them will never forget. her colleague, professor scudder, speaking at the memorial service in the college chapel, said: "we shall long rejoice to dwell on the ministry of love that was hers to exercise in so rare a measure, through her unerring and reverent discernment of all finest aspects of beauty; on her sensitive allegiance to truth; on the fine reticence of her imaginative passion; on that heavenly sympathy and selflessness of hers, a selflessness so deep that it bore no trace of effort or resolute purpose, but was simply the natural instinct of the soul.... "let us give thanks, then, for all her noble and delicate powers; for her all-controlling christianity; for her subtle rectitude of intellectual and spiritual vision; for her swift ardor for all high causes and great dreams; for that unbounded tenderness toward youth, that firm and steady standard of scholarship, that central hunger for truth, which gave high quality to her teaching, and which during twenty years have been at the service of wellesley college and of the department of english literature." this very giving of herself to the claims of the college hampered, to a certain extent, her poetic creativeness; the volumes that she has left are as few as they are precious, every one "a pearl." speaking of these poems, miss scudder says: "and in her own verse,--do we not catch to a strange degree, hushed echoes of heavenly music? these lyrics are not wholly of the earth: they vibrate subtly with what i can only call the sense of the eternal. how beautiful, how consoling, that her last book should have been that translation, such as only one who was at once true poet and true scholar could have made, of the sweetest medieval elegy 'the pearl'!" and miss bates, in her preface to the posthumous volume of "folk-ballads of southern europe", illumines for us the scholarship which went into these close and sympathetic translations: "for the roumanian ballads, although she pored over the originals, she had to depend, in the main, upon french translation, which was usually available, too, for the gascon and breton. italian, which she knew well, guided her through obscure dialects of italy and sicily, but castilian, portuguese, and catalan she puzzled out for herself with such natural insight that the experts to whom these translations have been submitted found hardly a word to change. 'after all,' as she herself wrote, 'ballads are simple things, and require, as a rule, but a limited vocabulary, though a peculiarly idiomatic one.'" not the least poetic of her books, although it is written in prose, is the delicate interpretation of st. francis, written for children and called "god's troubadour." "erect, serene, she came and went on her high task of beauty bent. for us who knew, nor can forget, the echoes of her laughter yet make sudden music in the halls." ["in memoriam: sophie jewett." a poem by margaret sherwood, wellesley college news, may , .] in , madame colin, who had served the college as head of the department of french since , died during the spring recess after a three days' illness. madame colin had studied at the university of paris and the sorbonne, and her ideals for her department were high. among wellesley's own alumnae, only a very few who were officers of the college during the first forty years have died. of these are caroline frances pierce, of the class of , who was librarian from to . to her wise planning we owe the conveniences and comforts in the new library building which she did not live to see completed. in , the department of greek suffered a deep loss in professor annie sybil montague, of the class of . besides being a member of the first graduating class, miss montague was one of the first to receive the degree of m.a. from wellesley. in , the college conferred this degree for the first time, and miss montague was one of the two candidates who presented themselves. one of her old students, annie kimball tuell, of the class of , herself an instructor in the department of english literature, writes: i think miss montague would wish that another of her pupils, one who worked with her for an unusually long time, should say--what can most simply and most warmly and most gratefully be said--that she was a good teacher. so i want to say it formally for myself and for all the others and for all the years. for i suppose that if we were doomed to go before our girls for a last judgment, the best and the least of us would care just for the simple bit of testimony that we knew our business and attended to it. and of all the good people who made college days so rich for me, there is none of whom i could say this more entirely than of miss montague. often as i have caught sight of her in the jostling crowd of the second floor, i have felt a lively regret that she was known to so few of the girls, and that her excellent ability to give zest to drill and to stablish fluttering wits in order, could not have a fuller and freer exercise. in the old days we valued what she had to give, and in the usual silent, thankless way, elected her courses as long as there were courses to elect; but we have had to teach many years since to know how special that gift of hers was. just as closer acquaintance with herself proved her breadth of mind and sympathy not quite understood before, so more intelligent knowledge of her methods showed them to be broader and more fundamental than we had quite comprehended. with her handling, rules and sub-rules ceased to jostle and confuse one another, but grouped themselves in a simpler harmony which we thought a very beautiful discovery, and grammar took on a reasonable unity which seemed a marvel. so we took our laborious days with cheer and enjoyed the energy, for we quite understood that our work would lead to something. but if there could be an interchange of grace and i could take a gift from miss montague's personality, i would rather have what she in a matter-of-fact way would take for granted, but what is harder for us who are beginners here to come by,--i mean her altogether fine and blameless relation to her girls outside the classroom. she was a presence always heartily responsive, but never unwary, without the slightest reflection of her personality upon us, with never a word too much of praise or blame, of too much intimacy or of too much reserve. she was a figure of familiar friendliness, ready with sympathy and comprehension, but wholesome, sound and sane, without trace of sentimentality. above all, i felt her a singularly honorable spirit, toward whom we always turned our best side, to whom we might never go with talk wanton or idle or unkind or critical, but always with our very precious thoughts on whatsoever things are eager, and honest and kindly and of good report. and so she was able to do us much good and no harm at all. she can have had no millstones about her neck to reckon with.... miss montague used to have a little class in plato, and i have not forgotten how quietly we read together one day at the end of the phaedo of the death of socrates. after miss montague died, i turned to the book and found the place where the servant has brought the cup of poison, but crito, unreconciled, wants to delay even a little: "for the sun," said he, "is yet on the hills, and many a man has drunk the draught late." "yes," said socrates, "since they wished for delay. but i do not think that i should gain anything by drinking the cup a little later." in january, , while this story of wellesley was being written, katharine coman, professor emeritus of economics, went like a conqueror to the triumph of her death. miss coman's power as a teacher has been spoken of on an earlier page, but she will be remembered in the college and outside as more than a teacher. her books and her active interest in industrial affairs, her noble attitude toward life, all have had their share in informing and directing and inspiring the college she loved. "a mountain soul, she shines in crystal air above the smokes and clamors of the town. her pure, majestic brows serenely wear the stars for crown. "she comrades with the child, the bird, the fern, poet and sage and rustic chimney-nook, but pomp must be a pilgrim ere he earn her mountain look. "her mountain look, the candor of the snow, the strength of folded granite, and the calm of choiring pines, whose swayed green branches strow a healing balm. * * * * * * * "for lovely is a mountain rosy-lit with dawn, or steeped in sunshine, azure-hot, but loveliest when shadows traverse it, and stain it not." [from a poem, "a mountain soul," by katharine lee bates, .] chapter iv the students at work and play the safest general statement which can be made about wellesley students of the first forty years of the college is that more than sixty per cent of them have come from outside new england, from the middle west, the far west, and the south. possibly there is a wellesley type. whether or not it could be differentiated from the smith, the bryn mawr, the vassar, and the mt. holyoke types, if the five were set up in a row, unlabeled, is a question. yet it is true that certain recognizable qualities have developed and tend to persist among the students of wellesley. wellesley girls are in the best sense democratic. there is no gold coast on the campus or in the village; money carries no social prestige. more money is spent, and more frivolously, than in the early days; there are more girls, and more rich girls, to spend it; yet the indifference to it except as a mechanical convenience, a medium of exchange and an opportunity for service, continues to be naively utopian. but money is not the only touchstone of democratic sensitiveness. at wellesley there has always been uneasiness at the hint of unequal opportunity. when the college grew so large that membership in the six societies took on the aspect of special privilege, restiveness was as marked among the privileged as among the unprivileged, and more outspoken. the first result was the barn swallows, a social and dramatic society to which every student in college might belong if she wished. the second was the reorganization of the six societies on a more democratic and intellectual basis, to prevent "rushing", favoritism, cliques, and all the ills that mutually exclusive clubs are heir to. the agitation for these reforms came from the societies themselves, and they endured with spartan determination the months of transitional misery and readjustment which their generous idealism brought upon their heads. enthusiasm for equality also enters into the students' attitude toward "the academic", and like most enthusiasts, from the french revolution down, they are capable of confusing the issue. in the early days, they were not allowed to know their marks, lest the knowledge should rouse an unworthy spirit of competition; and of all the rules instituted by the founder, this is the one which they have been most unwilling to see abolished. silent time they relinquished with relief; domestic work they abandoned without a pang; bible study shrank from four to three years and from three to two, and then to one, almost without their noticing it. but when, in , the honor scholarships were established, a storm of protest burst among the undergraduates, and thundered and lightened for several weeks in the pages of college news. and not the least vehement of these protestants were the "honor girls" themselves. to see their names posted in an alphabetical list of twenty or more students who had achieved, all unwittingly, a certain number of a's and b's throughout their course, seems to have caused them a mortification more keen than that experienced by st. simeon stylites on his pillar. but that the college ideal should be "degraded" pained them most. there was something very touching and encouraging about this wrong-headed, right-hearted outburst. after the usual wellesley fashion, freedom of speech prevailed; everybody spoke her mind. in the end "sweetness and light" dispersed the mists of sentiment which had assumed that to acknowledge inequality of achievement was to abolish equality of opportunity, and burned away the ethical haziness which had magnified mediocrity; the crusaders realized that the pseudo-compassion which would conceal the idle and the stupid, the industrious and the brilliant, in a common obscurity, is impracticable, since the fool and the genius cannot long be hid, and unfair, since the ant and the grasshopper would enjoy a like reward, and no democracy has yet claimed that those who do not work shall eat. when in the faculty at last decided to inform the students as to all their marks, the news was received with no protest and with an intelligent appreciation of the intellectual and ethical value of the new privilege. the college was founded "for the glory of god and the service of the lord jesus christ, in and by the education and culture of women"; and wellesley girls are, in the best sense, religious. there has been no time in the first forty years when the undergraduates were not earnestly and genuinely preoccupied with religious questions and religious living. one recognizes this not only by the obvious and commonplace signs, such as the interest in the christian association, the student volunteer movement, the missionary field, silver bay, manifested by the conventional christian students; it is evident also in the hunger and thirst of the sincere rebels, in such signs as the "heretics' bible class" a volunteer group which existed for a year or two in the second decade of the century, and which has had its prototypes at intervals throughout the forty years. one sees it in the interest and enthusiasm of the students who follow professor case's course in the philosophy of hegel; in the reverence and love with which girls of all creeds and of none speak of the chapel services, and attend them. when two thirds of the girls go voluntarily and as a matter of course to an ash wednesday evening service, when jew and roman catholic alike testify eagerly to the value of the morning chapel service in their spiritual development, it is evident that the religious life is genuine and healthy. and it finds its outlet in the passion for social service which, if statistics can be trusted, inspires so many of the alumnae. the old-fashioned puritan, if she still exists, may tremble for the souls of the wellesley girls who crowd by hundreds into the "matinee train" on saturday afternoon, but let us hope that she would be reassured to find the voluntary bible and mission study classes attended, and even conducted, by many of these same girls. she might grieve over the years of bible study lost to the curriculum, and over the introduction of modern methods of biblical higher criticism into the classroom; but surely she would be comforted to see how the students have arisen to the rescue of the devotional study of the scriptures, with their voluntary classes enthusiastically maintained. it might even touch her sense of humor. as the college has grown larger, undoubtedly more and more girls have come to wellesley for other than intellectual reasons,--because it is "the thing" to go to college, or for "the life." but it is reassuring to find that the reactions of "the life" upon them always quicken them to a deeper respect for intellectual values. the "academic" holds first place in the wellesley life, not perfunctorily but vitally. the students themselves are swift to recognize and rebuke, usually in the "free press" or the "parliament of fools", of the college news, any signs of intellectual indifference or laxity. wellesley, like harvard and other large colleges, has its uninspiring level stretches of mediocrity; but it has its little leaping hills, its soaring peaks as well. every class has its band of devoted students for whom the things of the mind are supreme; every class has its scattering of youthful scholars to give distinction to the academic landscape. it would be absurd and useless to deny that wellesley girls have their defects; they are of the sort that press for recognition; defects of manner, and manners, which are not confined to the students of any one college, or even to college students, but are due in a measure to the general change in our attitude towards women, and to the new freedom in which they all alike share. it is true that, to a degree, the graces and reserves which give charm and finish to daily living are sacrificed to the more pushing claims of study and athletics, in college. it is true that the unmodulated voice, the mushy enunciation, the unrestrained attitude, the slouchy clothes, too often go unrebuked in classroom and dormitory, where it seems to be nobody's business to rebuke them; but it is also usually true that, before they ever came to college, that voice, that attitude, those clothes, went unrebuked and even unheeded, at home or in the girls' camp, where it emphatically was somebody's business to heed and rebuke. but it is the public which sees the worst of it, especially on trains, where groups of young voices or extreme fashions in dress become quite unintentionally conspicuous. experienced from within, the life, despite its many little roughnesses, its small lapses in taste, is gracious and gentle, selfless in unobtrusive ways, and genuinely kind. religious, democratic, intellectually serious is our wellesley girl, and last but not least, she is a lover of beauty. how could she fail to be? how many times, in early winter twilights, has she come over the stile into the stone hall meadow, and stood long moments, hushed, bespelled, by the tranquil pale loveliness of the lake, the dusky, rimming hills, the bare, slim blackness of twig and bough embroidering the silver sky,--the whole luminous etching? how often, mid-morning in spring, has she sat with her book in a green shade west of the library, and lifted her eyes to see above the daffodil-bank of longfellow's fountain the blue lake waters laughing between the upspringing trunks of the tall oak trees? wherever there are wellesley women, when spring is waking,--in switzerland, in