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HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

BY 


CALVIN  STEBBTNS 


AN 


HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 


THE  .NEW  Y03K 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY 

ASTOR,  LENOX 
TILDEK  FOfJ  NDATIONI 


cnr 


vCeJ£ 


HENRY  HILL  GOODELL^6 


THE  STORY  OF  HIS  LIFE 

»  « 

WITH  LETTERS  AND  A  FEW  OF  HIS 

ADDRESSES 


BY 


CALVIN  STEBBINS 


CAMBRIDGE 
PRINTED  AT  THE  RIVERSIDE  PRESS 

1911 


PUBLIC  LiBRABY 
8£$88A 

ASTOR.  LENOX  AND 
rlLDEN  FOUNDATION. 

R  1923 


COPYRIGHT,    1911,   BY   CALVIN    STEBBINS 


•• 


•  •    •   *  * 


•  t 


CO 
CM 


TO 
JOHN  GOODELL  AND  WILLIAM  GOODELL 

SONS  OP  PRESIDENT  GOODELL 

AND  TO 

WILLIAM  SEYMOUR  TYLER 

CORNELIUS  BOARDMAN  TYLER 

CHARLES  DICKINSON 

AND 

EDWARD  RITTENHOUSE  HOUGHTON 

SONS  OF  HIS  LIFE-LONG  FRIENDS 

THIS  STORY  OF  A  STRENUOUS  LIFE 

IS  AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED 


»    * 
»    » 


THE  NSW  YOffK 

Ptfiuc  liskaky 

O  C  Q  Q  Q  \ 

A8TOR.  LENOT  AK1 
•1LDEN  FOUND ATi%N:- 


•  •  •  . 
•     •  • 


■ 


«•«  ,  • ,  , 
•      •  •  ♦ 


INTRODUCTION 

In  preparing  this  sketch  of  the  life  of  President  Goodell 
it  has  been  the  author's  aim  to  make  it  as  far  as  possible 
autobiographical.  The  letters  written  during  the  Civil 
War  are  a  soldier's  letters,  written  by  camp-fires,  amid  the 
confusion  of  army  life,  and  sometimes  with  the  booming  of 
great  guns  ringing  in  his  ears.  They  are  printed  as  he  left 
them,  without  correction,  omitting  personal  and  family 
matters  of  no  interest  to  the  public.  The  letters  are  some- 
times arranged  so  as  to  appear  like  a  diary,  but  he  did  not 
keep  a  diary.  He  wrote  to  his  friends  of  what  was  going 
on  around  him;  he  has  very  little  to  say  of  matters  that  did 
not  come  under  his  personal  observation. 

President  Goodell  was  very  careless  about  his  manu- 
scripts and  seems  to  have  looked  upon  them  as  of  tempo- 
rary value;  and  except  the  addresses  and  papers  which 
found  their  way  into  print,  only  a  few  out  of  many  have 
been  preserved.  Those  printed  in  this  volume  are  se- 
lected as  illustrative  of  the  tone  of  his  mind  and  his  method 
of  handling  the  subjects  he  studied.  It  will  be  pleasing  to 
those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  to  read  his  farewells 
to  the  graduating  classes. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  mention  all  the  friends  who  have 
contributed  to  this  story.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  Mrs. 
Helen  E.  Goodell  has  been  untiring  in  collecting  material 
illustrative  of  the  work  and  character  of  her  husband. 
The  sons  of  the  late  Colonel  Mason  W.  Tyler  of  Plainfield, 


i  > 


VI 


INTRODUCTION 


*  • 


« i 


N.  J.,  have  kindly  loaned  letters  addressed  to  their  father; 
many  thanks  are  due  to  M.  F.  Dickinson,  Esq.,  of  Boston, 
for  letters,  papers,  and  valuable  suggestions.  Major  Thomas 
McManus  of  the  25th  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Volunteers 
and  the  Honorable  William  R.  Sessions,  for  many  years 
Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Agriculture, 
have  contributed  important  facts,  one  in  regard  to  the 
soldier,  the  other  in  regard  to  the  affairs  of  the  College. 
Professor  William  P.  Brooks  and  Professor  George  F.  Mills, 
for  many  years  associated  with  President  Goodell  in  the 
Faculty  of  the  College,  have  been  very  kind  in  furnish- 
ing information  of  great  value  on  important  subjects;  and 
many  of  the  graduates  of  the  College  have  contributed 
interesting  incidents  and  characterizations. 


CONTENTS 

MEMOIR 

I.  Youth 1 

II.  Soldier 12 

III.  Educator 79 

IV.  Conclusion 134 

ADDRESSES 

How  the  Pay  of  a  Regiment  was  carried  to  New 
Orleans 155 

The  Channel  Islands  and  their  Agriculture    .     .     .172 

Reminiscences  of  the  Orient 194 

The  Influence  of  the  Monks  in  Agriculture  ....  228 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College      ....  254 

Relation  of   the    State   Board   of  Agriculture   to 
the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  .     .     .  268 

Address  before  the  Association  of  American  Agri- 
cultural Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations  .    .  284 


viii  CONTENTS 

What   should   be   taught  in  our  Colleges  of  Agri- 
culture   .     , 295 

Report  of  the  Executive  Committee,  Twelfth  Con- 
vention, 1898 304 

Report  of  the  Executive  Committee,  Fifteenth  Con- 
vention, 1901 309 

Address  to  the  Senior  Class,  1887 314 

Address  to  the  Graduating  Class,  1888 316 

Address  to  the  Senior  Class,  1890 319 

Captain  Walter  Mason  Dickinson,  U.  S.  A 322 


MEMOIR 


Bright  wits  and  instinct  sure, 
And  goodness  warm,  and  truth  without  alloy, 

And  temper  sweet,  and  love  of  all  things  pure, 
And  joy  in  the  light,  and  power  to  spread  the  joy. 


HENKY  HILL  GOODELL 


I 

YOUTH 

The  family  name  of  Goodell  appears  in  the  Colonial  Re- 
cords and  in  the  Record  of  the  soldiers  who  enlisted  from 
Massachusetts  during  the  Revolution,  in  some  twenty 
different  forms,  Goodale  and  Goodell  taking  the  lead.  The 
stock  from  which  Henry  Hill  Goodell  sprang  was  of  the 
genuine  Puritan  type,  robust,  healthy,  brave,  earnest, 
and  religious.  The  first  settler  of  the  name  in  New  England 
was  Robert  Goodale,  who  with  his  wife  Katharin  and  three 
children,  "Mary  four  years  old,  Abraham  two,  and  Isaac 
one  half,"  embarked  at  Ipswich,  England,  in  the  ship 
Elizabeth  on  April  10,  1634,  and  came  to  Salem,  where  he 
soon  established  himself  among  those  who  were  called 
"the  genteel."  Before  leaving  England  both  he  and  his  wife 
took  a  solemn  oath  to  be  loyal  subjects  of  his  Majesty, 
King  Charles  I.  But  while  his  descendants  did  not  remain 
loyal  to  the  English  throne,  they  apparently  clung  to  their 
Puritanism.  Of  the  eighty  or  more  Goodales  or  Goodells 
who  served  as  soldiers  in  the  Revolution,  all  but  seven  were 
named  after  the  lawgivers,  the  warriors,  the  singers  and 
prophets  of  Israel,  or  the  evangelists,  disciples  and  writers 
of  the  New  Testament. 


2  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

His  grandfather,  William  Goodell,  a  soldier  in  the  Re- 
volution, one  of  the  seven  of  his  "kith  and  kin"  in  the 
army,  who  did  not  have  a  name  borrowed  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, was  born  in  Marlborough,  Massachusetts,  July  9, 
1757,  spent  most  of  his  active  life  in  Templeton,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  died  July  4,  1843,  at  Copley,  Ohio.  He  had 
a  family  of  ten  children,  of  whom  William,  the  father  of 
Henry  Hill,  was  the  second  child  and  first  son.  This  Wil- 
liam seems  to  have  inherited  all  the  pluck  and  grit  of  his 
race.  He  was  a  man  of  great  practical  wisdom  and  of  cour- 
age that  never  failed.  His  father  was  not  able  to  help  him 
in  his  ambition  to  acquire  an  education,  but  he  contrived 
to  fit  for  college,  to  graduate  at  Dartmouth  in  1817,  to  study 
theology  at  Andover,  and  then  devoted  his  life  to  the  work 
of  a  missionary,  and  for  forty  years  worked  in  the  Otto- 
man Empire.  Turkey  was  then  a  frontier  position,  and  his 
trials  came  not  "in  single  spears,  but  in  fierce  battalions." 
The  enumeration  of  his  trials  and  perils  by  the  first  great 
missionary  of  the  Christian  faith  to  his  disciples  at  Corinth 
is  almost  equaled  by  those  endured  by  William  Goodell.  He 
suffered  from  fire  and  flood,  from  plague  and  pestilence, 
from  the  bigotry  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  lived  in  hourly 
expectation  of  an  outburst  of  Moslem  fanaticism;  yet  he 
stood  to  his  post  and  did  his  work  bravely  and  well. 

He  saw  the  humorous  side  of  life  and  enjoyed  it.  His 
humor  was  spontaneous  and  came  out  as  oddly  as  a  Puri- 
tan quoted  Scripture.  "His  sense  of  humor,"  says  Dr. 
Jessup,  "was  refreshing,  bubbling  over  all  on  occasions 
and  sparkling  even  in  the  darkest  hour  of  persecution  and 
tribulation." 1    Dr.  Hamlin,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Jessup,  says 

1  Fifty-three  Years  in  Syria,  i,  47. 


YOUTH  3 

of  him:  "His  wit  and  mirthfulness  made  perpetual  sun- 
shine." 

The  first  account  we  have  of  Henry  Hill  is  in  a  letter  of 
his  father  to  a  friend  announcing  his  birth.  The  quaint 
humor,  mingled  with  a  fervent  yet  anxious  piety,  is  charm- 
ing, and  will  throw  a  side-light  on  the  character  of  the  man. 

"On  the  20th  inst.  a  new  missionary  joined  us.  He  came 
without  a  partner,  and  without  any  outfit;  and,  as  is  usual 
with  all  newcomers,  he  boards  for  the  present  in  my  family, 
till  he  shall  become  acquainted  with  the  language  and  cus- 
toms of  the  country;  so  that,  what  with  his  entire  ignorance, 
and  what  with  his  entire  dependence  on  us  for  even  his 
ordinary  clothing,  we  are  full  of  business  these  days.  In 
other  words,  a  week  ago  yesterday  morning,  a  third  son 
and  seventh  child  was  added  to  my  family;  and  we  pray 
that  they  all  may  be  like  the  seven  lamps,  which  burn  for- 
ever before  the  throne  of  God.  I  had  looked  forward  to  this 
event  with  more  than  ordinary  anxiety,  but  the  Lord  was 
better  to  us  than  our  fears,  and  instead  of  diminishing  our 
numbers  hath  added  thereto;  and  if  Job  could  say,  'Blessed 
be  the  name  of  the  Lord,'  how  much  more  should  we !  'He 
hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  rewarded  us  ac- 
cording to  our  iniquities.' 

"The  children  have  looked  through  the  whole  Old  and 
New  Testament,  with  all  history,  ancient  and  modern, 
for  a  name,  but  without  success.  This,  however,  is  not  our 
greatest  trouble.  Our  principal  concern  is,  that  he  may 
have  that  new  name  which  no  man  knoweth,  save  he  that 
receiveth  it;  and  that  his  name,  whatever  it  may  be, 
may  be  written  in  Heaven.  May  the  day  of  his  death  be 
better  than  the  day  of  his  birth ! " 


4  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

He  was  born  at  fifteen  minutes  past  twelve  on  the  morn- 
of  May  20,  1839;  and  was  christened,  three  days  later, 
Henry  Hill. 

The  family  ultimately  consisted  of  nine  children :  four 
sisters  and  two  brothers  older  than  himself  and  a  brother 
and  a  sister  younger.  When  three  years  old,  he  lost  a  brother 
eight  years  older,  and  he  survived  all  the  family  but  a  sister 
next  older  and  a  sister  next  younger,  than  himself.  The 
ties  of  blood  were  very  strong  in  him,  and  his  position  in 
the  family,  with  older  and  younger  brothers  and  sisters, 
was  a  fortunate  one  for  the  development  of  the  peculiar 
relations  that  really  constitute  the  family,  which,  as  Emer- 
son says,  "makes  a  man  love  no  music  so  well  as  his  kitchen 
clock." 

During  his  early  teens  the  Crimean  War  broke  out,  and 
Constantinople  became  the  centre  of  interest  to  the  whole 
western  world.  The  soldiers  of  three  great  nations,  England, 
France  and  Sardinia,  in  their  various  uniforms,  together 
with  the  great  warships  and  innumerable  transports  hurry- 
ing to  the  scene  of  conflict,  left  an  impression  on  his  mind 
that  years  did  not  efface.  He  saw  most  of  the  great  comman- 
ders, both  of  the  land  and  sea  forces,  and  beyond  this  many 
of  the  diplomats  representing  many  nations  and  distin- 
guished visitors  from  the  West.  It  is  related  that  one  day 
he  heard  that  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  was  going  to  call 
on  his  father,  and  running  home  he  rushed  into  the  room 
without  noticing  that  any  one  was  there  and  burst  out: 
"Papa,  Lord  Stratford  de  Redcliffe  is  coming  to  call  on 
you."  —  "My  son,"  said  the  father,  "Lord  Stratford  de 
Redcliffe  is  already  here,"  introducing  him  to  the  dis- 
tinguished caller.  The  great  ambassador,  whom  Tennyson 


YOUTH  5 

lescribes  on  his  monument  in  Westminster  Abbey  as  "the 
voice  of  England  in  the  East,"  put  his  hand  on  the  little 
fellow's  head  and  gave  him  the  patriarchial  blessing. 

His  letters  to  his  brother  William,  who  had  come  to  this 
country  to  study  for  his  profession  and  who  had  begun  the 
practice  of  medicine,  were  full  of  war  news  and  the  doings 
of  soldiers.  Dec.  19,  1853,  he  writes  from  Constantino- 
ple, giving  an  account  of  the  beginning  of  the  war :  — 

My  dear  brother  William,  —  May  your  shadow  never 
be  less  and  may  you  soon  have  plenty  of  patients,  —  not  that 
I  wish  folks  might  get  sick,  but  that  you  might  have  practice. 

A  week  or  two  ago  the  Turks  and  the  Russians  had  a 
naval  engagement  in  which  the  Turks  were  utterly  defeated. 
The  circumstances  were  these:  13  of  the  Turkish  fleet, 
mostly  small  vessels,  went  up  into  the  Black  Sea  for  a 
cruise;  they  came  to  Sinopi  and  anchored  there  for  a  few 
days,  and  not  apprehending  any  danger  they  took  no  pre- 
cautions in  case  of  a  surprise.  Well  a  Russian  steamer  saw 
them  and  went  off  and  brought  down  upon  them  eight  of 
the  largest-sized  Russian  vessels.  The  vessels  came  in  with 
a  strong  wind  in  their  favour  and  immediately  opened  upon 
the  Turks  with  red-hot  shot.  The  Turks  tried  to  get  out 
of  the  way  so  as  to  let  the  battery  from  the  town  play  on 
the  enemy,  but  did  not  succeed,  and  every  one  of  them  ex- 
cept a  steamer  was  either  blown  up  or  sunk.  This  steamer 
managed  to  get  up  her  steam  and  slipt  out  in  the  midst  of 
the  action;  she  was  pursued  by  R.  steamers,  but  she  used 
her  stern  guns  upon  them  and  when  they  came  too  near 
she  would  turn  and  give  them  a  broadside,  and  thus  she 
escaped,  but  in  a  somewhat  shattered  condition. 


6  HENRY  HILL   GOODELL 

An  English  merchantman,  which  was  lying  up  there  at 
the  time  of  the  engagement,  was  sunk  and  two  of  her  crew 
killed.  Immediately  upon  hearing  the  news  here,  an  Eng- 
lish and  a  French  steamer  of  war  were  despatched  up  with 
surgeons  and  bandages  and  medicine  for  the  soldiers  who 
survived.  As  soon  as  the  battle  was  over,  the  Russians 
hoisted  sail  and  went  off.  The  Greeks  (the  little  rascals) 
at  Sinopi  were  so  delighted  at  the  issue  of  the  battle  that 
they  hoisted  the  Russian  flag;  this  so  exasperated  the  Turks 
that  they  went  and  burned  down  all  their  quarters. 

May  27,  1854,  he  writes:  "Last  week  Friday  we  went  to 
the  'Sweet  Waters'  of  Europe;  almost  all  the  great  folks 
were  there.  Of  the  latter,  there  were  the  American,  English, 
French,  Dutch,  Persian,  and  Austrian  ambassadors;  there 
was  also  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  Lord  Raglan,  Prince  Na- 
poleon, and  plenty  of  English  officers." 

June  10:  "I  have  been  to  the  review  —  it  took  place 
last  week.  The  Sultan  was  there  to  see  them,  the  High- 
landers were  there,  they  were  really  beautiful,  and  when 
they  marched  before  the  Sultan  they  played  on  their  bag- 
pipes; the  music  was  very  fine  and  the  cavalry  eclipsed 
everything;  even  one  of  the  generals  said  so.  The  music 
was  splendid,  they  played  'God  save  the  King  and  Queen,' 
the  'Sultan's  March,'  'Scots  wha  hae,'  and  several  others." 

Henry  did  not  attend  school  in  Constantinople,  but 
studied  at  home.  In  English,  mathematics  and  literature, 
his  sisters  were  his  teachers.  He  studied  Latin  with  his 
father,  Greek  with  his  father's  Greek  translator  of  the  New 
Testament,  and  history  was  read  every  night  and  questions 
were  asked  about  it  at  the  breakfast  table  the  next  morn- 


YOUTH  7 

ing.  French  he  picked  up  in  the  street,  as  it  was  the  lan- 
guage commonly  spoken. 

But  his  parents  were  too  wise  to  continue  this  method 
long.  The  growing  boy  must  have  more  air  and  a  larger 
world.  Accordingly,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  "a  tender  age," 
as  he  used  to  say,  he  left  Constantinople,  July  30,  1856,  in 
company  with  an  older  sister,  in  the  Race  Horse,  a  sailing 
vessel,  and  after  a  voyage  of  sixty-seven  days  arrived  in 
New  York,  October  5. 

He  went  immediately  to  Williston  Seminary,  Easthamp- 
ton,  and  for  the  first  year  studied  with  both  the  Junior  and 
the  Middle  Classes  and  graduated  with  the  class  of  1858, 
doing  the  work  of  three  years  in  two.  In  the  Seminary  he 
was  very  quiet,  did  nothing  to  attract  attention,  seemed  to 
have  few  friends,  or  even  acquaintances,  and  was  almost 
unknown  to  those  who  became  at  once  on  entering  college 
his  companions,  and  lifelong  friends  after  college  days  had 
become  a  matter  of  the  past.  He  was  looked  upon  as  a 
hard-working  student.  Perhaps  in  the  minds  of  some  of 
his  fellow-students  there  was  a  certain  mystery  about  him, 
born  as  he  was  in  a  strange  land,  under  a  strange  civiliza- 
tion, and  so  far  from  friends  and  home.  And  then  the  new- 
ness of  the  new  world  may  have  had  a  repressing  influence 
upon  him. 

He  entered  Amherst  College  in  the  fall  of  1858,  and  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1862.  In  college  the  real  man 
came  to  the  front,  with  a  large  percentage  of  the  boy.  He 
found  friends  everywhere,  —  in  his  own  class,  in  the  higher 
classes  and  among  the  Faculty.  He  was  always  good- 
natured,  always  cheerful,  at  times  rollicking,  and  ready  to 
take  a  hand  in  any  good  fun  or  practical  joke.  He  was  still 


8  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

a  worker,  maintained  a  good  standard  of  scholarship,  read 
a  good  deal  and  to  the  purpose,  and  when  the  time  came, 
took  up  one  study  that  was  to  be  a  great  service  to  him  in 
after  life,  the  study  of  botany.  During  the  Freshman  year 
he  accepted  an  invitation  to  become  a  member  of  the  Psi 
Upsilon  Fraternity.  The  spirit  of  Fraternity  seems  to  have 
been  in  accord  with  his  nature,  as  he  took  a  personal  inter- 
est, not  only  in  his  associate  members  but  in  the  new  mem- 
bers, long  after  he  left  college. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  college  life  the  great  storm 
that  had  long  been  gathering  burst  suddenly  upon  the 
country.  By  a  cannon  shot  in  the  harbor  of  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  the  great  issue  between  free  and  slave  labor, 
involving  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  was  brought  into 
the  court  of  last  resort.  In  this  great  contest,  which  grew 
greater  as  it  went  on,  until  it  assumed  proportions  perhaps 
up  to  that  time  unsurpassed  in  the  history  of  mankind, 
Goodell  took  a  deep  interest.  It  seemed  to  him  to  involve 
the  highest  interests  of  civilization  and  all  that  he  held  dear. 
He  said  but  little,  but  evidently  thought  a  great  deal  as  to 
his  duty.  The  following  letter  addressed  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  James  Bird  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  will  give 
his  own  account  of  his  feelings.  It  was  written  more  than 
five  months  after  the  Massachusetts  troops  went  through 
Baltimore,  and  two  months  after  the  first  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  which  General  Sherman  declared  "one  of  the  best- 
planned  battles  of  the  war,  but  one  of  the  worst  fought." 
He  had  had  plenty  of  time  to  think. 


YOUTH  9 

Amherst,  Sept.  30,  1861. 

My  dear  James,  —  I  want  to  ask  your  advice  on  a  sub- 
ject I  have  been  thinking  on  very  strongly  the  past  weeks, 
viz:  the  advisability  of  my  going  to  the  war.  The  ques- 
tion has  come  home  so  strongly  to  me  that  I  feel  as  if  I  must 
decide  it  one  way  or  another  immediately.  It 's  no  use  at- 
tempting to  study  while  in  such  a  state  of  indecision.  Be- 
lieve me,  this  is  no  sudden  question  that  has  come  up  in 
my  mind.  It  has  scarcely  been  out  of  my  thoughts  since 
returning  here  this  term.  Within  the  past  few  weeks  we  have 
bade  God  speed  to  a  dozen  or  more  college-mates,  who  have 
gone  to  assume  honorable  positions  in  our  regiments  now 
forming,  and  I  suppose  during  the  present  week  some  six  or 
seven  more  will  leave.  It 's  the  very  life-blood  of  the  Col- 
lege we  are  sending;  some  of  our  best  and  noblest  men. 
The  other  morning  a  letter  was  read  to  the  College  from 
Governor  Andrew,  strongly  advising  us  not  to  enlist  as 
privates,  but  if  we  could  get  commissions,  to  go,  stating 
that  the  great  want  of  our  armies  is  officers  of  intelligence 
to  take  the  lead  and  direct.  Now,  James,  the  question 
that  arises  is  this.  Here  I  have  been  drilling,  and  have 
drilled  men,  for  the  past  three  months,  and  ought  I  to  stay 
here,  when  perhaps  I  can  be  of  service  to  my  country?  I 
am  not  thoroughly  posted,  and  don't  pretend  to  be,  but 
I  feel  confident  that  I  know  more  than  one-half  the  officers 
that  are  being  accepted.  Why,  in  Colonel  Lee's  regiment 
now  encamped  at  Springfield,  except  the  Colonel,  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel and  Major,  there  is  not  a  single  officer  besides 
our  College  boys  that  knows  anything  about  modern 
tactics,  and  it  is  our  fellows  that  are  drilling  the  men.  As 
Governor  Andrew  says,  there  are  not  officers  enough  found 


10  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

for  the  troops.  I  have  had  a  lieutenant's  position  offered 
me,  but  declined  it,  as  I  could  not  give  any  immediate 
answer.  It  is  hard  to  tell  what  is  one's  duty  to  do.  The 
faculty  are  very  much  adverse  to  the  students'  leaving,  but 
then  on  the  other  hand,  the  minister  here,  and  other  persons 
in  whose  judgment  I  place  the  strongest  confidence,  urge 
their  going.  A  company  left  Amherst  the  other  day,  and 
when  I  saw  husbands  leaving  their  wives  and  children,  it 
fairly  stirred  every  particle  of  blood  in  my  veins,  and  made 
me  feel  as  ashamed  as  could  be  to  be  staying  at  home, 
when  there  was  no  one  in  the  world  dependent  upon  me. 
Don't  think  that  I  am  fired  with  ambition  or  glory  or  any- 
thing of  the  sort.  An  officer's  position  is  a  dangerous  one, 
and  I  cling  too  tenaciously  to  life  and  its  pleasures  to  rashly 
throw  mine  away.  No  such  motive  I  assure  you  influences 
me.  I  have  not  yet  written  to  Mr.  Robert,  but  shall  await 
replies  from  you  and  William  [his  brother],  to  whom  I 
write  by  this  same  mail,  before  sending  to  him.  If  you  and 
he  think  favorably  of  this,  I  shall  hold  myself  in  readiness 
for  whatever  may  turn  up. 

Please  write  me  as  soon  as  convenient.  Perhaps  you  had 
better  not  say  anything  about  this  to  Eliza  [his  sister]  and 
the  rest  of  the  family  just  at  present,  as  it  will  only  worry 
them.  Your  aff.  brother, 

Henry. 

From  this  letter  it  appears  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind 
as  to  his  duty.  His  friends,  however,  thought  he  had  bet- 
ter complete  his  college  course;  and  he  reluctantly  yielded 
to  their  wishes,  and  gave  increased  attention  to  gymnastics 
and  military  drill,  which  he  afterwards  said  was  of  great 


YOUTH  11 

advantage  to  him.  At  the  time  of  his  graduation  the  cause 
of  the  Union  was  under  a  dark  cloud.  During  the  last  of 
June,  1862,  even  the  President  of  the  United  States  did 
not  know  for  days  where  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was. 
The  gloom  was  deep  but  the  people  were  not  discouraged. 
At  the  request  of  the  governors  of  eighteen  loyal  states 
President  Lincoln,  on  July  2,  called  out  three  hundred 
thousand  men  for  three  years,  and  on  August  4  ordered 
a  draft  for  three  hundred  thousand  men  for  nine  months. 


II 

SOLDIER 

On  leaving  College  Goodell  opened,  on  July  23,  1862, 
a  recruiting  office  in  the  City  of  New  York;  but  his  ex- 
pectations did  not  materialize.  He  informed  a  friend  that 
most  of  the  men  who  called  at  his  office  came  to  see  how 
he  was  getting  along,  or  to  sell  him  something  that  would 
be  indispensable  to  him  in  campaigning.  Only  once  did  he 
feel  sure  of  a  recruit,  but  the  feeling  lasted  only  a  moment. 
With  all  the  patriotic  enthusiasm  and  power  of  persuasion 
he  possessed,  he  worked  one  fellow  up  to  consent  to  enlist; 
"but  when  the  papers  were  brought  out  he  declined  to 
sign  that  day,  and  when  he  left  he  threw  down  a  card  on 
which  was  written:  'If  you  want  a  good  wife,  1st.  Keep 
a  good  conscience;  2nd.  Pay  your  honest  debts;  3rd.  Pur- 
chase your  shirts  at  263  Broadway ' ;  remarking  as  he  evac- 
uated, 'That  is  my  business';  and  was  followed  by  'You 
stupid  blockhead !  you  infamous  wretch ! '  or  words  to  that 
effect." 

Abandoning  the  scheme  of  raising  a  company  in  New 
York,  he  went  to  Hartford  and  enlisted  August  16  in  the 
25th  Regiment  of  Connecticut  Volunteers,  then  forming 
under  Colonel  George  P.  Bissell,  f  or  a  service  of  nine  months, 
and  was  appointed  second  lieutenant  in  Company  F.  It 
was  the  smallest  company  in  the  regiment  and  was  chris- 
tened by  the  other  soldiers  "Napheys's  Brigade,"  in  honor 


SOLDIER  13 

of  the  captain,  George  H.  Napheys.  The  regiment  was 
mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  November 
11,  and  three  days  later  sailed  from  Hartford  to  Centre- 
ville  on  Long  Island,  the  rendezvous  of  an  expedition  to  be 
commanded  by  Major-General  N.  P.  Banks,  destination 
unknown. 

There  is  no  place  that  reveals  the  real  character  of  a  man 
so  quickly  and  so  clearly  as  a  shelter  tent  in  an  army  in 
the  field.  All  there  is  in  him,  be  it  noble  or  base,  strong 
or  weak,  is  brought  to  the  front  by  the  peculiar  experiences 
of  the  soldier.  This  test  Goodell  could  stand,  and  it  has 
been  said  by  one  who  had  a  good  opportunity  to  know,  that 
"he  was,  from  first  to  last,  a  favorite  with  every  officer  and 
private  in  the  regiment."  This  means  that  he  was  the  same 
in  the  field  that  he  was  before  he  left  the  state,  and  that  he 
made  himself  respected  as  a  disciplinarian  because  he  was 
one.  No  private  under  his  command  could  make  the  com- 
plaint of  Birdofredum  Sawin:  — 

I  don't  approve  of  tellin'  tales,  but  just  to  you  I  may  state 
Our  ossifers  ain't  wut  they  wuz  afore  they  left  the  Bay-State. 

