132 MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY 



from Scott's novels and poems, Shakespeare's plays, and 

 the works of many other British poets, particularly 

 Wordsworth and Mrs. Hemans. 



The Civil War interfered materially with the educa- 

 tion of Maury's sons. His eldest son Richard spent 

 some time at the University of Virginia, while John 

 Herndon was placed in the Virginia Military Institute. 

 This interference was a source of great disappointment 

 to their father who had shown the keenest interest in 

 their education, or, as he expressed it, "putting on their 

 armor for the battle of life". This same cordial interest 

 in young men is manifest in his addresses before college 

 students, and appears frequently in his correspondence. 

 One letter in particular is of great interest, in this con- 

 nection, because of the light it throws on Maury's char- 

 acter as well as for its revelation of his ideas on education. 

 The last portion of the letter, which was written to young 

 Hamilton Lieber at the time he was on the point of enter- 

 ing the United States Naval Academy as a midshipman, 

 is as follows: "Your future position in life and your 

 standing in the navy depend upon the degree of energy 

 with which you shall acquit yourself of the duties re- 

 quired of you as a Midshipman. If you be idle and inat- 

 tentive now, you cannot hereafter recover the ground 

 that you will lose. Letting the opportunities now 

 afforded you pass unimproved, you cannot expect here- 

 after to contend, except at great odds, with your com- 

 rades for the honors of the profession. 



"Make it a rule to make everything while you are 

 young bend to your profession. The books that you 

 read for amusement, let them be professional books 

 instead of novels — which I hope you will never read — 

 read the lives of eminent naval men. I commend to 