sicily, in japan, in england,--they are remembering the wellesley spring, that pageant of young green of lawns and hills and tenderest flushing rose in baby oak leaves and baby maples, that twinkling dance of birches and of poplars, that splendor of the youth of the year amid which young maidens shone and blossomed, starring the campus among the other spring flowers. and are there wellesley women anywhere in the autumn who do not think of wellesley and four autumns? of the long russet vistas of the west woods? of the army with banners, scarlet and golden, and bronze and russet and rose, that marched and trumpeted around lake waban's streaming persian pattern of shadows? when you speak to a wellesley girl of her alma mater, her eyes widen with the lover's look, and you know that she is seeing a vision of pure beauty. ii. in , the students, shocked and grieved by the discovery of one of those cases of cheating with which every college has to deal from time to time, met together, and made a very stringent rule to be enforced by themselves. this "law", enacted on february , , marks the first step toward student government at wellesley; it reads as follows: "the students of wellesley college unanimously decree as a perpetual law of the college that no student shall use a translation or key in the study of any lesson or in any review, recitation, or examination. every student who may enter the college shall be in honor bound to expose every violation of this law. if any student shall be known to violate this law, she shall be warned by a committee of the students and publicly exposed. if the offense be repeated the students shall demand her immediate expulsion as unworthy to remain a member of wellesley college." it is signed by the presidents of the two classes, and , then in college. until , when the courant, the first wellesley periodical, gave the students opportunity to express their minds concerning matters of college policy, we have no definite record of further steps toward self-government on the part of the undergraduates. the disciplinary methods of those early years are amusingly described by mary c. wiggin, of the class of ' , who tells us that authority was vested in four bodies, the president, the doctor, the corridor teacher and the head of the domestic department. "the president was responsible for our going out and our coming in. the 'office' might give permission to leave town, but all tardiness in returning must be explained to the president. how timidly four of us came to miss freeman in my sophomore year to explain that the freshman's mother had kept us to supper after our 'permitted' drive on monday afternoon! what an occasion it gave her to caution us as to sophomore influence over freshmen! "very infrequent were our journeys to boston in those days, theaters were forbidden. once during my four years i saw booth in 'macbeth' during a christmas vacation, salving my conscience with a liberal interpretation of the phrase, 'while connected with the college', trying to forget the parting injunction, 'remember, girls, that you are wellesley college.'... "in the old days we were seated alphabetically in church and chapel, where attendance was kept in each 'section' by one of its members. a growing laxity permitted you to sit out of place on sunday evenings, provided that you reported to your section girl. otherwise you would be called to the office to explain your absence.... "very slowly did the idea dawn upon me that there was a faculty back of all these very pleasant personal relations." but in the late ' 's, the advance toward student self-government begins to be traceable, slowly but surely. in the spring of , on the initiative of the faculty, the first formal conference between representatives of faculty and students was called, to consider questions of class organization. other conferences took place at irregular intervals during the next seven years, as occasion arose, and these often led to new legislation. the subjects discussed were, the magazine, the legenda, athletics, the junior prom. in the autumn of , students were first allowed to hand in excuses for absence from college classes; the responsibility for giving a "true, valid and signed excuse" resting with the individual student. in this same autumn the law forbidding eating between meals was repealed, but students were still not permitted to keep eatables in their rooms. articles on college courtesy, quiet in the library, articles for and against domestic work, begin to appear in the courant and the prelude in and . in may, , we learn of a students' association, which was the means of obtaining class bulletin boards in the autumn of . from this time also, agitation on all topics of interest to the students is more openly active. in september, , the faculty consent to allow library books to be taken out of the library on saturday afternoon for use over sunday. in october, , we find that the students' association is to offer a medium for discussion and to foster a scholarly spirit. in december, , a plea appears in the prelude for occasional conferences between faculty and students on problems of college policy. in , we read that the individual students are allowed to choose a church in the village and attend it on sundays, if they so desire, instead of attending the college chapel. in also, we have the agitation, in the wellesley magazine, for the wearing of cap and gown, and in this year senior privileges are extended, and the responsibility for absence from class appointments rests with the student. in november, , the magazine prints an article on student government by professor case of the department of philosophy. and the cap and gown census and discussion go gayly on. early in , there is a discussion of student government. in the spring of this year, there is an agitation for voluntary chapel. in september, the seniors begin to wear the cap and gown throughout the year. the year sees silent time abolished; and agitation,--always courteous and friendly,--goes on for student government, for the opening of the library on sunday, for the abolition of domestic work. in or , professor burrell, as head of college hall, introduces the custom of having students sign for overtime when they wish to study after ten o'clock at night. in , excuses for absence from chapel and classes are no longer required. in the spring of , at the request of undergraduates, a conference with the faculty, in a series of meetings, considers matters of interest in student life. beginning with may, , the library is opened on sundays. it is significant to note, in looking over these old files of college magazines, that when the students' interest waned, the faculty were always ready to administer the necessary prod. not all the articles in favor of student government are written by students. president shafer herself gave the strongest early impetus to the movement, although not through the press. in , professor woolley, as head of college hall, instituted a house organization, which as an experiment in student government among the students then living in college hall was a complete success. in june, , we find arrangements made for a faculty-student conference, to be held during the autumn months; and this body met five times. its establishment did a great deal in paving the way to mutual understanding and trust when the definite question of student government was approached. on march , , at a mass meeting of the students, and after a spirited discussion, it was voted that the academic council be petitioned to give self-government to the students in all matters not academic. this date is kept every year as the birthday of student government. at another mass meeting, on april , miss katharine lord, the president of the student association of bryn mawr, spoke to the college on student government, and on april , there was still another mass meeting. the student committee appointed to confer with the committee from the faculty had for its chairman mary leavens, of the class of , student head of college hall; miss pendleton, at that time secretary of the college, was the chairman of the faculty committee. student government found in her, from the beginning, a convinced and able champion. in april, the constitution was submitted to the committee of the faculty, and in may the constitution and the agreement, after careful consideration, were submitted to the executive committee of the board of trustees. on may , an all day election for president was held, resulting in the choice of frances l. hughes, , as first president of the student government association of wellesley college. on june , the report was adopted and the agreement was signed by the president and secretary of the board of trustees and the president of the college. on june , in the presence of the faculty and the whole student body, in chapel, the agreement was read and signed on behalf of the faculty by the secretary of the college. the ceremony was impressive and memorable in its simplicity and solemnity. after miss pendleton had signed her name, the students rose and remained standing while the agreement was signed by frances l. hughes, president of the association for and , may mathews, president of the class of , margaret c. mills, president of the class of , and mary leavens, president of the house council of college hall. the scripture lesson was taken from i. corinthians, "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid," and the recessional was, "how firm a foundation." the association is organized with a president and vice president, chosen from the senior class, and a secretary and a treasurer from the juniors; these are all elected by the whole undergraduate body. there is an executive board whose members are the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of the association, the house presidents and their proctors, and a representative from each of the four classes, elected by the class. the government is in all essentials democratic. the rules are made and executed by the whole body of students; but all legislation of the students is subject to approval by the college authorities, and if any question arises as to whether or not a subject is within the jurisdiction of the association, it is referred to a joint committee of seven, made up of a standing committee of three appointed by the faculty, a standing committee of three appointed by the association, and the president of the college. in intrusting to the association the management of all matters not strictly academic concerning the conduct of students in their college life, the college authorities reserve the right to regulate all athletic events and formal entertainments, all societies, clubs and other organizations, all society houses, and all publications, all matters pertaining to public health and safety and to household management and the use of college property. the students are responsible for all matters of registration and absence from college, for the regulation of travel, permission for sunday callers, rules governing chaperonage, the maintenance of quiet, the general conduct of students on the campus and in the village. it is they who have abolished the "ten-o'clock-bedtime rule"; it is they who have decreed that students shall not go to boston on sundays, but this rule is relaxed for seniors, who are allowed two boston sundays, in which they may attend church or an afternoon sacred concert in the city. if a student wishes to spend sunday away from college, she must go away on saturday and remain until monday. questions of minor discipline, such as the enforcing of the rule of quiet in the dormitories, are handled by the students; not yet, it must be confessed, with complete success, as the quiet in the dormitories--especially the freshman houses--falls short of that holy calm which studious girls have a right to claim. serious misdemeanors are of course in the jurisdiction of the president of the college and the faculty. one very important college duty, the proctoring of examinations, which would seem to be an entirely legitimate function of the student government association, the students themselves have not as yet been willing to assume. during the years when the freshmen, sometimes as many as four hundred, were housed in the village because of the crowded conditions on the campus, the burden upon the student government association, and especially upon the vice president and her senior assistants who had charge of the village work, was, in the opinion of many alumnae and some members of the faculty, heavier than they should have been expected to shoulder; for, when all is said, students do come to college primarily to pursue the intellectual life, rather than to be the monitors of undergraduate behavior. fortunately, with the endowment of the college and the building of new dormitories on the campus, the village problem will be eliminated. the students themselves are unanimously enthusiastic concerning student government, and the history of the association since its establishment reveals an earnest and increasingly intelligent acceptance of responsibility on the part of the student body. from the beginning the ultimate success of the movement has been almost unquestioned, and the association is now as stable an institution, apparently, as the academic council or the board of trustees. iii. the most important of the associations which bring wellesley students into touch with the outside world are the christian association and the college settlements association. these two, with the consumers' league and the equal suffrage league--also flourishing organizations--help to foster the spirit of service which has characterized the college from its earliest days. the christian association did not come into existence until , but in the very first year of the college a missionary society was formed, which gave "missionary concerts" on sunday evenings in the chapel, and adopted as its college missionary, gertrude chandler (wyckoff) of the class of , who went out to the mission field in india in . in the first decade also a temperance society was formed, and noted speakers on temperance visited the college. but in , in order to unify the religious work, a christian association was proposed. the initiative seems to have come from the faculty, and this was natural, as the little group of teachers from the university of michigan--president freeman, professor chapin of the department of greek, professor coman of economics, professor case of philosophy, professor chandler of mathematics,--had had a hand in developing the young women's christian association at ann arbor. the first meeting of this association was held in college hall chapel, october , , and we read that it was formed "for the purpose of promoting christian fellowship as a means of individual growth in character, and of securing, by the union of the various societies already existing, a more systematic arrangement of the work to be done in college by officers and students, for the cause of christ." those who joined the association pledged themselves to declare their belief in jesus christ as their lord and savior and to dedicate their lives to his service. they promised to abide by the laws of the association and seek its prosperity; ever to strive to live a life consistent with its character as a christian association, and, as far as in them lay, to engage in its activities; to cultivate a christian fellowship with its members, and as opportunity offered, to endeavor to lead others to a christian life. wellesley is rightly proud of the christian simplicity and inclusiveness of this pledge. the work of the association included bible study, devotional meetings, individual work, and the development of missionary interest. three hundred and seventy signed as charter members, and professor stratton of the department of rhetoric was the first president. the students held most of the offices, but it was not until that a student president,--cornelia huntington of the class of --was elected. since then, this office has always been held by a student. from its inception the association received the greatest help and inspiration from mrs. durant, for many years the president of the boston young women's christian association, which was one of the first of its kind. early in its career, the wellesley association adopted, besides its foreign missionary, a home missionary, and later a city missionary who worked in new york. an indian committee was formed, and thanksgiving entertainments were given at the woman's reformatory in sherborn and the dedham asylum for released prisoners. in this prison work, the college always had the fullest help and sympathy of mrs. durant. the wellesley student volunteer band was organized may , , and in there were known to be about one hundred wellesley girls in the foreign field, and there were probably others of whom the college was uninformed. it is a noble and inspiring record. in , after the union of many of the young women's christian associations and the formation of the national board, wellesley was urged to affiliate herself with the national association, but she was unwilling to narrow her own pledge, to meet the conditions of the national board. she felt that she better served the cause of christian unity by admitting to her fellowship a wider range of christians, so-called, than the national board was at that time prepared to tolerate; and she was also more or less fearful of too much dictation. it was not until , at the fourth biennial convention of the young women's christian associations, held at richmond, virginia, that wellesley was received into the national organization; and she came retaining her own pledge and her own constitution. in the old days, the christian association was the stronghold of the dying evangelicalism, and was looked on with distaste by many of the radical students; but of late years, its tone and its method have changed to meet the needs of the modern girl, and it has become a power throughout the college. the annual report for - shows