22 ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION-I 



was very simple. There was no other outlet for the ani 

 mal spirits of these youth. Athletics were unknown ; there 

 was no gymnasium, no ball-playing, and, though the col 

 lege was situated on the shore of one of the most beautiful 

 lakes in the world, no boating. As regards my own per 

 sonal relation to this condition of things I have pictured, it 

 was more that of a good-natured spectator than of an ac 

 tive accomplice. My nearest friends were in the thick of 

 it, but my tastes kept me out of most of it. I was fond of 

 books, and, in the little student s library in my college 

 building I reveled. Moreover, I then began to accumulate 

 for myself the library which has since grown to such large 

 proportions. Still the whole life of the place became more 

 and more unsatisfactory to me, and I determined, at any 

 cost, to escape from it and find some seat of learning where 

 there was less frolic and more study. 