The  experiences  of  life  in  a  camp  of  instruction  are  tedi- 
ous and  wearisome,  but  when  a  regiment  starts  for  the  field 
under  a  government  not  prepared  for  war  and  unused  to 
handling  and  providing  for  large  bodies  of  men,  the  real 
trials  of  the  soldier  begin.  Even  under  these  circumstances, 
however,  his  cheerfulness  did  not  desert  him.  When  the 
regiment  arrived  at  the  camp  at  Centreville  after  a  march 
of  about  ten  miles,  they  found  that  no  provision  had  been 
made  for  them,  and  it  was  the  last  of  November.  The  next 
morning  he  writes  that  he  "slept  in  the  guard-house  on  the 


14  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

bare  floor,  with  nothing  under  him  but  his  blankets,  and  in 
the  small  hours  of  the  morning  he  ran  a  mile  on  the  race- 
course to  get  warm." 

The  regiment  was  ordered  to  embark  on  November  29. 
In  a  letter  written  on  the  Atlantic  Dock,  Brooklyn,  dated 
December  4,  he  gives  an  account  of  what  had  happened. 

Our  regiment  was  to  have  left  last  Saturday,  when  lo, 
just  as  we  were  drawn  up  in  battle-line  preparatory  to  a 
start,  General  Banks's  orderly  gallops  up  and  brings  an 
order  for  Co's.  C,  D,  F,  and  G  to  remain  behind  and  go 
with  the  26th  [Connecticut].  Here  was  a  pretty  go,  for 
tents,  baggage  and  everything  had  already  gone!  We  in- 
stantly sent  down  to  the  depot  for  them,  but  they  had  al- 
ready gone.  To  add  to  our  troubles,  up  came  one  of  the 
heaviest  rain-storms,  such  as  Long  Island  only  can  pro- 
duce. As  there  was  no  other  place,  we  all  went  into  the 
guard-house,  and  there  have  we  been  lying  ever  since 
on  the  hard  boards;  not  even  a  wisp  of  straw  did  we  have 
till  Tuesday,  for  it  was  so  wet  we  could  not  bring  it.  The 
26th  boys  were  very  kind  and  accommodated  a  whole 
company.  We  officers  were  not  so  well  off  as  the  privates, 
for  we  did  not  have  our  blankets  with  us.  Yesterday  I  was 
sent  down  here  with  a  guard  to  take  care  of  our  baggage, 
which  is  lying  piled  upon  the  dock.  It  was  bitter  cold  last 
night,  but  we  managed  to  keep  comfortable  in  some  empty 
R.R.  cars  that  were  convenient.  The  regiment  received 
marching  orders  last  night  and  I  expect  them  down  every 
minute  to  embark  on  the  Empire  City  with  the  26th  Ct. 
The  rest  of  the  regiment,  or  rather  five  companies,  sailed 
in  the  Mary  Boardman,  day  before  yesterday  morning, 


SOLDIER  15 

and  so  crowded  that  part  of  the  men  are  compelled  to  stay 
on  the  upper  deck. 

Good-bye,  all  hands,  with  ever  so  much  love  to  all. 

Henry. 

P.  S.  I've  found  out  where  our  expedition  is  going.  It's 
going  to  sea.  One  thing  is  certain  —  we  are  going  pretty 
far  South. 

There  was  considerable  confusion  and  much  delay  in 
getting  off.  Some  of  the  transports  were  so  crowded  that 
the  captains  refused  to  sail.  Part  of  the  remaining  com- 
panies of  the  25th  were  taken  on  board  the  Che  Kiang. 
Goodell,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  men  of  his  regiment, 
sailed  from  New  York  December  18,  in  the  Merrimac, 
with  fifteeen  hundred  troops  on  board.  The  passage  down 
the  Atlantic  coast  was  very  rough,  the  machinery  of  the 
ship  was  disabled,  and  they  were  obliged  to  put  into  Hilton 
Head  for  repairs.  From  here  he  writes  December  27  to 
a  classmate  a  very  realistic  account  of  his  experience. 

*  You  would  have  laughed  the  first  day,  could  you  have 
seen  the  guards  of  the  vessel  from  stem  to  stern  lined  with 
anxious  sea-gazers,  their  knees  knocking  together,  their 
countenances  ashen,  and  a  very  intimate  connection  evi- 
dently existing  between  the  stomach  and  the  mouth.  Even 
my  risibles  were  excited,  though  myself  not  entirely  in- 
sensible to  the  attractions  of  Neptune.  Thou  hast  heard, 
friend  of  my  soul,  of  that  unhappy  man  mentioned  in  the 
Holy  Writ,  who  had  seven  women  hanging  to  the  skirts  of 
his  coat;  but  his  condition  was  not  a  circumstance  to  be 
compared  to  that  of  the  unfortunate  Quartermaster  and 


16  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Commissary  of  this  ship,  your  humble  servant  in  propria 
persona.  Each  day  I  growl  and  say,  'Oh,  men,  why  will 
you  eat  so  much?'  Over  three  thousand  pounds  of  rations 
do  I  have  to  issue  from  that  hold  each  day.  It  is  no  small 
job,  with  the  vessel  pitching  everything  hilter  skilter,  to  get 
provisions  up ;  and  I  assure  you  it  is  very  disturbing  to  the 
equanimity  of  my  temperature  and  requireth  great  nerve 
and  presence  of  stomach  to  go  below  into  the  bowels  of 
the  ship  and  hear  some  hundred  or  two  puking  above  you. 
Occasionally,  I  grieve  to  relate,  I  get  disembowelled  in  the 
operation.  Hilton  Head  is  the  most  God-forsaken,  misera- 
ble old  hole  yours  respectfully  ever  got  into.  The  sand  is 
ankle-deep  everywhere,  and  such  a  lot  of  negroes,  —  shift- 
less, lazy  dogs,  black  as  the  ace  of  spades  and  twice  as 
natural.  But  the  little  nigs  kill  me  outright.  Excepting  a 
young  elephant  I  know  of  nothing  so  comical.  I  can  sit 
half  the  morning  looking  at  them  and  hearing  them  jabber. 
We  expect  to  sail  to-night  or  to-morrow  morning;  but  I 
must  close  as  I  have  a  chance  to  send  this  ashore." 

The  Merrimac  did  not  reach  New  Orleans  until  some 
days  after  the  arrival  of  the  other  transports.  Part  of  his 
regiment  went  immediately  up  the  river  to  Baton  Rouge, 
and  part  of  it  was  left  at  New  Orleans.  On  the  arrival 
of  the  Merrimac,  Goodell  was  employed  in  superintend- 
ing the  unlading  of  the  ship,  and  had  a  very  definite  im- 
pression that  the  "Native  Brethren "  did  not  like  the  "New 
Massa";  for  his  ideas  of  a  day's  work  were  very  different 
from  those  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.  He  had 
time,  however,  to  visit  many  places  in  the  city.  He  was 
attracted  to  the  slave-market,  and  noticed  the  signs  of  the 
various  dealers  in  human  chattels.   He  made  an  excursion 


SOLDIER  17 

to  Fort  Jackson,  —  rowed,  or  rode,  over  the  country  for 
fifteen  miles.  He  had  an  exquisitely  fine  sympathy  with 
vegetable  life  in  all  its  forms  and  especially  with  trees, 
and  the  country  charmed  him.  "I  wish  you  could  see  the 
orange  and  lemon  groves,"  he  writes,  "with  the  trees  per- 
fectly bowed  down  with  their  weight  of  fruit.  Such  oranges ! 
Citrons  almost  as  large  as  my  head  and  lemons  as  would 
make  the  heart  of  a  thrifty  house-wife  rejoice.  Upon  my 
word,  I  am  in  love  with  the  sunny  South.  Don't  be  as- 
tonished if,  finding  my  affinity,  you  should  hear  that 
Gibraltar  had  surrendered  and  I  had  settled  down  for  life." 

But  he  was  not  likely  to  find  an  assailant  of  his  fortress 
among  the  then  inhabitants  of  New  Orleans.  He  writes: 
"The  ladies  wore  'secesh'  cockades  in  their  bonnets.  Oh, 
but  it  was  amusing  to  see  the  curl  of  the  lip  and  the  un- 
pleased  nose  with  which  they  would  sweep  by  us.  Of  course 
I  used  my  privilege  of  staring  them  full  in  the  face."  He 
was  master  of  a  peculiar  facial  expression  of  a  serio-comic 
character,  which  he  may  have  used,  but  he  never  had  any 
success  with  what  he  called,  "my  bran-new,  two-for-a- 
quarter  smile." 

The  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  cooperate  with 
General  Grant  in  the  reduction  of  Vicksburg.  But  General 
Banks  did  not  know  until  he  arrived  at  New  Orleans  that 
Port  Hudson  was  fortified  and  manned  by  almost  as  large 
a  force  as  he  could  bring  against  it,  or  that  fifty  miles  or 
so  west  of  New  Orleans  was  a  force  of  five  or  six  thousand 
men  ready  to  move  on  the  city  and  cut  his  lines  of  communi- 
cation the  moment  he  moved  up  the  river.  In  addition  to 
this,  he  was  furnished  with  transportation  for  only  one 
division  of  his  army,  and  a  letter  from  General  Grant  was 


18  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

forty  days  en  route.  There  was  only  one  thing  that  could 
be  done,  and  that  was  to  destroy  the  Confederate  army 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  before  he  could  with  safety  leave 
New  Orleans  in  his  rear  and  advance  on  Port  Hudson. 
So,  concentrating  his  army  at  Donaldson ville,  he  marched 
across  the  country  to  Berwick  Bay  and  followed  up  the 
Bayou  Teche  to  Alexandria  on  the  Red  River;  then,  follow- 
ing down  the  Red  River  to  the  Mississippi,  he  advanced 
upon  Port  Hudson  from  the  North.  The  story  of  this  long 
march  with  its  various  vicissitudes  will  be  given  in  Good- 
ell's  letters  to  one  of  his  sisters,  with  an  occasional  note  to 
classmates,  to  illustrate  the  spirit  with  which  he  endured 
the  trials  of  an  exceedingly  tedious  and  fatiguing  campaign. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  1863,  the  companies  of  the  25th 
Connecticut  at  New  Orleans  were  sent  up  the  river  to  Baton 
Rouge,  and  joining  their  old  companions,  were  brigaded 
with  the  13th  Connecticut,  the  26th  Maine  and  the  159th 
New  York,  under  Colonel  H.  W.  Birge  as  brigade  com- 
mander. These  regiments  formed  the  Third  Brigade  of 
the  Fourth  Division  of  the  19th  Army  Corps,  General 
Grover  division  commander. 

They  were  now  in  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
position  assigned  to  the  25th  was  on  the  extreme  left  in 
advance,  and  Goodell  gets  his  first  taste  of  active  service. 
On  January  26,  he  writes  from  Baton  Rouge :  — 

"Our  camp  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the  town,  just  on  the 
edge  of  a  dense  forest  and  cypress  swamp.  Last  night  I  went 
out  for  the  first  time  on  picket  duty,  with  forty -five  men. 
Had  fifteen  posts  to  look  after,  extending  over  some  mile 
and  a  half  through  the  centre  of  the  forest.  It  was  no  joke, 
I  assure  you,  going  the  rounds  all  night  visiting  the  posts, 


SOLDIER  19 

for  it  was  dark  as  a  pocket,  and  I  lost  my  way  quite  a 
number  of  times  and  would  wander  hither  and  thither, 
stumbling  over  vines  and  branches,  till  some  sentinel 
would  bring  me  up  with  a  round  turn,  with  a  click  of  his 
musket-lock  and  'Who  goes  there ?'" 

In  closing  the  letter  he  could  not  help  adding:  "Tell 
Mrs.  B.  that  her  nephew  has  improved  so  wonderfully  in 
camp  morals  that  he  actually  told  me  he  thought  if  he 
could  get  a  good  chance  to  hook  a  hen,  he  should  do  it." 

In  a  letter  to  a  classmate  written  January  27,  he  made  a 
few  additions  to  the  story  of  his  first  night  on  picket. 

The  woods  are  plentifully  stocked  with  game  and  we 
could  hear  most  every  sound,  from  the  hooting  of  owls  and 
rooting  of  wild  hogs  to  the  snarl  of  the  wild-cat  and  cry 
of  the  possum.  You  should  see  the  vines  that  encircle 
the  trees  or  festoon  from  tree  to  tree.  Some  of  them  are 
gigantic,  as  large  round  as  my  body,  and  their  folds  look 
like  the  coils  of  an  immense  snake.  The  smaller  vines  are 
so  pliable  you  can  twist  and  tie  them  like  a  rope.  I  slept 
an  hour  or  two  under  a  magnolia  tree  while  my  sergeant 
kept  watch.  You  can't  think  how  tough  I  am  getting.  I 
lie  down  on  the  ground  with  nothing  but  my  overcoat  on, 
and  using  a  log  for  a  pillow  sleep  very  comfortably.  Adieu, 
my  pirate  of  the  deep  blue  sea. 

Affectionately, 
Your  blooming  daffodil  and  fragrant 
primrose  of  a  southern  clime. 

For  some  weeks  after  the  arrival  of  the  regiment  at 
Baton  Rouge,  the  officers  and  men  were  busy  with  picket 


20  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  guard-duty  and  acquiring  the  use  of  fire-arms,  which 
they  did  not  receive  until  after  they  arrived  at  New  Or- 
leans. Goodell  soon  adjusted  himself  to  the  situation.  He 
writes  February  7 :  — 

"Everything  is  peaceful  and  quiet  round  here  just  now, 
but  it's  frightfully  cold.  It  is  very  singular  weather  here. 
Just  about  so  often  we  have  a  terrific  rain-storm;  when  it 
clears  off,  it  will  be  intensely  cold  for  three  or  four  days, 
then  it  will  get  unpleasantly  hot  and  we  have  another 
storm  to  subdue  it.  I  don't  think  that  these  changes  agree 
with  the  men,  for  we  have  a  large  number  on  the  sick-list. 
The  officers'  ranks  are  so  reduced  by  resignation  and  sick- 
ness that,  out  of  twenty  lieutenants,  we  have  only  eight 
for  duty;  the  consequence  is  we  have  to  work  like  Trojans, 
for  every  day  we  detail  two  lieutenants,  one  for  picket  and 
the  other  for  guard.  You  would  laugh  to  see  me  start  out 
on  picket.  First  I  have  my  overcoat  on,  and  my  sword 
and  fixings  over  that;  then  in  my  sling  I  carry  my  nine- 
pound  woolen  blanket  and  my  rubber  blanket;  then  I  have 
my  haversack  with  a  day's  rations,  and  lastly  my  canteen. 
Oh,  but  you  ought  to  see  some  of  my  dishes  that  I  get  up. 
I  should  n't  know  how  to  name  them,  but  they  are  luscious. 
The  other  day  I  managed  to  get  hold  of  some  codfish,  and 
being  in  an  experimenting  frame  of  mind,  made  a  delicious 
fry.  Soaked  the  critter  over  night,  and  next  morning  threw 
the  pieces  into  the  frying-pan  along  with  some  pork;  to  this 
I  added  a  little  concentrated  milk  instead  of  butter.  Then 
toasted  some  bread  and  poured  the  whole  over  it.  Why,  it 
was  a  dish  fit  for  a  king !  We  are  lucky  in  being  able  to  pro- 
cure bread  now.  At  first  we  could  get  nothing  but  hard- 
tack. Fresh  meat  I  have  not  tasted  since  we  landed,  till  the 


SOLDIER  21 

other  day,  when  out  on  picket,  one  of  the  men  caught  a 
young  pig  and  forthwith  flayed  and  roasted  him.  That  same 
day,  when  on  picket,  a  contraband  brought  us  some  fresh 
eggs  and  some  sweet  potatoes;  but  such  instances  are  few 
and  far  between.  Why,  I  became  a  nine-days' wonder  on 
returning  to  camp  and  relating  my  experience." 

Hard  as  he  worked,  he  seems  to  have  enjoyed  himself 
and  got  all  the  fun  there  was  in  the  life  he  was  living,  and 
to  have  made  some  besides.  On  February  21  he  writes  to 
a  classmate  of  a  dream  that  carried  him  back  to  college 
days,  and  all  the  old  boys  were  there  and  each  had  his  own 
peculiar  characteristics  and  the  fun  grew  louder  and  louder, 
until  he  awoke  to  find  his  captain  sitting  up  and  wondering 
what  had  got  into  his  usually  staid  and  sober  lieutenant. 

"  With  my  elevation  to  my  present  elevated  and  highly 
honorable  position  I  have  acquired  a  dignity  of  mien  and 
aldermanic  rotundity  of  person  highly  gratifying  to  the 
beholder.  But  I  will  tell  you  what  I  do  miss,  and  that  is 
books.  It  would  be  a  perfect  luxury  to  get  hold  of  some- 
thing readable  occasionally.  Here  we  have  nothing  but 
army  tactics  and  regulations,  a  faithful  study  of  which  is 
daily  enjoined,  which  are  very  good  in  their  way,  but 
not  very  improving  to  the  mind.  I  'm  flourishing  like  the 
owl  of  the  desert  and  the  pelican  of  the  wilderness.  My 
nocturnal  excursions  in  Amherst  dodging  the  professors 
have  developed  in  me  a  strategical  skill  which  will  no  doubt 
cause  my  military  genius  soon  to  be  recognized.  But  me- 
thinks  I  hear  you  growl,  'What  a  cussed  Goodell  it  is!' 
so  I  will  just  dry  up." 


22  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Baton  Rouge,  Feb.,  22,  1863. 

Beloved  in  Israel,  —  Again  (thou  art  owing  me  an 
epistle)  have  I  taken  up  my  pen,  this  time  to  request  thee 
to  forward  the  enclosed  to  Calvin  Stebbins.  I  hate,  Dick, 
to  have  to  send  my  letters  franked  as  soldier's  letters,  but 
nary  a  stamp  have  I  and  nary  a  one  can  I  buy  on  these 
benighted  shores. 

I  have  just  been  drilling  my  men  in  a  sad  duty  in  re- 
versed arms  and  rest,  a  duty  which  we  are  having  to  per- 
form quite  often  nowadays.  It  is  sad  to  see  men  stricken 
down  in  their  strength  by  the  fever;  one  by  one  they  drop 
off,  many  of  them  without  ever  having  had  a  sight  of  the 
enemy  —  poor  fellows !  It  is  a  sickening  sight  to  go  over 
the  hospitals  and  see  the  parched  and  wasted  sufferers, 
many  of  them  stretched  on  the  floor  with  only  a  blanket 
and  scarce  a  comfort  or  luxury  of  any  kind. 

Mortar  and  gun-boats  are  daily  arriving  at  this  port. 
We  have  six  of  the  former  and  four  or  five  of  the  latter. 
They  are  continually  making  reconnaissance  up  the  river 
and  occasionally  give  Port  Hudson  a  touch  of  their  balls, 
but  most  of  them  give  her  a  wide  berth.  Oh,  Dick,  you  ought 
to  see  us  on  our  brigade  drills!  Such  brilliant  bayonet 
charges  as  we  perform!  Your  uncle  whooping  and  yelling 
and  waving  his  sword,  men  howling  like  so  many  Indians 
and  tearing  over  the  ground  as  if  the  old  scratch  were 
after  them.  It  is  exciting  in  the  extreme,  and  it  is  just 
about  as  much  as  I  can  do  to  hold  in  from  dashing  ahead 
and  cutting  up  my  didoes.  I  verily  believe  that  on  a  real 
charge,  whatever  else  my  feelings,  I  shall  hold  my  own  with 
the  swiftest  of  them.  Can't  help  it !  It  is  so  exciting !  My 
blood  gets  regularly  up  in  the  seventh  Heaven  and  I  chafe 


SOLDIER  23 

like  a  mettlesome  steed.  Inbred  sin  will  stick  out  and  I  am 
no  exception.  .  .  . 

By  the  way,  Dick,  I  should  be  very  much  obliged  to  you 
if  you  would  occasionally  send  me  a  weekly  Springfield 
"Republican."  Reading  matter  we  have  none,  and  when 
New  York  papers  arrive  they  command  25  and  30  cents,  so 
that  we  poor  devils,  who  have  not  yet  received  a  cent  of 
pay,  are  forced  to  go  without.  You  don't  know  what  it  is 
to  be  cut  off  from  all  communication  with  the  outer  world 
for  a  week  or  ten  days  at  a  time,  and  during  that  interval 
hear  nothing  but  the  discouraging  rumors  and  reports  in- 
dustriously circulated  by  the  rebels.  However,  we  are  fast 
getting  over  our  first  refreshing  verdure  and  are  learning 
to  disbelieve  everything  we  hear. 

I  am  in  a  confoundedly  cross  state  of  mind  to-day  for 
ye  following  good  and  sufficient  causes:  1st.  I  have  just 
come  off  guard  in  a  soaking  rain,  and  though  being  neither 
sugar  nor  salt,  have  yet  nearly  melted  away.  2nd.  Having 
a  prisoner  consigned  to  my  tender  mercies  to  be  fed  on  ye 
bread  of  affliction  and  ye  waters  of  repentance  until  further 
orders,  ye  same  prisoner  did  at  ye  dead  hour  of  noon  break 
in  ye  guard-house  and  abscond  to  his  quarters,  did  there 
fare  sumptuously  on  hard-tack  and  salt-horse;  that  this 
same  coming  to  ye  ears  of  ye  colonel,  he  did  up  and  sour 
on  ye  officer  of  ye  guard,  and  sending  him  a  pair  of  hand- 
cuffs did  order  forthwith  to  arrest  ye  delinquent  and  confine 
him  in  close  quarters;  that  in  ye  performance  of  ye  said 
duty  a  spirited  encounter  did  there  and  thereupon  take 
place,  in  which  ye  offender  did  get  upset  in  one  corner  and 
ye  officer  very  nearly  in  the  other;  that  ye  criminal,  being 
finally  secured,  did  create  such  a  row,  ye  same  was  forced 


24  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

to  be  gagged  and  bound  hand  and  foot.  3d.  That  ye  weather 
hath  proved  unpropitious  for  several  days,  raining  heavily 
when  ye  humble  servant  did  hope  to  go  round  and  view 
ye  beauties  of  ye  delicate  upturned  nose  of  Baton  Rouge. 
4th.  That  ye  three  commissioned  officers  of  Co.  G  not 
knowing  better  than  to  all  fall  sick  at  once  and  go  to  ye 
hospital,  ye  subscriber  was  immediately  detailed  to  take 
charge  and  command  of  ye  Co.  to  be  obeyed  and  respected 
accordingly;  an  honor  by  no  means  congenial  since  being 
alone  it  bringeth  many  cares.  That  ye  paymaster,  that 
much-desired  individual,  hath  again  disappointed  ye  ex- 
pectants and  left  us,  like  Patience  on  ye  monument,  to 
regret  ye  continued  absence  of  ye  "root  of  all  evil." 
6th.  That  ye  reasons  and  ye  causes  multiply  so  fast  we 
would  fain  subscribe  ourselves  in  bonds  of  Auld  Lang  Syne. 
With  lots  of  love  to  thyself,  thy  family  and  Sister  Eben- 
ezer,  Daddy, 

H.  H.  Goodell. 

We  had  a  division  review  ordered  to-day  but  it  has  been 
countermanded.  I  wrote  you  and  Furnald  on  the  receipt 
of  your  letters,  somewhere  about  the  12th  of  this  month. 

But  this  camp-life  was  not  to  last.  Admiral  Farragut 
wished  to  run  his  fleet  past  the  batteries  of  Port  Hudson, 
that  he  might  intercept  the  Red  River  traffic  and  cooperate 
with  General  Grant  at  Vicksburg;  and  he  asked  General 
Banks  to  make  a  demonstration  behind  the  fortress.  The 
movement  was  intended  as  a  diversion.  General  Banks  at 
once  put  his  army  in  motion,  and  the  25th  Connecticut, 
with  a  squadron  of  horse  and  a  battery  of  regular  artillery- 
men, commenced  the  advance  on  March  10.    Five  miles 


SOLDIER  25 

up  the  road  from  Baton  Rouge  they  had  a  sharp  skirmish 
with  the  enemy  and  found  a  bridge  to  build.  Goodell  was 
not  one  of  those  men  who  do  not  know  what  fear  is, 
but  he  had  moral  strength  to  do  his  duty  without  regard 
to  danger.  "  I  was  under  fire,"  he  writes,  "for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  the  bullets  zipping  in  the  trees  over  my  head.  I 
flatter  myself  that  my  hair  rose  to  a  reasonable  height 
on  that  occasion." 

The  army  came  within  cannon-shot  of  the  Confederate 
works,  but  could  not  get  their  guns  up  in  time  to  be  of  any 
service.  But  they  were  auditors  and  witnesses  of  a  terri- 
ble scene.  At  11.20  p.m.,  two  rockets  burst  into  the  air,  and 
in  an  instant  all  the  guns  of  the  fortress  lit  up  the  dark- 
ness with  their  flash.  The  fleet  replied,  and  until  35  minutes 
after  midnight  the  roar  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  guns  was 
incessant.  To  add  terror  to  the  anxiety  of  the  awful  scene 
in  the  mind  of  the  soldiers,  "the  U.  S.  Frigate  Mississippi" 
grounded,  and  to  save  her  from  capture,  she  was  fired 
in  all  parts,  and  when  wrapped  in  flames  that  lit  up  the 
scene  for  miles  around,  went  up  with  a  terrific  explosion  in 
fragments  to  the  sky.  Goodell's  account  of  this  daring  and 
brilliant  affair  has  been  lost.  Farragut's  little  fleet  for  this 
desperate  enterprise  consisted  of  four  ships  and  three  gun- 
boats, which  were  lashed  to  the  port  side  of  the  forward 
ships.  But  only  the  Hartford,  which  flew  the  Admiral's 
"  dauntless  blue,"  and  her  consort,  the  little  Albatross, 
succeeded  in  running  past  the  batteries.  The  other  ships 
were  disabled  by  the  enemy's  fire  and  dropped  down  the 
stream.  The  Mississippi,  which  had  no  consort,  grounded, 
became  a  target  for  the  enemy's  guns,  and  to  save  the 
lives  of  her  men  was  abandoned  and  fired. 


26  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

On  the  return  march  Goodell  had  a  hard  time.  A  heavy 
rain-storm  flooded  the  country,  and  he  writes  from  Baton 
Rouge  on  March  22 :  — 

"Once  more  back  at  our  old  camping-ground,  black  as 
Cherokee  Indians,  ragged  as  any  old-clothesman,  somewhat 
fatigued  but  still  jolly,  we  resume  the  thread  of  our  narra- 
tive and  send  you  our  salutations.  On  March  16,  seven 
miles  from  Baton  Rouge,  on  our  retreat,  we  were  encamped 
in  a  mud-puddle  of  pudding  consistency.  We  managed  to 
get  some  rails  and  dry  off  in  the  sun,  though  I  was  so  well 
soaked  it  took  me  nearly  all  day  to  get  thoroughly  dried. 
Towards  noon,  Billy  Wilson's  Zou-Zous  hove  in  sight,  his 
white  nanny  goat  marching  at  the  head  of  his  brigade  as 
complacently  as  you  please.  This  goat  he  brought  with  him 
from  New  York,  and  it  has  accompanied  him  in  all  his 
marches,  always  stalking  along  in  advance  of  the  column. 
At  3  p.m.,  we  fell  into  line  and  marched  one  and  one  half 
miles  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  where  we  encamped 
on  a  cotton  plantation.  It  was  about  as  pleasant  a  place 
as  I  have  been  in  in  Louisiana,  on  a  high  bluff  overlooking 
the  Mississippi,  which  spread  out  before  us  like  some  broad 
lake.  The  banks  were  lined  with  live-oak,  and  back  of  us 
were  dense  forests  and  impenetrable  swamps.  Hardly  had 
we  arrived  when  I  was  detailed  officer  of  the  brigade  guard. 
Pretty  rough  on  a  fellow  who  had  n't  slept  any  for  forty- 
eight  hours;  but  we  were  most  of  us  in  the  same  predica- 
ment. Then  there  were  three  of  us  lieutenants,  so  we  had 
two  hours  on  and  four  off,  but  the  13th  lieutenant  was  sick 
and  I  stood  for  him,  and  the  Maine  lieutenant  unaccount- 
ably disappeared,  so  I  had  a  weary  watch  of  it  till  3  in  the 
morning,  when  our  cavalry  was  driven  back  upon  us  but 


SOLDIER  n 

no  one  hurt.  At  three  I  was  relieved,  and  lying  down  on 
the  bare  ground,  I  slept  like  a  rock  till  eight,  when  the  new 
guard  came.  Here  let  me  say  that  that  rain  of  Sunday, 
which  so  tired  us,  was  probably  the  saving  of  many  of  our 
lives ;  for  the  rebs,  when  they  found  that  we  were  retreat- 
ing, turned  out  infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery  and  pressed 
hard  upon  our  heels,  but  the  rain  providentially  deterred 
them.  The  13th  and  25th  covered  the  retreat.  March  17 
found  us  still  in  Camp  Allen,  for  so  we  had  named  our 
camp.  In  the  afternoon  I  took  six  men  and  started  on  a 
foraging  expedition.  We  laid  a  couple  of  cows  over  pretty 
quick.  Leaving  four  men  to  dress  them,  I  started  for  a 
sugar  plantation  a  mile  or  so  distant.  I  found  it  entirely 
deserted,  but  lots  of  sugar  and  molasses.  As  this  had  not 
been  confiscated  to  the  United  States  government,  we  laid 
in  and  managed  to  get  a  small  cask  of  the  sweetening  elixir 
up  to  the  camp.  On  our  return  I  found  I  was  detailed  to 
take  command  of  Co.  G.,  whose  officers  still  remained  sick. 
(Since  we  started  I  had  been  acting  1st  lieutenant  in  Co. 
A.)  We  held  dress-parade  at  sunset  in  marching  costume. 
I  was  very  ragged,  having  burned  the  legs  of  my  pants 
nearly  off,  and  my  blouse  was  well  torn  while  skirmishing 
through  the  woods. 