a total membership of . the association carries on mission study classes; bible classes which the students teach, under the direction of volunteers from the faculty, in such subjects as "the social teachings of jesus", "the ideals of israel's leaders as forces in our lives", "christ in everyday life"; "general aid" work, for girls who need to earn money in college. its social committee is active among freshmen and new students. of its special committees, the one on conferences and conventions plays an important part in quickening the interest in silver bay, and the one on "the college in spain" presents the needs and claims of the international institute for girls at madrid. besides its regular meetings, the christian association now has charge of the lenten services, and this effort to deepen the devotional life of the college has met with a swift response from the students. during - , in lent, the chapel was open every afternoon for meditation and prayer, and cards with selected prayers for each day were furnished to all who cared to use them. unquestionably, wellesley possesses no student organization more living and more life-giving than its christian association. four years after the foundation of the christian association, wellesley had opened her heart and her mind to the college settlement idea. the movement, as is well known, originated in the late ' 's in america. at the same time that jane addams and ellen gates starr were starting hull house in chicago, a group of smith college alumnae, chief among whom were vida d. scudder, clara french, helen rand (thayer), and jean fine (spahr), was pressing for the establishment of a house in the east. and the idea was understood and fostered by wellesley about as soon as by smith, for it was interpreted at wellesley by professor scudder, who became a member of the college faculty, as instructor in english literature, in the autumn of . in , the courant printed an article on college settlements, and students of the later ' 's and early ' 's will never forget the ardor and excitement of those days when wellesley was bearing her part in starting what was to be one of the important movements for social service in the nineteenth century. all her early traditions and activities made the college swift to understand and welcome this new idea. from the beginning, the social impulse has been inherent in wellesley, and settlement work was native to her. professor whiting tells us that there used to be a shoe factory in wellesley village, about where the eliot now stands; that the students became interested in the girl operatives, most of whom lived in south natick, and that they started a factory girls' club which met every saturday evening for years, and was led by college girls. in charles river village, also at that time a factory town, mr. durant held evangelistic services during one winter, and "teacher specials" used to help him, and to teach in the sunday school. in - , probably because of the settlement impulse, work among the maids in the college was set going by the christian association. a maids' parlor was furnished under the old gymnasium, and classes for the maids were started. in , the wellesley chapter of the college settlements association was organized. it was professor katharine lee bates (wellesley ' ) who first suggested the plan for an intercollegiate organization, with chapters in the different colleges for women; and her friend adaline emerson (thompson), a wellesley graduate of the class of ' , was the first president of the association. wellesley women have ever since taken a prominent part in the direction of the association's policy and in the active life of the settlement houses in new york, boston, philadelphia, and baltimore. wellesley has given presidents, secretaries, and many electors to the association itself, and head-workers and a continuous stream of efficient and devoted residents, not only to the four college settlements, but to social settlement houses all over the country. the college chapter keeps a special interest in the work of the boston settlement, denison house; students give entertainments occasionally for the settlement neighbors, and help in many ways at christmas time; but practical social service from undergraduates is not the ideal nor the desire of the college settlements association. it aims rather at the quickening of sympathy and intelligence on social questions, and the moral and financial support which the college chapter can give its representatives out in the world. such by-products of the settlement interest as the social study circle, an informal group of undergraduates and teachers which met for several years to study social questions, are worth much more to the movement than the immature efforts of undergraduates in directing settlement clubs and classes. already the historic perspective is sufficiently clear for us to realize that the college settlement movement is the unique, and perhaps the most important organized contribution of the women's colleges to civilization during their first half century of existence. through this movement, in which they have played so large a part, they have exerted an influence upon social thought and conscience exceeded, in this period, by few other agencies, religious, philanthropic or industrial, if we except the trade-union movement and socialism, which emanate from the workers themselves. the prominent part which wellesley has played in it will doubtless be increasingly understood and valued by her graduates. iv. let it be frankly acknowledged: the ordinary adult is usually bored by the undergraduate periodical--even though he may, once upon a time, have edited it himself. the shades of the prison-house make a poor light for the gothic print of adolescence. but the historian, if we may trust allegory, bears a torch. for him no chronicle, whether compiled by twelfth-century monk or twentieth-century collegian, can be too remote, too dull, to reflect the gleam. and some chronicles, like the wellesley one, are more rewarding than others. no one can turn over the pages of these fledgling journals, courant, prelude, magazine, news, without being impressed by the unconscious clarity with which they reflect not merely the events in the college community--although they are unusually faithful and accurate recorders of events--but the college temper of mind, the range of ideas, the reaction to interests beyond the campus, the general trend of the intellectual and spiritual life. the interest in social questions is to the fore astonishingly early. in wellesley's first newspaper, the courant, published in the college year - , we find articles on the working girls of boston, on the single tax, and notes of a prize essay on child labor. and throughout the decade of the ' 's, the dominant note in the prelude, - , and its successor, the wellesley magazine, - , is the social note. reports of college events give prominent place to lectures on woman suffrage, social settlements, christian socialism. in , william clarke of the london chronicle, a member of the fabian society, visiting america as a delegate to the labor congress in chicago, gave lectures at wellesley on "the development of socialism in england", "the government of london", "the london working classes." matthew arnold's visit came too early to be recorded in the college paper, but he was perhaps the first of a notable list of distinguished englishmen who have helped to quicken the interest of wellesley students along social lines. graham wallas, lowes-dickinson, h. g. wells, are a few of the names found in the pages of the magazine and the news. the young editors evidently welcomed papers on social themes, such as "the transition in the industrial status of women, by professor coman"; and the great strikes of the decade, the homestead strike, the pennsylvania coal strike, the new bedford strike, are written up as a matter of course. it is interesting to note that the paper on the homestead strike, with a plea for the unions, was written by an undergraduate, mary k. conyngton, who has since won for herself a reputation for research work in the labor bureau at washington. political articles are only less prominent than social and industrial material. as early as we have an article on "the triple alliance" and in the magazine of and there are papers on "the colonial expansion of the great european powers", "the italian riots of may, ", "the philippine question", "the dreyfus incident." this preoccupation of young college women of the nineteenth century with modern industrial and political history is significant when we consider the part that woman has elected to play in politics and reform since the beginning of the twentieth century. in the first years of that new century, the magazine and the weekly news begin to reflect the general revival of religious interest among young people. the student volunteer movement, the increased activities in the christian associations for both men and women, find their response in wellesley students. letters from missionaries are given prominence; the conferences at silver bay are written up enthusiastically and at great length. social questions never lapse, at wellesley, but during the decade to , the dominant journalistic note is increasingly religious. later, with the activity of the social study circle, an informal club for the study of social questions, and its offspring the small but earnest club for the study of socialism, the social interests regained their vitality for the student mind. besides the extra mural problems, the periodicals record, of course, the events and the interests of the little college world. through the "free press" columns of these papers, the didactic, critical, and combative impulses, always so strong in the undergraduate temperament, find a safe vent. mentor and agitator alike are welcomed in the "free press", and many college reforms have been inaugurated, and many college grievances--real and imagined--have been aired in these outspoken columns. and not the least readable portions of the weeklies have been the "waban ripples" in the prelude, and the "parliament of fools" in the news. for wellesley has a merry wit and is especially good at laughing at herself,--yes, even at that "academic" of which she is so loyally proud. witness these naughty parodies of examination questions, which appeared in a "parliament of fools" just before the mid-year examinations of . philosophy: "translate the following into kant, spencer, perry, leibnitz, hume, calkins (not more than one page each allowed). "'little drops of water, little grains of sand, make the mighty ocean, and a pleasant land.' "the remainder of the time may be employed in translating into kantian terminology, the title of the book: 'myself and i.'" english literature: "give dates and significance of the following; and state whether they are persons or books: stratford-on-avon, magna charta, louvain, onamataposa, synod of whitby, bunker hill, transcendentalism, mesopotamia, albania, hastings. "write an imaginary conversation between john bunyan and myrtle reed on the social significance of beowulf. "do you consider that browning and carlyle were influenced by the cubist school? cite passages not discussed in class to support your view. "trace the effects of the norman strain in england in the works of tolstoi, cervantes, and tagore." english composition: "write a novelette containing: (a) plot; (b) two crises; (c) three climaxes; (d) one character. "write a biography of your own life, bringing out distinctly reasons pro and con. outline form." biblical history: "trace the life of abraham from genesis through malachi. "quote the authentic passages of the new testament. why or why not? "where do the following words recur? verily, greeting, begat, therefore, pharisee, holy, notacceptedbythescholars." excellent fooling, this; and it should go far to convince a skeptical public that college girls take their educational advantages with sanity. as literary magazines, these wellesley periodicals are only sporadically successful. now and again a true poet flashes through their pages; less often a true story-teller, although the mechanical excellence of most of the stories is unquestionable,--they go through the motions quite as if they were the real thing. but the appeals of the editors for poetry and literary prose; their occasional sardonic comments upon the apathy of the college reading public,--especially during the waning later years of the magazine, before it was absorbed into the monthly issue of the news,--would seem to indicate that the pure, literary imagination is as rare at wellesley as it is in the world at large. yet there are shining pages in these chronicles, pages whose golden promise has been fulfilled. in , the alumnae association discussed the advisability of publishing an alumnae magazine, but it was decided that the time was not yet ripe for the new enterprise, and instead an agreement was entered into with the news, by which a certain number of pages each month were to be at the disposal of the alumnae editor, for articles and essays on college matters which should be of interest to the alumnae. the new department has been marked from the beginning by dignity and interest, and the papers contributed have been unusually valuable, especially from the point of view of college history. in wellesley's senior annual, the legenda, came into being. in general it has followed the conventional lines of all college annuals, but occasionally it has departed from the beaten path, as in , when it was transformed into a wellesley songbook; in , when it printed a memorial sketch of miss shafer, and a biographical sketch of mrs. durant; in , when it became a storybook of college life. in october, , the wellesley college press board was organized by mrs. helene buhlert magee, of the class of . the board is the outgrowth of an attempt by the college authorities, in , to regulate the work of its budding journalists. up to this time the newspapers had been supplied, more or less intermittently and often unsatisfactorily, with items of college news by students engaged by the newspapers and responsible only to them. the college now appoints an official reporter from its own faculty, who sends all wellesley news to the newspapers and is consulted by the regular reporters when they desire special information. the press board, organized by this official reporter, consists of seven students reporting for boston papers and two for those in new york. at the time of the wellesley fire, this board proved itself particularly efficient in disseminating accurate information. v. but it is not the workaday wellesley, tranquilly pursuing her serious and semi-serious occupations, that the outsiders know best. to them, she is wont to turn her holiday face. and no college plays with more zest than wellesley. perhaps because no college ever had such a perfect playground. every hill and grove and hollow of the beautiful campus holds its memories of playdays and midsummer nights. those were the nights when rosalind and orlando wandered out of arden into a new england moonlight; when flitting ariel forsook prospero's isle to make his nest in wellesley's bowering rhododendrons--in blossom time he is always hovering there, a winged bloom, for eyes that are not holden. those were the nights when puck came dancing up from tupelo with titania's fairy rout a-twinkle at his heels; when the great hindu raj floated from india in his canopied barge across the moonlit waters of lake waban; when tristram and iseult, on their way to the court of king mark, all love distraught, cast anchor in the little cove below stone hall and played their passion out; when nicolette kilted her skirts against the dew and argued of love with aucassin. those were the nights when the countess cathleen--loveliest of yeats's irish ladies--found paradise and the heavenly host awaiting her on a wellesley hilltop when she had sold her soul to feed her starving peasants. but the glamour of the sun is as potent as the glamour of the moon at wellesley. high noon is magical on tree day, for then the mythic folk of ancient greece, the hamadryads and dian's nymphs, venus and orpheus and narcissus, and all the rest, come out and dream a dance of old days on the great green billows of the lawn. to see veiled cupid, like a living flame, come streaming down among the hillside trees, down, swift as fire, to the waiting psyche, is never to forget. no wood near athens was ever so vision-haunted as wellesley with the dancing spirits of past tree days. on that day in early june the whole college turns itself into a pageant of spring. from the long hillside above which college hall once towered, the faculty and the alumnae watch their younger sisters march in slow processional triumph around and about the wide green campus. like a moving flower garden the procession winds upon itself; hundreds and hundreds of seniors and juniors and sophomores and freshmen,--more than fourteen hundred of them in . then it breaks ranks and plants itself in parterres at the foot of the hill, masses of blue, and rose, and lavender, and golden blossoming girls. contrary mistress mary's garden was nothing to it. and after the procession come the dances. sometimes a breton pardon wanders across the sea. the gods from olympus are very much at home in these groves of academe. once king arthur's knight came riding up the wide avenue at the edge of the green. the spirits of sun and moon, the nymphs of the wind and the rain, have woven their mystical spells on that great greensward. and in the fairy ring around longfellow fountain, gnomes and fays and freshmen play hide-and-seek with the water nixies. the first tree day was mr. durant's idea; no one was more awake than he, in the old days, to wellesley's poetic possibilities. and the first trees were gifts from mr. hunnewell; two beautiful exotics, japanese golden evergreens--one for and one for . the two trees were planted on may , , the sophomore tree by the library, the freshman tree