50 LIFE OF BENJAMIN SILLIMAN. 



men, united with the College Church. At the next com- 

 munion in September, to our great joy, Tutor Silliman and 

 others followed. Yours truly, 



JOHN MARSH. 



FROM REV. DR. NOAH PORTER (SENIOR). 



FARMINGTON, Dec. 12, 1864. 



MY DEAR SIR, I had my first impressions of Mr. Silli- 

 man in the old chapel at the beginning of my Freshman 

 year, in the fall of 1799, a fair^and portly young man, 

 having his thick and long hair clubbed behind (a la mode 

 George Washington), closely following President D wight 

 as they passed up the middle aisle for evening prayers, 

 and taking his seat in the large square pew at the right of 

 the pulpit. After prayers, the call from the President 

 sedete omnes brought us all upon our seats, when Mr. 

 Silliman, at a signal from the President, rose and read a 

 written formula declaring his assent to the Westminster 

 Catechism and the Saybrook Platform. So he was inducted 

 into the Tutorship. The other tutors that year were 

 Messrs. Day, Davis, Denison, and Marsh. Messrs. Silli- 

 man and Marsh were the tutors of the Freshmen, and the 

 division to which I belonged was assigned to the former, 

 and the entire course of instruction for the first three years 

 was given us by him alone ; for, although we were called 

 together with the rest of college, in a few instances, Wed- 

 nesday afternoon in the chapel, to hear a lecture by Profes- 

 sor Josiah Meigs in his department, the latter was removed, 

 soon after I joined college, to the University in Georgia ; 

 and all our lessons, till we came under the instruction of 

 President Dwight, were recited to Mr. Silliman. I am, 

 perhaps, in consequence more indebted to him than to any 

 other man for such early education as I received ; and cer- 

 tainly there are few men for whom I have ever since enter- 

 tained higher esteem or veneration. The class did not 

 consider him a profound scholar, but we admired him as an 



