mouth was ended June, he went to New Haven.' He was not an ecclesiastical partisan, but a moderate Calvinist with catholic sympathies. His zeal for civil and religious liberty was great, and he was active in trying to abolish the slave trade. In politics he was an ardent patriot,2 while as an antiquarian and orientalist he was especially famous. His curiosity was eager and credulous, as may be seen by those who take the trouble to read that quaint production of his, the "History of Three of the Judges of Charles I." He has been called the best scholar of his time in New England, and it is said that before the Revolution he would have been elected president of Harvard, if he had only been a graduate of that institution.3 He wrote to the head of the Jesuits' college in Mexico concerning discoveries of Catholic missions in the Northwest; to the Greek bishop in Syria, asking for an account of Gentiles beyond the Caspian, "with reference to the remains of the ten tribes," and to Sir William Jones, suggesting search for early copies of the Pentateuch among the Black Jews in India." At his death he left behind him a mass of valuable manuscripts, now in the college library. They consist of 5 volumes of an Itinerary, 15 volumes of a diary kept for forty years, a volume of Ecclesiastical Statistics for New England, 6 volumes of thermometric observations, several volumes of transcripts concerning New England history, a volume of oriental writings, a volume of statistics obtained from thirty years' experience in raising silkworms, and a great amount of correspondence from various celebrated men.5 Of this man, with such varied tastes, Chancellor Kent said: President Stiles's zeal for civil and religious liberty was kindled at the altar of the English and New England Puritans, and it was animating and vivid. A more consistent and devoted friend to the Revolution and independence of the country never existed. He had anticipated it as early as the year 1760, and his whole soul was enlisted in favor of every measure which led on gradually to the formation and establishment of the American Union. The frequent appeals which he was accustomed to make to the heads and hearts of his pupils concerning the slippery paths of youth, the grave duties of life, the responsibilities of men, and the perils, hopes, and honors and destiny of our country, will never be forgotten by those who heard them, and especially when he came to touch, as he often did, with a master's hand and prophet's fire, on the bright vision of the future prosperity and splendor of the United States. Take him for all in all, this extraordinary man was undoubtedly one of the purest and most gifted men of his age. In addition to his other eminent attainments, he was clothed with humility, with tenderness of heart, with disinterested kindness, and with the most artless simplicity. He was distinguished for the dignity of his deportment, the politeness of his address, and the urbanity of his manners. Though he was uncompromising in his belief and vindication of the great 1 Yale Book, 1, 102. Fifteen years in Chapel (Porter). * College Book, p. 78 et seq. Scribner, XI, 770 et seq. Harvard and Stanford are the only prominent American institutions for higher learning which have not had Yale men as presidents. Scribner, XI, 773. Yale Literary Magazine, 26, 244. (F. B. Dexter.) fundamental doctrines of the Protestant faith, he was, nevertheless, of the most charitable and catholic temper, resulting equally from the benevolence of his disposition and the spirit of the Gospel.' As to his personal appearance his biographer says: He was a man of low and small stature, of a very delicate structure, and a well-proportioned form. His eyes were of a dark-gray color, and in the moment of contemplation singularly penetrating. His voice was clear and energetic; his countenance, especially in conversation, was expressive of mildness and benignity; but, if occasion required, it became the index of majesty and emotion. Having obtained this "truly academic man," whose reputation as a scholar gave the college "dignity abroad," the next thing was his inauguration as president, which occurred in the college chapel on July 8, 1778. He was also made professor of ecclesiastical history. There were then 132 undergraduates, of whom 15 were absent, but all the rest reassembled from the towns where they had been scattered. It was a grand occasion; "the Undergraduates, Bachelors of Art, the Beadle, and Butler carrying the College Charter, Records, Key and Seal, the Senior Presiding Fellow, one of the Hon. Council and the President Elect, the Reverend Corporation, the Professors of Divinity and Natural Philosophy, the Tutors, the Reverend Ministers, Masters of Arts, Respectable Gentlemen," all marched in procession. The exercises passed off in due form, President Stiles delivering an oration-in Latin, of course"upon the cyclopedia, or general system of universal literature," and afterwards there was