by the dining room. an early chronicler writes, "then it was that the venerated spade made its first appearance. we had confidently expected a trowel, had written indeed 'apostrophe to the trowel' on our programs, and our apostrophist (do not see the dictionary), a girl of about the same height as the spade, but by no means, as she modestly suggested, of the same mental capacity, was so stricken with astonishment when she had mounted the rostrum and this burly instrument was propped up before her, that she nearly forgot her speech.... and then it was there was introduced the more questionable practice of planting class trees too delicate to bear the college course. although a foolish little bird built her nest and laid her eggs in the golden-leaved evergreen of ' , and although a much handsomer nest with a very much larger egg appeared immediately in the retinospora precipera aurea of ' , yet the rival 'nymphs with golden hair' were both soon forced to forsake their withered tenements; mr. hunnewell's exotics, after another trial or two, being succeeded by plebeian hemlocks." the true story of the wellesley spade and how it came to be handed down from class to class, is recorded in florence morse kingsley's diary, where we learn how the "burly instrument" of was succeeded by a less unwieldy and more ladylike utensil. under the date, april , , we find: our class (the class of ' ) had a meeting last night. we held it in one of the laboratories on the fifth floor, quite in secret, for we didn't want the ' girls to find it out. the class of ' is thought to be extraordinarily brilliant, and they certainly do look down on us freshmen in haughty disdain as being correspondingly stupid. i don't say very much against them, since i---- is an ' girl: besides, if i work hard i can graduate with ' , but at present my lot is cast with ' . we have decided to have a tree planting, and it is to be entirely original and the first of a series. mr. durant has given a japanese golden evergreen to ' and one to ' . they are precisely alike and they had been planted for quite a while before he thought of turning them into class trees. we heard a dark rumor yesterday to the effect that mr. durant is intending to plant another evergreen under the library window and present it to us. but we voted to forestall his generosity. we mean to have an elm, and we want to plant it out in front of the college, in the center or just on the other side of the driveway. the burning question remained as to who should acquaint mr. durant with our valuable ideas. nobody seemed ravenously eager for the job, and finally i was nominated. "you know him better than we do," they all said, so i finally consented. i haven't a ghost of an idea what to say; for when one comes to think of it, it is rather ungrateful of ' not to want the evergreen under the library window. april . alice and i went to mr. durant to-day about the tree planting; but alice was stricken with temporary dumbness and never opened her lips, though she had solemnly promised to do at least half the talking; so i had to wade right into the subject alone. i began in medias res, for i couldn't think of a really graceful and diplomatic introduction on the spur of the moment. mr. durant was in the office with a pile of papers before him as usual; he appeared to be very preoccupied and he was looking rather severe. the interview proceeded about as follows: he glanced up at us sharply and said, "well, young ladies," which meant, "kindly get down to business; my time is valuable." i got down to it about as gracefully as a cat coming down a tree, like this: "we have decided to have a regular tree-planting, mr. durant." of course i should have said, "the class of ' would like to have a tree-planting, if you please." mr. durant appeared somewhat startled: "eh, what's that?" he said, then he settled back in his chair and looked hard at us. his eyes were as keen as frost; but they twinkled--just a little, as i have discovered they can and do twinkle if one isn't afraid to say right out what one means, without unnecessary fuss and twaddle. "alice and i are delegates from the class of ' ," i explained, a trifle more lucidly. "the class has voted to plant an elm for our class tree, and we would like to plant it in front of the college in a prominent spot." we had previously decided gracefully to ignore the evergreen rumor. mr. durant looked thoughtful. "hum," he said, "i'd planned to give you girls of ' a choice evergreen, and as for a place for it: what do you say to the plot on the north side, just under the library window?" i looked beseechingly at alice. she was apparently very much occupied in a meek survey of the toes of her boots, which she had stubbed into premature old age scrambling up and down from the boat landings. meanwhile mr. durant was waiting for our look of pleased surprise and joyful acquiescence. then, without a vestige of diplomacy, i blurted right out, "yes, mr. durant; we heard so; but we don't think, that is, we don't want an evergreen under the library window; we would like a tree that will live a long, long time and grow big like an elm, and we want it where everybody will see it." mr. durant looked exceedingly surprised, and for the space of five seconds i was breathless. then he smiled in the really fascinating way that he has. "well," he said, and looked at me again, "what else have you decided to do?" then i told him all about the program we had planned, which is to include an address to the spade (which we hope will be preserved forever and ever), a class song, a procession, and a few other inchoate ideas. mr. durant entered right into the spirit of it, he said he liked the idea of a spade to be handed down from class to class. he asked us if we had the spade yet, and i told him "no," but alice and i were going to buy it for the class in the village that afternoon. "well, mind you get a good one," he advised. we said we would, very joyfully. then he told us we might select any young elm we wanted, and tie our class colors on it, and he would order it to be transplanted for us. after that he put on his hat and all three of us went out and fixed the spot right in front of the college by the driveway. mr. durant himself stuck a little stick in the exact place where the elm of ' will wave its branches for at least a hundred years, i hope. the hundred years are still to run, and old college hall has vanished, but the ' elm stands in its "prominent" place, a tree of ancient memories and visions ever young. it was not until that the pageant element began to take a definite and conspicuous place in the tree day exercises. the class of ' in its senior year gave a masque in which tall dryads, robed in green, played their dainty roles; and that same year the freshmen, the class of , gave the first tree day dance: a very mild dance of pink and white english maidens around a maypole--but the germ of all the tree day dances yet unborn. in its senior year, celebrated the discovery of america by a sort of kermess of colonial and indian dances with tableaux, and ever since, from year to year, the wonder has grown; zeus, and venus, and king arthur have all held court and revel on the wellesley campus. every year the long procession across the green grows longer, more beautiful, more elaborate; the dancing is more exquisitely planned, more complex, more carefully rehearsed. in the spring, wellesley girls are twirling a-tiptoe in every moment not spent in class; and in class their thoughts sometimes dance. indeed, the students of late years have begun to ask themselves if it may not be possible to obtain quite as beautiful a result with less expense of effort and time and money; for tree day, the crowning delight of the year, would defeat its own end, which is pure recreation, if its beauty became a tyrant. this multiplication of joys--and their attendant worries--is something that wellesley has to take measures to guard against, and the faculty has worked out a scheme of biennial rotatory festivities which since - has eased the pressure of revelry in may and june, as well as throughout the winter months. wellesley's list of societies and social clubs is not short, but the conditions of membership are carefully guarded. as early as the second year of the college, five societies came into existence: of these, the beethoven society and the microscopical--which started with a membership of six and an exhibition under three microscopes at its first meeting--seem to have been open to any who cared to join; the other three--the zeta alpha and phi sigma societies founded in november, , and the shakespeare in january, --were mutually exclusive. the two greek letter societies were literary in aim, and their early programs consisted in literary papers and oral debates. the shakespeare society, for many years a branch of the london shakespeare society, devoted itself to the study and dramatic presentation of shakespeare. its first open-air play was "as you like it", given in ; and until , when it conformed to the new plan of biennial rotation, this society gave a shakespearean play every year at commencement. in , zeta alpha and phi sigma were discontinued by the faculty, because of pressure of academic work, but in they were reorganized, and gradually their programs were extended to include dramatic work, poetic plays, and masques. the phi sigma society gives its masque--sometimes an original one--on alternate years just before the christmas vacation; and zeta alpha alternates with the classical society at commencement. the zeta alpha masque of , a charming dramatization in verse of an old hindu legend by elizabeth mcclellan of the class of , was one of the notable events of commencement time, a pageant of poetic beauty and oriental dignity; and in florence wilkinson evans's adaptation of the lovely old poem "aucassin and nicolette", was given for the second time. in , the art society--known since as tau zeta epsilon--was founded; and, alternating with the shakespeare play, it gives in the spring a "studio reception", at which pictures from the old masters, with living models, are presented. the effects of lighting and color are so carefully studied, and the compositions of the originals are so closely followed that the illusion is sometimes startling; it is as if real titians, rembrandts, and carpaccios hung on the wails of the wellesley barn. in , also, the glee and banjo clubs were formed. in , the agora, the political society, came into existence. the serious intellectual quality of its work does honor to the college, and its open debates, at which it has sometimes represented the house of commons, sometimes one or the other of the american chambers of congress, are marked events in the college calendar. in , alpha kappa chi, the classical society, was organized, and of late years its greek play, presented during commencement week, has surpassed both the senior play and the shakespeare play in dramatic rendering and careful study of the lines. gilbert murray's translation of the "medea", presented in , was a performance of which wellesley was justly proud. usually the wellesley plays are better as pageants than as dramatic productions, but the classical society is setting a standard for the careful literary interpretation and rendering of dramatic texts, which should prove stimulating to all the societies and class organizations. the senior play is one of the chief events of commencement week, but the students have not always been fully awake to their dramatic opportunity. if college theatricals have any excuse for being, it is not found in attempts to compete with the commercial stage and imitate the professional actor, but rather in dramatic revivals such as the harvard delta upsilon has so spiritedly presented, or in the interpretation of the poetic drama, whether early or late, which modern theaters with their mixed audiences cannot afford to present. the college audience is always a selected audience, and has a right to expect from the college players dramatic caviare. that wellesley is moving in the right direction may be seen by reading a list of her senior plays, among which are the "countess cathleen", by yeats, alfred noyes's "sherwood", and in "the piper" by josephine peabody marks. but wellesley's recreation is not all rehearsed and formal. may day, when the seniors roll their hoops in the morning, and all the college comes out to dance on the green and eat ice-cream cones in the afternoon, is full of spontaneous jollity. before the burning of college hall, the custom had arisen of cleaning house on may day, and six o'clock in the morning saw the seniors out with pails and mops, scrubbing and decorating the many statues which kept watch in the beloved old corridors. one of these statutes had become in some sort the genius of college hall. of heroic size, a noble representation of womanly force and tranquillity, anne whitney's statue of harriet martineau had watched the stream of american girlhood flow through "the center" and surge around the palms for twenty-eight years. the statue was originally made at the request of mrs. maria weston chapman, the well-known abolitionist and dear friend of miss martineau; but after mrs. chapman's death, it was miss whitney's to dispose of, and, representing as it did her ideal modern woman, she gave it in to wellesley, where modern womanhood was in the making. in later years, irreverent youth took playful liberties with "harriet", using her much as a beloved spinster aunt is used by fond but familiar young nieces. no freshman was considered properly matriculated until she had been dragged between the rungs of miss martineau's great marble chair; may day always saw "aunt harriet" rise like diana fresh from her bath, to be decked with more or less becoming furbelows; and as the presiding genius in the lighter columns of college news, her humor--an acquired characteristic--was merrily appreciated. of all the lost treasures of college hall she is perhaps the most widely mourned. the pretty little society houses, dotted about the campus, also give the students opportunity to entertain their guests, both formally and informally, and during the months following the fire, when wellesley was cramped for space, they exercised a generous hospitality which put all the college in their debt. as the membership in the shakespeare and greek letter societies is limited to between forty and fifty members in each society, the great majority of the students are without these social privileges, but the barn swallows, founded in , to which every member of the college may belong if she wishes, gives periodic entertainments in the "barn" which go far to promote general good feeling and social fellowship. the first president of the barn swallows, mary e. haskell, ' , says that it arose as an everybody's club, to give buried talents a chance. "suddenly we adjured the trustees by joy and democracy to bless our charter, to be gay once a week, and when they gave the olympic nod we begged for the barn to be gay in--and they gave that too. "it was a grim joy parlor; rough old floor, bristly with splinters, few windows, no plank walk, no stage, no partitions, no lighting. we hung tin reflectored lanterns on a few of the posts,--thicker near the stage end,--and opened the season with an impromptu opera of the brontes'." to professor charlotte f. roberts, wellesley ' , the barn swallows owe their happy name. besides these more formal organizations there are a number of department clubs, the deutsche verein, the alliance francaise, the philosophy club, the economics club, and informal groups such as the old rhymesters' club, which flourished in the late nineties, the scribblers' which seems to have taken its place and enlarged its scope, the social study circle, the little socialist club, and others through which the students express their intellectual and social interests. of wellesley's many festivities and playtimes it would take too long to tell: of her forensic burnings, held when the last junior forensic for the year is due; of her processional serenades, with chinese lanterns; of her singing on the chapel steps in the evenings of may and june. these well-beloved customs have been establishing themselves year by year more firmly in undergraduate hearts, but it is not always possible to trace them to their "first time." most of them date back to the later years of the nineteenth century, or the first of the twentieth. wellesley's musical cheer seems to have waked the campus echoes first in the spring of , as a result of a prize offered in november, , although as far back as there is mention of a cheer. the musical cheer has so much beauty and dignity, both near at hand and at a distance, that many of the early alumnae and the faculty wish it might some time quite supersede the ugly barking sounds, imitated from the men's colleges, with which the girls are fain to evince their approval and celebrate their triumphs. they invariably end their barking with the musical cheer, however, keeping the best for the last, and relieving the tortured graduate ear. formal athletics at wellesley developed from the gymnasium practice, the rowing on the lake, and the tree day dancing. in the early years, the class crews used to row on the lake and sing at sunset, in their heavy, broad-bottomed old tubs; and from these casual summer evenings "float" has been evolved--wellesley's water pageant--when lake waban is dotted with gay craft, and the crews in their slim, modern, eight-oared shells, display their skill. this is the festival which the public knows best, for unlike tree day, to which outsiders have been admitted on only three occasions, "float" has always been open to friendly guests. year by year the festival grows more elaborate. chinese junks, indian canoes, venetian gondolas, flower boats from fairyland, glide over the bright sunset waters, and the crews in their old traditional star pattern anchor together and sing their merry songs. there are new songs every spring, for each crew has its own song, but there