"March  18,  spent  most  of  the  day  in  mending  the 
breaches  in  my  breeches.  Visited  the  52nd  Mass.  and  saw 
lots  of  Amherst  boys,  smoked  the  calumet  of  peace,  and 
had  a  good  time  generally.  After  dress-parade  took  out 
Co.  G.  on  a  fatigue-party  after  wood.  I  am  sure  the  rebs 
have  some  need  to  bring  railing  accusations  against  us,  for 
I  am  certain  there  is  not  a  rail  to  be  found  within  twelve 
miles  of  Baton  Rouge. 


28  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

"March  19,  there  was  ordered  an  inspection  of  arms  in 
the  morning.  While  waiting  for  the  colonel  to  come  round 
to  my  company,  the  adjutant  came  along  and  said  that 
the  colonel,  relying  on  my  discretion  and  judgment,  had 
ordered  me  to  take  picked  men  from  the  regiment  and  go 
out  foraging  after  corn,  and  that  if  I  got  into  any  muss  he 
would  be  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand.  In  a  few  minutes 
we  were  under  way.  Went  out  two  miles  and  accomplished 
our  mission  satisfactorily. 

"March  20,  received  marching  orders.  At  3  o'clock  got 
under  way,  and  after  a  weary,  hot  march  we  reached  our 
camp-ground  at  Baton  Rouge  at  7  o'clock.  As  we  marched 
past  Banks's  head-quarters,  he  came  out  and  saluted, 
while  the  bands  of  the  different  regiments  played  and 
we  marched  past  at  shouldered  arms.  We  lay  in  the  open 
air  again  all  night,  for  it  was  too  late  and  the  men  were 
too  tired  to  pitch  our  tents  that  night." 

"March  21,  was  busy  all  day  getting  up  our  tents  and 
fixing  ourselves  generally,  and  that  will  complete  the  thread 
of  my  tale  up  to  to-day.  Excuse  all  moral  reflections  on 
the  object  of  this  expedition  and  what  it  has  accomplished, 
for  I  am  writing  at  lightning  speed,  having  just  received 
marching  orders  again,  and  all  is  packing  and  confusion 
around  me.  Where  we  are  going  to,  nobody  knows,  so  I 
can't  enlighten  you." 

Donaldsonville,  Sunday,  March  29,  1863. 

At  last,  after  being  over  a  week  packing  up,  waiting  for 
orders,  we  are  on  the  move.  We  left  Baton  Rouge  last  night 
at  6.30,  and  reached  this  place  at  9  (as  our  luck  would  have 
it)  in  a  rain-storm.  Lay  under  the  trees  all  night,  and  this 


SOLDIER  29 

morning  are  endeavoring  to  enjoy  ourselves  drying  off.  I 
am  writing  on  a  drumhead  to  let  you  know  where  we  are 
and  where  we  are  going.  I  suppose  our  present  destination 
is  Brashier  City,  Berwick  Bay,  but  beyond  that  nothing 
is  known.  Rumor  says  Texas  and  Red  River.  We  have 
taken  tents  and  all  our  baggage  and  do  not  expect  again 
to  see  Baton  Rouge  or  Port  Hudson.  There  is  a  steamer 
coming  up  the  Mississippi,  so  I  must  hurry  to  get  this  off. 
Did  n't  I  enjoy  last  night's  meal  on  the  boat !  It  was  worth 
paying  fifty  cents  for  a  meal  to  see  a  white  table-cloth  and 
sit  down  in  a  Christian  manner.  We  drank  coffee  to  such 
an  unlimited  extent  that  positively  we  could  see  each  other 
visibly  swell  like  the  woman  at  the  tea-drinking  described 
in  the  "  Pickwick  Papers."  Donaldson ville  is  an  exceedingly 
pretty,  very  old-fashioned  shingle-roofed  town.  There  is 
a  bayou  runs  through  its  centre  some  three  hundred  yards 
wide,  that  runs  clear  to  the  gulf,  and  so  deep  that  a  frigate 
lies  in  it  about  a  mile  from  where  it  sets  in  from  the  Missis- 
sippi. The  catalpa  and  China-ball  trees  are  in  full  blossom 
and  the  pecans  are  leafing  out.  There  is  a  Catholic  church 
that  looks  like  a  barn  outside,  but  is  quite  tasty  inside,  and 
thither  the  inhabitants,  who  are  mostly  French  and  Spanish, 
are  flocking.  We  have  enjoyed  the  unwonted  luxury  of 
seeing  ladies,  white  ladies,  perambulating  the  streets  in 
clean  white  petticoats.  Don't  laugh,  but  actually  those 
white  petticoats  are  the  most  homelike  thing  I  have  seen 
for  months.  Billy  Wilson's  Zouaves  are  in  our  division,  but 
the  whole  regiment  is  under  arrest  and  their  arms  taken 
away.  They  got  drunk  coming  down  on  the  boat,  and 
mutineered.  Since  we  returned  to  Baton  Rouge  from  our 
expedition  to  Port  Hudson,  we  have  done  nothing  except 


30  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

lie  round  in  a  most  uncomfortable  state,  with  everything 
packed  up,  expecting  to  start  every  day.  You  can't  think 
how  beautiful  everything  is  now.  Cherokee  roses,  jessa- 
mines, jonquils,  and  a  great  variety  of  flowers,  are  in  blos- 
som. We  live  out  under  the  trees,  with  the  rain  pattering 
down  upon  us,  and  you  shiver  by  your  fires.  We  are  greatly 
pestered  with  wood-ticks  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
pick  them  off.  They  stick  so  closely  to  the  skin  and  burrow 
in.  lam  quite  comfortable;  campaigning  evidently  agrees 
with  me.  I  have  gained  ten  pounds  since  I  left  New  York. 
The  only  thing  I  could  wish  for  would  be  a  havelock,  — 
it's  so  fearfully  hot;  but  it  would  be  a  good  two  months 
before  I  should  get  it,  so  I  will  try  and  make  one  for  myself. 

From  Bayou  Bceuf,  seven  miles  from  Brashier  City, 
writing  on  April  3,  he  continues  his  story :  — 

"We  have  had  some  terribly  hot  and  fatiguing  marches, 
and  the  boys  are  many  of  them  so  foot-sore  and  blistered  I 
doubt  whether  they  could  march  much  further.  I  have  held 
out  wonderfully.  Have  not  so  much  as  raised  a  sign  of  a 
blister,  though  carrying  a  rubber  blanket  and  a  thick  over- 
coat in  a  sling  on  my  shoulders,  my  canteen  full  of  water, 
a  haversack  with  two  days'  rations  —  provisions  —  in  it, 
and  my  sword  and  revolvers;  by  no  means  a  small  load  as 
you  can  imagine  and  as  I  found  after  the  first  few  miles. 
My  nose  and  cheeks  underwent  one  skinning  operation  in 
our  Port  Hudson  expedition  and  it  grieves  me  to  relate 
that  they  are  again  peeling.  I  am  writing  on  a  wooden 
mallet  which  I  have  improvised  into  a  writing-table  for  the 
occasion.  But  I  will  return  to  Donaldsonville  and  write  up 
the  march.  —  March  30,  we  crossed  over  the  Bayou  La 


SOLDIER  31 

Fourche  to  the  main  part  of  the  town  and  spent  a  couple 
of  hours  in  exploring  it.  It  must  have  been  an  exceedingly- 
beautiful  place,  though  now  many  of  the  houses  are  lying 
in  ruins  from  the  bombardment  last  summer.1  Then  there 
is  an  exceedingly  pretty  cemetery,  embowered  in  red  and 
white  roses  which  hang  in  clusters  over  the  monuments.  I 
noticed  on  many  of  the  tombs  fresh  wreaths  of  roses  and 
myrtle,  and  before  many  there  were  pictures  hanging,  re- 
presenting the  survivors  weeping  beneath  a  willow.  Blue 
pinks  seem  to  be  a  very  favorite  flower  and  were  planted 
around  almost  every  monument. 

"  March  31.  We  were  packed  up  and  on  the  move  at  8.30 
a.m.  Our  road  (in  fact  the  whole  way  to  Thibodeaux)  lay 
along  the  Bayou  La  Fourche,  a  very  deep  and  cold  stream 
along  which  our  steamers  were  passing  bearing  the  sick  and 
baggage.  As  we  wound  along  under  the  China-ball  and 
catalpa  trees,  the  inhabitants  were  all  on  the  piazzas  watch- 
ing us,  and  that  appeared  to  be  their  principal  occupation 
everywhere.  Such  a  slovenly,  indolent  set  you  never  saw, 
—  the  women  especially,  with  frizzled  hair,  unhooked 
dresses,  and  slipshod  shoes.  They  were  evidently  poor 
white  trash.  But  oh,  the  clover  fields  we  passed !  The  heart 
of  an  Alderney  cow  would  have  leaped  into  her  mouth  at 
the  sight,  and  a  butcher's  mouth  would  have  watered  in 

1  During  the  summer  of  1862  the  people  of  Donaldson ville  pursued  the 
uniform  practice  of  firing  upon  our  steamers  passing  up  and  down  the 
river.  Admiral  Farragut  reports  August  10:  "I  sent  a  message  to  the  in- 
habitants that  if  they  did  not  discontinue  the  practice  I  would  destroy 
their  town.  The  next  night  they  fired  on  the  St.  Charles.  I  therefore 
ordered  them  to  send  their  women  and  children  out  of  town  as  I  certainly 
intended  to  destroy  the  town  on  my  way  down  the  river,  and  I  fulfilled 
my  promise  to  a  certain  extent."   19  W.  R.  141. 


32  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

anticipation,  and  it  was  just  so  all  the  way  to  Thibodeaux. 
Such  a  luxurious  growth  I  never  saw.  After  marching 
twelve  miles  we  encamped  at  Cottonville  [Paincourtville] 
pretty  well  fagged  out.  There  were  plenty  of  chickens, 
pigs  and  sheep  running  round  loose,  of  which  fact  we  were 
not  slow  to  avail  ourselves.  The  last  vision  I  had  as  I 
closed  my  eyes  was  that  of  a  porker  squealing  at  the  top 
of  its  lungs  and  charging  blindly  among  the  camp-fires, 
over  the  couches  of  the  slumbering  soldiers,  pursued  by  a 
rabble  of  shouting  youths  discharging  sticks,  bayonets 
and  other  deadly  missiles. 

"April  1.  We  were  off  at  7  a.m.,  still  among  clover  fields 
and  fig  trees.  On  our  march  we  passed  some  beautiful 
plantations,  one  of  them  especially  so.  It  was  perfectly 
embowered  in  trees,  had  a  smooth-cut  lawn,  on  which 
were  a  couple  of  deer  feeding.  There  was  a  fountain  play- 
ing and  some  swans  swimming  in  a  pond  before  the  house. 
On  the  veranda  a  couple  of  ladies  were  working  and  some 
pretty  little  children  were  playing  round.  By  George!  it 
was  the  prettiest  sight  I  have  seen  in  Louisiana.  It  fairly 
stilled  the  clamor  of  the  men,  seeing  these  little  children, 
and  I  heard  more  than  one  tough  fellow  ejaculate,  *  God 
bless  them!'  At  another  little  white  cottage  we  passed, 
a  lady  whose  husband  had  fallen  in  the  Union  ranks  sent 
her  slaves  down  the  road  with  pails  of  cool  water  for  us. 
It  was  a  simple  act,  but  we  could  not  help  blessing  her  for 
it,  as  we  resumed  our  dusty  way.  Oh,  the  heat  and  the 
dust!  Not  a  breath  of  air  stirring.  We  marched  fourteen 
miles  [twelve  miles  to  Labadieville]  and  encamped  on  a 
sugar  plantation,  where  we  just  had  sugar  and  molasses 
to  our  hearts'  content.    The  nights  were  extremely  cold, 


SOLDIER  33 

and  in  the  morning  I  would  wake  up  and  find  my  overcoat 
as  wet  as  if  it  had  been  dipped  in  water.  I  have  slept  bare- 
headed in  the  open  air  every  night,  and  yet  strange  to  say 
have  never  caught  the  least  particle  of  cold.  But  if  ever 
I  start  again  I'll  carry  a  woolen  nightcap;  a  man  needs 
something  of  the  kind. 

"April  2.  Our  brigade  being  in  the  advance,  we  were  off 
at  5.30  a.m.  in  a  flood  of  moonlight  that  silvered  the  dew- 
drops  in  the  meadows  far  and  near.  There  is  something 
very  pretty  in  the  camping-out  of  an  army.  The  camp- 
fires  far  and  wide,  the  hum  and  bustle,  and  last,  the  cry 
of  that  ridiculous  creature,  the  mule.  We  reached  Thibo- 
deaux  at  noon,  passed  directly  through  the  town,  and  en- 
camped three  miles  beyond.  It  was  the  hardest  day's  march 
of  all  [fourteen  miles].  The  men  staggered  and  reeled  about 
the  road  from  fatigue  and  blistered  feet.  We  all  took  hold 
and  helped  carry  guns  and  knapsacks,  but  such  a  relief  it 
was  when  we  passed  from  the  hard  road  into  a  clover  field 
and  lay  down !  At  6  p.m.  came  the  order  to  fall  in,  and  we 
marched  back  to  the  R.R.  station  [Terre  Bonne  Station 
on  the  New  Orleans  and  Opelousas  R.R.]  and  took  cars 
to  Brashier  City.  It  was  very  cold,  and  we  were  perched 
on  top  of  the  cars,  while  the  13th  rode  inside.  Such  a 
forsaken  piece  of  country  as  we  passed  through,  marshes 
and  swamps  on  both  sides  of  us !  Reached  Bayou  Bceuf  at 
11,  and  were  ordered  to  encamp.  Was  detailed  to  unload 
the  cars,  and  worked  till  2  in  the  morning  unloading  and 
stowing  away;  consequently,  as  I  was  up  at  5  a.m.,  I  do 
not  feel  very  smart.  We  shall  probably  rest  here  for  a  few 
days."   [They  remained  here  until  the  9th.] 

From  Brashier  City,  under  date  of  April  10,  he  writes 


34  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

to  a  classmate  who  had  sent  him  Victor  Hugo's  account  of 
the  battle  of  Waterloo :  — 

I  received  your  letter  last  night  after  a  hot,  dusty, 
weary  march  of  twelve  miles  from  Bayou  Bceuf ,  and  was 
so  tickled  at  seeing  the  well-known  hand  of  my  Calvinistic 
friend  that  forthwith  I  sit  down  to  reply  to  it.  Thank  you 
a  thousand  times,  old  fellow,  for  your  kind  offers.  The 
battle  of  Waterloo  came  safely  to  hand.  It  is  a  most  mag- 
nificent thing  —  the  finest  description  of  the  battle  I  ever 
read.  Tired  as  I  was,  I  was  so  fascinated  I  sat  up  half  the 
night  till  I  had  finished  it.  You  would  have  thought  it  was 
a  pursuit  of  knowledge  under  difficulties,  could  you  have 
seen  me  last  night  rolled  up  in  my  blanket  in  the  dewy  grass, 
reading  by  my  lantern  that  swung  from  the  friendly  branch 
of  a  tree  hard  by.  I  am  beginning  to  count  the  days  when 
I  shall  see  dear  old  New  England  hills  once  more.  This 
confounded  country  we  are  marching  in  is  nothing  but  a 
vast  plain  of  swamp  and  forest,  infested  by  mosquitoes 
that  present  bills  prodigious,  in  fact  twice  as  long  as  any 
a  Philadelphia  lawyer  would  have  the  conscience  to  pre- 
sent. Such  vermin !  my  gracious !  I  '11  bet  you,  if  these  were 
Homeric  days,  the  old  cock  never  would  have  died  trying 
to  solve  the  fishermen's  enigma.  By  the  way,  speaking  of 
Homer,  I  confiscated  the  other  day  in  a  secesh  house  a 
pocket  edition  of  Pope's  "Iliad"  and  revived  my  classic 
love,  reading  of 

the  twice  twenty  heroes  fell 
Sent  by  great  Ajax  to  the  shades  of  hell. 

I  am  writing  under  great  difficulties  in  the  open  air, 
on  a  log,  and  everybody  jabbering  around  me  like  so  many 


SOLDIER  35 

bees.  I'm  so  fearfully  demoralized,  don't  know  as  I  shall 
succeed  in  getting  this  done  so  as  to  be  intelligible.  Since 
I  last  wrote  we  have  been  marching  here  and  there  and 
everywhere.  Went  within  sight  of  the  rebel  fortifications. 
Lost  one  man  the  first  night  out.  Our  regiment  led  the 
advance  the  first  three  days.  Our  two  divisions,  Grover's 
and  Emory's,  are  now  after  the  rebs  at  Paterson  and  ex- 
pect to  have  a  fight  there. 

But  I  must  close,  for  we  shall  soon  be  marching  and 
I  must  get  my  duds  together.  Allow  me  in  conclusion  to 
quote  the  celestial  bard  of  "  Scots  wha  hae,"  — 

I  am  a  son  of  Mars  who  have  been  in  many  wars 
And  show  my  cuts  and  scars  where'er  I  come. 
This  fight  was  for  a  wench  and  that  other  in  a  trench 
When  welcoming  the  rebs  to  the  sound  of  the  drum. 

Affectionately, 

Daddy  Goodell. 

Among  his  college  friends  he  was  known  by  the  sobriquet 
of  "Daddy."  When,  where  or  why  he  got  it,  is  not  known, 
but  he  at  once  appropriated  it  and  used  it  to  the  day  of 
his  death  as  his  rightful  designation,  and  made  a  good  deal 
of  fun  out  of  the  use  of  it. 

On  Board  the  St.  Mary's,  Grand  Lake, 
3  miles  from  Indian  Bend,  April  13. 

While  they  are  landing  troops  from  the  other  transports, 
I  will  try  and  write  a  few  lines  to  return  by  this  boat.  At 
Bayou  Bceuf  we  were  encamped  several  days.  There  are 
some  old  tombstones  at  that  place.  On  one  is  the  follow- 
ing curious  inscription,  — 


36  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Afflictions  sore  long  time  I  bore, 
Physicians  was  in  vain, 
Till  God  did  please  that  death  should  come 
And  ease  me  of  my  pain. 

Bayou  Boeuf  was  a  most  forlorn  place,  and  we  were  glad 
enough  when  at  3  o'clock,  April  9,  we  received  orders  to 
strike  our  tents  and  stow  them  away,  also  all  baggage  what- 
soever, as  we  should  carry  nothing  but  a  blanket  and  our 
rations.  At  9  we  started  for  Brashier  City,  ten  miles  away, 
our  brigade  in  advance,  We  had  a  frightfully  hot  and  dusty 
march.  The  first  two  or  three  miles  there  was  scarcely  any 
road  at  all,  a  mere  foot-path,  passing  now  amid  sugar  plant- 
ations and  now  through  potato  fields.  Several  miles  were 
through  a  dense  wood,  where  the  heat  was  perfectly 
stifling.  I  noticed  pinks,  verbenas  growing  wild  along  the 
roadside,  also  the  myrtle.  Soon  we  came  out  on  the  broad 
road  running  along  the  Bayou,  and  here  we  halted  for  an 
hour  at  noon  and  snatched  a  dinner  and  a  bath.  Reached 
Brashier  City  at  3  o'clock  and  put  up  our  shelter  tents,  ex- 
pecting to  cross  in  a  few  hours.  Emory's  division  was  then 
crossing.  Here  we  lay,  expecting  every  minute  to  leave, 
till  Saturday  at  3  o'clock,  when  we  were  ordered  aboard 
the  St.  Mary's.  Although  it  was  a  small  boat,  yet  the 
52nd  Massachusetts,  the  24th  and  25th  Connecticut,  and 
a  battery  with  horses,  were  stored  on  board.  Just  imagine 
how  we  were  dove-tailed  and  crowded  together.  We 
steamed  out  of  the  bay  at  9  o'clock  Sunday  morning,  — 
the  Clifton,  flagship,  ahead,  then  the  Calhoun,  Arizona, 
St.  Mary's,  Laurel  Hill,  and  two  or  three  little  tugs,  —  up 
through  the  succession  of  little  lakes  that  chain  together 
from  Berwick  Bay,  through  inlet  and  outlet,  till  we  emerged 


SOLDIER  37 

at  noon  into  Grand  Lake.  Here  the  Arizona  got  stuck, 
and  after  vainly  trying  for  two  or  three  hours  to  get  her 
off,  we  pushed  ahead  and  about  sundown  came  to  an  an- 
chorage in  a  pretty  little  bay.  But  after  sending  a  party 
ashore  to  reconnoitre,  we  discovered  it  was  the  wrong  place, 
and  General  Grover  signaled  to  heave  anchor  and  stand 
off  and  on.  This  morning  at  daybreak  we  ran  in,  surprising 
the  enemies'  pickets,  and  a  brisk  skirmishing  has  been 
going  on.  We  are  landing  under  the  cover  of  the  Calhoun, 
which  is  shelling  the  woods.  Our  object  I  suppose  is  to  cut 
off  the  retreat  of  the  rebels,  which  Emory's  and  Sherman's 
division  crossed  Berwick  Bay  to  attack. 

As  he  wrote  these  lines  he  probably  little  thought  what 
a  day  might  bring  forth,  and  he  could  not  have  realized 
the  scene  if  he  had  thought.  The  next  morning,  April  12, 
came  the  hard-fought  battle  of  Irish  Bend.  In  the  evening 
he  writes  to  all  near  and  dear  to  him:  — 

My  dear  Brothers  and  Sisters,  —  Through  the  mercy 
of  God,  I  am  spared  to  write  you  of  my  safety.  We  have 
had  a  terrible  battle  and  the  25th  has  suffered  severely. 
For  an  hour  and  a  half,  we  were  under  the  hottest  fire  en- 
tirely unsupported;  then  the  rebs  succeeded  in  flanking 
us  and  we  had  to  fall  back  a  short  distance,  but  the  tune 
soon  changed  and  the  rebs  retreated.  We  went  into  battle 
with  380  men  and  lost  73  wounded,  10  killed  and  14  miss- 
ing. Our  brigade,  was  about  the  only  one  engaged,  and  we 
lost  over  300  men  killed,  wounded  and  missing.1    Colonel 

1  In  the  official  returns  the  25th  Conn,  is  reported  to  have  two  officers 
killed  and  seven  wounded,  seven  enlisted  men  killed,  seventy-two  wounded 
and  ten  missing.   15  W.  R.  p.  319. 


38  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Birge  had  his  horse  shot  under  him,  also  Captain  Norton. 

We  had  two  officers  killed  and  four  wounded.  I  had  a  ball 

pass  through  the  sleeve  of  my  left  arm  without  so  much  as 

scratching  me.  Another  crossed  my  breast,  cutting  nearly 

in  two  the  strap  coming  over  my  shoulder  to  support  my 

sword-belt.  It  seems  almost  a  miracle  that  I  escaped  unhurt. 

When  we  fell  back  I  was  endeavoring  to  bring  in  a  wounded 

man,  and  a  second  ball  laid  him  lifeless  in  my  very  arms. 

The  shots  fell  so  thick  and  fast,  we  could  see  them  strike 

within  a  foot  or  two  all  around  us.  This  is  no  exaggeration. 

April  15.  I  have  had  no  chance  to  send  this,  but  as  I  find 

I  can  probably  send  it  soon,  I  will  try  and  add  a  few  lines 

by  the  bivouac  fire.     We  have  formed  a  junction  with 

Emory's  division  and  Weitzel's  brigade,  and  are  in  close 

pursuit  of  the  flying  rebs,  seven  miles  from  New  Iberia. 

We  have  taken  something  like  five  hundred  prisoners,  three 

pieces,  and  five  or  six  caissons,  and  the  rebs,  fearful  of  the 

Diana  and  the  Queen  of  the  West  falling  into  our  hands, 

burned   them.    In  addition    to  this,  the  Arizona,  when 

aground,  engaged  and  blew  up  a  reb  gun-boat.   But  I  can 

write  no  more.  Will  try  in  my  next  to  send  a  plan  of  the 

battle-field  with  a  detailed  account.  We  are  in  hot  pursuit, 

our  advance  skirmishing  with   General  Moulton's  rear 

guard. 

"April  18,  1863.  Two  miles  from  Vermillion ville.  As 
we  are  halting  to  repair  a  bridge  that  the  rascally  rebs  have 
burned  I  will  try  and  write  a  few  lines.  Enclosed  is  a  small 
plan  of  the  battle  of  Irish  Bend,  which  in  my  letter  of 
April  15  I  promised  to  send.  I  will  now  go  a  little  more  into 
detail  of  the  events  of  April  13.  We  landed  about  11  o'clock 


13  fh.Ct. 


SOLDIER 


39 


Hospitals 
AAA 


A.-  Skirmishers  of  25th  fiirstJadvancing-thro  the  fields. 
B-  Reg.  as  it'beganto  gePundenfireiand  swing;round.- 
C  C-  25th  actually  engaged  in  battle. 
D  -  Where  the  rebs.  came  down  and  flanked  us. 


Road 


and  immediately  marched  up  through  the  woods  to  the 
edge  of  a  cane-field,  where  we  halted  till  4  in  the  afternoon. 
Meantime  our  forces  were  skirmishing  with  the  rebs  and 
gradually  driving  them  back,  just  saving  the  bridge  over 
the  Bayou,  the  flames  of  which  we  succeeded  in  extin- 
guishing. At  4  we  started,  crossed  the  bridge  and  advanced 
a  mile,  when  we  were  drawn  up  in  a  field  in  line  of  battle; 
but  the  26th  Maine  and  the  159th  New  York  soon  drove  in 
the  skirmishers,  and  night  coming  on,  we  lay  on  our  arms. 
It  was  quite  cold  and  showery,  but  we  did  n't  dare  build 
fires  to  dry  us  or  make  coffee. 

At  4  a.m.,  April  14,  we  started,  the  25th  in  advance, 


a 


40  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

thrown  out  as  skirmishers  on  the  right  of  the  road;  the 
left  was  protected  by  the  Bayou.  We  advanced  for  about 
two  miles  through  cane-fields  without  meeting  anything, 
till  at  6.30  we  entered  the  main  plantation,  the  mill  on  our 
extreme  left  close  to  the  road,  while  on  our  right  were 
thick  woods.  Here  we  first  encountered  a  dropping  fire,  and 
our  line  of  skirmishers  gradually  swung  round  till  finally 
they  occupied  the  place  marked  C  —  C.  But  for  an  hour, 
till  reinforced,  our  line  extended  also  over  the  space  occu- 
pied by  the  26th  Maine.  As  we  swung  into  position,  we  sud- 
denly heard  the  cry,  'Attention  Battalion,  take  aim,  fire!' 
and  immediately  the  woods  seemed  to  spring  into  life,  while 
a  perfect  storm  of  canister,  grape  and  minie  balls  was 
rained  down  upon  our  ranks. 

"  Taking  advantage  of  every  little  ridge  and  furrow,  we 
slowly  advanced,  loading  and  firing,  while  our  artillery  en- 
gaged the  rebel  battery.  Here  we  were  in  an  open  field  for 
an  hour  and  a  half,  seen  but  not  seeing,  for  the  rebs  were 
concealed  in  the  woods  and  did  not  needlessly  expose  them- 
selves, so  the  most  of  the  time  we  could  only  aim  and  fire 
at  the  flash  and  the  smoke.  The  men  now  began  to  be 
carried  out  pretty  rapidly.  About  7.30,  the  26th  Maine 
came  up  on  our  left,  while  the  13th  crossed  the  road  and 
tried  to  capture  the  reb  battery.  About  8  o'clock  suddenly 
there  was  a  terrific  yell  and  1100  men  rushed  in  on  our  flank 
and  commenced  peppering  us  well.  I  have  heard  men  speak 
of  a  hail-storm  of  bullets;  but  I  never  imagined  it  before. 
We  were  between  two  fires  and  the  way  the  balls  whisked 
and  zipped  among  the  cane-stalks  and  ploughed  up  the 
ground  around  us  was  truly  astonishing.  In  less  than  ten 
minutes  two  thirds  of  all  the  loss  we  experienced  on  that 


SOLDIER  41 

day  occurred;  still,  though  under  a  tremendous  fire,  scarce 
a  man  left  the  ranks,  till  the  order  was  given  to  fall  back. 
My  former  orderly,  Holden,  fell  by  my  side  pierced  by  three 
balls,  my  sergeant  lost  his  leg,  my  first  corporal  had  a  ball 
pass  through  both  jaws,  cutting  off  his  tongue,  my  second 
one  had  a  flesh  wound  in  his  thigh,  and  one  of  my  men 
was  slightly  wounded  in  the  arm,  as  he  stood  behind  me 
and  passed  me  a  cartridge  (for  I  used  a  gun  all  through  the 
action).  There  is  scarcely  a  man  in  the  regiment  but  what 
has  a  bullet-hole  to  show  in  some  part  of  his  clothing,  and 
some  have  two  or  three.  One  had  his  life  saved  by  his 
metal  tobacco-box,  which  received  and  stopped  the  ball. 
Sergeant  Goodwin  of  Co.  A  was  wounded  in  his  foot.  It 
is  a  wonder  Colonel  Bissell  was  not  shot,  as  he  constantly 
passed  up  and  down  the  line  encouraging  the  men.  Colonel 
Birge  and  all  four  of  his  staff  officers  had  horses  shot  under 
them.  But  there  was  no  use  in  our  remaining  under  a 
cross-fire,  and  we  were  ordered  to  fall  back,  which  we  did 
while  three  other  regiments  advanced  and  drove  our  flank- 
ers in;  at  the  same  time  the  13th  succeeded  in  flanking  their 
right  and  they  decamped. 

