1890.] ^^ [Merrick. 



another house in Brunswick ; rearing there a family of children, the oldest 

 of whom, Anna Harriet, now the wife of Benjamin Yaughan, of Cam- 

 bridge, was born in November, 1838. Subsequently were born three 

 daughters: Julia, and Lucy, who died in infancy, and Mary, now the 

 widow of the late Dr. William Canfleld Spencer, U. S. A. (grandson of 

 the late Chief Justice Spencer, of New York), and two sous: Henry, who 

 died in 1861, and Harold, at present an attorney-at-law, residing in Phila- 

 delphia. 



Another witness of this home life at Bowdoin describes it as "simple, 

 unconventional, orderly, refined, and Christian." 



Mr. Goodwin, besides his professorship at Bowdoin, held, for fifteen 

 years, the post of Librarian to the College ; doubtless a most congenial 

 office, bringing him into close companionship with the books he loved so 

 well ; and to the College students, who profited by his learning, and by his 

 enlightened power of guidance in their reading and research, offering a 

 priceless boon. Nor were the students the only ones who benefited by 

 his presence in this capacity. He was making at this time a strong mark 

 in literature by contributions to various reviews, articles upon subjects 

 germane to his chair, or upon the results of his studies in philology and 

 history. That these labors were not exhausting, was due to his power of 

 intense and active exercise of mind without special effort. To his trained 

 powers such writings were recreation. 



The play of his fancy, the lucidity of his style, and the fullness of his 

 knowledge, which were displayed in these and subsequent papers (a list 

 of which is appended), make one regret that, from the pressure of other 

 avocations, he could not contribute to literature more extensive works. 

 One of his contemporaries in Berwick Academy, who followed his subse- 

 quent career with the deepest interest, and is well qualified to express an 

 opinion on such a subject, says that if he had devoted his attention to 

 philosophical and metaphysical inquiries he would probably have at- 

 tained a lame unexcelled, perhaps unequaled, by any living scholar. 



The services he rendered in Brunswick to the public schools were con- 

 spicuous. Before the introduction of the graded system in the town, he 

 was a member of the School Board ; and by his efforts the strong opposition 

 to the change from the old methods, involving legal embarrassments, as 

 well as a modification of public opinion, was in great measure overcome. 

 The contest was carried to the Supreme Court, and proving successful 

 there, the issue resulted in great advantage to public education in the 

 State. One who is familiar with this period of his life speaks in terms of 

 hearty admiration of "his generous and self-sacrificing labors in this 

 cause." 



During his residence at Brunswick, it was the custom of the members 

 of the Faculty to sally out wdien a disturbance among the students oc- 

 curred, and personally to arrest offenders. On one of these occasions, 

 Prof. Goodwin was severely injured by a student who threw oil of 

 vitriol into his face, occasioning great suffering, and marking him for life ; 



