Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-02-15

Mr.. Wilson appears to have realized
the necessity Of imparting vivacity-
and reality 10 his lectures. There is
some ground to suspect that the intense
young ladies who sat under him did not
always appreciate the lighter side of
his discourses. At all events. it is re
membered that he appeared one day
in the lecture room without the long
mustache which had up to then adorn-
ed his counten.nce-q sacrifice which.
II was limited. he had made in the hope
OF being thereafter better able to sug
gest to his classes certain delicacies OF
thought and fancy which they had
shown little signs of experimenting.
Bryn Mawr college opened with for
ty-three students. Three houses at the
edge of the campus were occupied by
the dean and professors. many of the
latter being bachelors. Later MIR Will /
son leased pretty cottage. the parSon-
age of the little Baptist church on the /
old Gulf road. in the midst of lovely !
countryside. In this. their first home. |
the Wilson's took great pride and sat |
isfacton. In vacation time they went /
in the south that the first two children /
were born.
In June. 1856. Professor Wilson took !
his Phi. D. at Johns Hopkins. the uni |
versity accepting as his thesis his book |
Congressional Government" During |
his third year at Bryn Mawr Profess !
sor Wilson accepted a lectureship at
Johns Hopkins. This took him to Bal .
dmore once a week for twenty five
weeks
Social life at Bryn Mawr was most
agreeable An invitation to an Older
and larger institution was, uevetIne
less. not TO be declined Ampler oppor-
tunity opened in school attended by
young men. and in 1888 Professor Viii
son accepted an election TO the chair of
history and political economy at Wes-
leyan university. Midd!etOwn. Conn.
From the start Professor Wilson'S
courses were extremely popular. And
well indeed they might be. for New
England had rarely heard such instruc-
| ton as was given in the lecture room
of Wesleyan's professor of history and
| political economy. While ut Middle
town he continued his IectureShip at
/ Johns Hopkins. Now. however. instead
/ OF going down once a week he bunch
/ ed his twenty-five lectures in Il month
/ Of vacation allowed him by the Yves,
leyan trustees. His fame as a popular
lecturer also was growing apace. and
he was frequently called to give aid
dresses in New England and the east
town that he wrote The State" vol
ume which. with less pretentions to lit
erary form than his other work. involv-
ed an enormous amount Of labor.
Mr.. Wilson was member of the ath-
letic committee of Wesleyan and took
the keenest interest in the college
sports. One student of the time re-
members how incensed he became at
the limited ambition of the Wesleyan
boys. who. when they played against
IvIe. were satisfied only TO keep the
score down. That's no ambition at
/ air. he used TO cry. Go in and win.
( You can lick Yale as we'll as any other
team. Go after their scaIps Don't ad-
nit for a moment that they can beat
you
Life at Middetown was pleasant
But Mr.. Wilson's growing reputation
would not Permit him TO remain there.
When in 1880 the chair OF jurispru-
dence and politics i'll Princeton cot
lege became vacant through the death
! Of Professor Alexander Johnson the
trustees elected to il the Princeton
graduate. who had so quickly distin-
Guished himself as a student of poll
tics.
September 1890. then. found Wood
row Wilson again dOmiciled in the
Jersey collegiate town. He was now a
man whose renown had begun to
spread in the world. an author. pub
lie speaker OF enviable repute. the
head of family, figure of consid-
Grafton. a doctor. If you please. both OF
philosophy and of law.
The Wilson's rented a house in Ii
brary place. After a few years they
built home for themselves on an ad-
Joining lot. an attractive half tim
bered house designed by Mrs Wilson.
The new professor stepped at once
into the front rank. as indeed became
a Princeton graduate. member OF one
of the most famous classes the old
, college had graduated. man thor
, oughly imbued with the best tradi-
tons Of the place But his lectures
Princeton had no tradition that &C
counted for their charm. They in
stantly became popular; the attendance
mounted until 1t surpassed that ever
before or since given any course of
' study at Princeton. Before long very
nearly 400 students. almost the total
number OF juniors and seniors com
btned. were taking Wilson's courses,
and they were no "cincheS" either.
= Widely Informed. marked by a mastery
OF fact even TO slight detail, inspiring
in their range and sweep and spiced
with a pervading sense of humOr, Pro
: lessor Wilson's lectures were further
marked by the great freedom with
which he delivered himself OF his
views on current events. 1t was his
custom TO put students on their honor
not to report him; there were always
likely to be in attendance students
who had connections with city news