JOHN CODMAN ROPES. 631 



always showed sound judgment in making investments, and I suspect 

 that die secret of his success was that minute and systematic attention to 

 detail which characterized everything that he did. 



The high qualities which might have made him a great advocate found 

 a rich field for their employment in work done outside of office iiours ; 

 and it is after all hy that literary work that he will be longest and most 

 widely known. The recollection of his professional work will of course 

 pass away or be confined to very few persons after the present genera- 

 tion. But his contributions to history have excellences which are likely 

 to secure for them a very long life. His published writings relate almost 

 entirely to military history, in which his two chief topics were the career 

 of Napoleon and the Civil War in America I think there was in 

 Ropes' nature an infusion of the true soldier. Had he been physically 

 competent for service, he would probably have taken part in the Civil 

 War, like his younger brother Henry, whose brief life was ended at 

 Gettysburg. I fancy that the incapacity for service was a real grief to 

 John Ropes, but it never seemed to disturb his serenity of spirit. If he 

 could not be useful in one way he could in another. If he could not 

 follow in the footsteps of Alexander, he might at least in those of Arrian. 

 The thought of writing a history of the Civil War was one which grew 

 with him into a settled purpose, and very admirable was the sort of prep- 

 aration which he made for it. It was natural that the subjects upper- 

 most in his mind should come up for discussion in the pleasant evening 

 hours at the club. Gradually there grew up a habit of holding meetings 

 at his house, meetings in which veterans of whatever rank could compare 

 their experiences and discuss mooted questions. Ropes strongly encour- 

 aged the preservation of every scrap of experience that could be put upon 

 record, and thus grew up the habit of preparing historical papers to be 

 read and discussed at these informal meetings. In this way Ropes 

 became the founder of a most valuable institution, — the Military His- 

 torical Society of Massachusetts. For several years this body held its 

 meetings at Ropes' house, where the speaker of the evening was apt to 

 dine before the meeting and where the sessions were sure to end with a 

 social glass and abounding good-fellowship. The publications of this 

 Society, though few in number, are of great value. In recent years it 

 has found a permanent habitation in one of the rooms of the Cadet 

 Armory where Ropes, some time ago, placed the larger part of his valu- 

 able historical library. 



One of the first literary results of these studies was an elaborate exam- 

 ination of the Virginia Campaign of General Pope in 1862, a summary 



