straw. Thus early were habits of industry and 

 self-reliance instilled into his mind. Another of his 

 employments was carrying a daily paper to the 

 homes of the subscribers. From the age of four he 

 was kept at school ten months in the year, and 

 drilled at home in the elementary branches. As a 

 result he was at thirteen beyond the ordinary text- 

 books of j- the districts ; and by attending a select 

 school in the village he had gone through works on 

 Natural Philosophy, Astronomy and Advanced His- 

 tory. He was furthermore a natural speller, and 

 invariably "spelled down," in the phraseology of 

 the day, all others in the school, although many of 

 the scholars were his seniors. These details, trivial 

 though they may appear, are important as illustrat- 

 ing his after career. The child is father of the man. 

 In the month of February preceding his eighth 

 birthday, the monotony of his childhood life was 

 broken somewhat by a sleigh ride to Providence, 

 in company with his parents and a sister. They 

 stopped for a time with Dr. Messer, who was a relative 

 by marriage, his wife's mother being a Jenks*. He 

 had recently resigned the Presidency of the Univer- 

 sity, and was now living in the "Messer House," so 

 called, in the south western part of the town. Many 

 times afterwards the lad recalled the stately mansion 

 with its tall pillars and portico, spacious rooms and 

 lofty ceilings, associating with it the glories of the 

 Institution over which the owner had long presided, 

 and with which he himself was to be so long and so 



*The wife's maiden name was Deborah Angell, 