are two of the old songs which are heard at every wellesley float, "alma mater", and the song of the lake, that louise manning hodgkins wrote for the class of ' . lake of gray at dawning day, in soft shadows lying,-- waters kissed by morning mist, early breezes sighing,-- fairy vision as thou art, soon thy fleeting charms depart. every grace that wins the heart, like our youth is flying. lake of blue, a merry crew, cheer of thee will borrow. happy hours to-day are ours, weighted by no sorrow. other years may bring us tears, other days be full of fears, only hope the craft now steers. cares are for the morrow. lake of white at holy night, in the moonlight gleaming,-- softly o'er the wooded shore, silver radiance streaming,-- on thy wavelets bear away every care we've known to-day, bring on thy returning way peaceful, happy dreaming. after the singing, the hunnewell cup is presented for the crew competition; and with the darkness, the fireworks begin to flash up from the opposite shore of the lake. besides the rowing clubs, in the first decade, there were tennis clubs, and occasional outdoor "meets" for cross-country runs, but apparently there was no regular organization combining in one association all the separate clubs until - , when we hear of the formation of a "new athletic association." there is also record of a field day on may , . in , we find the "new athletics"--evidently a still newer variety than those of --"recognized by the trustees"; and the first field day under this newest regime occurred on november , . all the later field days have been held in the late autumn, at the end of the sports season, which now includes a preliminary season in the spring and a final season in the autumn. an accepted candidate for an organized sport must hold herself ready to practice during both seasons, unless disqualified by the physical examiner, and must confine herself to the one sport which she has chosen. during both seasons the members may be required to practice three times a week. the athletic association, under its present constitution, dates from march, . all members of the college are eligible for membership, all members of the organized sports are ipso facto members of the association, and the director of physical training is a member ex officio. an annual contribution of one dollar is solicited from each member of the association, and special funds are raised by voluntary contribution. in the year - , the association included about twelve hundred members, not all of them dues-paying, however. the president of the athletic association is always a senior; the vice president, who is also chairman of the field day committee, and the treasurer are juniors; the secretary and custodian are sophomores. the members of the organized sports elect their respective heads, and each sport is governed by its own rules and regulations and by such intersport legislation as is enacted by the executive board, not in contravention to regulations by the department of physical training and hygiene. in this way the association and the department work together for college health. the organized sports at wellesley are: rowing, golf, tennis, basket ball, field hockey, running, archery, and baseball. the unorganized sports include walking, riding, swimming, fencing, skating, and snowshoeing. each sport has its instructor, or instructors, from the department of physical training. the members are grouped in class squads governed by captains, and each class squad furnishes a class team whose members are awarded numerals, before a competitive class event, on the basis of records of health, discipline, and skill. honors, blue w's worn on the sweaters, are awarded on a similar basis. interclass competitions for trophies are held on field day, and the association hopes, with the development of outdoor baseball, to establish interhouse competitions also. the gala days are, besides field day in the autumn, the indoor meet in the spring at the end of the indoor practice, "float" in june, and in winter, when the weather permits, an ice carnival on the lake. through the athletic association, new tennis courts have been laid out, the golf course has been remodeled, and the boathouse repaired. in , it was making plans for a sheltered amphitheater, bleachers, and a baseball diamond; and despite the fact that dues are not obligatory, more and more students are coming to appreciate the work of the association and to assume responsibility toward it. wellesley does not believe in intercollegiate sports for women. in this opinion, the women's colleges seem to be agreed; it is one of the points at which they are content to diverge from the policy of the men's colleges. wellesley's sports are organized to give recreation and healthful exercise to as many students as are fit and willing to take part in them. some students even disapprove of interclass competitions, and it is thought that the interhouse teams for baseball will serve as an antidote to rivalry between the classes. the only intercollegiate event in which wellesley takes part is the intercollegiate debate. in this contest, wellesley has been twice beaten by vassar, but in march, , she won in the debate against mt. holyoke, and in march, , in the triangular debate, she defeated both vassar and mt. holyoke. in september, , the college was granted a charter of the phi beta kappa society, and the wellesley chapter,--installed january , , is known as the eta of massachusetts. chapter v the fire: an interlude on the morning of march , , college hall, the oldest and largest building on the wellesley campus, was destroyed by fire. no one knows how the fire originated; no one knows who first discovered it. several people, in the upper part of the house, seem to have been awakened at about the same time by the smoke, and all acted with clear-headed promptness. the night was thick with fog, and the little wind "that heralds the dawn" was not strong enough to disperse the heavy vapors, else havoc indeed might have been wrought throughout the campus and the sleeping village. at about half past four o'clock, two students at the west end of college hall, on the fourth floor, were awakened and saw a fiery glow reflected in their transom. getting up to investigate, they found the fire burning in the zoological laboratory across the corridor, and one of them immediately set out to warn miss tufts, the registrar, and miss davis, the director of the halls of residence, both of whom lived in the building; the other girl hurried off to find the indoor watchman. at the same time, a third girl rang the great japanese bell in the third floor center. in less than ten minutes after this, every student was out of the building. the story of that brief ten minutes is packed with self-control and selflessness; trained muscles and minds and souls responded to the emergency with an automatic efficiency well-nigh unbelievable. miss tufts sent the alarm to the president, and then went to the rooms of the faculty on the third floor and to the officers of the domestic department on the second floor. miss davis set a girl to ringing the fast-fire alarm. and down the four long wooden staircases the girls in kimonos and greatcoats came trooping, each one on the staircase she had been drilled to use, after she had left her room with its light burning and its corridor door shut. in the first floor center the fire lieutenants called the roll of the fire squads, and reported to miss davis, who, to make assurance doubly sure, had the roll called a second time. no one said the word "fire"--this would have been against the rules of the drill. for a brief space there was no sound but "the ominous one of falling heavy brands." when miss davis gave the order to go out, the students walked quietly across the center, with embers and sparks falling about them, and went out on the north side through the two long windows at the sides of the front door. and all this in ten minutes! meanwhile, professor calkins, who does not live at the college but had happened to spend the night in the psychology office on the fifth floor, had been one of the earliest to awake, had wakened other members of the faculty and helped professor case and her wheel-chair to the first floor, and also had sent a man with an ax to break in professor irvine's door, which was locked. as it happened, professor irvine was spending the night in cambridge, and her room was not occupied. most of the members of the faculty seem to have come out of the building as soon as the students did, but two or three, in the east end away from the fire, lingered to save a very few of their smaller possessions. the students, once out, were not allowed to re-enter the building, and they did not attempt to disobey, but formed a long fire line which was soon lengthened by girls from other dormitories and extended from the front of college hall to the library. very few things above the first floor were saved, but many books, pictures, and papers went down this long line of students to find temporary shelter in the basement of the library. associate professor shackford, who wrote the account of the fire in the college news, from which these details are taken, tells us how miss pendleton, patrolling this busy fire line and questioning the half-clad workers, was met with the immediate response, even from those who were still barefooted, "i'm perfectly comfortable, miss pendleton", "i'm perfectly all right, miss pendleton." miss shackford adds: "at about five o'clock, a person coming from the hill saw college hall burning between the dining-room and center, apparently from the third floor up to the roof, in high, clear flames with very little smoke. suddenly the whole top seemed to catch fire at once, and the blaze rushed downward and upward, leaping in the dull gray atmosphere of a foggy morning. with a terrific crash the roof fell in, and soon every window in the front of college hall was filled with roaring flames, surging toward the east, framed in the dark red brick wall which served to accentuate the lurid glow that had seized and held a building almost one eighth of a mile long. the roar of devastating fury, the crackle of brands, the smell of burning wood and melting iron, filled the air, but almost no sound came from the human beings who saw the irrepressible blaze consume everything but the brick walls. "the old library and the chapel were soon filled with great billows of flame, which, finding more space for action, made a spectacle of majestic but awful splendor. eddies of fire crept along the black-walnut bookcases, and all that dark framework of our beloved old library. by great strides the blaze advanced, until innumerable curling, writhing flames were rioting all through a spot always hushed 'in the quiet and still air of delightful studies.' the fire raged across the walls, in and around the sides and the beautiful curving tops of the windows that for so many springs and summers had framed spaces of green grass on which fitful shadows had fallen, to be dreamed over by generations of students. in the chapel, tremendous waves swelled and glowed, reaching almost from floor to ceiling, as they erased the texts from the walls, demolished the stained-glass windows, defaced, but did not completely destroy the college motto graven over them, and, in convulsive gusts swept from end to end of the chapel, pouring in and out of the windows in brilliant light and color. seen from the campus below, the burning east end of the building loomed up magnificent even in the havoc and desolation it was suffering." at half past eight o'clock, four hours after the first alarm was sounded, there stood on the hill above the lake, bare, roofless walls and sky-filled arches as august as any medieval castle of europe. like thomas the rhymer, they had spent the night in fairyland, and waked a thousand years old. romance already whispered through their dismantled, endless aisles. king arthur's castle of camelot was not more remote from to-day than college hall from the twentieth-century march morning. weeks, months, a little while it stood there, vanishing--like old enchanted merlin--into the impenetrable prison of the air. there will be other houses on that hilltop, but never one so permanent as the dear house invisible; the double latin cross, the ten granite columns, the center ever green with ageless palms, the "steadfast crosses, ever pointing the heavenward way",--to eyes that see, these have never disappeared. at half past eight o'clock, in the crowded college chapel, president pendleton was saying to her dazed and stricken flock, "we know that all things work together for good to them that love god,--who shall separate us from the love of christ?" and when she had given thanks, in prayer, for so many lives all blessedly safe, there came the announcement, so quiet, so startling, that the spring term would begin on april , the date already set in the college calendar. this was the voice of one who actually believed that faith would remove mountains. and it did. by the faith of president pendleton, wellesley college is alive to-day. she did literally and actually cast the mountain into the sea on that seventeenth of march, . st. patrick himself never achieved a greater miracle. she knew that two hundred and sixteen people were houseless; that the departments of zoology, geology, physics, and psychology, had lost their laboratories, their equipment, their lecture rooms; that twenty-eight recitation rooms, all the administrative offices, the offices of twenty departments, the assembly hall, the study hall, had all been swept away. yet, in a little less than three weeks, there had sprung up on the campus a temporary building containing twenty-nine lecture and recitation rooms, thirteen department offices, fifteen administrative offices, three dressing rooms, and a reception room. plumbing, steam heat, electricity, and telephone service had been installed. a week after college opened for the spring term, classes were meeting in the new building. during that first week, offices and classes had been scattered all over the campus,--in the society houses, in the basements of dormitories, the art building, the chemistry building, the gymnasium, the basement of the library, the observatory, the stone hall botany laboratories, billings hall; all had opened their doors wide. the two hundred and sixteen residents of old college hall had all been housed on the campus; it meant doubling up in single rooms, but the doublets persuaded themselves and the rest of the college that it was a lark. this spirit of helpfulness and cheer began on the day of the fire, and seems to have acquired added momentum with the passing months. clothes, books, money, were loaned as a matter of course. by half past nine o'clock in the morning, the secretary of the dean had written out from memory the long schedule of the june examinations, to be posted at the beginning of the spring term. members of the faculty were conducting a systematic search for salvage among the articles that had been dumped temporarily in the "barn" and the library; homes had been found for the houseless teachers, most of whom had lost everything they possessed; several members of the faculty had no permanent home but the college, and their worldly goods were stored in the attic from which nothing could be saved. it is said that when president pendleton, in chapel, told the students to go home as soon as they had collected their possessions, "an unmistakable ripple of girlish laughter ran through the dispossessed congregation." this was the franciscan spirit in which wellesley women took their personal losses. for the general losses, all mourned together, but with hope and courage. in the department of physics, all the beautiful instruments which professor whiting had been so wisely and lovingly procuring, since she first began to equip her student-laboratory in , were swept away; geology and psychology suffered only less; but the most harrowing losses were those in the department of zoology, where, besides the destruction of laboratories and instruments, and the special library presented to the department by professor emeritus mary a. willcox, "the fruits of years of special research work which had attracted international attention have been destroyed.... professor marion hubbard had devoted her energies for six years to research in variation and heredity in beetles.... in view of the increasing interest in eugenics, scientists awaited the results with keen anticipation, but all the specimens, notes, and apparatus were swept away." professor robertson, the head of the department, who is an authority on certain deep-sea forms of life, had just finished her report on the collections from the dredging expedition of the prince of monaco, which had been sent her for identification; and the report and the collections all were lost. among the few things saved were some of the ivies and the roses which the classes had planted year by year; these the fire had not injured; and a slip from the great wistaria vine on the south side of college hall has proved to be alive and vigorous. the alumnae gavel and the historic tree day spade were also unharmed. but that no life was lost outweighs all the other losses, and this was due to the fire drill which, in one form or another, has been carried on at wellesley since the earliest years of the college. doctor edward abbott, writing of wellesley in harper's magazine for august, , says: "whoever heard of a fire brigade manned by women? there is one at wellesley, for it is believed that however incombustible the college building may be, the students should be taught to put out fire,... and be trained to presence of mind and familiarity with the thought of what ought to be done in case of fire." from time to time the drill has been strengthened and changed in detail, but in , when miss olive davis, director of houses of residence, was appointed by miss hazard to be responsible for an efficient fire drill, the modern system was instituted. an article in college news