Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1846-11-19
!. 26. WHol.E No. 1O66.

ing hrmneSS and tone to character: and in
'his kind of Occur alton, this new school of
practical education, was young Holley fire.
, qnently and cheerfulIy engaged, while yet a
hoy twelve or thirteen years of age, the
promptitude, accuracy and fidelity with
which ne discharged his trust, always bring.
ing tokens ofparenlal appreciation. rA
About this time, his father in pursuance
lis original purpose of educating Horace
as merchant, sought a place for him in
the city of New York. Finding, however,
that situation in a mercantile house Of
respectable standing and extensive connex.
ions, could not be procured for him without
paying considerable premium for the
privilege, the design was rclinquished, and
he went into his fathers store,l as the best
means then at hand Of furnishing him with
wholesome occupation, cultivating habits
ofindus,ty, and advancing his knowledge Of
business. Still, he was not exclusively de-
voted to this employment; but, with those
of his brothers then at home, he was occa.
sionally on the farm and at school, and,
wherever engaged, was active, faithful, in
lelligent, and efficient.
As his faculties unfolded. however, and as
the impulse from within gave more decided
indications of the direction Of his propensi'
ties and tastes, il became more aud more
obvious that intellectual pursuits attracted
him most powerfully; and the rising desire
to obtain liberal education strengthened,
until his thoughts became so engroSsed with
that object, his hopes and wishes 50 chung
to it, that his father finally conseated, and
came to the determination to SET. apart for
the purpose that portion OF his estate with
which he had intended to set him up in bu-
siness. The plan being adopted, it vas
speedily acted upon; for procraSlination
was no part of the character offather o. SON.
Accordingly, in 1897, Horace then being
sixteen years old, was taken to Williams
town, in Berkshire comfy, Massachusetts,
and placed in the academy or preparatory
school connected with Williams College,
with tie view, when the proper time should
arrive, of entering him in that institution
Al that early period, however, Williams
College was more limited in literary rneane
than at present Perceiving the dedci~nces
Of that establishment, and ascertaining the
superior advantages Of Yale College, after
completing'his preparatory studies at Will
|.
entered at Yale, as S member of the Fresh.
man class, at the commencement of the coll
legiate year in 1880. Yale was then -four
ishing under the auspices of its celebrated
President, Dwight, whose brilliant reputa-
tion shed lustre on the institution commit
| ted to his care, and whose individual fame
had long before become fixed as part of the
public glory Of his country. Horace now
found his long cherished desire for knowl-
edge in way TO be satisfied. His course
was upward, from the beginning. lie stud
led intensely and stood among the foremost.
He had his full share of college honors. and
has since heen heard TO say, that during the
four years Of his college life, he was never
the subject of fine, or admonition from his
tutors. Indeed, he was favorite with
them all, and with the President, the bes!
test of talent and application. lie mas ais"
distinguished in the polite circles Of the
town, which was then, as it still is, tie re-
sort of many Southern families, whose sons
or brothers were at the college and among his
intimate friends, for his elegant person, pol
ished manners, and Intellectual converse.
ton. He already began to take that lead
in society which he ever afterwards main
tanned. He discovered also thus early, that
taste for mental philosophy, then called
metaphysics, and not so much in repute or
understood as at present, for which he was
afterwards SO much distinguished. I
The religious revival of 1903. which
spread over New Haven, extended also into
the college. Many of the stadents were
numbered among its subjects. 1t is not
r strange than one, of the enthusiastic temper
amcnt we have described, should have caught
its influence. His mind, equally ardent in
everything, imbibed the spirit of the time
and gave all its e!oquence to divine things
The debating clubs were changed into meet
ings of religious exhortation and prayer.
With these softened feelings, during the
Senior vacation, he retired to the bcsom OF
his brothers. family, then in Poughkeepsie,
ON the Hudson, to prepare for the last honoTs
of his college, bting appointed to deliver an
grafton. Here he was siezed with the ieVer
and ague, which nearly untitled him for the
task. Pale aud emaciated. he appeared be-
fore the public, ami, as he ever did, carried
.;,h h; the admiration, as well as the deep
sympathy of the audience. Liza
It will give some idea OF the state oil re'i-
sious feeling at that time exis'in in COLLEGE,
to state, that great proportions OF the grad