"We  halted  for  an  hour,  forming  round  the  colors,  and 
then  advanced  by  the  road  into  the  woods  and  here  we  re- 
mained till  5  o'clock  p.m.,  when  the  rebs  burned  their  gun- 
boats and  skedaddled;  but  almost  all  the  time  we  were  con- 
stantly annoyed  by  their  skirmishers  and  shells  from  their 
gun-boats  and  battery.  Soon  after  entering  the  wood  I 
was  ordered  to  the  front  with  four  men,  to  keep  concealed 
and  send  back  reports  of  what  the  rebels  were  about;  no 
very  pleasant  job,  for  the  balls  were  flying  thick.  I  never 
suffered  so  from  thirst  in  my  life  as  I  did  during  the  con- 


42  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

flict.  It  seemed  as  though  my  throat  would  burst.  I  had 
eaten  nothing  since  the  night  before,  a  sick  headache  came 
on,  and  I  could  scarcely  move  after  the  real  excitement 
was  over  till  I  got  an  hour  or  two  of  sleep  there  in  the  woods. 
At  5  p.m.  we  marched  back  to  the  Bayou  and  encamped. 

'  April  15,  we  started  for  Newton  or  New  Iberia,  distance 
thirty -one  miles,  reaching  there  on  the  eve  of  the  16th.  It 
was  a  terribly  hot  and  dusty  march  and  the  men  were  very 
foot-sore.  Emory's  Division  was  ahead  of  us  and  skir- 
mished all  the  way  with  General  Taylor's  forces  (for  he 
commands  the  rebel  forces  and  is  a  son  of  old  Z.  Taylor). 
They  took  some  five  hundred  prisoners.  At  Newton  we 
found  most  of  our  missing  men,  who  had  been  paroled 
by  General  Taylor  and  left  there.  New  Iberia  is  a  very 
pleasant  place  of  some  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants.  There 
are  some  very  beautiful  mansions,  with  grounds  laid  out  in 
fancy  style.  There  is  a  small  foundry  in  the  place  and  a 
couple  of  magazines;  one  of  its  three  churches  was  stored 
with  powder  and  ammunition  abandoned  in  the  flight. 
The  people  were  more  Union  than  any  we  have  previously 
seen,  and  were  of  a  better  class  than  the  ordinary  run. 
Provisions  were  at  almost  fabulous  prices.  Eggs  fifty  cents 
a  dozen,  coffee  six  dollars  a  pound,  and  flour  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  a  barrel !  Just  think  of  that !  By  the  way, 
we  found  out  from  our  rebel  prisoners  how  their  men  lived. 
They  had  only  one  commissary  wagon  drawn  by  six  oxen 
for  an  army  of  six  thousand  men.  They  lived  upon  the 
plantations  as  they  passed  along. 

"  April  17,  we  were  aroused  at  3  a.m.,  but  through  some 
delay  we  did  not  start  till  6  o'clock.  Our  division  was  alone, 
Emory's  division  having  taken  a  circuitous  route.  We  made 


SOLDIER  43 

a  terrible  march  of  twenty  miles.  The  men  fell  out  by  scores, 
but  we  pushed  the  rebs  so  hard,  we  captured  their  officers' 
baggage-wagons.  At  5  p.m.  they  made  a  slight  stand,  and 
an  artillery  duel  of  an  hour's  duration  ensued,  in  which 
we  lost  two  or  three  men.  The  rebs  then  retired  burning 
the  bridge  over  the  Bayou.  We  halted  for  the  night  and 
have  been  most  of  the  day  constructing  a  new  bridge.  It's 
a  very  good  rest  for  the  men,  but  those  confounded  rebs 
will  just  escape  us,  I  am  afraid.  I  supppose  we  are  bound 
for  Alexandria  via  Opelousas.  By  to-morrow  or  to-night 
we  shall  be  off  again.  I  must  close,  for  there  is  an  opportun- 
ity, I  hear,  to  send  back." 

For  once  his  guess  was  correct.  They  drove  the  Con- 
federates before  them,  and  on  April  20  occupied  Opelousas, 
which  since  the  capture  of  Baton  Rouge  had  been  the  capi- 
tal of  the  State  of  Louisiana.  Here  General  Banks  gave  his 
worn  and  weary  army  a  rest  until  May  5.  The  25th  Con- 
necticut took  position  about  ten  miles  east  of  headquarters, 
at  Barre's  Landing,  now  called  Fort  Barre.  While  the 
privates  enjoyed  the  suspension  of  active  operations  the 
officers  seem  to  have  been  unusually  busy,  as  their  num- 
bers had  been  greatly  reduced  by  resignation,  sickness  and 
death. 

With  a  little  rest  his  natural  exuberance  of  spirit  burst 

out  afresh. 

Barre's  Landing,  April  28,  1863. 

Daddy  Goodell  has  been  jubilant  this  morning  and  in 
a  state  of  unwonted  excitement.  Cause,  the  receipt  this 
morning  of  the  "Atlantic"  for  April,  and  seven  letters  in- 
cluding yours  of  April  4.  Thrice-happy  dog  of  a  Goodell! 
Sweet  Singer  in  Israel,  why  recall  to  my  mind  the  touching 


44  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

farewell  sung  in  the  streets  of  Springfield  at  midnight.   It 
harrows  up  my  soul  and  leaves  me  high  and  dry  on  a  waste 
of  mournful  reflections.   Don't  speak  to  me  of  currency  of 
any  description.     That  infernal  paymaster  has  not  yet 
blessed  us  with  his  appearance,  and  despair  drives  me  in  a 
single  night  to  swearing  in  bad  German.    Don't  ask  me 
where  I  am?   Know  then,  Friend  of  my  Soul,  that  we  are 
seven  miles  from  Opelousas,  the  rebel  capital  of  Louisiana; 
that  it  has  surrendered  at  discretion  and  lies  prostrate  at 
the  feet  of  the  American  eagle,  while  that  most  eccentric 
bird  flops  its  broad  wings  from  end  to  end  of  this  most 
rebellious  state  and  retires  to  brood  in  silence  over  the  de- 
fiant aspect  of  Port  Hudson.  Since  the  battle  of  Irish  Bend 
we  have  pressed  the  rebels  hard  all  the  way  to  0.,  fighting 
with  their  rear  guard  and  taking  prisoners  all  the  way; 
and  they  were  so  completely  demoralized  that  they  scat- 
tered in  every  direction.   Our  cavalry  made   a  splendid 
charge  at  New  Iberia,  with  bridles  hanging  loose  and  sabres 
drawn,  waving,  shouting  at  the  top  of  their  lungs,  they 
galloped  into  the  Texicans,  hacking  them  hilter-skilter. 
It  was  a  grand  sight  and  stirred  my  very  blood,  I  tell  you. 
We  are  now  at  the  port  of  Opelousas  and  are  shipping  cot- 
ton by  the  scores  of  bales.   We  have  sent  some  two  thou- 
sand bales  and  have  about  five  hundred  now  on  the  landing 
and  more  coming  in  hourly.    At  one  place  we  found  nine 
hundred  bales.  I  was  on  picket  the  other  day  and  had  the 
good  luck  to  fall  upon  one  hundred  and  fifty  rebel  sabres, 
not  a  bad  haul  altogether. 

He  had  a  classmate  who  at  this  time  was  studying 
theology,  of  whom  he  made  a  world  of  good-natured  fun. 


SOLDIER  45 

Sometimes  he  would  write  in  ludicrous  and  pathetic  strains 
on  the  importance  of  the  ministerial  office,  and  then,  as- 
suming the  position  of  a  penitent  sinner,  would  ask  ad- 
vice for  the  guidance  of  his  conduct,  as  absurd  as  to  ask 
for  a  dispensation  before  drinking  a  glass  of  water  from 
the  Mississippi  River.  From  Barre's  Landing  he  writes 
to  this  friend: 

Beloved  D.  D.,  —  How  was  my  heart  delighted  yester- 
day on  receiving  the  "Atlantic  "directed  in  thine  own  hand. 
It  smacked  so  strongly  of  a  bookseller's  shelves,  that  Daddy 
Goodell,  like  some  worn-out  war  horse  at  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  pricked  up  his  ears  and  for  the  space  of  an  hour 
sat  sniffing  the  leaves  without  reading  a  single  word.  I  am 
promising  myself  all  manner  of  feasts  when  I  come  to  read 
it,  but  just  at  present  I  am  terribly  busy,  for  in  addition 
to  being  the  only  officer  in  command  of  Co.  A  (both  its  of- 
ficers being  put  hors  de  combat  on  the  field  of  Irish  Bend), 
I  am  sitting  on  a  court-martial,  trying  those  thrice  un- 
happy cusses  who  have  violated  all  law,  civil,  religious 
and  military.  We  are  in  a  very  interesting  condition,  for 
our  baggage-trains  were  seized  at  Franklin  to  carry  ammu- 
nition, and  all  our  baggage  left  there ;  consequently,  this 
being  the  11th  hour,  in  which  my  shirt  is  washed,  your 
uncle  has  to  lie  abed  while  it  is  drying.  I  have  numbered 
my  shirt  No.  6,  but  it  is  a  pleasing  delusion  from  which  I 
constantly  awake  to  naked  facts.  Had  a  letter  from  Pater 
Gridley  1  the  other  day.  He  is  in  for  three  years.  Asked 
all  about  you  and  what  you  were  doing.  I  wrote  him  that 
our  D.  D.  was  fighting  the  devil  at  Cambridge  right  man- 

1  Henry  Gridley,  a  classmate. 


46  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

fully,  and  was  succeeding  admirably  in  subduing  his  carnal 
appetites  and  passions. 

Bless  me,  the  steamer  is  whistling  and  I  must  close. 

As  ever 

Daddy  Goodell. 

Some  time  about  the  first  of  May  the  paymaster  arrived. 
It  was  an  occasion  of  great  interest  to  the  soldiers,  as  they 
had  not  been  paid  for  nearly  six  months.  Many  wished 
to  send  money  to  their  families,  who  in  many  cases  were 
sorely  in  need  of  it.  But  they  were  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  from  New  Orleans,  the  nearest  point  from  which  they 
could  send  it  with  any  safety.  There  were  no  Confederates 
in  arms  between  them  and  New  Orleans,  but  the  country 
was  full  of  men  who  had  broken  with  law  and  order,  and  who 
held  any  human  life  very  cheap  except  their  own,  and  who 
would  take  great  risks  with  that  when  money  was  at  stake. 
How  to  send  the  money  the  men  could  spare  to  New  Orleans 
became  a  vital  question.  It  not  only  required  an  honest 
man  and  a  good  accountant,  but  it  required  a  man  of  cour- 
age, whose  head  was  level,  and  would  be  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, and  whose  resources  were  at  command  in  any 
emergency.  The  colonel  nominated  Lieutenant  Goodell, 
and  the  regiment  confirmed  the  nomination  by  unani- 
mous vote.  This  tells  its  own  story  of  the  position  he  had 
won  for  himself  in  the  minds  of  his  fellow  soldiers,  both 
officers  and  privates. 

In  a  paper  printed  in  this  volume  entitled,  "How  the  pay 
of  the  regiment  was  carried  to  New  Orleans,"  he  has  made 
it  very  apparent  that  the  responsibility  he  felt  made  the 
duty  imposed  upon  him  a  very  arduous  one.    During  his 


SOLDIER  47 

absence,  which  was  longer  than  he  had  expected,  the  army 
had  marched  a  hundred  miles  in  three  days  and  four  hours, 
had  occupied  Alexandria,  and  in  cooperation  with  the  navy 
had  destroyed  the  Confederate  fortresses  and  scattered  their 
forces  to  the  wind,  and  had  started  down  the  Red  River  on 
their  way  to  Port  Hudson.  Goodell  met  them  at  Simsport 
and  here  he  begins  his  story  of  the  advance  upon  that 
fortress. 

On  May  21,  we  received  orders  to  march,  and  at  12 
embarked  on  board  the  Empire  Parish  along  with  the  13th 
Connecticut  and  the  159th  New  York.  You  can  imagine 
how  crowded  we  were  and  add  to  this  the  fact  that  a  good 
many  men  of  the  .  .  .  were  drunk  and  inclined  to  be 
quarrelsome.  Poor  Colonel  Bissell  was  quite  ill  and  had  to 
seek  a  berth  immediately.  Soon  after  3  p.m.,  the  rest  of 
the  boats  being  loaded,  we  slipped  from  our  moorings  and 
away  up  the  Atchafalaya  to  the  Red  where  we  passed  the 
Switzerland  1  and  the  Estrella  watching  for  rebel  craft  from 
Sheveport.  Down  the  Red  to  the  Mississippi,  where  we 
came  upon  the  grim  old  Hartford  [Rear-Admiral  Farragut's 
flag-ship].  The  band  of  the  13th  saluted  her  as  we  ap- 
proached, playing  'The  Star-Spangled  Banner,' and  'Yan- 
kee Doodle.' 

At  12  at  night  we  disembarked  at  Bayou  Sara  some  six- 
teen miles  from  Port  Hudson.     The  rest  of  the  brigade 

1  The  U.  S.  S.  Estrella  had  made  its  way  up  from  Berwick  Bay  with  the 
army.  The  U.  S.  Ram  Switzerland  had  on  the  morning  of  March  25,  in 
company  with  the  U.  S.  S.  Lancaster,  undertaken  to  run  by  the  batteries 
at  Vicksburg.  The  Lancaster  was  destroyed  by  the  enemy's  fire  and  the 
Switzerland  received  a  10-inch  shell  in  her  boilers,  but  escaped,  to  join 
Farragut  and  take  a  part  in  blockading  the  Red  River. 


48  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

marched  on  and  left  our  regiment  to  unload  the  boats. 
It  was  2  a.m.  before  any  of  us  lay  down  and  at  4,  May  22, 
we  marched  breakfastless  to  overtake  the  brigade.    The 
colonel  we  left  at   a  house  with  a  guard,  the  major  as- 
suming command  of  the  regiment.    We  marched  one  and 
a  half  miles,  and  found  the  brigade  encamped  at  St.  Francis- 
ville,  which  is  set  on  a  high  hill,  the  first  we  have  seen  since 
coming  to  Louisiana,  and  here  we  actually  saw  some  stones. 
The  boys  welcomed  them  as  old  friends,  and  picked  them 
up  admiringly.  Soon  after  9  our  column  was  set  in  motion, 
the  2nd  brigade  in  advance.    As  we  passed  through  the 
town  of  St.  Francis ville  the  people  thronged  to  the  doors 
and  windows,  some  cursing  and  swearing,  others  welcoming 
and  others  again  passive.    One  woman  in  a  very  spiteful 
tone  calls  out  to  a  friend:  "  Come  in,  Mrs.  Lewis,  for  God's 
sake  and  don't  stand  there  staring  at  those  Yankee  devils ! " 
I  could  n't  resist  taking  off  my  cap  and  making  her  a  low 
bow,  which  so  exasperated  her  that,  calling  me  some  foul 
name  and  kicking  out  her  feet  in  a  most  indecent  manner, 
she  vanished  into  the  house.  The  manners  of  these  Southern 
women  are  truly  astonishing.   They  will  curse  and  revile 
and  call  you  foul  names  and  call  upon  heaven  to  smile  on 
a  just  cause.   We  had  a  terrible  march  up  and  down  hill, 
between  magnificent  hedges  of  cape  jessamine  in  bloom, 
very  beautiful  but  terribly  oppressive,  for  not  a  particle  of 
air  could  reach  us  and  the  dust  was  stifling.  We  advanced 
very  slowly,  for  it  was  a  terrible  country  for  skirmishes. 
We  had  a  couple  of  men  wounded  but  that  was  all  the  loss 
we  experienced  that  day. 

At  4  p.m.  we  halted  and  our  regiment  was  ordered  to 
the  front  as  an  advance  picket  for  the  night.  We  deployed 


SOLDIER  49 

on  a  plain  by  a  beautiful  creek  (Thompson's),  where  the 
water  was  knee-deep  and  ran  clear  as  crystal.  Co.  K.  was 
ordered  across  to  hold  the  roads  on  the  edge  of  the  adjoin- 
ing woods,  and  after  a  short  skirmish  succeeded  in  effecting 
their  object.  It  rained  quite  hard,  and  of  course  we  had  to 
be  upon  the  watch  most  of  the  night. 

May  23,  we  started  at  4  a.m.,  our  men  pretty  well 
fagged-out  by  two  nights'  duty;  but  no  mercy  was  shown, 
and  the  25th  was  ordered  to  take  the  advance  as  skirmish- 
ers; and  a  terrible  time  we  had  of  it  straggling  through  sand- 
banks and  ravines,  forcing  ourselves  through  bamboo 
brake,  pushing  under  and  over  vines,  wading  through 
water,  scratching  and  tearing  ourselves  with  thorns,  and 
stumbling  over  ploughed  fields.  It  was  thoroughly  ex- 
hausting work  and  many  a  strong  man  gave  out.  At  9 
o'clock  a.m.  we  met  the  advance  of  Colonel  Grierson's 
cavalry,1  and  our  poor  wearied  column  of  men  was  called 

1  The  name  of  B.  H.  Grierson,  Colonel  of  the  6th  Illinois  Cavalry,  is 
connected  with  one  of  the  most  daring  enterprises  of  the  Civil  War. 
While  General  Grant  was  manoeuvring  to  secure  a  position  behind 
Vicksburg,  he  wished  to  distract  the  attention  of  the  enemy  and  wrote 
to  Major-General  Hurlbut  on  February  14,  1863:  "  It  seems  to  me  that 
Grierson  with  about  500  picked  men  might  succeed  in  making  his  way 
south  and  cut  railroad  east  of  Jackson,  Miss.  The  undertaking  would  be 
a  hazardous  one,  but  would  pay  well  if  carried  out.  I  do  not  direct  that 
it  shall  be  done,  but  leave  it  for  a  volunteer  enterprise"  (24  W.  R.  P. 
Ill,  p.  50).  Colonel  Grierson  was  not  a  man  to  decline  such  a  chal- 
lenge from  the  commanding  general,  and  without  doubt  the  general  knew 
it.  He  started  from  La  Grange,  Term.,  April  17,  with  about  seventeen 
hundred  men,  and  four  days  later  detached  six  hundred  of  them  to  destroy 
the  railroad  between  Columbus  and  Macon  and  make  their  way  back  to 
La  Grange.  This  move  threw  the  enemy  into  confusion,  and  with  the  re- 
mainder of  his  command  he  pushed  on,  making  a  march  of  some  six  hun- 
dred miles  in  sixteen  days,  destroying  as  he  went  railroads,  telegraphs, 


50  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

in.  Advancing  one  mile,  we  halted  in  a  field  near  a  well  of 
deliciously  cold  water,  about  two  miles  from  Port  Hudson. 
In  a  few  minutes  General  Augur  rode  up  and  the  generals 
held  a  conference  together. 

At  7  p.m.  I  was  suddenly  detailed  with  forty  men  to  go 
on  picket.  Pretty  rough  on  a  fellow  to  be  three  nights  on 
duty;  but  a  soldier's  first  duty  is  to  obey  without  grumbling, 
so  I  went,  though  I  could  hardly  keep  my  eyes  open.  It  was 
a  magnificent  moonlight  night  and  I  sat  and  watched  the 
bombs  from  the  mortar  boats  for  hours,  curving  round 
in  the  heavens  and  bursting  in  a  fiery  shower.  The  night 
passed  without  disturbance,  save  one  or  two  false  alarms. 

At  4  a.m.  May  24, 1  started  out  black-berrying,  and  in 
a  very  few  minutes  had  more  than  enough  for  a  good  meal. 
Fancy  me  peacefully  gathering  berries  under  the  guns  of 
Port  Hudson.  At  8  a.  m  we  were  called  in  and  at  9  we 
commenced  making  a  Sunday  advance  on  the  centre  forti- 
fications. The  2nd  Brigade  was  in  the  advance,  and  the 
24th  Connecticut  lost  a  few  men.  At  noon  the  first  earth- 
work was  taken  and  we  deployed  in  the  woods  to  the  right 
and  stacked  arms.  We  lay  here  a  couple  of  hours  while 
shells  exploded  and  burst  around  us  and  over  our  heads, 
but  we  were  mercifully  preserved  though  in  great  danger 
for  a  time.  Soon  after  4  p.m.  the  right  wing  was  ordered  out 
as  picket-skirmishers,  —  that  is,  we  were  stationed  behind 
trees,  one  to  a  tree  all  through  the  woods,  to  keep  the  enemy 
back.  On  our  right  was  the  13th  Connecticut,  and  on  the 
left  we  joined  the  24th  Connecticut.   This  was  the  fourth 

and  an  immense  quantity  of  public  stores,  arrived  at  Baton  Rouge,  May  2, 
and  was  detained  to  cooperate  with  General  Banks  in  the  operations 
around  Port  Hudson. 


SOLDIER  51 

night  I  had  been  on  duty  and  I  was  thoroughly  worn  out, 
but  they  had  n't  done  with  the  25th  yet.  May  25,  we  were 
called  in  and  relieved  at  9  a.m.  by  the  12th  Maine.  As  I  was 
relieving  my  men,  followed  by  the  12th  Maine,  we  had  to 
pass  over  a  plateau  commanded  by  the  sharpshooters  of 
the  enemy.  The  bullets  whistled  most  unpleasantly  near 
and  killed  one  of  the  12th.  I  saw  him  fall  and  called  upon 
his  comrades  to  bring  him  in,  but  not  one  started,  and  I 
actually  had  to  go  myself  with  one  of  my  own  company  and 
pick  up  and  bring  in  the  dying  man.  We  naturally  sup- 
posed after  being  relieved  we  should  get  some  repose;  but 
hardly  had  we  come  in,  when  we  were  ordered  to  fall  in. 
We  marched  out  of  the  woods  and  up  over  the  hill  and  the 
intrenchments  taken  the  day  before,  and  immediately 
came  under  a  sharp  fire  from  sharpshooters.  The  .  .  . 
having  disgracefully  abandoned  their  position,  we  were  or- 
dered in  to  drive  the  rebels  out,  and  after  a  sharp  skirmish 
of  half  an  hour  we  drove  them  clean  out  of  the  woods  and 
into  their  rifle-pits,  while  we  occupied  the  woods,  —  the 
extreme  edge  of  the  woods,  —  and  kept  up  such  a  sharp 
fire  that  not  a  mother's  son  of  them  durst  lift  his  head  above 
the  works.  We  were  just  in  time  to  save  the  12th  Maine 
from  being  flanked  and  cut  to  pieces.  In  the  afternoon 
General  Weitzel's  brigade  attacked,  and  after  a  severe 
fight  drove  the  rebels  out  of  the  woods.  This  was  going  on 
on  our  right  and  we  could  hear  the  yells  and  hurrahs,  the 
crackle  of  musketry  and  roar  of  artillery,  and  other  con- 
comitants of  the  fight,  but  we  could  see  nothing  and  we  sat 
and  fidgeted  round,  not  knowing  when  our  turn  might 
come. 

At  8  p.m.  we  were  relieved  by  the  159th  [New  York], 


52  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  so  tired  out  was  I  that  I  fell  right  down  on  the  bare 
ground  and  never  woke  till  8  or  9  o'clock  next  morning. 

May  26,  we  remained  on  the  reserve  till  4  p.m.  when  the 
three  right  companies  were  ordered  to  the  front.  We  had 
a  splendid  sight  of  an  artillery  duel  going  on  in  which  the 
practice  of  Nims's  battery  was  perfect.  They  dismounted 
two  or  three  guns,  and  altogether  were  so  sharp  that  the 
rebel  gunners  did  not  dare  load  their  pieces. 

May  27.  We  were  relieved  at  5  a.m.  by  the  13th  [Con- 
necticut], but  were  almost  immediately  after  ordered  out  to 
the  support  of  a  new  section  of  Nims's  battery  which  had 
just  been  got  into  position.  Here  we  lay  for  five  or  six 
hours  flat  on  our  faces,  while  the  enemies'  shells  burst  in 
most  unpleasant  proximity.  Then  our  regiment  and  the 
159th  [New  York]  were  ordered  over  to  the  support  of 
General  Weitzel  on  the  right.  We  marched  almost  on  the 
double-quick  through  the  woods,  and  were  ordered  by 
General  Grover  to  advance  to  the  front  and  carry  an  earth- 
work. We  were  told  there  were  hardly  any  rebels  there, 
and  Mayor  Burt  of  the  159th,  who  was  in  command,  was 
told  that  his  regiment  alone  was  sufficient  to  carry  the 
works,  and  to  send  back  the  25th  if  it  was  not  needed.  A 
more  bare-faced  lie  never  was  got  up,  as  the  sequel  will 
show.  We  pushed  on  through  the  woods,  rushed  down  a 
hill  swept  by  the  enemy's  artillery,  turned  a  sharp  corner 
and  emerged  on  the  entrance  to  a  plain.  I  shall  never  forget 
that  sight:  the  valley  was  filled  up  with  felled  trees,  ruins 
of  houses  and  debris,  while  thick  and  heavy  rolled  the 
battle-smoke.  There  was  a  hill  on  the  left  strongly  in- 
trenched, and  from  its  centre  loomed  up  a  big  gun,  black 
and  gloomy,  threatening  to  annihilate  us;  just  below,  on  a 


SOLDIER  53 

little  bridges,  was  planted  a  stand  of  the  stars  and  stripes, 
the  glorious  old  banner,  and  clustered  around  it  stood  a 
handful  of  brave  men  pouring  a  stream  of  balls  upon  that 
piece;  and  for  seven  long  hours  the  gunners  did  not  dare 
approach  to  load,  and  that  frowning  gun  kept  silence. 

It  was  a  sort  of  floating  panorama  that  passed  before  me, 
a  hideous  dream  in  which  I  was  a  mere  spectator.  There 
was  a  roaring  and  crashing  of  artillery  and  bursting  of 
shells,  a  crackle  and  rattle  of  muskets  with  hissing  and 
whistling  of  balls,  and  battle-smoke  lowering  and  settling 
down  upon  us.  There  were  men  dropping  here  and  there, 
headless  trunks  and  legless,  armless  unfortunates,  and  all 
the  horrid  concomita  of  war,  and  still  we  kept  on.  A  short 
turn  to  the  right,  and  in  single  file  we  commenced  ascending 
through  a  water-course.  Wading  through  water,  stumbling 
under  and  over  logs,  we  finally  emerged  in  a  square  pit, 
some  six  foot  deep;  climbing  out  of  that,  we  were  on  the  side 
of  the  hill.  Oh,  but  it  was  a  wicked  place  to  charge,  —  the 
nature  of  the  ground  such  we  could  not  form  battle  line 
and  had  to  make  the  attack  in  three  columns,  while  felled 
trees  were  criss-crossed  in  most  inextricable  confusion. 

We  lay  for  two  or  three  moments  with  beating  hearts 
waiting  for  the  forward  charge.  The  word  came,  and  with 
a  terrific  yell  we  rose  to  our  feet  and  rushed  forward.  I 
headed  the  left  column.  It  was  a  terrible  moment  when, 
bounding  over  the  last  tree  and  crashing  through  some  low 
bushes,  we  came  out  not  ten  yards  from  the  intrenchments 
and  a  hundred  rifles  cracking  doom  at  us.  Why,  we  were  so 
near  they  actually  seemed  to  scorch  us  in  firing !  It  was  too 
deadly  for  men  to  stand  against,  and  our  brave  fellows, 
mowed  down  as  fast  as  they  could  come  up,  were  beaten 


54  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

back.  Here  occurred  one  of  those  heroic  deeds  we  some- 
times read  of.  The  colors  of  the  159th  were  left  on  the  hill, 
their  sergeants  killed.  Corporal  Buckley,  Co.  K.  of  our 
regiment,  hearing  of  it,  calmly  walked  back  in  that  terrific 
fire,  picked  them  up  and  brought  them  in,  turned  to  pick 
up  his  gun,  and  was  killed.  He  was  a  noble  fellow  and 
much  beloved  in  the  regiment. 

Resting  a  short  time,  we  made  a  second  charge,  but  with 
like  result.  Our  two  regiments  lost  75  killed  and  wounded. 
It  was  a  horrid  old  place  we  were  in.  Sharpshooters  on  the 
left  picking  us  off.  Sharpshooters  on  the  right  giving  it  to 
us;  and  in  front  the  rifle-pits.  Here  we  lay  till  10  o'clock 
at  night,  when  we  were  ordered  to  fall  back,  which  we  did, 
bringing  off  most  of  our  wounded.  I  had  fallen  asleep  and 
barely  woke  in  time  to  get  off.  One  or  two  did  sleep  through 
till  morning,  and  then  managed  to  get  away.  I  had  one 
killed  and  three  wounded  in  my  little  company. 

As  this  is  getting  too  long  I  will  carry  on  the  narrative 
in  my  next. 