a dinner in the college hall." One feature is worthy of note, the oath, administered by Col. Jabez Hamlin, was the new one adopted by Connecticut, which declared it sovereign. It ran as follows: You, Ezra Stiles, do swear, by the name of the ever-living God, that you will be true and faithful to the State of Connecticut, as a free and independent State, and in all things do your duty, as a good and faithful subject of the said State, in supporting the rights, liberties, and privileges of the same." Soon after the inauguration came the presentation day, so called because the graduating class was then presented to the president by the senior tutor. At this time thirty were presented, "a beautiful sight," writes the president in his diary. "The Diploma Examinatorium, with the return and minutes inscribed upon it, was delivered to the presi dent, who gave it to the vice bedellus, directing him to read it. He read it and returned it to the president, to be deposited among the college archives in perpetuam rei memoriam. The senior thereupon made a very eloquent Latin speech and presented the candidates for the honors of the college. This presentation the president in a Latin speech 'J. L. Kingsley, pp. 28, et seq.; Kingsley's "Life of Stiles," in Sparks' American Biography, vol. xvi. From Kent's B K Oration, 1831. 2 Yale Book, 1, 274. (From Holmes's Stiles.) 6 Barbour's Connecticut, 178. 7 Woolsey's Historical Discourse, 117. 1 accepted and addressed the gentlemen examiners and the candidates and gave the latter liberty to return home till commencement. At about 3 p.m. the afternoon exercises were appointed to begin. At 3:30 the bell tolled and the assembly of ladies and gentlemen convened in the chapel. The president introduced the exercises in a Latin speech and then delivered the Diploma Examinatorium to the vice bedellus, who, standing on the pulpit stairs, read it publicly. Then succeeded a cliosophic oration1 in Latin by Sir Meigs (this was Josiah Meigs, later professor of mathematics), poetical composition in English by Sir Barlow" (Joel Barlow, later United States minister to France), and other performances by Oliver Wolcott, who became Secretary of the United States Treasury; Noah Webster, of dictionary fame; Ashur Miller and Jephaniah Swift, whom Connecticut placed as judges in her highest court; Noah Smith, who held the same position in Vermont, and Uriah Tracy, United States Senator.3 Verily President Stiles had a distinguished class with which to begin his presidency. In November, 1777, a salary of £160 was voted President StilesOne-fourth in wheat, one-fourth in corn, one-fourth in pork, and one-fourth in beef, or an equivalent in money, together with the use of the president's house and lot, which are to be kept in good repair by the corporation, and of 10 acres of land in Yorkshire quarter with the usual perquisites. The corporation will also be at the expense of removing his family to New Haven, and, providing the above encouragement prove insufficient, they mean in all future time to act a generous part towards him and will endeavor that he be supported, according to their ability, in a manner suitable to the dignity of his station.5 4 YALE IN THE REVOLUTION. Many of Yale's sons went into the Revolution and did valiantly, and some merit especial mention. Among them were Maj. Gen. David Wooster, of the class of 1738, who was mortally wounded while rally. ing his troops during the Tryon raid of 1777; Col. Hitchcock, of the class of 1761, whose brigade at Princeton was entitled to a great share of the glory of that victory; Col. John Brown, of the class of 1771, killed in action in 1780; Lieut. Col. Isaac Sherman, of the class of 1770, commanded a battalion at the storming of Stony Point in 1779; Roger Welles, of the class of 1775, was a captain in the Yorktown campaign of 1781; Brigade-Major Mark Hopkins, of the class of 1758, died in camp at White Plains, in 1776; Capt. David Bushnell, of the class of 1775, invented the first torpedo; Oliver Wolcott signed the Declaration of Independence. Gen. James Wadsworth, of the class of 1748; Gold Selleck Silliman, Philip Burr Bradley, John Chester, Fisher 1 Wm. Sam. Johnson delivered this oration in 1744. * Woolsey, Historical Discourse, p. 121. Four Years at Yale, pp. 480-499. The General Assembly appropriated £242 10.6 for this purpose. (Baldwin's History of Yale College. Yale Book, 1, 104. Gay, and Col. Samuel Wyllys served with credit in the Connecticut forces, while in the Massachusetts troops were Col. John Patterson and Timothy Danielson. The war effected great changes in the college life and manners and broke up many old customs, from their disuse during the scattering of the students and also from the growth of a democratic spirit.2 On July 5, 1779, the British under Gen. Tryon landed near West Haven and marched upon the city. The town was thrown into a ferment at the news and many volunteers went out to resist the approach of the enemy. Among these