32 ENVIRONMENT AND EDUCATION-II 



ber of the graduating class would take it. When the com- 

 mittee made their award to the essay on "The Greater 

 Distinctions in Statesmanship," opened the sealed en- 

 velopes and assigned the prize to me, a junior, there was 

 great surprise. The encouragement came to me just at 

 the right time, and did me great good. Later, there were 

 awarded to me the first Clarke Prize for the discussion 

 of a political subject, and the De Forest Gold Medal, then 

 the most important premium awarded in the university, 

 my subject being, "The Diplomatic History of Modern 

 Times." Some details regarding this latter success may 

 serve to show certain ways in which influence can be ex- 

 erted powerfully upon a young man. The subject had 

 been suggested to me by hearing Edwin Forrest in Bul- 

 wer's drama of "Richelieu." The character of the great 

 cardinal, the greatest statesman that France has produced, 

 made a deep impression upon me, and suggested the sub- 

 jects in both the Yale Literary and the De Forest com- 

 petitions, giving me not only the initial impulse; but main- 

 taining that interest to which my success was largely due. 

 Another spur to success was even more effective. Having 

 one day received a telegram from my father, asking me 

 to meet him in New York, I did so, and passed an hour 

 with him, all the time at a loss to know why he had sent 

 for me. But, finally, just as I was leaving the hotel to 

 return to New Haven, he said, "By the way, there is still 

 another prize to be competed for, the largest of all." 

 "Yes," I answered, "the De Forest; but I have little 

 chance for that ; for though I shall probably be one of the 

 six Townsend prize men admitted to the competition, there 

 are other speakers so much better, that I have little hope 

 of taking it." He gave me rather a contemptuous look, 

 and said, somewhat scornfully: "If I were one of the first 

 six competitors, in a class of over a hundred men, I would 

 try hard to be the first one." That was all. He said no- 

 thing more, except good-bye. On my way to New Haven 

 I thought much of this, and on arriving, went to a student, 

 who had some reputation as an elocutionist, and engaged 