For  Eliza's  special  benefit,  though  I  have  answered  it 
three  or  four  times  already,  I  will  state  that  Co.  F.  has  not 
been  dissolved  and  that  I  am  at  present  acting  adjutant, 
which  office  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  fulfill  the  last  three 
weeks,  our  adjutant  having  been  sick  almost  ever  since  we 
came  here.  Our  colonel  we  miss  sadly,  and  do  earnestly 
hope  to  welcome  him  back  one  of  these  days.  Our  regiment 
numbers  167  for  duty  and  9  officers.  I  am  glad  you  did  n't 
send  any  camphor,  for  I  procured  some  in  N.  O.  Thanks  for 
the  Springfield  ["Republican"].  It  comes  quite  regularly 
and  is  a  great  treat.  If  you  make  any  extracts  from  my 
letters  I  wish  you  would  please  not  put  my  name  to  them. 


SOLDIER  55 

They  get  back  here  to  camp  and  it  is  exceedingly  pro- 
voking. With  ever  so  much  love, 

Henry. 

May  28  he  writes: 

As  there  is  an  opportunity  to  send  letters,  I  will  write 
a  few  lines  to  let  you  know  of  my  safety.  This  is  the  sixth 
day  of  the  siege  and  we  are  pretty  well  played  out.  We  have 
had  to  fight  for  every  inch  of  ground,  but  have  carried  the 
first  two  earthworks  by  storm.  It  has  been  one  continual 
fight  since  we  commenced,  but  there  is  a  cessation  of  hostili- 
ties for  a  few  hours,  and  the  lull  is  a  perfect  relief,  for  my 
ears  have  been  half -stunned  by  the  deafening  roar  of  artil- 
lery and  the  crack  of  musketry.  We  have  lost  four  killed 
and  twenty  wounded  and  some  thirty  in  our  regiment 
missing.  Again,  in  my  little  company,  have  four  been 
wounded  —  one  fatally,  so  I  am  afraid.  My  life  has  been 
in  great  danger  several  times,  but  a  kind  Providence  has 
kept  watch  over  me  thus  far  and  I  trust  will  bring  me  out 
safe  to  see  you  again.  The  regiment  is  now  under  the  com- 
mand of  Major  McManus.  The  colonel  is  prostrate  with 
a  remittent  fever  at  Bayou  Sara,  and  the  lieutenant-colonel 
is  sick  at  New  Orleans.  The  colored  regiments  have  fought 
splendidly  and  made  several  brilliant  charges. 

In  haste,  Henry. 

The  next  letter  is  dated  June  20  and  carries  the  story 
to  a  day  or  two  after  the  second  assault  on  the  rebel  works, 
and  was  probably  written  from  the  camp  of  the  storming 
column;  but  not  a  hint  as  to  that  subject.  A  chaplain's 
wife  writing  to  her  husband  says,  "We  get  no  letters  from 


56  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  soldiers  these  days."  To  which  he  replied,  "The  sol- 
diers have  no  time  and  no  material  to  write  with  and  are  on 
duty  the  whole  time."  The  truth  is,  the  siege  was  being 
pressed  with  the  utmost  vigOT.  Goodell  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  the  time,  and  we  are  told  that,  when  his  regiment 
was  not  employed,  he  would  ask  to  be  allowed  to  join  some 
company  where  he  had  friends,  and  was  once  seen  return- 
ing covered  with  blood;  aid  was  sent  out  to  him,  but  it  was 
found  to  be  only  an  attack  of  the  nose-bleed. 

I  left  off  in  my  last  with  the  unsuccessful  charges  made 
by  our  regiment  and  the  159th  on  the  27th.  About  10 
o'clock  that  night  we  silently  withdrew,  bringing  away  all 
the  wounded  we  could  reach,  but  there  were  some  poor 
fellows  lying  up  under  the  breastworks  it  was  impossible 
to  reach.  Every  time  we  tried  to  get  to  them  the  rebs  would 
fire  on  us.  We  threw  them  canteens  of  water  and  the  in- 
human rebs  fired  on  them  when  they  tried  to  reach  them. 
We  marched  back  and  lay  on  the  battle-field  of  the  pre- 
ceding day  among  wounded  and  dead  men. 

May  28,  at  4  a.m.,  we  marched  back  into  the  woods, 
and  lay  in  support  of  a  battery.  It  was  very  trying,  for  the 
rebs  had  a  perfect  range,  and  five  or  six  times  a  day  they 
would  throw  those  immense  eleven-inch  shells  right  over 
into  our  midst.  We  could  hear  them  coming  for  several 
seconds,  and  we  lay  flat  behind  trees.  Luckily  none  were 
hurt,  though  we  had  some  very  narrow  escapes.  There  was 
a  cessation  of  hostilities  all  day  to  bury  the  dead. 

At  7  p.m.  the  enemy  made  a  fierce  onslaught  on  the 
right,  but  were  driven  back  with  heavy  loss.  We  fell  into 
our  places,  expecting  momentarily  to  be  called  into  action, 


SOLDIER  57 

but  we  were  spared  it.  At  this  place  we  remained  till  the 
1st  of  June  when  we  were  ordered  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the 
rear.  Colonel  Weld  came  up  from  New  Orleans  and  assumed 
command  of  the  regiment.  It  makes  me  heart-sick  and  in- 
dignant every  time  I  think  of  the  way  some  things  have 
been  managed  here  and  the  cowardice  displayed  by  officers; 
but  I  may  not  mention  it  here.  On  the  3d  [June]  we  were 
attacked  in  the  rear  and  two  brigades  were  despatched  to 
attend  to  the  case  of  the  rebs ;  but  on  reaching  Clinton  they 
found  they  had  skedaddled  and  fled.  While  lying  here  in 
the  woods,  an  awkward  adventure  happened  to  me.  Being 
acting  adjutant,  I  was  sent  one  dark  night  to  report  a 
fatigue  party  to  General  Grover's  headquarters.  Returning 
I  lost  my  way.  First,  I  found  myself  back  at  headquarters. 
Started  again,  and  found  myself  out  to  the  front,  most  un- 
pleasantly near  the  rifle-pits.  My  next  essay  took  me  to  the 
watering-place  for  the  horses,  and  from  there  I  found  my 
way  in,  after  a  couple  of  hours  wandering  in  the  woods. 
June  7  we  were  ordered  to  the  front  to  relieve  the  159th 
in  the  rifle-pits.  We  went  out  at  night,  as  the  enemy's 
sharpshooters  rendered  it  dangerous  going  in  the  day- 
time. We  had  pits  dug  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  rifle-pits  of  the  rebs,  and  had  loop- 
holes from  which  to  fire  out.  'About  one  hundred  yards 
back  of  us  on  another  hill  was  planted  one  of  our  batteries, 
and  as  they  fired  over  our  heads  you  can  imagine  what  a 
terrible  report  rung  in  our  ears.  It  was  truly  deafening. 
Our  boys  got  the  range  of  the  rifle-pits  opposite  perfectly, 
after  a  short  practice,  so  that  Mr.  Secesh  did  n't  dare  show 
his  head,  though  from  his  hiding-places  he  would  annoy  us 
all  day  long.   After  dark  we  usually  held  some  interesting 


58  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

conversations  across  the  ravine,  our  boys  telling  them  that 
if  they  wanted  any  soft  bread,  we  would  put  some  in  a  mor- 
tar and  send  it  over,  etc.,  etc.  Our  meals  were  brought  out 
at  3  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  after  dark  at  night.  We  lay 
here  three  days  and  were  relieved  on  the  10th  by  the 
159th.  I  was  very  much  interested  the  last  day  in  watching 
a  snake  swallow  a  toad.  It  was  astonishing  how  wide  he 
opened  his  jaws  and  pushed  a  toad  down,  three  times  his 
diameter.  Rather  a  curious  place  to  study  natural  history, 
under  the  guns  of  Port  Hudson.  We  returned  to  our  old 
camping-ground.  June  11,  between  12  and  1  p.m.,  a  general 
assault  was  planned,  but  owing  to  some  misunderstanding 
the  scheme  failed  and  we  were  repulsed. 

June  14  we  were  under  way  at  an  early  hour,  for  we 
formed  the  reserve  to  the  attacking  column  on  the  centre. 
Colonel  Birge  was  in  command  of  the  reserve.  We  rose  at 
2  a.m.,  had  coffee,  and  started  under  the  guidance  of  Cap- 
tain Norton  at  3.  In  a  few  moments  we  heard  a  terrific  yell 
and  the  crash  and  roar  of  artillery  and  musketry.  Soon  the 
wounded  and  dead  began  to  be  brought  in,  some  faint  and 
pale,  others  cursing  and  swearing  and  vowing  they  would 
go  back  for  revenge.  All  kinds  of  conflicting  rumors  were 
rife  as  to  the  success  of  our  brave  fellows.  Then  General 
Paine  was  wounded  and  Colonel  Birge  assumed  command, 
we,  forming  the  reserve,  being  under  Colonel  Morgan.  Soon 
we  were  ordered  forward.  On  through  the  scene  of  our  first 
day's  fight,  then  down  through  a  ravine  where  a  road  had 
been  cut.  Halting  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  we  formed  line  of 
battle  and  charged,  but  it  was  a  great  mistake,  for  instead 
of  creeping  round  the  hill  we  had  to  charge  over  it,  down 
through  the  ravine  and  up  the  next  before  we  could  reach 


SOLDIER  59 

the  breastworks.  The  consequence  was  we  were  exposed 
to  a  raking  fire  as  we  went  over  the  crest.  Here  we  lost 
two  lieutenants  and  seventeen  men  wounded.  We  arrived 
at  the  other  side  in  great  confusion.  There  were  parts  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  regiments  all  mixed  up  together  and  en- 
tangled among  the  fallen  trees.  After  several  hours  straight- 
ening, line  was  once  more  formed ;  but  the  order  to  charge 
was  countermanded,  and  we  lay  up  there  in  a  terrible  sun 
all  day.  I  was  quite  sick  when  we  started,  with  violent 
vomitings,  and  had  to  lie  down,  but  rejoined  the  regiment 
during  the  charge.  At  8  p.m.  we  were  ordered  up  into  the 
outer  ditch  of  the  breastworks,  but  we  had  been  there  but 
a  short  time  when  we  were  ordered  to  the  right,  to  our  old 
position  in  the  rifle-pits,  which  we  reached  about  midnight. 
Poor  General  Paine  had  been  wounded  in  the  leg  in  the 
early  part  of  the  day,  but  we  could  not  reach  him  to  afford 
him  any  aid  and  he  lay  there  in  the  burning  sun  till  night, 
when  we  brought  him  off  in  safety.  It  was  a  fearfully  hot 
day  and  quite  a  number  were  sunstruck,  some  fatally.  I 
wore  wet  leaves  in  my  hat,  but  about  two  in  the  afternoon 
could  stand  it  no  longer  and  had  to  He  down  in  the  shade. 
This  was  a  miserable  Sunday  scrape,  and  like  all  scrapes 
commenced  on  Sunday  ended  disastrously.  The  loss  of  life 
was  frightful. 

June  15.  We  were  relieved  at  night  by  the  28th  Con- 
necticut and  returned  once  more  to  our  old  camping- 
ground,  where  we  remained  till  June  19,  when  we  were 
ordered  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  right,  to  support  the  col- 
ored brigade,  where  we  are  still,  June  20. 

As  ever,  with  oceans  of  love, 

Henry. 


60  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

June  15,  the  day  after  the  second  assault  on  Port  Hud- 
son, General  Banks  issued  his  famous  general  order  no.  49, 
the  only  one  of  the  kind  issued  during  the  war,  calling  for 
volunteers  for  a  storming  column  of  a  thousand  men,  "to 
vindicate  the  Flag  of  the  Union  and  the  memory  of  its 
defenders  who  had  fallen!  Let  them  come  forward  .  .  . 
every  officer  and  soldier  who  shares  its  perils  and  its  glory 
shall  receive  a  medal  fit  to  commemorate  the  first  grand 
success  of  the  campaign  of  1863  for  the  freedom  of  the 
Mississippi.  His  name  will  be  placed  in  general  orders 
upon  the  Roll  of  Honor."  x 

The  next  day  the  order  was  promulgated  and  two  days 
later,  on  the  18th,  Goodell  wrote  to  a  classmate:  — 

In  the  words  of  Prof.  Tyler  in  his  19th  disquisition  on 
Homer,  "The  battle  still  rages.  Omnipotence  holds  the 
scales  in  equal  hand, but  vengeful  Hera  upsets  them."  This 
is  the  25th  day  of  the  siege  and  we  are  still  stuck  outside 
the  fortifications.  Last  Sunday  we  made  a  general  assault, 
but  were  repulsed  with  terrible  loss.  We  got  inside  three 
times,  but  for  want  of  support  were  driven  out.  Oh,  but  it 
was  a  terrible  place  where  we  charged,  —  a  perfect  murder 
the  way  it  was  managed.  Instead  of  creeping  round  the  hills 
and  starting  directly  for  the  breastworks,  they  ordered  us 
to  charge  across  two  hills  and  two  ravines  before  coming 
to  the  base  of  the  last;  and  consequently  we  were  exposed 
to  a  withering  fire  as  we  went  over  the  crest  of  each  hill, 
men  were  mown  down  right  and  left.  It  is  wonderful  how 
I  have  been  preserved.  I  have  been  in  four  direct  assaults 
on  the  works,  half  a  dozen  skirmishes  and  one  fight,  and  yet 

1 41  W.  R.,  56. 


SOLDIER  61 

not  a  scratch  have  I  received.  Washington  Allen  [a  class- 
mate] was  slightly  wounded  on  Sunday  by  a  piece  of  a 
shell,  but  nothing  dangerous. 

There  has  been  a  call  for  a  thousand  volunteers  to  storm 
the  works,  and  officers  to  lead  them.  I  have  volunteered 
among  the  number.  Don't  think  me  rash.  I  thought  the 
matter  over  a  whole  day  before  signing  my  name,  and  it 
seemed  too  clearly  my  duty,  to  refuse.  If  I  fall,  "  Dulce  est 
pro  patria  mori."  Your  "Atlantic''  I  received  safely.  Many 
thanks.  It  was  indeed  a  treat  to  get  something  to  read. 
There  were  some  capital  things  in  Gail  Hamilton's  "  Spasms 
of  Sense,"  especially  what  she  says  of  married  women  being 
heard  from  only  six  times  in  ten  years  and  each  time  a 
baby.  "  Reminiscences  of  Buckle  "  were  good;  but  is  n't 
the  author  a  conceited,  egotistical  wretch !  But  was  n't 
I  living  over  college  and  Easthampton  days  when  I  read 
Ik  Marvel's  pastorals !  I  could  most  hear  the  bees  humming 
round  the  Castilian  fount.  Do  you  want  to  know  how  we 
are  living  in  the  woods?  Well,  we  have  scarce  nothing  at 
all  for  breakfast,  and  have  the  leavings  for  supper.  We  have 
become  ardent  students  of  botany,  but  it  is  trees  we  study, 
and  in  proportion  as  the  shells  fly  thick  so  do  we  hug  and 
admire  some  thick  and  sturdy  magnolia.  Yes,  "paradoxical 
as  it  may  appear,"  the  larger  the  specimen,  the  greater  our 
admiration.  I  am  now  acting  adjutant.  I  am  happy  to 
report  that  I  have  been  promoted  to  first  lieutenant. 

In  the  bonds  of  Antiquity, 

H.  H.  Goodell,  Daddy. 

The  use  of  the  word  "paradoxical"  here  is  an  illustration 
of  the  fact  that  nothing  ludicrous  ever  escaped  his  notice. 


62  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

One  of  the  tutors,  while  conducting  devotional  services  in 
the  College  Chapel,  in  his  prayer  waded  into  the  deep 
waters  of  theology,  lost  his  foothold  and  slipped  in  all  over, 
and  after  floundering  about  for  a  while  came  to  the  surface 
with  a  statement  in  flat  contradiction  to  what  he  had  been 
saying.  But  he  took  in  the  situation  and  very  dexterously 
extricated  himself  by  saying:  "Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem, 
oh,  Lord!'!  This  was  too  much  for  Goodell;  he  never  en- 
tirely recovered  from  the  shock  and  "Paradoxical  as  it  may 
appear"  became  with  him  a  favorite  phrase,  good  on  all 
occasions  and  for  all  purposes. 

June  23  he  writes  to  a  classmate :  — 


Before  Port  Hudson,  June  23d,  1863. 

There  have  been  two  especial  reasons  for  my  not  writing 
you  before.  One  is  that  we  have  been  told  no  soldiers' 
letters  are  allowed  to  leave  for  the  North,  and  the  other  is 
that  I  have  delayed  hoping  to  write  you  of  the  fall  of  this 
stronghold;  but  still  the  siege  drags  its  slow  length  along. 
Our  days  are  divided  betwixt  rifle-pits,  making  assaults,  and 
repelling  sallies.  The  rebs  hold  their  rifle-pits  and  we  ad- 
vance ours  or  remain  stationary.  Yesterday  the  colored 
brigade  carried  a  hill  by  storm  and  have  held  it,  notwith- 
standing the  repeated  and  great  efforts  made  by  the  rebs 
to  retain  it.  Sunday,  June  14,  we  attacked  the  fort  at  three 
points  but  were  beaten  back  with  a  frightful  loss.  It  was 
perfect  murder,  the  way  affairs  were  managed;  where  we 
charged  at  the  centre,  instead  of  creeping  round  the  base 
of  the  hill  and  starting  a  few  yards  from  the  breastworks, 
they  made  us  charge  over  a  hill,  down  through  the  ravine 


SOLDIER  63 

and  up  the  next  side.  The  consequence  was  we  were  exposed 
to  a  sweeping  fire  and  everything  got  jumbled  and  mixed 
up,  so  that  by  the  time  the  ditch  was  reached  there  were 
parts  of  eight  or  ten  regiments  in  the  direst  confusion, 
without  head  or  tail.  It  took  several  hours  to  straighten 
matters  out,  and  just  as  we  were  ready  to  go  at  them 
again  the  order  was  countermanded.  We  lay  there  in  the 
burning  sun  until  night,  and  then  withdrew  with  our 
wounded  and  dead  under  cover  of  the  darkness.  Ah,  Dick, 
these  Sunday  attacks  are  worse  than  useless!  They  are 
criminal.  It  was  with  a  heavy  heart  I  went  in  on  the  14th, 
for  I  felt  we  could  do  nothing. 

General  Banks  has  now  called  for  a  thousand  volunteers, 
with  officers,  to  lead  in  storming  the  works.  Old  Daddy  has 
volunteered,  not  from  any  desire  of  reputation  or  honor, 
I  assure  you,  but  only  because  there  seemed  to  be  a  lack  of 
officers  and  it  seemed  my  duty  to  go.  It  is  a  desperate 
undertaking,  but  I  am  in  the  hands  of  One  who  is  able  to 
avert  the  deadly  missiles  if  he  sees  fit.  Captain  Allen  of 
the  31st  Massachusetts  was  wounded  but  slightly  on  Sun- 
day, and  Clary  of  '61  was  killed.  Captain  Bliss  of  the  52d 
Massachusetts  was  badly  wounded  and  has  subsequently 
died.  Ceph  Gunn  and  Frank  Stearns  are  all  right,  but  Jut 
Kellogg  and  Severance  are  both  sick  in  New  Orleans  and 
have  not  been  up  here  at  all  during  the  siege.  I  had  a  letter 
from  Pater  Gridley  the  other  day.  He  is  still  in  Baltimore. 
Wishes  to  meet  some  of  the  fellows  this  summer,  but  I  do 
not  expect  (if  I  am  alive  and  well)  to  reach  home  before 
September  for  our  time  is  not  out  until  the  11th  of  August. 
However,  nothing  preventing,  I  shall  make  a  tour  among 
the  fellows  when  I  get  back.   Along  with  your  letter  I  got 


64  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

a  nice  one  from  old  Stebs  the  other  day.  ...  I  have  re- 
ceived five  or  six  Springfields  ["Republican"]  lately  from 
Charlie.  Tell  him  I  will  try  and  write  him  soon.  I  am  so 
glad  Mase  [M.  W.  Tyler]  and  Rufe  [R.  P.  Lincoln]  came 
out  of  their  baptism  of  fire  and  blood  safely.  God  preserve 
them  to  the  end !  My  kindest  remembrances  to  Professor 
and  Mrs.  Tyler  when  you  see  them.  I  see  by  the  papers 
that  the  Faculty  are  up  and  preparing  for  themselves  man- 
sions in  Amherst.  What  demon  of  extravagance  has  seized 
them  in  these  war  times?  —  Confound  these  flies!  I  can't 
write  any  more.  They  are  the  greatest  pests  going.  There 
is  no  putting  off  their  importunity. 

With  ever  so  much  love,  in  bonds  of  antiquity  and  '62, 

Daddy,  H.  H.  Goodell. 

The  newspaper  reporters  soon  got  hold  of  the  list  of 
volunteers  and  of  course  it  was  given  to  the  winds.  On  the 
26th  of  June  he  wrote  the  following  letter  to  his  brother-in- 
law,  Mr.  James  Bird  of  Hartford :  — 

"For  fear  Abbie  and  Eliza  should  see  in  the  papers  my 
name  among  the  list  of  those  who  have  volunteered  to 
storm  the  works  of  Port  Hudson,  I  will  write  to  you  of  it 
myself.  I  did  not  intend  you  should  any  of  you  know  any- 
thing about  it  till  it  was  all  over,  but  some  confounded  news- 
paper correspondent  has  got  hold  of  the  list.  If  it  is  a  pos- 
sible thing,  keep  the  list  out  of  Eliza  and  Abbie's  hands. 
It  will  only  cause  them  unavailing  anxiety.  I  have  volun- 
teered, and  also,  because  there  was  a  lack  of  officers,  to  lead. 
I  assure  you  no  other  considerations  would  have  induced 
me  to  put  my  name  down.  I  trust  it  was  nothing  but  a 
clear  case  of  duty  that  impelled  me  to  take  this  step.  The 


SOLDIER  65 

charge  will  probably  take  place  in  a  day  or  two,  and  I  will 
try  and  write  as  soon  as  possible  afterwards.  In  the  event 
of  my  falling  I  have  prepared  a  letter  with  some  slight 
instructions  about  my  things  which  I  have  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Quartermaster  Ives.  He  has  kindly  promised  to 
look  after  my  traps  here  and  bring  them  to  Hartford  on  the 
return  of  the  regiment. 

"There  is  nothing  particular  going  on  just  now.  Yesterday 
the  rebs  made  a  charge  on  the  centre,  endeavoring  to  cap- 
ture Terry's  marine  battery,  but  they  were  repulsed  with 
considerable  loss.  The  darkies  have  behaved  splendidly. 
Two  days  ago  they  carried  some  rifle-pits  by  storm,  and 
ever  since  there  has  been  sharp  fighting,  the  rebs  making 
ineffectual  attempts  to  regain  them.  We  are  all  in  good 
health  and  spirits  and  hope  for  a  speedy  termination  of 
this  terrible  conflict.  One  of  the  4th  Wisconsin  captured 
on  the  14th  of  June  escaped  two  or  three  days  since,  and 
he  is  to  pilot  us  in.  He  represents  them  as  having  pro- 
visions for  only  a  week  longer.  Would  that  they  had  them 
for  only  a  day! 

"  Please  send  this  letter  to  William  [his  brother]  when  you 
have  perused  it,  and  do  as  you  think  best  about  letting 
A.  and  E.  see  it;  but  it  would  be  better  if  they  could  know 
nothing  of  the  storming-party  till  it  was  over.  Colonel 
Birge  leads  us  in  person  and  General  Grover  leads  a  strong 
suppport." 

This  body  of  men  was  made  up  principally  from  New  Eng- 
land and  New  York  regiments,  with  something  like  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty  from  the  Corps  d'  Af rique .  "  Two  regiments 
in  this  corps,  the  First  and  Third  Louisiana  Guards,  ex- 
pressed their  willingness  to  go.   But  a  selection  was  made." 


66  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

What  position  Lieutenant  Goodell  held  is  not  known.  On 
June  28,  the  colonel  commanding,  H.  W.  Birge,  informed 
General  Banks  that  the  organization  was  complete.  "I 
have  to  report  that  the  volunteers  for  the  storming  column 
are  organized  in  two  battalions  of  eight  companies  each, 
strength  of  company  about  50  enlisted  men;  three  and 
in  some  cases  four,  commissioned  officers  to  a  company. 
Battalion  officers  are,  to  each,  one  lieutenant-colonel  com- 
manding, two  majors  or  acting  as  such,  one  adjutant,  one 
quartermaster.  One  surgeon  (from  One  hundred  and  Six- 
teenth New  York)  has  reported.  Present  strength  for  duty 
is,  Commissioned  officers  67,  enlisted  men  826.  Total 
893."1 

These  men  had  had  two,  and  some  of  them  three,  dread- 
ful experiences  in  charging  earthworks  within  a  few  days, 
and  yet  they  were  willing  to  assault  those  same  works 
again.  "The  stormers"  as  they  were  called  were  gathered 
in  a  camp  by  themselves  and  put  on  a  regimen  calculated 
to  promote  physical  strength,  celerity  of  action,  and  en- 
durance. By  every  conceivable  device  did  they  prepare 
themselves  for  the  work  they  were  expected  to  do.  They 
knew  that  all  the  arrangements  for  their  support  had  been 
made,  but  the  expected  order  did  not  come. 

If  ever  a  body  of  men  deserved  recognition  from  their 
country  this  column  of  stormers  did.  From  June  18  to 
July  8  they  waited  for  the  word  that  meant  death  to  many 
of  them.  General  Gardner,  the  Confederate  commander  in 
Port  Hudson,  knew  of  their  existence  and  confessed  that 
he  dreaded  their  assault.  Some  twenty  years  afterwards 
the  subject  of  the  medal  promised  in  the  general  order 

1  41  W.  R.,  603. 


SOLDIER  67 

was  brought  to  the  attention  of  Congress,  and  although  it 
was  eloquently  championed  by  the  Hon.  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge,  the  House  of  Representatives  refused  to  make  the 
required  appropriation  on  the  ground  that  the  men  did 
not  make  the  charge.  A  man  who  is  willing  to  engage  in  a 
service  of  peculiar  peril  for  his  country  in  her  hour  of  need, 
and  waits  twenty  days  in  hourly  expectation  of  the  call  to 
discharge  that  duty,  it  would  seem,  ought  to  have  some 
recognition  of  his  willingness  to  serve;  for  in  this  case,  it 
was  not  his  fault  that  he  did  not  make  the  terrible  exposure 
of  all  that  man  holds  dear  in  life. 

On  July  4,  Goodell  wrote  his  last  letter  from  Port  Hud- 
son. As  will  be  seen,  he  had  no  idea  of  what  was  going  on 
two  hundred  and  forty  miles  up  the  river  at  Vicksburg, 
or  fifteen  hundred  miles  away  at  Gettysburg,,  At  Vicks- 
burg General  Grant  was  quietly  smoking  a  cigar  as  he 
wrote  a  dispatch  to  be  sent  to  Cairo  to  be  telegraphed  to 
the  General  in  Chief  at  Washington:  "The  enemy  surren- 
dered this  morning.  The  only  terms  allowed  is  their  pa- 
role as  prisoners  of  war."  The  same  dispatch  was  sent  to 
General  Banks.  At  Gettysburg  the  Army  of  the  Potomac 
had  inflicted  a  terrible  defeat  on  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia. 

Port  Hudson,  July  4,  1863. 

I  verily  believe  this  is  the  quietest,  most  matter-of-fact 
4th  of  July  I  ever  spent;  positively  not  as  much  powder 
burnt  as  in  New  York  or  Boston;  yea,  verily,  Hartford  it- 
self, with  its  swarms  of  ragged  brats,  can  outstrip  us.  All 
is  supremely  quiet  along  the  lines.  Every  now  and  then  a 
boom,  a  bang  and  the  bursting  of  a  shell,  for  we  must  keep 


68  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  besieged  from  falling  asleep  and  stir  them  up  occa- 
sionally. Then  pop  goes  a  rebel;  anon  some  white-eyed 
ebony  "t'inks  he  sees  suffin'  moving  on  dat  ar  hill,"  and  ac- 
cordingly lets  drive;  or  perchance  some  red-breeched  Zou- 
ave, spying  a  mule  wandering  round  in  the  fortifications, 
swears  by  the  beard  of  Mahomet  he  '11  spoil  the  rebel  beef, 
and  forthwith  downs  the  critter.  Noon.  The  music  is  be- 
coming lively,  the  gun-boats  are  walking  in  and  the  batteries 
are  pitching  in,  and  altogether  we  are  giving  them  "Hail 
Columbia,"  to  the  tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle." 

