Another of his sons, Edmund Cushing, Jr., was a
member of the Supreme Court of the State of New Hampshire. Of his two
other sons, one was a clergyman, and one a civil engineer. The sons
were all my seniors, and my acquaintance with them was limited, but
when I became a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives,
in January, 1842, Luther S. Cushing, then the clerk, came to me, and
after some words of congratulation, gave me this advice: "Never
champion any private scheme, unless the parties are your constituents."
Good advice, which I followed in all my legislative experience.
During the four winters of my term with Mr. Heywood, I attended the
school, studying the usual branches with something of algebra,
geometry, and Latin grammar. It was during these years that the
teacher, Mr. Kilburn, created such an interest in his plans that he
obtained a contribution of twenty-four dollars with which he
purchased a twelve-inch celestial and a twelve-inch terrestrial globe.
Several pleasant evenings were devoted to a study of the heavens with
the aid of the celestial globe. I attended usually, and thus I gained
a partial knowledge of the constellations, and an acquaintance with
some of the stars by name and location. The post-office gave me
access to several publications of the day, and in one or two instances
I obtained a few subscribers to journals, and thus secured a free copy
for myself.
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