The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-10

do remember that onoe. ~ he passed me
he tapped me on the forehead with his
pencil and said he couldn't help II II
would do so WE'LL n compliment which / have
never forgotten" From CRmbridEeport he was
sent 10 tho stifly orthodox school, Phillips
Academy, at Andover. Tho only Incident OF his
life at Andover which has survived Ia his being
ferruled by one OF the teachers, n chastlsement
which forty years attcrwnrd he seems to have
recalled with Indignation. IL Ia clear enough
that he must have been a woll-behaved lad.
since he got through his school days with only
one infection OF the kind in a time when the rod
wns never spared.
Andover did not make q clergyman OF young
Holmes. and how II came to pass that he re-
colled from Calvinism Ia discussed at some
length In his photographer notes. For eK-
ample: Tho effect OF Calyinistic training on
different natures varies very much. The ma
jority takes the creed as q horse takes his
collar: II slips by his ears, over his neck. he
hardly knows how, but he finds himself In har-
ness. and joys along as his fathers and fore
fathers had done before him. A certain num-
Der become enthusiasts in its behalf. and, be-
lievinR themselves gu bjects OF divine illumina-
ton. become jealous Ministers and devoted
missionaries. Here and there a stronSer-minded
ono rcvolts with the whole strength Of his nature
from the inherited servitude of his ancestry and
gets rid of his whole harness before he is et
peace with himself" He goes on to acknowl-
edge that the effect OF reading the Pilgrims
Progress that wonderful work OF Ronius which
captivates all persons OF active Imagination,
made tho system Of which II was the exponent
more unreasonable and moro repulsive instead
OF rendering It more attractive. 1t represents
tho universe as q trap which catches most Of the
human vermin that have It's bait dangled before
them. and the only wonder 10 that a few escape
tho elaborate arrangement made for their cap
turo. The truest revelation" II seemed to
Holmes. which man has received is that In
fux of knowledge brought about by astronomy,
geology. and the comparative study Of creeds
which have made II q necessity to remodel tho
religious beliefs OF tho last few thousand years"
In the samo notes we read Tho
process of extricating ourselves from those
early influences which We are bound to outgrow
Is q very slow and dinlcult one. 1t is illustrated
by tho phenom ena of waste and repair In the
physical system. The process is like
that Of respiration. This oxygen taken into the
system preys upon its effete material. which is
carried out by exhalation and secretion. at the
Same time that It adds the vivifying element to
the forming tissues. New ideas act upon society
as oxygen does on the body, attacking Its errors.
which pass away from the lists Of human beliefs,
and STRENGTHENING the new truths which are
&se@s' ~ hs~Se ava. aSshA oAS
of the century. my mind was early impregnated
with beliefs which. In the minds Of those whom
I consider the best thinkers OF the present day.
are utterly extinct and replaced by newer
thoughts. The change In my own mind. like
those of many others born in similar circum-
stances. has been gradual. and. to q large extent,
insensible."
From Andover Holmes came in the summer
Of 1928 to Harvard College. He thus became a
member Of what used to be called the famous
class of 30. which included n. X. Curtis of the
Supreme Court of the United States. George =.
Bigelow. Chief Justice Of Massachusetts,. and
Prof. Benjamin Pierce. AS MIR. Morse points
out, those were the days of "class feeling" A.
strong sentiment of fellowship effected a solidar-
ity that few individuals ever repudiated.
Strange to say, too, the union became closer
graduation than before; a man expected
his classmates to be friends, and even aid him
In his journey through life. And he was rarely
disappointed. Nowadays. perhaps because ut
classes have become so large, one
hears that the loyalty OF the student is due. not
to his class, but to his club. When Holmes
graduated he was still In some doubt as
TO what should be his calling in life. He went
in q tentative way to the Dane law school.
and stayed there for a year. but he soon found
that ho was on the wrong road, and turned from
to medicine. Besides attending the Massa-
General Hospital. he became a pupil Of
. private medical school maintained by DR..
James jackson. After two courses OF lectures
In Boston, however. 1t became evident that he
ought to pass at least two years in the European
and, thanks to the additions which
his mother had made to the paternal income. he
enabled to do SO.