For  the  last  fortnight  we  have  been  in  an  enviable  frame 
of  mind  expecting  each  day  to  be  ordered  the  next  to  par- 
ticipate in  another  general  assault,  but  the  orders  have  not 
come  and  each  night  we  have  drawn  a  long  breath  and  said 
one  more  day  of  grace.  "Very  improper,  Jane!"  Well  so 
it  is,  but  while  we  are  sp'iling  for  a  fight  we  have  a  singular 
desire  to  avoid  charging  on  the  breastworks.  We've  seen 
the  elephant,  some  of  us  four  times,  and  each  time  have  got 
bitten.  On  the  1st  General  Banks  made  us  a  stunning 
speech,  assuring  us  that  within  three  days  Port  Hudson 
should  be  ours;  but  the  three  days  have  waxed  and  waned 
and  those  confounded  rebels  still  persist  in  keeping  us  out 
in  the  cold  (a  figure  of  speech,  as  it  is  the  dog-days  with  a 
vengeance).  There  is  no  mistake  about  it;  the  rebs  are 
mighty  short  off  for  provisions,  and  though  the  fortifi- 
cations could  probably  now  be  stormed  any  day,  yet  why 
waste  life  when  a  few  days  will  fetch  the  recreants  to  their 
milk?  They  are  reduced  now  to  mule-meat  and  a  little 
corn.  Deserters  come  in  thick  and  fast.  One  day  as  many 
as  a  hundred  came  over,  vowing  they  could  n't  stand  mule- 
meat.  I  feel  confident  in  my  next  of  being  able  to  take  up  the 


SOLDIER  69 

triumphs  over  the  fall  of  Port  Hudson.  General  Gardner, 
who  commands,  was  a  West  Pointer  with  Generals  Grover 
and  Goodin,  and  they  were  together  at  the  time  the  war 
broke  out,  as  captain  and  lieutenants  in  the  10th  Regiment 
at  some  frontier  fort.  Gardner  sent  in  his  resignation  and 
immediately  deserted  (well  knowing  the  penalty),  leaving 
his  wife  behind.  General  Grover  escorted  her  in  safety  to 
the  north,  and  she  has  since  rejoined  her  husband  in  Louisi- 
ana. She  is  now  residing  in  Opelousas.  When  we  were 
there  General  Grover  called  upon  her.  She  expressed  the 
hope  that  he  might  not  be  called  upon  to  meet  Frank  in 
battle,  but  that  appears  to  be  a  hope  not  realized.  Since 
coming  here  the  two  former  companions  in  arms  have 
met  during  the  flag  of  truce.  The  rebs  army  use  our  rear 
continually.  Their  cavalry  from  Clinton  and  Jackson 
hover  about,  striking  here  and  there,  and  picking  up 
stragglers  and  forage  parties.  Day  before  yesterday  they 
dashed  into  Springfield  Landing,  whence  we  draw  all  our 
stores  and  ammunition  from  New  Orleans;  but  our  cavalry 
were  after  them  so  sharp  that  they  found  pressing  business 
elsewhere,  and  could  only  stop  a  few  minutes.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  river  quite  a  force  has  come  down.  They  at- 
tacked Donaldsonville  (of  white-petticoat  memory)  a  few 
days  ago,  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  town  and  the 
fort,  but  the  spirited  provost-marshal,  gathering  together 
his  forces  amounting  to  about  one  hundred,  got  inside  his 
fortifications  and  bid  them  come  on.  The  unequal  contest 
was  kept  up  from  midnight  till  daylight,  when  the  sudden 
appearance  of  a  gun-boat  caused  the  rebs  to  skedaddle  leav- 
ing a  hundred  dead  on  the  field,  several  hundred  wounded 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty  prisoners,  including  one 


70  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

colonel,  two  majors,  four  captains  and  several  lieutenants.1 
Our  loss  was  exceedingly  small.  Since  then  the  little  garri- 
son has  been  strengthened. 

Now  comes  the  cream  of  everything.  The  rebs  have  got 
into  Bayou  Bceuf  and  captured  or  destroyed  the  whole  of 
our  division  property  there  stored.  Tents,  baggage,  knap- 
sacks, company  and  regimental  books,  all  swept  away. 
We  are  all  as  poor  as  Job's  turkey,  or  as  that  unfortunate 
damsel  who  had  "nothing  to  wear.'5  Except  the  rags  that 
cover  us  we  have  not  a  thing.  In  common  with  the  other 
officers,  I  have  lost  my  blankets,  overcoat,  valise,  dress- 
uniform  and  sash,  and  a  hundred  little  knick-knacks  picked 
up  here  and  there.  Were  we  near  you  I  should  write  a  feel- 
ing address  to  the  soldiers'  aid  society  for  some  pocket- 
handkerchiefs,  being  reduced  to  the  last  shift,  that  is  the 
flap  of  an  ancient  shirt  picked  up  in  a  deserted  mansion. 
The  adjutant  has  now  returned  to  duty.  I  have  gone  back 
to  my  own  company,  or  rather  the  first  three,  A.  F.  and  D. 
being  without  officers,  have  been  consolidated  with  F,  and 
Captain  Napheys  and  myself  are  in  command.  From  Colo- 
nel Bissell  we  heard  not  long  since.  He  is  slowly  and  steadily 
improving,  and  we  are  hoping  to  count  the  days  before 
we  can  welcome  our  colonel  back.    We  have  missed  him 

1  The  incident  here  alluded  to  ought  not  to  be  forgotten.  The  provost- 
marshal,  Major  H.  M.  Porter,  reports,  that  "at  1.30  on  the  morning  of 
the  28th,  the  enemy,  about  5,000  strong,  attacked  both  the  fort  and  the 
gunboat,  with  infantry  and  artillery,  and  continued  fighting  until  4.30 
a.m.  There  were  about  180  men  in  the  Fort  and  this  was  the  first  engage- 
ment of  most  of  them.  Nobly  did  the  officers  and  men  acquit  themselves." 
The  loss  of  the  enemy  he  puts  at  probably  350  killed  and  wounded.  In 
short  the  little  garrison,  with  the  gun-boat,  put  hors  de  combat  about 
twice  their  own  number.  41  W.  R.  205. 


SOLDIER  71 

sadly.  But  I  really  believe  his  sickness  has  saved  his  life. 
He  never  would  have  come  out  alive  from  the  charge  the 
regiment  made  on  the  27th  of  May. 

We  are  having  just  the  tallest  kind  of  dog-days.  We 
spend  all  our  time  in  trying  to  keep  cool.  You  would  laugh 
if  you  could  see  us  at  meals,  in  simply  shirt  and  drawers, 
while  our  respected  colored  boy,  Oliver,  squats  on  his  heels 
in  front  of  us  and  keeps  off  the  flies  from  our  precious  per- 
sons. This  same  Oliver  is  a  case.  Speaking  of  Mobile  the 
other  day  he  said,  "Reckon  you  could  n't  feel  dis  nigga 
much  in  dat  are  town;  specks  he  was  born  and  raised  dere, 
yah,  yah,  yah!  Reckons  he  knows  ebry  hole  dere  from 
de  liquor-shops  to  de  meeting  houses,"  etc. 

We  see  by  the  papers  Pennsylvania  is  again  in  danger. 
Were  we  only  home,  some  of  us  would  again  be  up  a-girding 
on  our  armor  and  be  marching  along.  But  we  trust  you 
will  do  it  without  our  aid  and  the  Southerners  will  get  so 
blessedly  licked  they  won't  know  which  end  they  are 
standing  on. 

Excuse  this  scrawl,  but  being  a  little  under  the  weather 
have  been  writing  lying  flat  on  my  back. 

As  ever  with  love, 

Henry. 

I  have  got  some  potatoes,  10  cents,  a  bit  of  mackerel, 
and  a  couple  of  bottles  of  porter,  and  mean  to  celebrate  the 
4th  to-night. 

Three  days  after  this  letter  was  written,  the  dispatch 
from  General  Grant,  just  referred  to,  was  received.  The 
booming  of  great  guns,  the  cheers  of  the  Union  soldiers  and 
strains  of  patriotic  music  informed  the  besieged  that  some- 


72  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

thing  had  happened,  and  they  were  not  slow  to  divine  the 
cause  of  the  rejoicing.  General  Gardner  sent  under  a  flag 
of  truce  to  General  Banks  to  know  if  the  report  that  Vicks- 
burg  had  fallen  was  true,  and  received  in  reply  a  copy  of 
General  Grant's  dispatch.  The  garrison  had  done  their 
duty  with  courageous  fortitude.  The  Union  lines  were  al- 
ready in  many  places  up  to  their  breastworks,  starvation 
was  already  beginning  to  pinch,  and  should  the  expected 
assault  be  delivered  it  would  be  a  waste  of  life,  for  they 
could  not  expect  to  hold  their  position.  The  8th  was  spent 
in  arranging  the  terms  of  surrender,  and  on  the  9th  "The 
Stormers"  led  the  advance  as  the  victorious  army  en- 
tered Port  Hudson  to  put  the  stars  and  stripes  in  the  place 
of  the  stars  and  bars.  President  Lincoln's  long-deferred 
hope  was  realized,  and  he  could  now  say,  "The  Father  of 
Waters  again  goes  un vexed  to  the  sea." 

The  time  of  the  nine-months'  men  was  soon  to  expire  and 
the  25th  Connecticut  left  almost  immediately  for  New  Or- 
leans, but  was  detained  at  Donaldson ville  for  a  few  days. 
The  following  letter  will  state  the  reason. 

Donaldsonville,  July,  1863. 

Once  more,  O  Dick,  at  Donaldsonville.  Three  months 
ago,  March  29th,  on  Sunday,  I  received  an  epistle  from 
thee,  and  lo !  on  my  second  advent,  on  a  Sunday,  a  second 
missive  reaches  me.  To  thy  lares  and  penates  I  decree  a 
hecatomb.  Accept,  my  rustic  pedagogue,  my  humble 
offering.  You  at  the  North  are  probably  in  a  frenzy  of  ex- 
citement, we  at  the  South  have  learned  to  take  things  cool, 
although  the  "canicula  damnosa  reigns  supreme";  a  phrase 
which,  being  translated  into  the  vernacular  a  la  H.  W. 


SOLDIER  73 

Beecher,  signifieth  "damned  hot."  Vicksburg,  the  stum- 
bling-block to  glory,  hath  fallen,  Port  Hudson  hath  caved 
in.  Lee  and  his  army  have  gone  to  one  eternal  smash. 

Port  Hudson  has  scarcely  gone  under  when  we  are  called 
to  take  the  field  again.   The  confounded  rebs  don't  know 
how  to  stay  whipped,  and  General  Taylor,  re  enforced  by 
General  Magruder's  Texicans,  has  again  taken  the  field. 
He  attacked  us  at  Donaldsonville  with  a  force  in  propor- 
tion to  ours  as  50  to  1,  and  got  soundly  thrashed.    We, 
strongly  reenforced,  came  out  to  meet  him  and  got  licked, 
and  so  the  matter  rests  at  present.  It  was  a  disgraceful 
affair  our  getting  licked  a  week  ago.      The  commanding 
colonel  of  the  brigade  suffered  himself  to  be  flanked  through 
carelessness,  being  dead  drunk,  and  they  had  to  fall  back 
with  the  loss  of  two  cannon.  Our  brigade  was  on  the  reserve ; 
we  fell  in  and  double-quicked  it  to  the  rescue,  but  too  late, 
for  they  were  in  full  retreat.  A  new  line  of  battle  was  formed 
and  the  25th  was  deployed  and  sent  forward  as  skirmishers, 
but  beyond  a  shot  or  two,  we  failed  of  falling  in  with  the 
scoundrels.    So  after  advancing  about  three  quarters  of  a 
mile  through  the  corn,  we  were  ordered  back  and  our  whole 
force  fell  back  about  one  quarter  of  a  mile,  where  we  oc- 
cupied, and  still  hold,  a  strong  position.  The  rebs  meanwhile 
have  skedaddled,  but  are  probably  fortifying  at  Laborde- 
ville,  distant  some  twenty  miles.    What  we  are  delaying 
here  for,  I  can't  imagine,  unless  it  is  to  give  time  to  a  part 
of  our  forces  to  get  in  their  rear.   I  hope  it  is  so.   By  the 
way,  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that,  Colonel  Bissell  being 
in  command  of  the  brigade,  I  have  been  appointed  one  of 
his  staff  as  aide. 

Dick,  I  must  say  that  though  I  volunteered  on  the  storm- 


74  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

ing  party  at  Port  Hudson,  yet  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  not 
to  have  my  services  required.  Those  works  were  con- 
foundedly strong,  and  one  half  or  two  thirds  of  us  would 
have  paid  the  penalty  of  our  attempt  with  our  lives.  War 
is  not  the  glorious  thing  it's  cracked  up  to  be.  Though  we 
get  used  to  all  kinds  of  horrid  sights,  yet  we  can't  get  per- 
fectly calloused.  I  could  tell  you  some  things  that  would 
fairly  make  your  blood  curdle  with  horror.  I  will  omit  all 
description  as  that  is  best  learnt  in  familiar  discourse. 

The  25th  Connecticut  regiment,  after  one  of  the  most 
trying  campaigns  of  the  war,  was  now  to  take  another  sea 
voyage  and  was  mustered  out  at  Hartford,  August  26, 1863. 
Scant  justice  has  been  done  to  the  Nineteenth  Corps.  The 
field  of  their  action  while  in  Louisiana  was  far  away,  and, 
until  the  fall  of  Port  Hudson,  was  cut  off  from  the  North 
except  by  the  sea.  The  public  attention  was  absorbed  by 
the  operations  in  the  states  along  the  border,  and  even  their 
great  victory  at  Port  Hudson  was  eclipsed  and  looked  upon 
as  a  consequence  of  the  fall  of  Vicksburg.  But  they  did 
a  great  deal  of  hard  fighting,  and  made  hundreds  of  miles 
of  hard  marching  in  a  climate  to  which  the  men  were  not 
accustomed. 

Goodell  had  entered  the  regiment  as  second  lieutenant, 
but  he  had  acted  in  many  capacities.  He  had  officiated  as 
first  lieutenant  in  his  own  and  other  companies,  had  often 
discharged  the  function  of  captain,  and  had  acted  as  ad- 
jutant of  the  regiment.  He  was  promoted  to  first  lieutenant 
on  the  14th  of  April,  and  became  aide-de-camp  on  the  staff 
of  Colonel  Bissell,  commanding  the  3d  Brigade  of  the  4th 
Division,  on  the  8th  of  July. 


SOLDIER  75 

He  said  little  about  his  army  experience  after  he  came 
home,  and  seldom  spoke  of  it  even  to  his  own  family.  Oc- 
casionally some  incident  would  bring  out  a  scrap  of  his 
experience.  The  following  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  stories 
he  sometimes  told.  Some  years  ago,  but  long  after  the  War, 
at  an  educational  convention  at  Baton  Rouge,  his  next 
neighbor  at  the  banquet  said  to  him,  "This  country  is  new 
to  you?"  — "No,"  said  Goodell,  "I  served  in  Louisiana  in 
'62  and  '63,  and  was  at  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson."  The 
gentleman  said  that  he  was  taken  prisoner  there  by  a  com- 
missioned officer.  Goodell  asked  if  he  remembered  the 
officer's  name  and  regiment,  to  which  the  gentleman  re- 
plied: "Yes,  it  was  Lieutenant  Goodell  of  the  25th  Con- 
necticut."—  "Then,"  said  Goodell,   "You  are  Captain 

. "    "How  do  you  know  that?"  asked  the  gentleman 

with  some  surprise.  "Because  I  am  the  Lieutenant  Goodell 
you  speak  of."  Their  last  meeting  was  undoubtedly  much 
more  pleasant,  especially  to  the  Confederate  gentleman, 
than  their  first. 

There  is  every  evidence  that  he  discharged  his  duty  as 
a  soldier  with  ability  and  with  a  high  sense  of  loyalty  to  the 
cause  he  loved  and  to  his  superior  officers.  He  never  was 
absent  from  his  company  for  twelve  consecutive  hours, 
except  on  duty,  from  the  time  the  regiment  was  mustered 
into  the  service  until  it  was  mustered  out.  His  idea  of 
a  soldier,  of  his  calling,  the  principles  he  ought  to  hold, 
the  duties  he  ought  to  be  ready  to  discharge,  and  the  senti- 
ment which  should  animate  his  conduct  on  all  occasions, 
is  stated,  perhaps  unconsciously,  in  his  address  at  the 
memorial  services  of  Captain  Walter  Mason  Dickinson, 
which  is  given  in  this  volume. 


76  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Of  him  personally  one  of  his  fellow  officers  of  higher 
rank,  Major  Thomas  McManus,  writes:  "His  whole  life, 
his  whole  conduct  during  our  army  experience,  was  so  con- 
sistent and  admirable  that  I  am  actually  puzzled  to  dis- 
sect from  it  any  special  detail  to  memorize  as  an  incident  or 
saying  even.  You  know  he  never  was  oracular.  He  never 
posed.  He  simply  did  everything  perfectly  and  easily.  I 
actually  think  that,  if  he  tumbled  off  a  roof,  he  would  have 
done  it  gracefully.  He  never  once  complained,  however 
great  the  hardship,  on  the  march  or  in  action.  He  never 
adversely  criticised  another  officer,  or  harshly  reproved  a 
private,  or  murmured  at  a  privation.  He  was  on  duty  where 
he  belonged,  all  the  while.  Nothing  spasmodic  in  his  service, 
but  when  an  emergency  did  arise  at  Port  Hudson,  that 
called  for  volunteers  for  the  Forlorn  Hope,  he  was  with  the 
very  first  to  offer  himself  for  a  service  that  promised  nothing 
but  death  as  a  result.  Thank  God,  the  service  after  all  was 
not  required ! 

"He  was  everything  good  that  could  be  desired  in  a  sol- 
dier and  he  was  so  all  the  time.  You  may  portray  in  him 
every  admirable  quality  that  man  can  possess  and  you  may 
rival  Chrysostom  himself  in  eloquence,  yet  you  cannot 
exaggerate,  hardly  equal  his  deserts.' ' 

After  the  experience  in  the  army  he  took  a  year  to  re- 
cuperate. He  did  not  care  to  study  any  of  the  professions, 
and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  then  he  had  no  idea  what  his  work 
in  the  world  would  be;  but  he  did  not  merely  vegetate,  nor 
was  he  "waiting  for  something  to  turn  up."  Hard  work 
was  mingled  with  recreation.  A  good  deal  of  time  is  given 
to  the  study  of  German,  or  as  he  puts  it,  "studying  high 
Dutch,  low  Dutch  and  German,  three  variations  of  the 


SOLDIER  77 

Teutonic";  and  he  does  not  find  the  mixture  palatable. 
He  dips  into  literature,  both  grave  and  gay;  reads  Charles 
Lamb's  works  with  great  delight;  Renan's  "Life  of  Jesus," 
—  finds  the  author  "an  arrant  doubter,"  and  wants  a  good 
review  of  him.  Ticknor's  "Life  of  Prescott"  he  thinks 
"capital."  "That's  a  curious  thought,"  he  writes,  "that 
Prescott  expresses  in  a  letter  to  Ticknor  on  the  greater 
difficulty  of  representing  happiness  than  misery,  and  the 
faultiness  of  the  Scripture  in  that  respect,  offering  nothing 
but  singing  and  dancing  as  the  happiness  of  Heaven,  an  idea 
which  he  says  to  many  would  be  positively  disagreeable. 
I  can't  help  laughing  every  time  I  think  of  it,  and  yet  the 
criticism  is  just."  He  reads  Kirk's  "Charles  the  Bold'3 
and  finds  it  as  fascinating  as  a  novel,  and  is  interested  in 
the  articles  in  the  "North  American  Review,"  especially  in 
the  one  on  McClellan;  thinks  "it  uses  him  up  most  com- 
pletely as  a  politician  and  a  soldier."  The  article  was  by 
James  Russell  Lowell. 

To  turn  to  the  other  side  of  his  nature  —  he  keeps  in  close 
touch  with  his  classmates,  especially  with  those  in  the  army. 
He  hears  that  one  of  them  (Captain  Rufus  P.  Lincoln,  of 
the  37th  Massachusetts,  afterwards  a  distinguished  surgeon 
in  New  York)  had  been  wounded,  and  writes :  "Those  boys! 
I  am  thinking  of  them  all  the  time.  May  they  come  out 
safe  from  these  horrid  battles!  I  am  as  uneasy  as  a  fish 
out  of  water  here  at  home,  lying  round  like  an  old  cow  at  my 
ease  and  all  these  brave  fellows  periling  their  lives."  He  paid 
flying  visits  to  those  of  his  class  who  were  near  him,  and 
writes  of  one  after  another,  "the  same  good  fellow  as  ever." 
He  calls  on  his  "beloved  D.D."  at  Cambridge,  and  informs 
him  by  letter  that  he  "found  the  Theologi-cuss  out." 


78  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  he  received  and  accepted  an  invitation 
to  return  to  his  old  preparatory  school,  Williston  Seminary, 
Easthampton,  as  teacher  of  modern  languages  and  instruc- 
tor in  gymnastics.  For  this  work  he  was  well  equipped,  and 
had  time  to  devote  to  favorite  studies,  for  he  was  begin- 
ning to  have  something  like  a  passion  for  books. 

While  teaching  at  Easthampton  he  was  associated  with 
such  men  as  General  Francis  A.Walker,  M.  F.  Dickinson, 
Charles  M.  Lamson,  Judson  Smith,  and  Charles  H.  Park- 
hurst.  It  was  indeed  a  brilliant  and  inspiring  corps  of 
teachers,  such  as  any  institution  has  a  right  to  be  proud  of. 
Goodell  seems  oftener  than  occasionally  to  have  disturbed 
the  gravity  and  decorum  of  the  faculty  meetings  by  his 
remarks,  although  Dr.  Henshaw,  the  principal,  did  not 
always  perceive  the  suggestiveness  of  Goodell's  sugges- 
tions. There  was  once  a  proposition  made  to  appoint  some 
member  of  the  Faculty  to  do  some  particular  duty,  and 
Goodell  said,  with  that  peculiar  innocence  of  which  he  was 
consummate  master :  "  Dr.  Henshaw,  if  you  want  a  man  who 
possesses  both  the  suaviter  in  modo  and  the  fortiter  in  re>  I 
would  suggest  the  name  of " 


Ill 

EDUCATOR 

During  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
attention  of  many  thoughtful  and  far-seeing  men  was  di- 
rected to  creating  a  more  intelligent  culture  of  the  soil.  This 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  for 
the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  in  1796.  Through  the  influ- 
ence of  this  organization,  societies  of  a  similar  purpose  were 
organized  in  the  various  counties  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  cattle-shows  and  horse-shows  became  a  feature  of  the 
industrial  life  of  the  people.  Public-spirited  and  wealthy 
men  offered  prizes  for  the  best  products  of  the  farm,  and 
subscribed  money  to  collect  and  diffuse  information  on 
matters  pertaining  to  agriculture. 

The  printing-press  was  called  into  requisition,  and  on  the 
2nd  of  August,  1818,  "The  American  Farmer"  was  pub- 
lished at  Baltimore;  three  years  later  came  "The  Plough 
Boy"  (spelled  Plow  Boy),  published  at  Albany;  the  follow- 
ing year  "The  New  England  Farmer"  appeared  in  Boston; 
and  soon  papers  devoted  to  this  subject  appeared  in  many 
localities.  As  the  nineteenth  century  advanced  men  began 
to  talk  of  schools  of  agriculture.  Prominent  educators,  like 
Edward  Hitchcock  of  Amherst,  a  man  of  great  practical 
wisdom,  advocated  the  teaching  of  this  great  branch  of  in- 
dustry in  academies  and  colleges,  and  as  early  as  1843  the 
Trustees  of  Amherst  College  appointed  Charles  U.  Shep- 
ard,  Professor  of  Agricultural  Chemistry  and  Mineralogy. 


80  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

The  governors  of  states  recommended  to  the  legislatures 
to  take  such  action  as  would  advance  this  great  utility. 
Our  presidents  have  recommended  the  subject  to  the  con- 
sideration of  Congress.  Washington,  who,  whatever  he  was 
besides,  was  a  farmer  by  nature,  took  a  deep  interest  in 
this  subject,  and  in  his  last  annual  message  recommended 
to  Congress  that  appropriations  should  be  made,  to  en- 
courage an  interest  in  it.  President  Jefferson  in  his  first  in- 
augural, when  enumerating  the  objects  of  government, 
puts  the  encouragement  of  agriculture  among  them.  But 
so  negligent  had  Congress  been  in  fostering  the  interests 
of  this  great  phase  of  the  national  life,  that  President  Lin- 
coln, in  his  first  annual  message  December  3,  1861,  said 
that  "Agriculture,  confessedly  the  largest  interest  of  the 
nation,  has  not  a  department,  nor  even  a  bureau,  but  a 
clerkship  only,  assigned  to  it  in  the  government.  While 
I  make  no  suggestions  as  to  details,  I  venture  the  opinion 
that  an  agricultural  and  statistical  bureau  might  profit- 
ably be  organized."  In  pursuance  of  this  suggestion  Con- 
gress passed  an  act  May  4,  1862,  creating  a  Bureau  of 
Agriculture.  The  President  immediately  set  about  organ- 
izing it  and  refers  to  it  in  all  his  annual  messages;  and  in 
the  very  last  one  he  speaks  of  it  as  "peculiarly  the  people's 
department,  in  which  they  feel  more  directly  concerned  than 
in  any  other.  I  commend  it  to  the  continued  attention 
and  fostering  care  of  Congress." 

The  next  step  in  the  national  recognition  of  the  import- 
ance of  agriculture  was  an  act  of  Congress,  February  11, 
1889,  making  the  bureau  a  department,  and  the  commis- 
sioner a  secretary,  with  a  seat  in  the  President's  cabinet. 

While  these  steps  were  being  taken  by  the  national 


EDUCATOR  81 

government,  thoughtful  and  progressive  men  of  high  stand- 
ing and  character  were  urging  with  eloquent  earnestness 
that  education  in  agriculture  was  as  important  as  education 
in  the  so-called  liberal  professions.  But  as  Walter  Bagehot 
has  said,  "One  of  the  greatest  pains  to  human  nature  is  the 
pain  of  a  new  idea.  It  is,  as  common  people  say,  'so  up- 
setting, it  makes  you  think  that,  after  all,  your  favorite 
notions  may  be  wrong,  your  firmest  beliefs  unfounded.' " x 
But  the  whole  subject  was  put  in  a  new  light  by  the  Hon. 
Justin  S.  Morrill,  then  a  representative  in  Congress  from 
Vermont,  himself  a  farmer's  boy,  then  a  merchant,  and 
afterwards  a  farmer.  He  brought  in,  December  14, 1857,  a 
bill  devoting  large  areas  of  the  public  lands  to  the  states 
which  should  within  a  given  time  establish  colleges  for 
the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  The  bill 
passed  the  House  by  a  vote  of  105  to  100.  Some  thirteen 
months  afterward,  on  February  7, 1859,  it  passed  the  Sen- 
ate by  a  vote  of  25  to  22.  President  Buchanan  returned  it 
to  the  House  with  a  long  veto  message,  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  which  was  stated  in  the  first  sentence:  "I  deem 
it  to  be  both  inexpedient  and  unconstitutional." 

The  fact  that  such  a  bill  had  passed  both  houses  of  Con- 
gress gave  new  inspiration  to  the  friends  of  the  movement, 
and  it  is  said  that  in  the  next  contest  for  the  presidency 
two  of  the  leading  candidates,  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Judge  Doug- 
las, were  pledged  to  favor  the  bill.  The  people  now  began 
to  talk  of  agricultural  colleges,  and  two  of  the  states  went 
forward  and  established  them. 

Mr.  Morrill,  on  December  13,  1861,  again  presented  his 
bill.   It  passed  both  houses,  and  on  July  2,  1862,  received 

1  Physics  and  Politics,  163. 


82  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  sanction  of  President  Lincoln  and  became  a  law.  This 
bill,  known  as  the  Morrill  Act,  had  a  tremendous  influence 
upon  agricultural  education.  Mr.  Morrill  lived  to  see  in- 
stitutions of  this  kind  established  and  sustained  by  this 
act  in  every  state  of  the  Union. 

This  law  was  strengthened  by  the  "Hatch  Bill  "approved 
by  President  Cleveland,  March  2, 1886,  creating  experiment 
stations  in  connection  with  the  land-grant  colleges;  and 
four  years  later,  Senator  Morrill  brought  in  a  bill,  approved 
by  President  Harrison,  August  30,  1890,  for  a  more  com- 
plete endowment  of  the  land-grant  colleges.  All  the  bills 
for  the  advancement  of  industrial  education  were  cham- 
pioned by  the  practical  wisdom  and  consummate  tact  of 
Mr.  Morrill;  and  he  will  stand  at  the  bar  of  history  as 
one  of  our  greatest  national  benefactors. 

A  gentleman  was  once  introduced  to  Mr.  Morrill  as  a 
friend  of  President  Goodell,  and  the  Senator,  taking  his 
hand  in  both  his  own,  said,  with  an  earnestness  not  to  be 
mistaken,  "I  congratulate  you  sir,  most  heartily,  on  having 
such  a  man  for  your  friend.' '  When  George  F.  Hoar  pub- 
lished his  "Autobiography  of  Seventy  Years,"  the  attention 
of  President  Goodell  was  called  to  the  chapter  on  some  of 
the  Senators  with  whom  Mr.  Hoar  had  served.  After  read- 
ing it  he  wrote :  "All  this  is  very  beautiful,  but  as  I  went  on 
from  one  splendid  characterization  to  another,  I  began  to 
fear  that  he  would  get  exhausted  and  break  down  before 
he  got  to  Senator  Morrill.  But  he  rose  to  the  occasion.  It 
was  the  last,  and  fine  as  the  others  were,  this  was  the  best  of 
all.  It  was  beautiful  beyond  any  words  of  mine  to  describe, 
and  it  is  as  true  as  it  is  beautiful.  It  is  a  mystery  to  me  how 
a  man  could  write  such  a  chapter  as  that." 