explains that "the organization of the present fire-drill system is much like the old one. with the adoption of student government, it was put into the hands of the students. each year a fire chief is elected from the student-body, by the students. this girl is a senior. she is counted an officer of the student government association, and is responsible to miss davis. then at meetings held at the beginning of the fall term, each dormitory elects one fire captain, who in turn appoints lieutenants under her,--one for every twenty or twenty-five girls. "the directions for a fire drill are: "upon hearing the alarm (five rings of the house bell), " . close your windows, doors, and transoms. " . turn on the electric lights. " . march in single file, and as quickly as possible, downstairs, and answer to your roll call. "each lieutenant is responsible for all the girls on her list. after the ringing of the alarm, she must look into every room in her district and see that the directions have been complied with and the inmates have gone downstairs. if the windows and doors have not been shut, she must shut them. then she goes downstairs and calls her roll (some lieutenants memorize their lists). when the lieutenants have finished, the captain calls the roll of the lieutenants, asking for the number absent in each district, and the number of windows and doors left open or lights not lighted, if any. "the captains are required to hold two drills a month. at the regular meetings of the organization at which the fire chief presides and miss davis is often present, the captains report the dates of their drills, the time of day they were held, the number of absentees and their reasons, the time required to empty the building, and the order observed by the girls. "drills may be called by the captain at any time of the day or night. frequently there were drills at college hall when it was crowded with nonresident students, there for classes. in that case no roll was called, but merely the time required and the order reported. the penalty for non-attendance at fire drills is a fine of fifty cents, and a serious error credited to the absentee. "there are devices such as blocking some of the staircases to train the girls for an emergency. it was being planned, just about the time college hall burned, to have a fire drill there with artificial smoke, to test the girls. the system is still being constantly changed and improved. on miss davis's desk, the night of the fire, was the rough draft of a plan by which property could be better saved in case of fire, without more danger to life." a few weeks after the burning of college hall, a small fire broke out at the zeta alpha house, but was immediately quenched, and associate professor josephine h. batchelder, of the class of , writing in college news of the self-control of the students, says: "perhaps the best example of 'wellesley discipline since the fire,' occurred during the brief excitement occasioned by the zeta alpha house fire. a few days before this, a special plea had been made for good order and concentrated work in an overcrowded laboratory, where forty-six students, two divisions, were obliged to meet at the same time. on this morning, the professor looked up suddenly at sounds of commotion outside. 'why, there's a fire-engine going back to the village!' she said. 'oh, yes' responded a girl near the window. 'we saw it come up some time ago, but you were busy at the blackboard, so we didn't disturb you.' the professor looked over her roomful of students quietly at work. 'well,' she said, 'i've heard a good deal of boasting about various things the girls were doing. now i'm going to begin!'" and this self-control does not fail as the months pass. the temporary administration building, which the students have dubbed the hencoop, tests the good temper of every member of the college. like chaucer's wicker house of rumors it is riddled with vagrant noises, but as it does not whirl about upon its base, it lacks the sanitary ventilating qualities of its dizzy prototype. on the south it is exposed to the composite, unmuted discords of music hall; on the north, the busy motors ply; within, nineteen of the twenty-six academic departments of the college conduct their classes, between walls so thin that every classroom may hear, if it will, the recitations to right of it, recitations to left of it, recitations across the corridor, volley and thunder. though they all conscientiously try to roar as gently as any sucking dove. the effect upon the unconcentrated mind is something like--the cosine of x plus the ewig weibliche makes the difference between the message of carlyle and that of matthew arnold antedate the bergsonian theory of the elan vital minus the sine of y since barbarians, philistines and populace make up the eternal flux wo die citronen bluhn--but fortunately the wellesley mind does concentrate, and uncomplainingly. the students are working in these murmurous classrooms with a new seriousness and a devotion which disregard all petty inconveniences and obstacles. and the fire has kindled a flame of friendliness between faculty and students; it has burned away the artificial pedagogic barriers and quickened human relations. the flames were not quenched before the students had begun to plan to help in the crippled courses of study. they put themselves at the disposal of the faculty for all sorts of work; they offered their notes, their own books; they drew maps; they mounted specimens on slides for the department of zoology. in that crowded, noisy, one-story building there are not merely the teachers and the taught, but a body of tried friends, moving shoulder to shoulder on pilgrimage to truth. chapter vi the loyal alumnae i. ever since we became a nation, it has been our habit to congratulate ourselves upon the democratic character of our american system of education. in the early days, neither poverty nor social position was a bar to the child who loved his books. the daughter of the hired man "spelled down" the farmer's son in the district school; the poor country boy and girl earned their board and tuition at the academy by doing chores; american colleges made no distinctions between "gentlemen commoners" and common folk; and as our public school system developed its kindergartens, its primary, grammar, and high schools, free to any child living in the united states, irrespective of his father's health, social status, or citizenship, we might well be excused for thinking that the last word in democratic education had been spoken. but since the beginning of the twentieth century, two new voices have begun to be heard; at first sotto voce, they have risen through a murmurous pianissimo to a decorous non troppo forte, and they continue crescendo,--the voice of the teacher and the voice of the graduate. and the burden of their message is that no educational system is genuinely democratic which may ignore with impunity the criticisms and suggestions of the teacher who is expected to carry out the system and the graduate who is asked to finance it. the teachers' point of view is finding expression in the various organizations of public school teachers in chicago, new york, and elsewhere, looking towards reform, both local and general; and in the movement towards the formation of a national association of college professors, started in the spring of by professors of columbia and johns hopkins. at a preliminary meeting at baltimore, in november, , unofficial representatives from johns hopkins, yale, harvard, princeton, cornell, columbia, clark, and wisconsin were present, and a committee of twenty-five was appointed, with professor dewey of columbia as chairman, "to arrange a plan of organization and draw up a constitution." president schurman, in a report to the trustees of cornell, makes the situation clear when he says: "the university is an intellectual organization, composed essentially of devotees of knowledge--some investigating, some communicating, some acquiring--but all dedicated to the intellectual life.... the faculty is essentially the university; yet in the governing boards of american universities the faculty is without representation." president schurman has suggested that one third of the board consist of faculty representatives. at wellesley, since the founder's death, the trustees have welcomed recommendations from the faculty for departmental appointments and promotions, and this practice now obtains at yale and princeton; the trustees of princeton have also voted voluntarily to confer on academic questions with a committee elected by the faculty. an admirable exposition of the teachers' case is found in an article on "academic freedom" by professor howard crosby warren of the department of psychology at princeton, in the atlantic monthly for november, . professor warren says that "in point of fact, the teacher to-day is not a free, responsible agent. his career is practically under the control of laymen. fully three quarters of our scholars occupy academic positions; and in america, at least, the teaching investigator, whatever professional standing he may have attained, is subject to the direction of some body of men outside his own craft. as investigator he may be quite untrammeled, but as teacher, it has been said, he is half tyrant and half slave.... "the scholar is dependent for opportunity to practice his calling, as well as for material advancement, on a governing board which is generally controlled by clergymen, financiers, or representatives of the state.... "the absence of true professional responsibility, coupled with traditional accountability to a group of men devoid of technical training, narrows the outlook of the average college professor and dwarfs his ideals. any serious departure from existing educational practice, such as the reconstruction of a course or the adoption of a new study, must be justified by a group of laymen and their executive agent.... "in determining the professional standing of a scholar and the soundness of his teachings, surely the profession itself should be the court of last appeal." the point of view of the graduate has been defining itself slowly, but with increasing clearness, ever since the governing boards of the colleges made the very practical discovery that it was the duty and privilege of the alumnus to raise funds for the support of his alma mater. it was but natural that the graduates who banded together, usually at the instigation of trustees or directors and always with their blessing, to secure the conditional gifts proffered to universities and colleges by american multimillionaires, should quickly become sensitive to the fact that they had no power to direct the spending of the money which they had so efficiently and laboriously collected. an individual alumnus with sufficient wealth to endow a chair or to erect a building could usually give his gift on his own terms; but alumni as a body had no way of influencing the policy of the institutions which they were helping to support. the result of this awakening has been what president emeritus william jewett tucker of dartmouth has called the "alumni movement." more than ten years ago, president hadley of yale was aware of the stirrings of this movement, when he said, "the influence of the public sentiment of the graduates is so overwhelming, that wherever there is a chance for its organized cooperation, faculties and students... are only too glad to follow it." it would be incorrect, however, to give the impression that graduates had had absolutely no share in the government of their respective colleges before the alumni movement assumed its present proportions. representatives of the alumni have had a voice in the affairs of harvard, yale, and princeton. self-perpetuating boards of trustees have elected to their membership a certain number of mature alumni. in some instances, as at wellesley, the association of graduates nominates the candidates for graduate vacancies on these boards. the benefits of alumnae representation on the board of trustees seem to have occurred to the alumnae and the trustees of wellesley almost simultaneously. as early as june, , the alumnae association of wellesley appointed a committee to present to the trustees a request for alumnae representation on the board; but as the association met but once a year, results could not be achieved rapidly, and in june, , the committee reported that it had not presented the petition as it had been informed unofficially that the possibility of alumnae representation was already under consideration by the trustees. in fact, the trustees, at a meeting held the day before the meeting of the alumnae association, this very june of , had elected mrs. marian pelton guild, of the class of , a life member of the board. but the alumnae, although appreciating the honor done them by the election of mrs. guild, still did not feel that the question of representation had been adequately met, and in june, , a new committee was appointed with instructions to inform itself thoroughly as to methods employed in other colleges to insure the representation of the graduate body on governing boards, and also to convey to the trustees the alumnae's strong desire for representation of a specified character. and a second time the trustees forestalled the committee and, in a letter addressed to the association and read at the annual meeting in june, , made known their desire "to avail themselves of the cooperation of the association" and to "cement more closely the bond" uniting the alumnae to the college by granting them further representation on the board of trustees. a committee from the association was then appointed to discuss methods with a committee from the board, and the results of their deliberations are given by harriet brewer sterling, wellesley, ' , in an article in the wellesley magazine for march, . by the terms of a joint agreement between the board and the association, the association has the right to nominate three members from its own number for membership on the board. these nominees must be graduates of seven years' standing, not members of the college faculty. graduates of less than three years' standing are not qualified to vote for the nominees. the nominations must be ratified by the board of trustees. the term of service of these alumnae trustees is six years, but a nominee is chosen every two years. in order to establish this method of rotation, two of the three candidates first nominated served for two and four years respectively, instead of six. the first election was held in the spring of , the nominations were confirmed by the board in november, and the three new trustees sat with the board for the first time at the february meeting of . but as graduate organizations have increased in size, and membership has been scattered over a wider geographical area, it has become correspondingly difficult to get at the consensus of graduate opinion on college matters and to make sure that alumni, or alumnae, representatives actually do represent their constituents and carry out their wishes. and the alumni movement has arisen to meet the need for "greater unity of organization in alumni bodies." in an article on graduate councils, in the wellesley college news for april, , florence s. marcy crofut, wellesley, ' , has collected interesting evidence of the impetus and expansion of this new factor in the college world. she writes, "more clearly than generalization would show, proofs lie in actual organization and accomplishments of the 'alumni movement' which has worked itself out in what may be called the graduate council movement.... since the organization of the graduate council of princeton university in january, , the secretary, mr. h. g. murray, to whom wellesley is deeply indebted, has received requests from twenty-nine colleges for information in regard to the work of princeton's council." among these twenty-nine colleges was wellesley, and the plan for her graduate council, presented by the executive board of the alumnae association to the business meeting of the association on june , , and voted at that meeting, is a legitimate outgrowth of the ideals which led to the formation of the alumnae association in . the preamble of the association makes this clear when it says: "remembering the benefits we have received from our alma mater, we desire to extend the helpful associations of student life, and to maintain such relations to the college that we may efficiently aid in her upbuilding and strengthening, to the end that her usefulness may continually increase." in an article describing the formation of the wellesley graduate council, in the wellesley college news for october , , it is explained that, "from the time since the - executive board (of the alumnae association) came into office, it has felt that there was need for a bond between the alumnae and the college administration; and it believes that this need will be met by a small representative (i.e. geographical) definitely chosen graduate body, which shall act as a clearing-house for the larger alumnae association. the executive board recognized also as an additional reason for organizing such a graduate body, that it was necessary to do so if the wellesley alumnae association is to keep abreast of the activities in similar organizations." the purpose of the council, as stated in , is a fitting expansion of the association's preamble of : "that, as our alumnae are increasing in large numbers and are scattered more and more widely, it will be of advantage to them and to the college that an organized, accredited group of alumnae shall be chosen from different parts of the country to confer with the college authorities on matters affecting both alumnae and undergraduate interests, as well as to furnish the college, by this group, the means of testing the sentiment of wellesley women throughout the country on any matter." there are advantages in not being a pioneer, and wellesley has been able to profit by the experience of her predecessors in this movement, particularly