was good President Daggett, who was taken prisoner by them while loading and firing upon the invaders. He begged for quarter, but they threatened to kill him. His life was saved, however, by William Chandler, a tory, who had formerly been among his pupils.3 They asked him "What did you fire upon us for?" He replied, "because it is the exercise of war." And when they asked him if he would take up arms, if released, he answered with dauntless courage, "I rather believe I shall, if I have an opportunity." They robbed him, pricked him with their bayonets, bruised him with the barrels of their guns, and, swearing at him, made him march before them into New Haven. When he arrived there, he said afterwards: I obtained leave from an officer to be carried into the Widow Lyman's and laid upon a bed, where I lay the rest of the day and the succeeding night in such acute and excruciating pain as I never felt before. He never recovered from this cruel and barbarous treatment, but died from it a year later, on November 25, 1780. The next March President Stiles enters in his diary: "Occupied with taking inventory of Prof. Daggett's estate, £416 silver money, of which about £100 in negroes.5 The British mercifully spared the college buildings in their pillaging, but carried off President Clap's papers, which were never recovered. On January 29, 1779, President Stiles put a notice in the newspapers that The students of Yale College are hereby notified that the present winter vacation is extended a fortnight from the 4th of next month. As this is occasioned by the difficulty which the steward finds in procuring flour or bread, it is earnestly requested of the parents that they would assist in furnishing the necessary supplies.? This gives us an idea of some of the difficulties of the college during that trying period. Over a year later another notice throws light on the situation. On November 2, 1780, "the steward of Yale College "Yale and Her Honor Roll in the American Revolution," H. P. Johnston. Yale Book, 11, 198, H. P. Johnston. 2 Harpers, XVII, 11 et seq. 3Dwight's History of Connecticut, 390. 4 Barbour's Historical Collections, 174, 175. Yale Literary Magazine, 26, 244 (F. B. Dexter). 6 Yale Book, 1, 106. Barbour's Historical Collections, 179. wants to purchase a quantity of butter and cheese, for which he will pay the best kind of rock salt, molasses, continental or State's money, or part in hard money."1 When Prof. Strong left in 1781 the president found himself without any assistants but the tutors, and well was it for the college that he was so versatile. In 1780 he writes: The business of the professor of divinity devolves upon me, and, besides my history lecture, I weekly give a public dissertation on astronomical subjects, beside my private or chamber lecture on theology every Saturday afternoon; and, besides these, I attend every day the recitations of the senior and junior classes in philosophy.2 At his accession to office he records the curriculum. It is as follows: Freshmen: Virgilius, Ciceronis Orationes, Graec. Test., Ward's Arithmetic. Sophomore: Graecum Testament, Horatius, Lowth's English Grammar, Watts's Logic, Guthrie's Geography, Hammond's Algebra, Holmes's Rhetoric, Ward's Geometry, Vincent's Catechism (Saturday), Ward's Mathematics. Junior: Ward's Trigonometry, Atkinson and Watts's Trigonometry; Graec. Test., Cicero de Oratore, Martin's Philosophic Grammar and Philosophy (3 vols.), Vincent (Saturday). Senior: Locke "Human Understanding," Wollaston "Religion of Nature Delineated," and for Saturday Wollebius Amesii Medulla, Graec. Test. (or Edwards on the Will, sometime discontinued), Pres. Clap's Ethics. Thus we see that the college was growing and steadily raising its curriculum, so as to keep abreast of the times. In 1781 occurred again a public commencement, as the clouds of war were breaking away. At that occasion President Stiles delivered a Hebrew oration on Oriental literature in the morning and a Latin oration in the afternoon. From 1782 to 1792 he lectured in the chapel on natural philosophy to fill the vacancy in that chair.3 A NEW PROFESSOR. In 1781 Rev. Abraham Baldwin was made professor of divinity1 and on his declination Rev. Samuel Wales was chosen and installed June 12, 1782.3 He was an "attractive and fervent preacher, thorough and sound theologically, fervently pious, and had a singular power of eloquence." He had been a tutor, and after 1770 the pastor at Milford. In 1783 he was "attacked by a nervous disorder, from which he never again was entirely free" and "which gradually became an incurable epilepsy and produced occasional insanity." This finally caused his retirement in 1793.6 President Porter says of him: "Profs. Daggett and Wales were both of them able and discriminating theologians of the type of their day, and were soundly Calvinistic, of the school of Ed 'Barbour's Historical Collections, 179. 4J. L. Kingsley, 19. 5 New Englander, 16, 438 et seq. 6 Dexter, Y. U., 43. |