EDUCATOR  83 

President  Goodell  had  occasion  often  to  consult  with 
Senator  Morrill,  but  unfortunately  little  that  passed  be- 
tween them  in  writing  has  as  yet  been  discovered. 

The  story  is  too  long  to  be  told  here  of  the  many  sugges- 
tions and  plans  which  engaged  the  attention  and  occupied 
the  minds  of  men,  which  eventually  led  up  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  It  will 
be  sufficient  to  say  that  in  his  annual  message  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  January  6,  1865,  Governor  Andrew  announced 
that  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  had  been  lo- 
cated at  Amherst,  and  added:  "I  beg  to  commend  the  sub- 
ject of  agricultural  education,  and  the  patronage  of  this 
institution  of  the  State  to  your  liberality.  I  should  deeply 
regret  to  see  an  institution  which  bears  the  name  of  Massa- 
chusetts and  will  be  held  to  be  representative  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, especially  of  the  highest  aspirations  of  her 
yeomanry,  allowed,  for  want  of  generous  support,  to  de- 
generate into  a  mere  industrial  school." 

In  his  concluding  remarks  on  this  subject  his  Excellency 
states  the  spirit  in  which  the  Commonwealth  should  pursue 
the  work  she  has  begun;  and  his  words  so  completely  de- 
scribe the  feelings  which  animated  President  Goodell  in 
his  long  service  at  the  institution  then  inaugurated  that 
they  may  be  quoted  as  eminently  applicable  to  him  and 
his  work :  — 

"When  the  Commonwealth  touches  such  a  subject,  she 
ought  to  feel  herself  to  be  like  the  priestess,  advancing  to 
handle  the  sacred  symbols,  and  on  holy  ground.  She  should 
remember  her  own  dignity,  the  immortality  always  pos- 
sible to  states,  the  error  of  which  she  is  the  promoter  here- 
after, if  she  commits  herself  to  error  now,  the  boundless 


84  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

scope  of  her  good  influence,  the  millions  of  men  on  whom 
her  influence  may  be  made  to  tell  through  all  the  ampli- 
tudes of  space  and  time.  When  I  contemplate  such  a  sub- 
ject, the  reason  is  content  to  yield  to  the  imagination.  I 
remember  the  photograph,  the  magnetic  telegraph,  the 
discovery  of  vaccination,  the  painless  operations  of  surgery, 
—  the  triumphs,  the  miracles  of  genius.  I  seem  to  see,  for 
the  Earth  herself  and  her  cultivators,  the  coming  time, 
when  husbandry,  attended  by  all  the  ministries  of  science 
and  art,  shall  illumine  and  rejuvenate  her  countenance, 
and  recreate  our  life  below." 

Notwithstanding  the  magnificent  appeal  of  his  Excel- 
lency the  Governor,  the  inauguration  of  the  new  college 
dragged  slowly  on  until  the  election  of  William  Smith  Clark 
to  the  presidency  in  1867.  Clark  was  by  nature  and  culture 
a  man  of  science.  He  had  for  several  years  been  professor 
of  chemistry  and  had  also  occupied  the  chairs  of  botany 
and  zoology  in  Amherst  College.  He  had  made  a  brilliant 
record  in  the  Civil  War,  as  Colonel  of  the  Twenty-First 
Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  had  had  some  experience 
in  political  life.  He  brought  to  his  new  duties  fine  abilities 
as  an  organizer  and  administrator,  was  possessed  by  an  en- 
thusiasm, founded  on  moral  convictions,  that  a  great  work 
could  be  done,  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  people,  and  that  he 
could  help  do  it.  He  wielded  a  graceful  pen,  possessed  ad- 
mirable powers  of  persuasion  and  a  knowledge  of  men 
which  came  both  by  instinct  and  a  large  experience  of  the 
world.  He  was  emphatically  a  man  of  affairs  and  knew  how 
to  meet  men. 

The  unexpected  is  among  the  certainties  in  the  lives  of 
men.    "No  man,"  said  Oliver  Cromwell,  to  the  agents 


EDUCATOR  85 

of  Henrietta  Maria,  who  were  sounding  him  as  to  his  am- 
bitions, "no  man  ever  climbs  so  high  as  the  man  who  does 
not  know  where  he  is  going."  We  left  Goodell  quietly- 
teaching  at  Williston  Seminary,  with  perhaps  no  idea  of  any 
change  in  his  position  in  life,  at  least  for  the  present,  and 
certainly  no  idea  of  the  change  that  was  about  to  come. 
But  President  Clark's  eye  was  upon  him.  At  an  Alumni 
dinner  of  the  Agricultural  College  in  1886,  while  he  was 
acting  as  president,  he  was  called  upon  to  speak  of  Presi- 
dent Clark,  who  had  recently  died,  and  in  his  remarks  he 
indulged  in  a  bit  of  personal  reminiscence.  He  said:  "It 
was  in  the  summer  of  1867  that  I  received  a  brief  note  from 
him  [Clark]  asking  me  to  come  to  Amherst  and  see  him. 
No  building  had  as  yet  been  erected,  and  the  several  farms 
of  which  the  college  property  was  composed  had  not  yet 
been  thrown  into  one.  Leading  me  out  into  the  fields, 
very  near  where  South  College  now  stands,  he  unfolded  his 
plans,  and  turning  to  me  with  his  hand  on  my  shoulder 
said:  *  There  is  a  great  and  glorious  work  to  be  done.  Will 
you  come  and  help?'  And  what  could  I  do  with  that  eye 
looking  straight  into  mine  and  that  hand  resting  on  my 
shoulder,  but  say,  'I  will'?" 

To  be  in  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  movement,  or  a  new 
departure  from  the  beaten  track  of  common  experience, 
which  proves  successful,  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  when 
success  has  been  attained.  But  it  requires  more  courage 
than  men  usually  get  credit  for,  to  start  with  a  movement 
that  is  in  advance  of  the  common  thought,  when  there  is 
liability  that  one  may  be  buried  in  the  ruins  of  the  under- 
taking. The  new  college  had  not  only  to  face  ignorant 
prejudice,  but  it  had  the  more  difficult  task  of  vindicating 


86  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

its  right  to  be,  and  this  was  no  easy  matter,  for  the  results 
of  its  work  might  not  be  manifest  for  years  to  come. 

The  Faculty  of  those  early  days  was  not  a  formidable 
body  in  numbers.  It  consisted  of  the  President,  William 
S.  Clark,  Professor  E.  S.  Snell,  of  Amherst  College,  teach- 
ing mathematics,  Henry  H.  Goodell,  Professor  of  Modern 
Languages  and  English  Literature,  and  the  farmer,  Levi 
Stockb ridge,  who  gave  instruction  in  agriculture.  This  was 
indeed  rather  a  small  crowd  to  face  an  indifferent  and  some- 
times hostile  world;  but  indifference  was  to  them  far  more 
dangerous  than  hostility. 

Goodell's  department  was  very  congenial  to  his  feelings 
and  tastes,  especially  English  Literature.  But  during  its 
early  years  the  College,  although  a  state  institution,  was 
handicapped  in  many  ways.  It  was  poor,  and  as  a  natural 
consequence  its  appliances  were  insufficient  and  the  corps 
of  teachers  too  small  to  meet  the  demands  of  even  a  small 
number  of  pupils;  so  that  at  the  beginning  some  important 
branches  of  study  were  not  provided  with  any  instructors. 
Goodell  seems  to  have  been  called  upon  to  fill  the  gap.  It 
seems  almost  impossible  for  a  man  to  adjust  himself  to  so 
many  different  relations.  "He  was  instructor  in  military 
tactics  and  gymnastics  from  1867  to  1869,  lecturer  on  ento- 
mology in  1869,  instructor  in  zoology  from  1869  to  1871,  in 
anatomy  and  physiology  from  1869  to  1871  and  again  from 
1882  to  1883,  instructor  in  rhetoric  and  English  language 
from  1871  to  1873  and  from  1883  to  1885,  and  in  history 
from  1872  to  1883;  and  in  addition  to  this  he  was  secretary 
of  the  Faculty  for  four  years,  and  librarian  from  1885  to 
1899." 

Had  all  these  branches  of  instruction  been  in  accord 


EDUCATOR  |  87 

with  his  tastes,  his  work  would  have  been  very  confining 
and  laborious.  But  his  tastes  were  literary  rather  than 
scientific.  It  is  doubtful  whether  he  really  enjoyed  any  of 
the  sciences,  with  the  single  exception  of  botany;  but  the 
work  he  did  enabled  him  to  grasp  something  more  than  the 
rudiments  of  the  sciences  as  taught  in  the  ordinary  college 
course,  and  to  understand  the  interdependence  of  the 
sciences  and  their  federal  relations  to  each  other.  This  was 
of  great  importance  to  him  in  after  life.  It  was  a  hard  school, 
but  no  other  could  have  better  prepared  him  for  his  future 
work.  It  was  with  sufficient  cause  that  Amherst  College 
conferred  upon  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws  in  1891. 

While  discharging  these  various  duties  he  acted  as  sec- 
retary of  his  own  class  (the  Class  of  '62  in  Amherst  Col- 
lege), and  published  in  1872  a  little  booklet  giving  an  ac- 
count of  all  who  had  ever  been  connected  with  the  class, 
telling  how  far  each  had  advanced  in  the  ten  years  since 
graduation  in  professional,  commercial  and  matrimonial 
life.  It  was  a  tedious  bit  of  work.  His  own  description 
of  the  booklet  is  correct  so  far  as  the  history  of  each  one 
is  concerned.  "I  have  brought  you  up  from  the  'mewl- 
ing infant  in  the  nurse's  arms'  to  'the  lover  sighing  like  a 
furnace,  with  a  woful  ballad  to  his  mistress's  eyebrow.' : 
But  while  his  story  of  each  one  was  told  with  fidelity  and 
accuracy,  his  way  of  telling  it  was  characteristic,  both  of 
himself  and  of  the  person  of  whom  he  wrote.  In  writing  of 
one  who  had  a  genius  for  getting  conditioned  at  the  end 
of  every  term  in  Latin  and  Greek,  he  says:  "He  studied  di- 
vinity, wrestling  with  the  Hebrew,  and  prevailing  mightily 
with  the  Greek."  He  gave  the  statistics  of  the  professions 


88  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  occupations  of  his  classmates  and  over  every  list  put 

a  motto  of  his  own  choice.   Heading  the  list  of  lawyers  we 

have : — 

Here  lies  a  lawyer,  rude  and  bold: 

He  by  his  trade  subsisted. 

Reader,  think!  How  many  lies  the  rascal  must  have  told! 

Over  the  list  of  bachelors,  and  he  was  then  among  them, 
he  put  this  bit  of  good  advice :  — 

Thanks,  my  good  friends  for  your  advice, 
But  marriage  is  a  thing  so  nice, 
That  he  who  means  to  take  a  wife 
Had  better  think  on  't  all  his  life. 

Goodell  acted  not  only  as  secretary  of  the  class,  but  as 
treasurer,  and  was  actively  instrumental  in  raising  money 
to  establish  a  Class  scholarship  at  Amherst  College.  It 
was  a  fund  of  two  thousand  dollars,  the  income  of  which 
was  to  aid  indigent  students.  It  was  called  the  Henry 
Gridley  Scholarship  of  the  Class  of  '62,  in  Memory  of  a 
classmate,  Lieutenant  Henry  Gridley  of  the  150th  Regi- 
ment of  New  York  Volunteers,  who  fell  on  June  22,  1864, 
in  an  engagement  which  General  Sherman  calls  the  "affair 
of  the  Kolb  House,  where  the  enemy  received  a  terrible 
repulse."  1 

Colonel  Ketchum  in  his  report  of  the  battle  says:  "First 
Lieutenant  Henry  Gridley,  a  valuable  officer,  was  killed  in 
this  engagement."  2  The  scene  of  this  battle  was  some  three 
or  four  miles  from  Marietta,  Georgia. 

After  the  death  of  President  Goodell  his  classmates 
established  another  scholarship  of  equal  value,  called  the 
Henry  Hill  Goodell  Scholarship  of  the  Class  of  '62. 

1  W.  R.,  38,  P.  n,  68.  2  W.  R.,  38,  P.  n,  79. 


EDUCATOR  89 

It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  after  all  the  contempt 
with  which  the  ladies  of  the  Crescent  City  treated  him  in 
'63,  he  should  have  won  the  hand  and  the  heart  of  Helen  E., 
daughter  of  John  Stanton,  of  New  Orleans.  They  were 
married  December  10,  1873.  This  event  was  quickly  fol- 
lowed by  the  establishment  of  a  home.  He  was  very  happy 
in  his  home,  which  stood  on  rising  ground  overlooking 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  The  outlook  was  delightful. 
The  varied  scenes  of  meadows  and  fields,  of  hills  and  the 
mountains  beyond,  had  a  restful  influence  upon  his  spirits. 
He  had  a  sensitive  ear  for  the  sounds  of  Nature.  He  loved 
to  listen  to  the  gossiping  of  the  wind  with  the  leaves  on  the 
trees  about  his  house,  and  he  took  great  pleasure  in  the 
roar  of  the  advancing  storm,  as  it  came  up  from  the  west, 
or  down  from  the  north.  He  would  call  attention  to  those 
moments  of  quiet,  when  Nature  seemed  to  be  listening,  and 
he  enjoyed  the  solemn  stillness.  Indeed,  he  had  an  eye  to 
see,  an  ear  to  hear  and  a  spirit  to  feel,  "what  he  could  n't 
near  express  but  could  not  all  conceal."  "It  is  a  delightful 
rest,"  he  used  to  say,  "to  look  on  that  landscape."  The  spot 
he  chose  for  his  home  illustrates  one  side  of  his  character. 

Their  two  children,  both  boys,  were  a  great  delight  to 
him,  and  he  always  attributed  their  good  conduct  to  the 
influence  of  their  mother,  who,  he  said,  understood  the  art 
of  inculcating  good  principles  without  making  them  dis- 
agreeable by  tedious  lectures ;  but  he  would  add  with  a  smile, 
that  he  was  sometimes  afraid  that  the  boys  were  not  al- 
ways getting  "the  sincere  milk  of  the  Word."  He  lived  to 
see  one  of  them  started  in  the  world.  Here  is  the  introduc- 
tion his  father  gave  him  as  he  went  out  to  try  his  hand  in  the 
affairs  of  real  life.  It  was  written  to  a  college  classmate,  a 


90  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

life-long  friend,  an  eminent  lawyer  practicing  in  New  York 
City. 

Amherst,  Mass.,  October  7,  1898. 

Colonel  Mason  W.  Tyler, 
Plainfield,  N.  J. 

Dear  Mason,  —  A  boy  —  family  name  Goodell,  Chris- 
tian name  John  —  accompanies  this  letter.  Just  out  of  the 
Troy  Polytechnic,  but  without  experience.  He  is  seeking  a 
place  into  which  he  can  thrust  his  lever  and  turn  the  world 
over.  Civil-engineering  his  profession,  railroading  his  de- 
light. He  is  seeking  for  some  railroad  magnate  who  will 
adopt  an  orphan,  side-track  him  in  some  fat  office  where 
he  can  try  his  little  lever.  Do  you  know  any  such  people 
to  introduce  him  to?    If  you  do,  help  him,  and  believe  me 

Yours  gratefully, 

H.  H.  Goodell. 

Although  Goodell  had  little,  if  any,  ambition  to  figure  in 
political  life,  he  was  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  civic 
duties.  He  usually  attended  the  caucus  of  his  party,  es- 
pecially in  his  early  days,  and  while  he  never  sought  office, 
he  was  always  ready  to  serve  on  committees  where  he 
thought  he  could  be  of  any  assistance.  But  at  the  Republi- 
can caucus  held  October  27, 1884,  things  were  in  some  con- 
fusion, to  say  the  least,  and  he  was  nominated  to  represent 
the  then  Fourth  Hampshire  District  in  the  General  Court, 
not  as  "a  dark  horse,"  but  as  a  man  whose  personal  pop- 
ularity was  likely  to  unite  conflicting  interests  and  secure 
victory  for  the  party  at  the  polls.  He  declined  the  honor 
and  refused  positively  to  allow  his  name  to  be  put  in  nomi- 


EDUCATOR  91 

nation  against  a  gentleman  who,  he  said,  "had  been  a  father 
to  him."  But  the  caucus  insisted  upon  its  action,  and  before 
election  day  matters  were  so  arranged  that  he  accepted  the 
nomination  and  of  the  793  votes  cast  he  received  517,  or  a 
majority  of  241.  It  was  fortunate  that  he  was  persuaded 
to  withdraw  his  objections,  for  he  was  able  to  be  of  vastly 
greater  service  to  the  College  in  the  hall  of  representatives 
at  Boston,  than  he  would  have  been  in  the  recitation  room 
at  Amherst. 

The  Legislature  of  1885  was  a  very  able  body  of  men. 
Several  of  his  associates  attained  eminence  in  political  life 
and  many  were  afterwards  distinguished  as  men  of  affairs. 
Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  men  interested  in  indus- 
trial education,  several  of  whom  afterwards  became  trustees 
of  the  College.  He  served  on  the  standing  committee  on 
education.  This  session  of  the  legislature  was  really  the 
turning  point  in  the  interests  of  the  College.  It  has  been 
said  by  one  who  had  ample  opportunity  to  know  whereof 
he  spoke,  Hon.  William  R.  Session,  who  was  then  serving 
as  Senator  and  who  was  for  many  years  Secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  a  trustee  of  the  College:  "I  am 
convinced  that  the  favorable  change  in  the  temper  of  the 
Massachusetts  legislature  toward  the  College,  which  set  in 
at  that  time  and  has  continued  ever  since,  was  very  largely 
due  to  President  Goodell's  influence  on  the  representative 
men  from  all  over  the  state,  with  whom  he  was  brought  in 
contact  during  that  season's  service  at  the  State  House." 

During  the  winter  South  College  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  the  friends  of  the  College  were  very  much  depressed ;  but 
Goodell  was  equal  to  the  exigencies  of  the  case.  He  se- 
cured the  necessary  appropriations  not  only  to  rebuild  and 


92  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

refit,  but  also  to  make  improvements  and  repairs,  amount- 
ing in  all  to  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This  was  a  large  sum 
for  those  times  and  a  great  triumph  when  we  consider  the 
feeling  against  the  College,  which  was  widespread  and  quite 
strong. 

From  that  time  Professor  Goodell  began  to  attract  the 
attention  of  men  interested  in  industrial  education.  When 
the  presidency  of  the  College  became  vacant,  one  of  the 
trustees,  on  his  way  to  Amherst,  happened  to  meet  at  Palmer 
the  Hon.  Levi  Stockbridge,  a  veteran  agriculturist  and  ex- 
perimenter, and  asked  him  whom  they  should  elect  as 
President?  Mr.  Stockbridge  replied  without  a  moment's 
hesitation:  "If  you  choose  Professor  Goodell  you  will  make 
no  mistake." 

On  the  death  of  President  Chadbourne  in  1883,  Professor 
Goodell  was  chosen  acting  president,  and  served  in  that 
capacity  from  February  to  September  of  that  year.  On  the 
retirement  of  President  Greenough,  three  years  later,  in 
1886,  he  was  elected  president.  He  was  very  reluctant  to 
accept  the  position,  but  finally  yielded  to  the  solicitation 
of  his  friends  and  the  friends  of  the  College;  but  he  looked 
upon  it  as  a  temporary  appointment  and  expected  to  be 
relieved  at  the  end  of  the  year,  if  not  before.  He  had  a  very 
modest  estimate  of  his  own  abilities  and  his  success  was 
always  a  mystery  to  him.  But  his  resources  were  greater 
than  he  knew  and  were  at  once  recognized  by  others.  His 
health  was  not  firm,  and  after  serving  for  about  nine  months 
he  sent  the  following  letter  to  the  trustees :  — 


EDUCATOR  93 

Amherst,  April  9,  1887. 

To  the  Honorable  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Mass. 
Agr'l  College:  — 

Gentlemen,  —  I  hereby  tender  my  resignation  of  the 
Presidency  of  the  Mass.  Agr'l  College,  to  take  effect  July 
1st,  1887.  When  you  did  me  the  honor  last  year  to  elect 
me  to  that  position,  I  hesitated  long  before  accepting  it, 
feeling  that  my  health  was  inadequate  to  the  responsibili- 
ties and  care  attending  it,  and  it  was  only  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  my  friends  that  I  yielded.  But  I  feel  that  my 
strength  will  not  permit  of  this  continued  drain  upon  it, 
and  that  it  is  merely  a  question  of  time  when  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  lay  down  these  duties.  I  therefore  tender 
my  resignation  now,  before  the  time  comes  when  I  can 
neither  be  a  credit  to  yourselves  nor  to  myself.  Thanking 
you  for  the  consideration  and  support  I  have  rec'd  at  your 
hands,  I  am, 

Very  faithfully  yours, 

Henry  H.  Goodell. 

The  letter  was  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  held 
June  22,  1887;  and  they  immediately  referred  the  whole 
matter  to  the  Committee  on  the  Course  of  Study  and 
Faculty,  to  confer  with  the  President  and  report  at  an  ad- 
journed meeting  of  the  board  to  be  called  together  at  the 
option  of  the  committee.  The  following  Resolutions  were 
then  presented  by  Mr.  Root  and  unanimously  adopted :  — 

"Whereas,  we  the  Trustees  of  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural College  one  year  ago  unanimously  elected  Prof. 
Henry  H.  Goodell  as  President  of  the  College;  and,  Whereas, 
President  Goodell  has  during  the  year  just  closed  performed 


94  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  many  and  arduous  duties  as  the  chief  executive  of  the 
Institution  with  rare  ability  and  eminent  success,  and  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  and  hearty  approval  of  this  Board,  and 
we  believe  of  the  entire  Faculty,  Alumni,  students  of  the 
College,  and  the  public  at  large;  and,  Whereas,  it  is  with 
the  most  sincere  regret  that  we  have  received  his  resigna- 
tion as  President  of  the  College,  expressing  a  desire  to  be 
relieved  from  the  Presidency  of  the  Institution,  therefore, 
Resolved,  That  we  as  trustees  most  earnestly  request 
that  President  Goodell  withdraw  his  resignation  and  con- 
tinue to  act  as  President  of  the  College,  in  which  position 
he  has  done  so  much  to  bring  it  into  complete,  successful, 
harmonious,  and  effective  working  condition  during  the 
past  year;  that  we  pledge  to  him  our  hearty  and  earnest 
support  in  the  future  as  in  the  past:  that  we  pledge  our- 
selves that  we  will  do  all  that  is  possible  to  release  him  from 
some  of  the  many  duties  that  now  rest  upon  him,  trusting 
he  will  consent  to  withdraw  his  resignation. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  June  19,  1888,  the  Com- 
mittee on  Course  of  Study  and  Faculty  reported  that  Presi- 
dent Goodell  had  consented  to  withdraw  his  resignation 
upon  the  following  terms:  That  he  be  relieved  from  the 
duty  of  instruction  in  declamation  and  composition  with- 
out increase  of  work  or  decrease  of  compensation  on  the 
part  of  any  other  member  of  the  Faculty.  This  proposi- 
tion was  agreed  to  and  President  Goodell  withdrew  his 
resignation. 

Even  with  this  amelioration  of  his  labors  the  position 
was  an  exceedingly  trying  one.  The  College  was  as  yet  an 
experiment  and  had  to  prove  its  right  to  be.  But  the  presi- 


EDUCATOR  95 

dent  was  equal  to  the  emergencies  as  they  came.  He  pos- 
sessed in  a  remarkable  degree  that  important  factor  in  deal- 
ing with  men  called  "tact."  There  was  little  of  the  dogmatic 
in  his  nature,  although  he  had  very  decided  opinions  of  his 
own  and  he  valued  them.  He  had  great  reverence  for  the 
past,  for  an  institution,  a  custom,  or  an  opinion 

That  carries  age  so  nobly  in  its  looks; 

but  with  all  he  was  progressive.  The  windows  of  his  mind 
were  opened  not  only  toward  Jerusalem  but  toward  all 
points  of  the  compass.  He  seems  to  have  followed,  perhaps 
unconsciously,  Lord  Bacon's  advice:  "Men  in  their  inno- 
vations should  follow  the  example  of  time  itself,  which  in- 
novateth  greatly,  but  quietly  and  by  degrees  scarce  to  be 
perceived." 

The  new  president  understood  the  situation  perfectly. 
The  College  was  in  a  state  whose  leading  industry  was 
manufacturing  and  whose  stingy  soil  could  not  compete 
with  the  plains  of  the  West.  The  first  enthusiasm  of  some 
of  its  early  friends  had  subsided.  The  air  was  pervaded  with 
the  chill  of  disappointment  and  the  proposition  was  made  to 
give  the  College  away.  He  knew  perfectly  well  that  it  would 
be  a  long  struggle  to  excite  any  enthusiasm  in  regard  to  it 
and  to  make  the  people  feel  its  importance  to  one  of  the 
industries  of  the  state.  For  long  years  he  worked  with  ex- 
uberant cheerfulness  and  unabated  enthusiasm,  facing  dis- 
couragements of  every  description.  Proper  buildings  and 
apparatus  were  wanted,  his  teachers  were  overworked  and 
underpaid,  new  problems  were  presenting  themselves  for 
which  he  was  not  prepared,  the  people  were  disappointed 
because  they  did  not  see  immediate  results  and  complained 


96  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

that  the  College  educated  men  away  from  the  farm  and  that 
comparatively  few  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity 
it  afforded  to  acquire  an  education.  But  he  so  managed 
affairs  as  to  have  the  support  and  encouragement  of  an  able 
and  wise  board  of  trustees,  who  had  confidence  in  him  and 
faith  in  the  mission  of  the  College,  and  he  was  backed  by  a 
corps  of  teachers  after  his  own  heart.  But  it  was  not  until 
1896,  twelve  years  after  he  assumed  the  presidency  that  he 
could  report  to  the  Governor  and  Council  that,  — 

"Reviewing  the  past,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  the  stage 
of  experiment  is  over  and  we  enter  upon  this  the  first  year  of 
its  fourth  decade  with  quickened  hope  that  from  a  broader 
foundation  the  College  will  continue  to  rise  and  fulfil  its 
mission  of  providing  that  'liberal  and  practical  education 
that  shall  fit  the  industrial  classes  for  the  several  pursuits 
and  professions  of  life.' " 

President  Goodell  believed  with  all  the  energy  of  his  in- 
tellectual and  moral  nature  that  behind  the  farmer  should 
be  the  educated  man.  Hence  he  was  anxious  to  maintain 
a  high  standard  of  scholarship.  But  the  class  from  which 
recruits  are  drawn  for  our  agricultural  colleges,  as  a  general 
rule,  is  not  the  same  as  that  which  recruits  our  classical 
schools.  A  season  of  stringency  in  the  money-market  makes 
no  perceptible  difference  in  the  number  of  students  at  our 
great  academic  institutions,  but  the  case  is  very  different 
with  the  agricultural  colleges.  Their  ranks  are  recruited 
from  families  which  often  have  little,  if  any,  reserve  capi- 
tal to  fall  back  upon,  and  in  times  of  stringency  are  com- 
pelled to  retain  their  sons  at  home,  or  recall  them  to  join 
the  army  of  bread-winners.  This  want  of  reserve  capital 
may  account  in  part  for  the  neglect  of  early  training  com- 


EDUCATOR  97 

plained  of  by  President  Goodell  in  one  of  his  reports  of  the 
number  of  young  men  who  had  presented  themselves  but 
failed  to  pass  the  required  examination.  He  remarks  that 
"the  ignorance  displayed  of  the  very  rudiments  of  grammar 
and  arithmetic  would  almost  lead  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  grammar  school  had  been  suppressed  throughout  the 
state." 

He  was  ever  anxious  to  make  the  College  useful  to  the 
people,  and  inaugurated,  as  its  means  would  permit,  courses 
of  study  for  those  who  wished  to  do  advanced  work,  and 
also  courses  of  instruction,  during  the  three  winter  months, 
in  practical  farming  for  those  who  could  not  take  the  full 
course;  and  for  these  courses  no  examination  was  required. 
The  growing  interest  of  women  in  agriculture  and  flori- 
culture led  to  courses  for  their  benefit. 

The  work  of  the  College  was  continually  increasing.  Ex- 
perimental work  of  great  importance  had  been  carried  on 
ever  since  its  establishment,  and  in  1882  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  Experiment  Station  was  organized,  with 
Dr.  C.  A.  Goessmann  as  director.  The  Hatch  Experiment 
Station,  under  the  direction  of  President  Goodell,  was 
organized  in  accordance  with  an  act  of  Congress  in  1888, 
as  the  Experiment  Department  of  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College.  The  two  stations  maintained  a  sepa- 
rate existence  until  1895,  when  they  were  united  under  the 
name  of  the  Hatch  Experiment  Station  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College,  under  the  directorship  of  Pre- 
sident H.  H.  Goodell. 