princeton and smith. membership in the councils of wellesley and smith is essentially on the same geographical basis, but wellesley is unique among the councils in having a faculty representation. the relation between faculty and alumnae at wellesley has always been markedly cordial, and in welcoming to the council representatives of the faculty who are not graduates of the college, the alumnae would seem to indicate that their aims and ideals for their alma mater are at one with those of the faculty. the membership of the wellesley graduate council is composed of the president and dean of the college, ex officio; ten members of the academic council, chosen by that body, no more than two of whom may be alumnae; the three alumnae trustees; the members of the executive board of the alumnae association; and the councilors from the wellesley clubs. as there were more than fifty wellesley clubs already in existence in , and every club of from twenty-five to one hundred members is allowed one councilor, and every club of more than one hundred members is allowed one councilor for each additional hundred, while neighboring clubs of less than twenty-five members may unite and be represented jointly by one councilor, it will be seen that the council is a large and constantly growing body. clubs such as the boston wellesley club, and the new york wellesley club, which already had a large membership, received a tremendous impetus to increase their numbers after the formation of the council. all members of the council, with the exception of the president of the college and the dean, who are permanent, serve for two years. the officers of the graduate council are the corresponding officers of the alumnae association, and also serve for two years. the executive committee of five members includes the president and secretary of the council, an alumna trustee chosen annually from their own number by the three alumnae trustees, and two members at large. the council meets twice during the academic year, at the college; in february, for a period of three days or less, following the mid-year examinations, and in june, when the annual meeting is held at some time previous to the annual meeting of the alumnae association. in this respect the wellesley council again differs from that of smith, whose committee of five makes but one official annual visit to the college,--in january. the "vassar provisional alumnae council", like the wellesley graduate council, must hold at least two yearly meetings at the college, but unlike wellesley, it elects a chairman who may not be at the same time the president of the vassar associate alumnae. bryn mawr, we are told by miss crofut, has no graduate council corresponding exactly to the councils of other colleges; but her academic committee of seven members meets "at least once a year with the president of the college and a committee of the faculty to discuss academic affairs." the possibilities which lie before the wellesley council may be better understood if we enumerate a few of the activities undertaken by the councils of other colleges. at princeton, since , more than two million five hundred thousand dollars has been raised by the council's efforts. the preceptorial system has been inaugurated and is being slowly developed. the university has been brought more prominently before preparatory schools. all the colleges are feeling the need of keeping in touch with the preparatory schools, not for the sake of mere numbers, but to secure the best students. doctor tucker has suggested that dartmouth alumni endow outright, "substantial scholarships in high schools with which it is desirable to establish relations," and the suggestion is well worth the consideration of wellesley women. the yale alumni advisory board has distributed to the "so-called yale preparatory schools" and to schoolboys in many cities, a pamphlet on "life at yale." and yale has also turned its attention to tuition charges, "academic-sheffield relations", the future of the yale medical school, the graduate employment bureau. all of these councils are concerned with the intellectual and moral tone of the undergraduates. wellesley's graduate council has a publicity committee, one of whose functions is to prevent wrong reports of college matters from getting into the press. mrs. helene buhlert magee, wellesley, ' , who was made chairman of the intercollegiate committee on press bureaus, in , and was at that time also the manager of the wellesley press board, reminds us that wellesley is the only college trying to regulate its publicity through its alumnae clubs in different parts of the country, and gives us reason to hope that in time we shall have publicity agents trained in good methods, "since the members of each year's college press board, as they go forth, naturally become the press representatives of their respective clubs." the council has also a committee on undergraduate activities, whose duty it is to "obtain information regarding the interests of the undergraduates and from time to time to make suggestions concerning the conduct of the same as they affect the alumnae or bring the college before the general public." this committee proposes a rally day and a freshman forum, to be conducted each year by a representative alumna equipped to set forth the ideals and principles held by the alumnae. a third committee, bearing a direct relation to the undergraduate, is one on vocational guidance. in order to help students "to find their way to work other than teaching," and to "present a survey of all the possibilities open to women in the field of industry to-day," this committee welcomes the cooperation of miss florence jackson, a graduate of smith and for some years a member of the department of chemistry at wellesley, who is now at the head of the appointment bureau of the women's educational and industrial union of boston. miss jackson's practical knowledge of students, her wide acquaintance with vocational opportunities other than teaching, and her belief in the "value of the cultural course as a sound general foundation most valuable for providing the sense of proportion and vision necessary for the college woman who is to be a useful citizen," make her an ideal director of this branch of the council's activities, and the college gladly promotes her work among the students; the seniors especially welcome her expert guidance. in framing a model constitution for the use of alumnae classes, the council has done a piece of work which should arouse the gratitude of all future historians of wellesley, for the model constitution contains an article requiring each class to keep a record which shall contain brief information as to the members of the class and shall be published in the autumn following each reunion. lf these records are accurately kept, and if copies are placed on file in the college library, accessible to investigators, the next historian of wellesley will be spared the baffling paucity of information concerning the alumnae which has hampered her predecessor. with ten members of the academic council on the graduate council, and with the president of the college herself an alumna, the relation between the faculty and the graduate council is intimate and helpful to both, in the best sense. relations with the trustees, as a body, were slower in forming. president pendleton, at the council's fifth session,--in the third year of its existence,--reported the trustees as much interested in its formation. at the sixth session of the council, in june, , when the campaign for the fire fund was in full swing, mr. lewis kennedy morse, the able and devoted treasurer of the college, and member of the board of trustees, addressed the members upon "the business side of college administration",--a talk as interesting as it was frank and friendly. in december, , when the first of the new buildings was already going up on the site of old college hall, the executive committee of the board of trustees invited a joint committee from the faculty and the alumnae to meet with them to discuss the architectural plans and possibilities for the "new wellesley." the alumnae committee consisted of eleven members and included representatives "from ' to , and from colorado on the west to massachusetts on the east." its chairman was candace c. stimson, wellesley, ' , whose name will always ring through wellesley history as the chairman of the alumnae committee for restoration and endowment,--the committee that conducted the great nine months' campaign for the fire fund. the faculty committee, of five members, chose as its chairman, professor alice v.v. brown, the head of the department of art. miss stimson's report to the graduate council of this meeting of the joint committee with the executive board, indicates a "strong sense of good understanding and a feeling of great harmony and desire for cooperation on the part of trustees toward the alumnae." the faculty committee and alumnae committee were invited to continue and to hold further conferences with the trustees' committee "as occasion might offer." the episode is prophetic of the future relations of these three bodies with one another. president nichols of dartmouth is reported as saying that dartmouth, founded as the ideal of an individual and governed at first by one man, has grown to the point where it is no longer to be controlled as a monarchy or an empire, but as a republic. such an utterance does not fail of its effect upon other colleges. ii. the women who constitute the wellesley college alumnae association, numbered in - five thousand and thirty-five. the members are all those who have received the baccalaureate degree from wellesley, and all those who have received the master's degree and have applied for membership. but only dues-paying members receive notices of meetings and have the right to vote. non-graduates who pay the annual dues receive the alumnae register, and the notices and publications of the alumnae, but do not vote. authoritative statistics concerning the occupations of wellesley women are not available. about forty per cent of the alumnae are married. the exact proportion of teachers is not known, but it is of course large. the wellesley college christian association is of great assistance to the alumnae recorder in keeping in touch with wellesley missionaries, but even the christian association disclaims infallibility in questions of numbers. an article in the news for february, , by professor kendrick, the head of the department of bible study, states that no record is kept of missionaries at work in our own country, but there were then missionaries from wellesley in mexico and brazil, as well as those who were doing city missionary work in the united states. the missionary record for would seem to indicate that there were then about one hundred wellesley women at mission stations in foreign countries, including japan, china, korea, india, ceylon, persia, turkey, africa, europe, mexico, south america, alaska, and the philippines. from time to time, the alumnae section of the news publishes an article on the occupations and professions of wellesley graduates, with incomplete lists of the names of those who are engaged in law, medicine, social work, journalism, teaching, business, and all the other departments of life into which women are penetrating; and from this all too meager material, the historian is able to glean a few general facts, but no trustworthy statistics. in , the list of wellesley women, most of whom were alumnae, at the head of private schools, included the principals of the national cathedral school at washington, d.c.; of abbot academy, andover, walnut hill school, natick, dana hall, the weston school, the longwood school, all in massachusetts, and two preparatory schools in boston; buffalo seminary; kent place school, and a coeducational school, both in summit, new jersey; hosmer hall, in st. louis; ingleside school, taconic school and the catherine aiken school, in connecticut; science hill, at shelbyville, kentucky; ferry hall, at lake forest, illinois; the el paso school for girls; the lincoln school, in providence, rhode island; wyoming seminary, another coeducational school; as well as schools for american girls in germany, france, and italy. this does not take into account the many wellesley graduates holding positions of importance in colleges, in high schools, and in the grammar and primary schools throughout the country. the tentative list of wellesley women holding positions of importance in social work, in , is equally impressive. the head workers at denison house,--the boston college settlement,--at the baltimore settlement, at friendly house, brooklyn, and hartley house, new york, are all graduates of wellesley. probation officers, settlement residents, associated charity workers, consumers' league secretaries, promoters of social welfare work, leaders of working girls' clubs, members of trade-union leagues and the suffrage league, show many wellesley names among their numbers. a wellesley woman is working at the hindman school in kentucky, among the poor whites; another is general superintendent of the massachusetts commission for the blind; another is associate field secretary of the new york charity organization department of the russell sage foundation; another is head investigator for the massachusetts babies' hospital. the superintendent of the state reformatory for girls at lancaster, massachusetts, is a wellesley graduate who is doing work of unusual distinction in this field. mary k. conyngton, wellesley, ' , took part in the federal investigation into the condition of woman and child wage earners, ordered by congress in , and has made a study of the relations between the occupations, and the criminality, of women. her book "how to help", published by the macmillan company, embodies the results of her experience in organized charities, investigations for improved housing, and other industrial and municipal reforms. in , miss conyngton received a permanent appointment in the bureau of labor at washington, d.c. wellesley has her lawyers and doctors, her architects, her journalists, her scholars; every year their tribes increase. among her many journalists are caroline maddocks, , and agnes edwards rothery, . of her poets, novelists, short story writers, and essayists, the names of katharine lee bates, estelle m. hurll, abbie carter goodloe, margarita spalding gerry, florence wilkinson evans, florence converse, martha hale shackford, annie kimball tuell, jeannette marks, are familiar to the readers of the atlantic, the century, scribner's and other magazines; and the more technical publications of gertrude schopperle, laura a. hibbard, eleanor a. mcc. gamble, lucy j. freeman, eloise robinson, and flora isabel mckinnon, have won the suffrages of scholars. her most noted woman of letters is katharine lee bates, wellesley, ' , the beloved head of the department of english literature. miss bates's beautiful hymn, "america", has achieved the distinction of a national reputation; it has been adopted as one of america's own songs and is sung by school children all over our country. the list of her books includes, besides her collected poems, "america the beautiful and other poems", published by the thomas y. crowell company, volumes on english and spanish travel, on the english religious drama, a chaucer for children, an edition of the works of hawthorne, and a forthcoming edition of the elizabethan dramatist, heywood. since her undergraduate days, when she wrote the poems for wellesley's earliest festivals, down all the years in which she has been building up her department of english literature, this loyal daughter has given herself without stint to her alma mater. in wellesley's roll call of alumnae, there is no name more loved and honored than that of katharine lee bates. iii. "hear the dollars dropping, listen as they fall. all for restoration of our college hall." these words of a college song fitly express the breathless attitude of the alumnae between march , , and january , , the nine months and a half during which the campaign was being carried on to raise the fund for restoration and endowment, after the fire. and they did more than listen; they shook the trees on which the dollars grew, and as the dollars fell, caught them with nimble fingers. they fell "thick as leaves in vallombrosa." between june, , and june, , $ , , . was raised by and through wellesley women. in , a campaign for a million dollar endowment fund had been started, to provide means for increasing the salaries of the teachers. salaries at wellesley were at that time lower than those paid in every other woman's college, but one, in new england. the fund had been started with an anonymous gift of one hundred thousand dollars, and the committee, with candace c. stimson as chairman, planned to secure the one million dollars in two years. by march, , a second anonymous gift of one hundred thousand dollars had been received, the general education board had pledged two hundred thousand dollars conditioned on the raising of the whole amount, wellesley women had given fifteen thousand dollars, and there had been a few other gifts from outsiders. the amount still to be raised on the million dollar fund at the time of the fire was five hundred and seventy thousand dollars. president pendleton, in a letter to wellesley friends, printed in the news on march , , ten days after the fire, writes: "our campaign for the million dollar endowment fund must not be dropped... we have between five and six hundred thousand dollars still to raise. all the new buildings must be equipped and maintained. the sum that our alma mater requires for immediate needs is two million dollars. but this is not all. another million will soon be needed, properly to house our departments of botany and chemistry, and to provide a student-alumnae building, and sufficient dormitories to house on the campus the more than five hundred students now living in the village. we are facing a great crisis in the history