^T. 16.] A UTOBIOGRAPHY. 13 



had already attended its courses in chemistry, given 

 by Professor James Hadley (father of Professor 

 James Hadley of Yale College, then a lad), my earli- 

 est scientific adviser and most excellent friend. I had 

 a passion for mineralogy in those days, as well as for 

 chemistry. The spring and summer of 1827 I passed 

 in the office of one of the village doctors of Sauquoit, 

 Dr. Priest, and on the opening of the autumn session re- 

 turned to the medical school at Fairfield. That year, 



large cities. In 1820 the school had one hundred students, and in- 

 creased to two hundred and seventeen later, and was the largest med- 

 ical school in the country, except the one at Philadelphia. After the 

 Albany and Geneva medical schools were established, it was seen 

 there was no need of three so near together, and Fairfield Medical 

 College was discontinued in 1840. In the list of graduates of Fairfield 

 Academy were Albert Barnes, the noted expositor, General Halleck, 

 of the United States Army, and James Hadley, professor of Greek at 

 Yale and the distinguished linguist. In the records of the academy 

 it is stated that " Asa Gray entered Fairfield Academy in the fall of 

 1825, and at the second weekly meeting joined the Calliopean Society 

 of the institute. His handwriting on the register is still preserved, as 

 well as all his doings as a boy while here, since he entered at an early 

 age, being in fact much younger than the majority of the students." 

 He graduated from the medical college January 25, 1831, in a class of 

 forty-four. His rank was seventeen in the class on graduation. The 

 subject of his thesis was " Gastritis." 



Two old catalogues are preserved at Fairfield. In the first there 

 is the programme of studies at the academy for the year 1826 ; the 

 other, dating January, 1832, contains a list of the professors of the 

 medical college, the cost of instruction, and the outlines of two courses 

 of lectures. One of them was given by Dr. Mather, who was a fel- 

 low-student of Asa Gray's, and who still, at over eighty, retains a 

 lively recollection of the eager, active young man whom his friends 

 already thought would make his mark in the world ; the other by Dr. 

 Gray himself. This was one of the first courses of lectures which he 

 delivered. The ticket-fee was four dollars. He kept through life a 

 certain love for medicine and surgery, and a lively interest in its sci- 

 ence and progress. These old studies and the country practice he 

 had with the physician who was always his good friend, Dr. Trow- 

 bridge, often served him on his journeys, when a regular practitioner 

 was not within easy reach. 



