Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1864-02-06
Prescott. tbc Isissorinn.

born at salem, New England, on the tOurtf
of May, 1906, died at Boston, on the 2stl
January, 1850. in his sixty. third year. Be
yond question, all circumstances considered
lie was the most remarkable among the mel
of letters which our country-we might say
which our time-bas produced. The diff
culties he had TO contend, with, from al
most total deprivation of sight; the trouble
hc must have had to imbuc his mind with
knowledge, by aid of reader; the heavy
tasks which he must have imposed upon his
memory; the painful industry with which
he composed his voluminous, accurate, and
brilliant works, making chapters in his
mind ere they were set down upon paper
the perseverance with which, despite his
detective vision and Away feeble health.
he carried ont his high purpose Of author
ship; the patience which sustained him
through his labors and his suflerings; the
utter abrence of personal vanity or pride,
when the world hailed him as one of its
greatest men; the trusting faith in an all
wise Provi dence which SO we'll sustained
him the siken ties of affection and regard
which bound him not only to his family
and his friends, but to all who came within
the magic circle of his acquaintance-all
these, united i'll one person. made Prescott
at once great and a true man. His sun
set when We had reason to hope that his
labors for mankind had not all ended; but
it went down on the fullness of his fame.
His work, well accomplished, drew renown
to him from all parts Of the world, and it
will live after him. Non 0mais mortar
From the age Of twelve, Mr.. Prescott
lived in Boston. He entered Harvard Col
lcge at Fifteen, and there exhibited, with a
strong taste for English literature, an in
supcrable antipathy TO mathematics. His
obtaining college honors, therefore. was out
of the question. Up to the age Of seven
teen, his health was excellent, but there
then occurred an accident which affected
the tenor Of his future life. There was
some rough frolicking among the under
graduates in the Common Hall after dinner,
and as Prescott was leaving the room he
was struck on the open left eye by q large,
hard piece of bread thrown undoubtedly
at random. lie fell, and was removed to
his fathers house. Mr.. Ticknor says:
The first effects of the blow were re-
markablc. They were, in fact, such as
commonly attend concussion OF the brain.
The strength of the patient was instantly
and completely prostrated. Sickness at the
stomach followed. His pulse was feeble.
His face became pale and shrunben. and the
whole tone of his system was reduced so
low that he could not sit up in bed. But
his mind was calm and clear, and he was
able to give n distinct account of the acci-
dent that had befallen him, and of what
had preceded and followed it.
Under such circumstances, no active
treatment was deemed advisable. Quiet
was strictly prescribed. Whatever could
tend to the least excitement, physical or
intellectual, was forbidden. And then Ma.
ture was left to herself. This, no doubt
was the wisest course. At any rate, the
system, which had at first yielded so alarm
ingly to the shock, gradually recovered its
tune, ana in few weeks he returned to
Cambridge, and pursued his studies as ii
nothing very serious had happened; a little
more cautiously, perhaps, in some respects
but probably with no diminution of such
very moderate diligence as he had previous
ly practised. But the eye that had been
struck was gone. Nc external mark, either
then or afterwards. indicated the injury
that had been inflicted; and although a
glimmering light was still pcrccptiblc
through the ruined organ, there was none
that could be made useful for any of the
practical purposes of life. On careful
examination, such as l once made, with
magniiying lenses, ut his request, under the
direction OF a distinguished oculist, dill
ference could indeed he detected between
the injured eye and the other and some
times, as sat with him, | have thought
that it seemed more dim; but to common
observation, in society or in the streets, as
in the well-known case of the author of the
Paradise Lost 10 change was perceptible.
1t was, in fact, a case of obscure. deep
paralysis of the retina, and as such was
beyond the reach of the healing art from
the moment the blow was given"
After time he was able TO return 20
College, where he completed his course,
and then he commenced the study of law,
his fathers profession. Acute rheumatism
settled in his sound eye, preventing reading
and study, and threatening to terminate in
total blindness. He was sent OF to Europe,
to consult the best ocuists there, and luf;
Boston, in the autumn OF 1915, tor the
Azores, to winter with his maternal grand
father, who was l. s. Consul ut st. Michaels.
Here, Immediately after his arrival, his eye
again became diseased, and he had TO re-
main, in dark room and upon low diet,
for three months. He did not reach London
until April, 1916, aud employed the follow
ing year in travel through England, France,
anu ila4N. nc OCNilsNS WHOM uS Cnuhullt1l
told him that there Vas complete paralysis
in the eye originally injured and that the
other could only be strengthened by
strengthening the whole system. There
was nn use, therefore, in pursuing law ON
his return home. Fortunately, his father
was in easy circumstances. On his twenty
fourth birthday, in 1920, he married slis,
Amory still surviving.
Another coincidence connected with this
marriage should be added. although il was
one that assured little OF the happiness that
followed, The grandtathers of Mr.. Pres
cott and Miss Amory had been engaged on
opposite sides during the war for American
Independence, aud even on opposite sides Of
the same lght-Col Prescott having com,
manded on Bunker Till, while Capt. Lln1ce
OF the sloop.of,war Falcon, eannonaded him
aad his relonbt from the waters OF Charles
river, where the Falcon was moored during
the whole OF the battle
The swords that had been woTn by the
soldier and the sailor on that nlemorable day
came down as heirlooms III their respective
families, until at last they met In the library
OF the man OF letters, where, quietly crossed
over his books, they often excited the notice
alike OF siFangeFs and of friends. Amer his
death they were transferred. as hc had dc
sired, 10 the Historical society of Alassachu-
setts, on whose walls they have beeome the
memorials al once of many q haFd-fonght
neld and of victories ma Ices fenosaed han
u.