of the college. the future of our alma mater is in our hands. crippled by this loss, wellesley cannot continue to hold in the future its place in the front rank of colleges, unless the response is generous and immediate. "to sum up, alma mater needs three million dollars, two million of which must be raised immediately. shall we be daunted by this sum? we are justly proud of the courage and self-control of those dwellers in college hall, both faculty and students. shall we be outdone by them in facing a crisis? shall we be less courageous, less resourceful? the public press has described the fire as a triumph, not a disaster. shall we continue the triumph, and make our college in equipment what it has proved itself in spirit--the college beautiful? we can and we must." the response of the alumnae to this stirring appeal was instant and ardent. the committee for the million dollar endowment fund, with its valiant chairman, miss stimson, shouldered the new responsibility. "it is a big contract," they said, "it comes at a season of business depression, and the daughters of wellesley are not rich in this world's goods. all this we know, but we know, too, that the greater the need the more eagerly will love and loyalty respond." then came the offer of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars by the rockefeller foundation, if the college would raise an additional million and a quarter by january , . the intrepid committee of alumnae added to its numbers, merged the two funds, and adopted the new name of alumnae committee for restoration and endowment. mary b. jenkins, wellesley, ' , the committee's devoted secretary, has described the plan of the campaign in the news for march, . as the wellesley clubs present the best chance of reaching both graduate and non-graduate members, a chairman for each club was appointed, and made responsible for reaching all the wellesley women in her geographical section, whether they were members of the club or not. in states where there were no clubs, state committees rounded up the scattered alumnae and non-graduates. fifty-three clubs appear in the report, twenty-four state committees, and eight foreign countries,--canada, mexico, porto rico, south america, europe, turkey, india, and persia. every state in the union was heard from, and contributions also came from clubs in japan and china. the campaign actually circled the globe. by june, , miss jenkins tells us, the appeals to the clubs and state committees had been sent out, and many had been heard from, but in order to make sure that no one escaped, the work was now taken up through committees from the thirty-six classes, from to . in march, , when miss jenkins's report was printed in the news, of wellesley's daughters had contributed, and belated contributions were still coming in. in june, , , out of , graduates had responded. every member of the classes of ' , ' , ' , ' , ' , sent a contribution, and the class gift from ' , $ , . was the largest from any class; that of ' , $ , . , being the next largest. the class gifts include not only direct contributions from alumnae, and from social members who did not graduate with the class, but gifts which alumnae and former students have secured from interested friends. of the remaining classes, five show a contributing list of more than ninety per cent of the members; eleven show between eighty and ninety per cent; and fifteen between seventy and eighty per cent. besides the alumnae, non-graduates had contributed. none of wellesley's daughters have been more loyal and more helpful than the non-graduates. an analysis of the amount, $ , , . , given by and through wellesley women between june, , and june, , shows four gifts of fifty thousand dollars and over, all of which came through wellesley women, thirty gifts of from two thousand dollars to twenty-five thousand dollars, three quarters of which came from wellesley women, and many gifts of less than two thousand dollars, "only a negligible quantity of which came from any one but alumnae and former students." throughout the nine months of the campaign, the alumnae committee and the trustees were working in close touch with each other. doctor george herbert palmer, professor emeritus of philosophy at harvard, was the chairman of the committee from the trustees, and he describes himself as chaperoned by alumnae at every point of the tour which he so successfully undertook in order to interview possible contributors. to him, to bishop lawrence, the president of the board of trustees, and to mr. lewis kennedy morse, the treasurer, the college owes a debt of gratitude which it can never repay. no knight of old ever succored distressed damsel more valiantly, more selflessly, than these three twentieth-century gentlemen succored and served the beggar maid, wellesley, in the cause of higher education. through the activities of the trustees were secured the provisional gifts of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars from the rockefeller foundation, and two hundred thousand dollars from the general education board, mr. andrew carnegie's $ , . , to be applied to the extension of the library, and gifts from mrs. russell sage, mrs. david p. kimball, and many others. mrs. lilian horsford farlow, a trustee, and the daughter of prof. eben n. horsford, to whom wellesley is already deeply indebted, gave ten thousand dollars toward the fire fund; and through mrs. louise mccoy north, trustee and alumna, an unknown benefactor has given the new building which stands on the hill above the lake. because of the modesty of donors, it has been impossible to make public a complete list of the gifts. from the four undergraduate classes, , , , , and from general undergraduate gifts and activities, came $ , . , raised in all sorts of ways,--from the presentation of "beau brummel" before a boston audience, to the polishing of shoes at ten cents a shine. one girl earned ten dollars during the summer vacation by laughing at all her father's jokes, whether old or new, during that period of recreation. other enterprising sophomores "swatted" flies at the rate of one cent for two, darned stockings for five cents a hole, shampooed, mended, raked leaves. members of the class of sold lead pencils and jelly, scrubbed floors, baked angel cake, counted knot holes in the roof of a summer camp. besides "beau brummel", gave dancing lessons and sold vacuum cleaners. one student who was living in college hall at the time of the fire is said to have made ten dollars by charging ten cents for every time that she told of her escape from the building. the class of , entering as freshmen in september, after the fire, raised $ , . for the fund when they had been organized only a few weeks. the methods of the alumnae were no less varied and amusing. the southern california club started a college hall fund, and notices were sent out all over the country requesting every alumna to give a dollar for every year that she had lived in college hall. seven hundred and fifty dollars came in. there were thes dansants, musicales, concerts, of which the sousa concert in boston was the most important, operettas, masques, garden parties, costume parties, salad demonstrations, candy sales, bridge parties; a moving-picture film of wellesley went the rounds of many clubs, from city to city, through new england and the middle west. an alumna of the class of "took in" $ . for subscriptions to magazines, with a profit of $ . for the fund. she comments on wellesley taste in magazines by revealing the fact that the atlantic monthly "received by far the largest number of subscriptions." one girl in colorado baked bread, "but forsook it to give dancing lessons, as paying even better!" in new york, chicago, and other cities, the tickets for theatrical performances were bought up and sold again at advanced prices. a book of wellesley recipes was compiled and sold. an alumna of ' made a charming etching of college hall and sold it on a post card; another, also of ' , wrote and sold a poem of lament on the loss of the dear old building. the cincinnati wellesley club held a wellesley market for three saturdays in may, , and netted somewhat over seventy-five dollars a day for the three days. one wellesley club charged ten cents for the privilege of shaking hands with its "fire-heroine." on easter monday, , when the college had just come back to work, after the fire, the "freeman fowls" arranged an egg hunt, with egg-shaped tickets at ten cents, for the fund. the students from freeman cottage, dressed as roosters, very scarlet as to topknot and wattles, very feather dustery as to tail, waylaid the unwary on campus paths and lured them to buy these tickets and to hunt for the hundreds of brightly colored eggs which these commercially canny fowls had hidden on the art building hill. after the hunt was successfully over, the hunters came down to the front of the new, very new, administration building, already called the wellesley hencoop, where they were greeted by the ghosts and wraiths and other astral presentments of the vanished statues of college hall, and where the roosters burst into an antiphonal chant: "come see the wellesley chicken-coop, the chicken-coop, the chicken-coop. come see the wellesley chicken-coop, (it isn't far from chapel!) come get your tickets for a roost, and give your chicken-hearts a boost, come see our wellesley chicken-roost, (it isn't far from chapel!) "just see our brand new collegette, it's college yet, it's college yet, with sixty-six new rooms to let, (they're practicing in billings). the collegette is very tall, it isn't far from music hall, our neighbors can't be heard at all (they learn to sing at billings). "oh, statues dear from college hall, from college hall, from college hall, don't hesitate to come and call on hen-house day at wellesley. niobe sad, and harriet, and polly hym and dian's pet on hen-house day,--on hen-house day, o! hen-house day at wellesley. come walk right through the big front door, each hour we love you more and more, there's fire-escapes from every floor of the new hen-house at wellesley." having thus formally adopted the new building, whose windows and doors were already wreathed in vines and crimson (paper) roses which had sprung up and blossomed over night, the college now hastened to the top of college hall hill, whence, at the crowing of chanticleer, the egg-rolling began. the nest egg for the fund, achieved by these enterprising "freeman fowls", was about fifty-two dollars. far off in honolulu there were "college capers" in which eight wellesley alumnae, helped by graduates of harvard, cornell, bryn mawr, and other colleges, earned three hundred dollars. the news has published a number of letters whose simple revelation of feeling witnesses to the loyalty and love of the wellesley alumnae. one writes: "a month ago, because of obligations and a very small salary, i thought i could give nothing to the endowment plan. by saturday morning (after the fire) i had decided i must give a dollar a month. by night i had received a slight increase in salary, therefore l shall send two dollars a month as long as i am able. i wish it were millions, my admiration and sympathy are so unbounded." another says: "perhaps you may know that when i was a senior i received a scholarship of (i think) $ . it has long been my wish and dream to return that money with large interest, in return for all i received from my alma mater, and in acknowledgment of the success i have since had in my work because of her. i have never been able to lay aside the sum i had wished to give, but now that the need has come i can wait no longer, i am therefore sending you my check for $ , hoping that even this sum, so small in the face of the immense loss, may aid a little because it comes at the right moment. it goes with the wish that it were many, many times the amount, and with the sincerest acknowledgment of my indebtedness to wellesley." from china came the message: "in an indefinite way i had intended to send five or ten dollars some time this year (to the endowment fund), but the loss of college hall makes me realize afresh what wellesley has meant to me, and i want to give till i feel the pinch. i am writing (the treasurer of the mission board) to send you five dollars a month for ten months." from nearer home: "my sister and i intend to go without spring suits this year in order to give twenty-five dollars each toward the fund; this surely will not be sacrifice, but a great privilege. then we intend to add more each time we receive our salary.... i cannot say that i was so brave as the girls at the college, who did not shed a tear as college hall burned--i could not speak, my voice was so choked with tears, and that night i went supperless to bed. but though it seems impossible to believe that college hall is a thing of the past, yet one cannot but feel that from this so great calamity great good will come--a broader, higher spirit will be manifested; we shall cease to think in classes, but all unite in great loving thought for the good and the upbuilding--in more senses than one--of our alma mater." and the messages and money from friends of the college were no less touching. the children of the wellesley kindergarten, which is connected with the department of education in the college, held a sale of their own little handicrafts and made fifty dollars for the fund. one who signed himself, "very respectfully, a working man," wrote: "the results of your college's work show that it is of the best. the student government is one of the finest things in american education. the spirit shown at the fire and since is superb." another man, who wished that he "had a daughter to go to wellesley, the college of high ideals," said, "i should be ashamed even to ride by in the train without contributing this mite to your rebuilding fund." a woman in tasmania sent a dollar, "for you are setting a great ideal for the broad education of women.... we (in australia) have much to thank the higher democratic education of america for." from many little children money came: from little girls who hoped to come to wellesley some day, and from the sons and daughters of wellesley students. the business men of wellesley town subscribed generously. many men as well as women have expressed their admiration of the college in a tangible way. and from vassar, smith, bryn mawr, mt. holyoke, radcliffe, barnard, wells, simmons, and sweet briar, contributions came pouring in unsolicited. harvard, yale, the university of pennsylvania, the massachusetts institute of technology, tufts, and others had already loaned equipment and material for the impoverished laboratories, and direct contributions to the fund came from the university of idaho, the musical clubs of dartmouth and the institute of technology; from hobart college, in cooperation with wellesley alumnae, in geneva, new york; from the emerson college of oratory, the college club of tucson, arizona, the boston and connecticut branches of the association of collegiate alumnae, the fitchburg smith college club, and the cornell woman's club of new york city. to smith college, which had so lately raised its million, wellesley was also indebted for helpful suggestions in planning the campaign. when the great war broke out in august, , wise unbelievers shook their heads and commiserated wellesley; but the dauntless chairman of the alumnae restoration and endowment committee continued to press on with her campaign--to draw dilatory clubs into line, to prod sluggish classes into activity, to remind individuals of their opportunity. the pledges for the last forty thousand dollars of the fund came snowing in during christmas week, and eleven o'clock of the evening of december , , found miss stimson's committee in new york counting at top speed the sheaves of checks and pledges which had been arriving all day. the remarkable thing about the campaign was the great number of small amounts which came in, and the number of alumnae--not the wealthy ones--who doubled their pledges at the last minute. it was the one dollar and the five-dollar pledges which really saved the day and made it possible for the college to secure the large conditional gifts. on the morning of january , , the amount was complete. iv. with , wellesley enters upon the second phase of her history, but the early, formative years will always shine through the fire, a memory and an inspiration. nothing that was vital perished in those flames. yet already the wellesley that looks back upon her old self is a different wellesley. all her repressed desires, spiritual, intellectual, aesthetic, are suddenly set free. her lovers and her daughters feel the very campus kindle and quicken beneath their feet to new responsibilities. "the new wellesley!" no one knows what that shall be, but the words are vision-filled: prophetic of an ordered beauty of architecture, a harmony of taste, that the old wellesley, on the far side of the fire, strove after but never knew; prophetic of a pinnacled and aspiring scholarship whose solid foundations were laid forty years deep in christian trust and patience; prophetic of a questing spirit freed from the old reproach of provincialism; of a ministering spirit in which the virtue of true courtesy is fulfilled. the end of her first half century will see the campus flowering with the outward and visible signs of the new wellesley; and even as the old fire-hallowed bricks have made beautiful the new walls, so the beauty of the old dreams shall shine in the new vision. "pageant of fretted roofs that cluster* on hill and knoll in the branches green, ye are but shadows, and not the luster, garment, ye, of a grace unseen. "all our life is confused with fable, ever the fact as the phantasy seems: yet the world of spirit lies sure and stable, under the shows of the world of dreams. "not an idle and false derision the rocks that crumble, the stars that fail; meaning caskets within the vision, shaping the folds of the woven veil." * katharine lee bates: from a poem, "the college beautiful," .