SKETCH OF SAMUEL LOCK WOOD. 693 



wood had somewliat independent notions concerning tlie rhetor- 

 ical proprieties, and, holding college compositions in no high 

 esteem, failed in a corresponding degree to be appreciated by the 

 professor. Yet he was all the time paying his way through col- 

 lege with his pen, being employed as an assistant editor on the 

 New York Sun, then under the control of Moses Y. Beach. Very 

 much surprised was the professor when he learned from one of 

 Lockwood's classmates that he, the member of the class who stood 

 lowest in marks, was thus practically achieving a substantial lit- 

 erary success. 



In consequence of an attack of brain fever, Lockwood left col- 

 lege during his sophomore year and retired to the country to re- 

 cruit. A classmate came to visit him, and during his stay the 

 two youths went for a hunt. They bagged some birds and squir- 

 rels, which were carried to the farmhouse where they were stay- 

 ing. The good wife prepared the game for dinner in delicate 

 style, but while the classmate ate with evident relish, Lockwood, 

 although declaring that he was " as hungry as a bear," found his 

 conscience smiting him, and the savory dish seemed only to accuse 

 him of a wicked and selfish slaughter. 



Prolonging his stay in the country through the vacation sea- 

 son, Lockwood one day discovered an oriole's nest at the ex- 

 tremity of a provokingly high and long branch of an oak. To 

 get at the nest without destroying the limb was impossible. At 

 the farmhouse he expressed a wish to get the young birds, when 

 an inmate said, in a taunting way : 



" I'd like to see a city chap get them birds ! " 



That was a challenge. He undertook the capture, and by a 

 series of ingenious devices, combined with steady persistence, 

 secured the whole brood. 



This incident rooted more deeply than ever the taste of the 

 student for natural history. When his graduation was near, Dr. 

 Draper, the chemist, in whose class Lockwood stood very high, 

 endeavored to impress upon him that it was his duty to enter the 

 medical college. The young man's trend was, however, toward 

 the Christian ministry. This inclination, which became an irre- 

 sistible desire, was encouraged by the Rev. Dr. Ferris, afterward 

 Chancellor of the University, and Colonel Crosby, father of 

 the late Rev. Dr. Crosby. Mr. Lockwood entered the Theo- 

 logical Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church at New Bruns- 

 wick, N. J. 



Mr. Lockwood had been privately married soon after gradua- 

 tion from the university, and still kept the fact a secret when he 

 entered the seminary. He soon found himself without resources, 

 and in his trouble had recourse to prayer. Ultimately the singu- 

 lar thought occurred to him, on which he acted at once, of going 



