26 PROFESSOR HENRY AND THE 



were all secure, the superstructure begun, and it 

 was strong enough to stand alonej 



With the skill that would have adorned a pro- 

 fessional diplomatist, he temporized and compro- 

 mised, when he could no longer contend with suc- 

 cess ; with the dash that would have illustrated 

 a general, he attacked when the moment was pro- 

 pitious, and the adversary off his guard. With 

 the earnestness of sincere conviction, and the 

 directness of demonstration with which his scien- 

 tific training had armed him, he convinced, one 

 by one, those who opposed his views, until at last 

 the Eegents of the Institution, and Congress, sur- 

 rendered their judgments to his, and the field was 

 won. 



A great library was the dream of Mr. Choate, the 

 most scholarly and persuasive of advocates; and, 

 as a regent, he possessed and wielded a formidable 

 power. It was hard to persuade him that a li- 

 brary does not "increase knowledge among 

 men," and that it is very likely to "diffuse" igno- 

 rance. To discover and accumulate new truths, 

 and to diffuse them over the whole earth, was the 

 Secretary's conception of the donor's intention; to 

 pile up in Washington a miscellaneous collec- 

 tion in print of old truths and old errors, was the 

 idea of the scholars; and they were so strong that 

 a temporary compromise was necessary. The 

 vigorous growth of the true conception at last 



