From first to last I had
the benefit of a good corps of teachers with a single exception. In
drawing I inherited from Dr. Sears a young man of English parentage.
His statements were so extraordinary often, that I lost confidence in
him. One day he wandered from his subject and indulged himself in
denunciations of the English aristocracy. He closed with this remark:
"Although I belong to the haristocracy, I 'ate 'em!" At the end of
the autumn term, I dismissed him.
During my service as Secretary, I made the acquaintance of several
persons whom I should not otherwise have known. Among them were
President Hopkins of Williams College, President Hitchcock of Amherst
College, and President Felton of Harvard College. Hopkins might
properly be termed a wise man. He resembled President Walker who for
several years presided over Harvard. Felton was a genial man, of
sufficient learning for his office, and exceedingly popular with the
students and with the public. It was during his administration that
I was elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, through his influence, and the influence of the professors
at the College.
I resigned the office of Secretary, January 1, 1861, with the purpose
of resuming the practice of law. During my term of office, I prepared
five annual reports, the last of which, the twenty-fourth in the
Series, was devoted to an analysis of the school laws with a history of
the educational and reformatory institutions of the State.
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