HENRY AUGUSTUS ROWLAND 407 



manfully to do that which to him was impossible. Finally, I said 

 to his mother that my convictions were so strong that his educa- 

 tional development should proceed in different lines, that if he 

 must continue his classical studies I preferred that he should do so 

 in some other school. 



"Mrs. Rowland decided to make one more effort, failing in 

 which she would follow my advice. Henry was accordingly sent 

 to Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., where, after a brief period of 

 torture with Latin and Greek, he was permitted to drop them, 

 greatly to his delight and my own. 



"From that moment he was happy, and continued to rise and 

 shine with a clear and still clearer light." 



In a letter to his mother written at Andover, he says: "I am 

 not lazy at all now and am more punctual than most of the other 

 boys." But the aversion to the study of ancient languages con- 

 tinued and after one year spent in the effort he was allowed to 

 enter the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, New York. 

 Here the atmosphere was more congenial. Soon after the year's 

 work had begun, he wrote: "I am getting along finely and like 

 it first rate. We study Algebra, Geometry, and French and, as I 

 said before, are going to commence Drawing on Thursday." 

 This was in 1865. Next year he wrote: "We have descriptive 

 Geometry and Chemistry now besides Drawing. We are quite 

 busy, but still have lots of fun snow-balling every afternoon before 

 and after Chemistry." That science did not claim all his attention 

 is evident from this passage taken from a letter written in 1867: 

 "I am now reading Prescott's Philip Second of Spain, and have 

 nearly got through the first volume. It is very interesting." But 

 the ruling passion appears in the next sentence: "My steam 

 engine is getting along finely but I do not have much time to work 

 on it." Shortly after this he wrote: " I am going to read a paper on 

 steam illustrated by experiments as soon as I can get the appara- 

 tus prepared. We are very busy and I have not been able even 

 to look at my tools yet." 



After three years spent at Troy, during which time he evidently 

 did excellent work in most of his studies he decided for some 

 reason that is not clear to go to the Sheffield Scientific School and 



