THOMAS HILL. 431 



dency. Meauwhile his pecuniary straits were not his only trial. 

 There were jealousies on the part of the (so called) Christian denom- 

 ination, whose members, though contributing a very small portion of 

 the funds given or promised, claimed a large share in the adminis- 

 tration of the College, and possessed neither experience nor skill for 

 such service. On the whole, the best that could have been done, and 

 that only by a man of surpassing prudence, wisdom, and unselfishness, 

 was to come forth from this ordeal with the consciousness of leaving 

 the College in no worse a condition than that in which he found it, 

 and with abounding gratitude, respect, and honor from those associated 

 with him in its administration. 



At the time of his resignation the Presidency of Harvard Uni- 

 versity was vacant, and while Dr. Hill was from the first the favorite 

 candidate of the late John A. Lowell, the senior and by virtue of his 

 experience and practical wisdom the controlling member of the Cor- 

 poration, the election of Dr. Hill to that office seemed to all the friends 

 of the College the best possible choice ; and there probably never was 

 a case in which the action of the governing boards was more fully 

 and warmly sanctioned by all whom it concerned. While he had the 

 respect and confidence of the entire Faculty, the scientific teachers 

 recognized in him their rightful head, and those in other departments 

 found him no less conversant with their respective lines of work than 

 if they had been his specialties. He already had in the board of in- 

 struction many friends, and there were none of the others whom he did 

 not make his friends, while he was singularly fortunate in the appoint- 

 ments voted by his recommendation. He commenced several of the 

 improvements in the administration which — essential to the well- 

 being of the College — it required the vigorous executive capacity of 

 his successor to sustain and carry forward, while they were still re- 

 garded in some influential quarters with doubt and dread. The elective 

 system had under him its hopeful beginnings. The Academic Council, 

 w hich now seems a necessity, was started at his suggestion. Previously 

 the several Faculties of the University, though with many common in- 

 terests, were without means or opportuniiy of intercommunication. 

 He originated the system by which they are made one body, with 

 officers, records, and stated times of meetings, for the discussion and 

 elaboration of the various measures by which they may aid one anoth- 

 er's efficiency, act concurrently for the benefit of the University as a 

 whole, and provide for the instruction and discipline of those classes of 

 special and graduate students that do not belong exclusively to any one 

 department. Under him, also, University Lectures were first opened 



