344 AS UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT-IV 



bells ringing, its heart-strings beating with hope and 

 joy; and I say, God bless the ship, God bless the builder, 

 God bless the chosen captain, God bless the crew, and, 

 gentlemen undergraduates, may God bless all the pas- 

 sengers ! ' ' 



The audience applauded; the chimes burst merrily 

 forth ; but my heart sank within me. A feeling of ' t gone- 

 ness" came over me. Curtis 's simile was so perfect that 

 I felt myself indeed on the deck of the ship, but not so much 

 in the character of its "chosen captain " as of a seasick 

 passenger. There was indeed reason for qualmish feel- 

 ings. Had I drawn a picture of the ship at that moment, 

 it would have been very different from that presented by 

 Curtis. My mind was pervaded by our discouragements 

 by a realization of Mr. Cornell's condition and my own, 

 the demands of our thoughtless friends, the attacks of our 

 fanatical enemies, the inadequacy of our resources. The 

 sense of all these things burst upon me, and the view about 

 us was not reassuring. Not only were the university build- 

 ings unready and the grounds unkempt, but all that part 

 of our domain which is now devoted to the beautiful lawns 

 about the university chapel, Barnes Hall, Sage College, 

 and other stately edifices, was then a ragged corn-field 

 surrounded by rail fences. No one knew better than I 

 the great difficulties which were sure to beset us. Prob- 

 ably no ship was ever launched in a condition so unfit to 

 brave the storms. Even our lesser difficulties, though they 

 may appear comical now, were by no means comical then. 

 As a rule, Mr. Cornell had consulted me before making 

 communications to the public; but during my absence in 

 Europe he had written a letter to the "New York Trib- 

 une, ' ' announcing that students could support themselves, 

 while pursuing their studies one half of each day in the 

 university, by laboring the other half. In this he showed 

 that sympathy with needy and meritorious young men 

 which was one of his marked qualities, but his proclama- 

 tion cost us dear. He measured the earnestness and en- 

 durance and self-sacrifice of others by his own ; he did not 