The  first  duty  of  the  new  president  was  to  let  the  people 
know  what  the  College  was  for,  and  how  it  would  affect 
them.  This  involved  an  immense  amount  of  work,  the  pre- 


98  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

paration  of  addresses,  traveling  to  every  corner  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  appearing  before  committees  of  the 
legislature.  In  his  addresses  on  agricultural  education  he 
had  an  apt  text  which  he  used  to  illustrate:  "How  can  he 
get  wisdom  that  holdeth  the  plow  and  glorieth  in  the  goad, 
that  driveth  oxen  and  is  occupied  in  their  labors,  and  whose 
talk  is  of  bullocks?" : —  and  in  answering  the  question  he 
adjusted  his  address  to  the  character  of  his  audience.  Many 
of  these  popular  addresses  in  the  early  days  of  his  presi- 
dency are  out  of  tune  with  the  spirit  of  to-day,  and  would 
excite  a  smile,  not  on  account  of  the  manner  of  handling 
the  subjects,  but  on  account  of  the  subjects  themselves. 
They  had  to  do  with  what  would  seem  to  us  the  petty  and 
trivial,  the  creatures  of  a  persistent  hostility  or  ignorant 
criticism.  It  seems  impossible  to-day  that  such  objections 
should  be  raised  against  such  an  institution;  but  they  had 
to  be  met  and  the  work  had  to  be  done  over  and  over 
again  for  years.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  him  to  meet  the  peo- 
ple and  answer  their  honest  questions,  but  men  soon  found 
that  it  was  not  safe  to  trifle  with  him.  Pages  might  be 
filled  with  smart  questions  intended  to  put  him  and  his 
cause  in  a  ludicrous  position ;  but  his  ready  wit  and  good- 
natured  replies  were  sure  to  turn  the  tables  on  the  ques- 
tioner and  leave  him  in  a  very  undesirable  situation. 

A  few  of  the  graduates  of  the  College  had  entered  the 
ministry,  and  the  chairman  of  one  of  the  committees  of  the 
Massachusetts  legislature  before  which  he  had  to  appear, 
said  to  him:  "I  notice  you  have  some  ministers  among 
your  graduates.  Will  you  please  tell  me  what  the  connec- 
tion is  between  agriculture  and  theology?" 

1  Wisdom  of  Jesus  the  Son  of  Sirach:  xxxviii,  25. 


EDUCATOR  99 

When  the  laugh  had  subsided,  in  which  he  undoubtedly 
joined,  President  Goodell  replied:  "I  have  just  received  a 
letter  from  one  of  these  ministers  in  which  he  says,  '  I  know 
of  no  more  perfect  illustration  of  original  sin  than  the  pus- 
ley  I  used  to  dig  on  the  college  farm.'" 

Of  course  the  relationship  between  agriculture  and  theo- 
logy was  settled  in  a  roar  of  laughter  at  the  expense  of  the 
chairman. 

President  Goodell  was  patient  in  dealing  with  the  limita- 
tions of  men,  but  persistent  in  meeting  their  objections. 
It  was  by  pressure  and  not  by  blows  that  he  carried  his 
point  and  made  his  mark  upon  his  hearers.  It  was  not  until 
after  years  of  discussion  that  he  could  feel  that  the  College 
had  passed  its  experimental  stage.  It  was  a  long  and  weary 
way,  but  he  was  bravely  supported  by  the  friends  of  the 
best  interests  of  the  people  and  of  civilization  itself.  Too 
little  credit  is  given  to  men  who  stand  for  an  institution 
devoted  to  the  benefit  of  those  who  do  not  wish  to  be  bene- 
fited in  the  only  way  in  which  their  situation  can  be  per- 
manently improved. 

His  annual  reports  are  a  striking  illustration  of  the  ever- 
widening  scope  of  the  work  he  was  doing.  In  the  first  report 
he  describes  briefly  the  actual  state  of  things,  the  improve- 
ments that  have  been  made,  and  the  pressing  wants  of  the 
College.  He  pleads  for  a  labor  fund  out  of  which  indigent 
students  could  be  paid  for  work  done.  "It  would  be,"  he 
says,  "one  of  the  noblest  of  charities.  It  would  not  sacri- 
fice the  students'  feeling  of  self-respect,  for  they  would  be 
giving  an  honest  equivalent  for  money  received."  He  calls 
attention  to  the  changes  in  the  course  of  studies,  "to  carry 
out  more  fully  the  intention  of  the  original  bill,  to  give  a 


■ 


100  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

thorough  practical  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  horticul- 
ture and  at  the  same  time  liberally  educate  the  man."  More 
time  is  to  be  devoted  "to  the  study  of  one's  mother  tongue  " ; 
and  in  this  connection  he  adds:  "Too  much  value  cannot 
be  placed  upon  the  Library.  It  is  now  only  the  nucleus  of 
what  it  ought  to  be,  and  a  thousand  dollars  should  be  ex- 
pended at  once  in  furnishing  the  latest  scientific  works  in 
the  several  departments." 

In  his  next  report  we  have  a  new  feature.  A  list  is  given 
of  some  thirty  lectures  by  experts,  not  connected  with  the 
College,  on  various  subjects,  ranging  from  the  nebular  hy- 
pothesis and  evolution  to  the  various  breeds  of  cattle  and 
the  culture  of  bees.  The  labor  fund  is  again  presented,  with 
such  force  and  cogency  of  reasoning  that  it  did  not  escape 
the  attention  of  the  legislators^  The  culture  of  "one's 
mother  tongue"  is  again  emphasized:  "A  knowledge  of 
English  composition,  the  power  of  adequately  expressing 
thought  in  words,  lies  at  the  base  of  all  education."  An- 
other appeal  is  made  for  the  library:  "'Gyf  to  ye  foke  ye 
beste  and  muche  of  it  and  they  will  stomak  no  thing  else,* 
is  as  true  now  as  when  penned  well  nigh  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago." 

These  annual  reports  are  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
practical  nature  of  the  man  and  his  growing  breadth  of 
view.  With  one  or  two  exceptions  they  were  accepted  and 
adopted,  without  change,  as  the  report  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees. 

This  may  be  a  fit  place  to  introduce  some  account  of 
President  Goodell's  ideas  of  the  functions  of  an  agricult- 
ural college.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  mechanic  arts, 
as  provided  for  in  the  Morrill  Act,  were  taught  in  the  Massa- 


EDUCATOR  101 

chusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  which  shared  in  the  funds 
allowed  the  Commonwealth  by  the  national  government. 
By  this  arrangement  the  College  was  left  to  teach  what 
pertains  to  agriculture.  At  the  tenth  annual  convention  of 
the  Association  of  American  Agricultural  and  Experiment 
Stations,  held  in  the  City  of  Washington,  November  12, 
1896,  four  college  presidents  from  different  parts  of  the 
country  were  appointed  to  discuss  the  question,  "What 
should  be  taught  in  our  Colleges  of  Agriculture? '!  In  these 
papers  the  individuality  of  the  writers  stands  out  clearly, 
and  in  none  more  prominently  than  in  the  paper  presented 
by  the  representative  from  Massachusetts.  President 
Goodell  presented  the  subject  as  it  had  been  developed  at 
Amherst,  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  his  address  printed 
in  this  volume.  It  is  to  be  noticed  that,  in  his  schedule  of 
studies,  he  made  English  an  important  factor  in  fitting  a 
man  to  be  a  farmer.  Some  of  the  speakers  dismissed  the 
subject  at  the  end  of  the  first  year,  while  he  carried  it 
through  the  whole  course.  His  reason  for  this  is  thus  co- 
gently stated:  "The  student's  mind  being  brought  in  con- 
tact with  the  great  minds  that  have  adorned  the  pages  of 
American  and  English  history,  his  mind,  his  powers  are 
quickened  and  developed  thereby,  his  mental  horizon  is 
enlarged,  and  thus  a  most  important  educational  advantage 
is  secured." 

Dr.  E.  W.  Allen,  Assistant  Director  in  the  Office  of  Ex- 
periment Stations  at  Washington,  and  a  graduate  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  in  a  private  letter, 
which  he  has  kindly  allowed  to  be  published,  has  summed 
up  the  whole  subject  of  President  Goodell's  ideas  of  agricul- 
tural education,  in  a  most  admirable  way,  as  will  be  seen 


102  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

by  comparing  the  letter  with  the  address  above  referred  to. 
Dr.  Allen  writes :  — 

"Among  President  Goodell's  services  to  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College  it  seems  to  me  none  have  been 
more  far-reaching  than  the  high  educational  ideals  which 
he  contended  for.  He  never  forgot  that  the  institution  was 
a  college,  and  not  a  farm  school;  that  its  prime  object  was 
the  education  of  men  for  real  life  —  not  merely  the  giving 
of  superficial  training,  which  would  make  its  graduates 
simply  skilled  technicians.  He  contended  that  the  college 
must  teach  facts  and  principles  as  well  as  things,  and  that 
the  true  agricultural  education  rescues  man  from  the  rule-of - 
thumb  only  as  it  gives  him  an  intellectual  grasp  of  his  sub- 
ject and  the  ability  to  use  knowledge  with  discrimination. 

"To  him  more  than  to  any  other  single  man,  it  seems  to 
me,  is  due  the  high  conception  of  the  educational  aims  of 
the  College  which  have  prevailed  almost  from  the  first,  and 
which  have  differentiated  it  quite  sharply  from  most  of  the 
agricultural  colleges.  To  understand  the  courage  which 
this  required  it  is  necessary  to  realize  the  wave  of  enthusi- 
asm which  has  swept  over  the  country  for  the  more  super- 
ficial kinds  of  instruction  at  these  colleges.  This  superfi- 
cial instruction,  which  dealt  with  things  mainly  rather  than 
with  principles,  and  gave  a  minimum  of  attention  to  the 
general  educational  features,  was  spectacular  and  attract- 
ive to  the  uneducated  man,  and  from  its  popularity  rather 
than  its  pedagogic  value  it  came  to  be  adopted  very  widely. 
The  Massachusetts  College  stood  almost  alone  in  its  per- 
sistency in  holding  to  some  of  the  old  ideas  of  education, 
and  the  wisdom  of  its  course  is  every  year  becoming  more 
evident. 


EDUCATOR  103 

"Aside  from  this  very  potent  influence  in  holding  the 
college  to  a  high  education  standard,  it  is  difficult  to  enume- 
rate his  special  services  to  the  institution,  they  were  so  many 
and  so  varied.  I  think  he  more  than  any  other  man  con- 
tributed to  an  esprit  de  corps  among  the  students  and  the 
alumni.  For  many  years  he  gave  much  time  to  keeping  in 
contact  with  the  graduates,  purely  as  a  voluntary  under- 
taking, and  he  made  many  of  them  feel  what  they  really 
owed  to  the  college.  The  vast  amount  of  work  which  he  put 
upon  the  college  library  resulted  in  the  building  up  of  the 
best  selected  and  arranged  agricultural  library  in  this  coun- 
try, which  I  think  is  only  surpassed  at  the  present  time  by 
the  Library  of  the  National  Department  of  Agriculture 
It  is  his  most  conspicuous  monument. 

"  In  his  plans  for  organization  and  development  President 
Goodell  built  symmetrically,  aiming  to  develop  the  vari- 
ous departments  uniformly,  rather  than  one  or  two  de- 
partments at  the  expense  of  all  others.  He  was  exceedingly 
just  and  broad  in  his  sympathies  with  all  departments  of 
the  institution,  believing  that  each  had  its  place  and  that 
together  they  made  a  strong,  symmetrical  whole .  His  policy 
seemed  to  be  to  give  quite  large  liberty  to  the  heads  of 
departments  in  order  that  they  might  have  the  inspiration 
of  the  field,  and  to  hold  them  accountable  for  the  results. 
He  stamped  upon  all  the  necessity  for  a  clear  and  definite 
plan,  and  for  thoroughness  in  all  that  was  undertaken." 

After  the  establishment  in  1886  of  the  Hatch  Experiment 
Stations  in  connection  with  the  land-grant  colleges,  it 
became  at  once  apparent  to  the  leaders  of  agricultural 
education,  that  cooperative  action  was  necessary  to  secure 
the  best  results,  not  only  in  work  but  in  legislation.  It  was 


104  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

felt  that  if  they  could  go  to  Congress  as  a  body,  they  would 
have  more  influence  than  they  would  if  colleges  presented 
their  cases  singly.  To  this  end  an  association  of  the  execu- 
tive officers  of  these  institutions  was  formed,  called  the 
American  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experi- 
ment Stations.  With  this  very  important  movement  Presi- 
dent Goodell  was  intimately  connected  from  the  beginning. 
The  confidence  reposed  in  his  judgment  and  abilities  is  best 
illustrated  by  the  positions  of  responsibility  assigned  to  him 
by  his  associates.  Here  it  will  be  sufficient  to  cite  the  testi- 
mony of  two  of  his  fellow  workers.  The  editor  of  the  Ex- 
periment Station  Record,  in  the  June  number  for  1905, 
gives  the  following  account  of  his  relations  with  the  associ- 
ation: — 

"With  the  organization  of  the  agricultural  colleges  and 
experiment  stations  of  the  country  into  an  association, 
President  Goodell  became  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  na- 
tional association,  and  was  prominently  identified  with  all 
the  movements  supported  by  it  during  the  first  fifteen  years 
of  its  existence.  He  was  a  member  of  its  executive  commit- 
tee from  1888  to  1902,  and  for  the  last  eight  years  of  that 
period  was  chairman.  As  a  member  of  that  committee  he 
had  a  prominent  part  in  securing  the  legislation  leading  to 
the  establishment  of  agricultural  experiment  stations  in 
every  state  and  territory,  and  the  further  endowment  of  the 
land-grant  colleges. 

"As  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  he  devoted 
much  time  to  the  business  of  the  association  and  to  looking 
after  the  interests  of  the  institutions  represented  in  it.  He 
was  conservative  in  his  action,  and  his  management  helped 
to  economize  the  time  of  the  association  and  to  make  its 


EDUCATOR  105 

meetings  effective.  He  urged  a  strict  interpretation  of  the 
Morrill  and  Hatch  acts,  and  a  careful  use  of  the  privileges 
conferred  by  them.  He  pointed  out  the  dangers  to  the  col- 
lege and  station  funds  of  legislation  which  reduced  the  in- 
come from  the  sale  of  public  lands :  and  his  committee  was 
instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  in  1900  of  a  clause  pro- 
viding that,  if  at  any  time  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  pub- 
lic lands  should  be  insufficient  to  meet  the  annual  appropri- 
ations for  the  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  the  same 
should  be  paid  from  any  funds  in  the  Treasury,  thus  plac- 
ing these  funds  on  a  sure  foundation. 

"President  Goodell  was  President  of  the  Association  of 
American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations 
in  1891,  being  the  third  to  hold  that  office.  His  address  be- 
fore the  convention  of  that  year  dealt  with  some  of  the 
achievements  of  the  agricultural  experimentation  and  the 
guiding  principles  underlying  it.  It  led  up  to  an  apprecia- 
tion of  the  work  of  the  Rothamsted  Experiment  Station, 
concluding  with  the  presentation  of  Dr.  R.  Warington, 
who  came  as  the  first  representative  of  the  English  station 
to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures  under  the  provisions  of  the 
Lawes  trust.  Two  years  later,  when  Sir  Henry  Gilbert 
came  to  this  country  on  a  similar  mission,  President 
Goodell  arranged  to  have  these  classic  lectures  delivered 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege, the  pressure  of  other  business  making  it  impractica- 
ble for  more  than  an  introduction  to  them  to  be  delivered 
at  the  meeting  of  the  association." 

In  an  address  delivered  at  the  request  of  the  association, 
President  W.  E.  Stone  of  Purdue  University,  Indiana,  gives 
the  following  account  of  his  work :  — 


106  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

"In  the  work  of  this  association,  and  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  foundations  of  the  land-grant  colleges  and  ex- 
periment stations,  President  Goodell  had  an  important  and 
almost  unique  part.  A  full  comprehension  of  this  can  only 
be  had  by  those  who  shared  with  him  these  labors.  With  the 
passage  of  the  Hatch  Act  it  became  apparent  that  an  organ- 
ization of  the  executive  officers  of  these  institutions  was  a 
necessity.  The  attention  of  Congress  could  be  secured  only 
by  the  presentation  of  matters  of  national  scope  in  concrete 
and  unified  form.  The  plan  of  education  and  research 
mapped  out  for  the  land-grant  colleges  was  too  broad, 
varied  and  comprehensive,  and  too  vital,  to  permit  of  its 
development  without  organized  direction.  It  was  necessary 
on  more  than  one  occasion  to  urge  upon  departments  of  the 
government  a  consideration  of  conditions  which  led  to  fair 
and  beneficial  rulings  with  regard  to  these  institutions.  The 
questions  of  jurisdiction  and  of  the  relations  between  the 
separate  institutions  and  governmental  departments  were, 
and  have  ever  been,  of  greatest  importance.  The  heads  of 
these  colleges  were  pushing  out  into  new  and  unexplored 
regions,  and  felt  the  need  of  mutual  aid  and  advice.  All  of 
these  considerations  emphasized  to  Goodell  and  his  col- 
leagues the  necessity  of  an  association  for  mutual  aid  and 
protection,  as  well  as  for  the  general  advancement  of  the 
interests  to  which  these  institutions  were  devoted.  In  the 
organization  of  this  association  he  was  a  moving  spirit,  and 
in  its  subsequent  work  always  an  active  participant.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  from  1888  to  1902,  and 
during  the  last  eight  years  of  this  time  was  chairman  of  the 
same.  In  this  capacity  he  labored  untiringly,  not  only  in 
the  broader  duties  of  the  position,  but  in  multitudinous  de- 


EDUCATOR  107 

tails  which  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  organization. 
One  can  recall  distinctly  his  methods  of  preparing  and  pre- 
senting the  business  of  the  association  in  a  complete  and 
finished  manner,  which  expedited  the  routine  of  its  work, 
even  at  the  cost  of  apparent  officiousness  on  his  part.  His 
rare  tact  and  insight  into  human  nature ;  his  broad  outlook 
upon  the  field  of  agricultural  education;  his  wide  know- 
ledge of  public  men,  and  thorough  familiarity  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  land-grant  college  movement,  fitted  him  for  the 
place  of  leader  in  the  work  of  the  executive  committee  and 
enabled  him  to  render  inestimable  service. 

'The  attention  of  Congress  and  of  governmental  depart- 
ments has  been  favorably  moulded  by  the  wisdom  and  firm- 
ness of  this  committee.  The  threatening  danger  to  the  Fed- 
eral appropriation  for  the  colleges  and  experiment  stations, 
through  the  gradual  diversion  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
public  lands,  was  foreseen  and  averted  through  his  efforts 
and  leadership  in  securing  protective  legislation  in  1900. 
His  conservative  and  wise  but  energetic  action  averted 
many  dangers  and  laid  foundations  which  will  sustain  our 
institutions  for  a  long  time  to  come.  That  we  have  passed 
through  this  period  of  development  so  safely  is  due  to  a 
strong  organization  and  able  leaders,  among  whom  Henry 
Hill  Goodell  stands  conspicuous.  To  few,  if  any,  of  these 
do  the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations  owe 
a  greater  debt  than  to  him." 

President  Stone,  in  the  address  just  quoted,  remarks  that 
President  Goodell  took  so  important  a  part  in  the  delibera- 
tions of  the  association  as  almost  to  expose  him  to  the  sus- 
picion of  being  officious.  At  one  of  the  annual  meetings  in 
Washington,  besides  delivering  an  address,  he  is  reported 


108  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

to  have  been  on  his  feet  some  twenty-five  times,  not  how- 
ever to  make  a  speech,  but  to  make  a  brief  explanation  of 
the  action  of  the  executive  committee,  to  call  attention  to 
pending  business,  or  to  suggest  new  business  prepared  by 
the  committee.  It  is  said  that  a  new  member,  then  present, 
asked,  with  perhaps  pardonable  irreverence,  "Who  is  that 
little  cuss  who  seems  to  run  the  whole  business?" 

From  the  nature  of  the  case  it  is  difficult  to  get  a  clear 
idea  of  the  work  of  the  executive  committee,  but  this  at 
least  is  certain,  it  must  have  been  very  onerous.1  A  single 
item  will  throw  a  little  light  on  the  subject.  President  Good- 
ell  in  one  of  his  reports  incidentally  notes  the  fact  that  the 
committee  had  written  383  letters  during  the  year  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  association.  They  prepared  the  business  to  be 
submitted,  made  reports  of  what  they  had  done,  and  re- 
commended measures  that  would  be  of  advantage  to  the 
colleges  and  experiment  stations,  which  often  required  the 
accumulation  of  a  good  many  data  and  much  hard  thinking. 
They  also  kept  a  sharp  watch  on  the  national  legislation. 
This  brought  them  into  close  connection  with  almost  every 
department  of  the  national  government,  and  called  upon 
them  to  appear  before  many  committees  and  joint  commit- 
tees of  the  House  and  the  Senate. 

A  single  illustration  will  give  some  idea  of  their  work,  at 
least  so  far  as  legislation  is  concerned.  For  some  years  after 
the  passage  of  the  first  Morrill  Act  in  1862,  the  public  lands 
were  a  subject  of  great  anxiety  to  the  executive  committee, 

1  As  an  illustration  of  the  nature  of  the  business  that  came  before  the 
executive  committee  and  of  the  chairman's  way  of  presenting  it,  the  re- 
port of  the  committee  to  the  twelfth  convention,  1898,  is  given  in  this 
volume. 


EDUCATOR  109 

for  Congress  was  prone  to  devote  the  income  accruing  from 
their  sale  to  other  purposes  than  that  to  which  they  were 
devoted  by  that  act,  —  the  cause  of  agricultural  and  me- 
chanical education,  —  and  it  was  foreseen  that  the  revenue 
from  that  source  would  soon  be  exhausted  and  that  the  col- 
leges and  experiment  stations  would  be  left  without  the 
income  upon  which  their  usefulness  and  life  depended. 

To  save  the  colleges  and  experiment  stations  from  utter 
ruin,  Senator  Morrill  presented  in  1890  a  bill  known  as  the 
Second  Morrill  Act,  which  provided  that  the  annuity  to 
these  institutions  should  be  paid  from  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States.  To  secure  the  passage  of  such  a  bill  a  great 
variety  of  opinions  and  interests  had  to  be  reconciled. 
There  is  many  a  pitfall  in  the  way  of  a  bill  through  Con- 
gress. After  the  friends  of  this  bill  thought  their  work  was 
done  and  were  resting  upon  their  oars,  Senator  Morrill 
informed  President  Goodell  of  the  situation  as  follows :  — 

Washington,  D.  C,  June  16,  1890. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  As  you  may  perhaps  have  seen,  I  at- 
tempted to  get  up  the  College  Bill  on  Saturday  last  but 
had  to  consent  to  its  going  over  until  Thursday  next.  I 
find  that  there  are  various  amendments  to  be  proposed. 
Alabama  wants  one  to  take  care  of  a  colored  institution 
established  by  the  state,  and  I  regret  to  say  your  Senator 
Hoar  desires  to  put  in  some  provisions  so  that  he  can  get 
in  an  institution  at  Worcester,  I  suppose  of  some  techni- 
cal or  mechanical  character,  and  this  I  very  much  regret. 
I  think  your  institution  ought  to  have  the  whole  of  the 
appropriation  as  well  as  all  others,  for  I  do  not  want  to 
raise  the  question  in  all  the  states  as  to  where  the  addi- 


110  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

tional  endowment  should  go.    It  would  be  well  for  you  to 
do  everything  you  can. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Justin  S.  Morrill. 

While  this  bill  was  pending,  another  subject  came  up,  of 
great  importance  to  the  land-grant  colleges,  —  the  proposi- 
tion to  establish  schools  of  mines  and  mining.  It  was  a  very 
popular  movement.  The  executive  committee  of  the  asso- 
ciation at  once  caused  a  bill  to  be  drawn  to  connect  these 
schools  with  the  colleges  in  such  a  way  "as  to  secure  the 
most  desirable  end  of  maximum  advantage  at  a  minimum 
of  expense."  The  bill  was  in  charge  of  Senator  Tillman  of 
South  Carolina,  who  was  very  much  interested  in  it.  Every- 
thing seemed  to  be  going  well  for  a  time,  but  objection  soon 
came  to  the  front  and  the  Senator  wrote  to  President  Good- 
ell  on  April  26,  1900,  as  follows:  — 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  have  your  letter  of  April  25th.  I  have 
been  looking  out  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  call  up  the 
bill,  but  as  yet  have  not  seen  one.  Hale  of  Maine  is  opposed 
and  I  think  will  "object,"  and  Senator  Allison  of  Iowa  also 
told  me  this  morning  that  it  was  a  serious  matter  and 
he  would  have  to  consider  it  before  he  would  be  willing  to 
allow  it  to  go  to  a  vote.  Urge  your  friends  to  press  the  mat- 
ter upon  Senators  from  their  states.  I  am  practically  cer- 
tain there  will  be  a  majority  for  it  if  we  can  get  a  vote  on 
the  question,  but  you  know  when  objection  is  made  it  pre- 
vents present  consideration.  I  shall  let  no  grass  grow  under 
my  feet  as  soon  as  I  return  from  the  West,  whither  I  start 
to-night  to  be  gone  until  Monday. 

Yours  truly,  B.  R.  Tillman. 


EDUCATOR  111 

In  his  report  next  year  to  the  association,  President 
Goodell  thus  describes  the  result:  "An  old  Norse  proverb 
runs  'The  must-be  goes  ever  as  it  should-be.'  The  bill  es- 
tablishing schools  of  mines  and  mining  in  connection  with 
the  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts  has  evidently  not  been  a  must-be,  for  it  has  gone  ever 
as  it  should  not";  and  he  adds:  "The  situation  was  such 
that  it  required  the  presence  of  the  entire  committee  in 
Washington  four  times,  and  individual  members  ten  and 
twelve  times." 

But  at  this  session  of  Congress  a  great  victory  was  won 
for  the  land-grant  colleges  by  the  passage  of  the  Second 
Morrill  Act,  and  Senator  Morrill  from  his  home  in  Ver- 
mont wrote  President  Goodell  a  letter  which  tells  its  own 

story. 

Strafford,  Vermont,  Aug.  31,  1890. 

My  dear  Sir,  —  Please  accept  my  cordial  acknowledge- 
ments for  the  valuable  aid  you  rendered  in  promoting  the 
passage  of  the  Agricultural  College  Bill.  A  veto  would 
seem  impossible,  but  I  have  not  yet  noticed  that  the  Presi- 
dent has  signed  the  bill. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Justin  S.  Morrill. 
Pres.  Goodell 

Mass.  Agric.  College, 
Amherst,  Mass. 

As  president  of  the  Agricultural  College  President  Goodell 
was  ex-officio  a  member  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture, 
and  as  such  always  attended  the  meetings  of  the  board, 
served  on  committees  and  was,  during  his  entire  connection 


112  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

with  the  board,  a  member  of  the  standing  committee  on 
Institutes  and  Public  Meetings.  This  involved  the  selection 
of  subjects  for  discussion,  and  his  wide  and  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  men  eminent  in  agricultural  matters  helped 
materially  in  selecting  and  procuring  speakers.  During  the 
ten  years  that  the  campaign  against  the  gypsy  moth  was 
carried  on  by  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  he  made  many 
arguments  in  favor  of  appropriations  for  the  extermination 
of  the  pest.  He  eloquently  warned  the  legislators  of  the  re- 
sults of  a  cessation  of  the  work,  and  the  present  condition 
of  the  war  and  its  heavy  cost  are  sufficient  proof  of  the 
wisdom  of  his  unheeded  warning. 

The  real  position  of  President  Goodell  in  the  estimation 
of  his  fellow  citizens  is  perhaps  as  well  stated  as  it  could  be 
in  the  following  letter  of  introduction  to  President  Cleve- 
land from  His  Excellency,  Governor  Russell :  — 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts, 
Executive  Department,  Boston,  Jan.  9,  1893. 

Hon.  Grover  Cleveland,  New  York. 

My  dear  Mr.  Cleveland,  —  Mr.  H.  H.  Goodell, 
President  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  has 
been  appointed  by  the  association  of  agricultural  colleges 
of  the  country  as  a  committee  of  one  to  wait  upon  you  and 
lay  before  you  its  views  in  reference  to  making  the  office  of 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  a  per- 
manent office,  and  to  suggest  the  name  of  Major  Alvord  as 
their  candidate  for  the  position. 

I  am  very  glad  to  say  that  Mr.  Goodell  is  a  man  of  the 
highest  character  and  position  here  in  Massachusetts, 
thoroughly  fearless  and  independent  in  his  views  of  polit- 


EDUCATOR  113 

ical  and  public  questions,  and  one  who  has  been  most  suc- 
cessful as  the  head  of  a  great  institution.  His  views  upon 
a  question  of  this  nature  are  entitled,  and  I  am  sure  will 
receive,  careful  consideration. 

As  I  have  known  Major  Alvord  for  some  years  as  a  most 
able  and  uncompromising  Democrat,  I  cannot  refrain  from 
speaking  a  word  of  recommendation  in  his  behalf. 

I  have  not,  nor  had  I  intended  to,  bother  you  with  re- 
commendations of  candidates  for  office.  While  scores  of 
men  apply  to  me  for  recommendations  I  have  uniformly 
refrained  from  giving  them,  because  it  seemed  to  me  that 
you  were  already  sufficiently  beset  with  matters  of  this 
character. 

With  kind  regards,  I  am, 

Sincerely  yours, 

William  E.  Russell. 

As  the  natural  result  of  overwork  and  the  burden  of  the 
great  experiment  he  was  carrying,  which  pressed  very 
heavily  for  years,  admonitions  came,  of  a  very  serious  na- 
ture. His  health  while  in  college  seemed  to  have  been  good, 
and  according  to  his  account  improved  during  his  service 
in  the  army.  But  after  going  to  Amherst  weaknesses  de- 
veloped of  so  serious  a  character  as  to  demand  periods  of 
entire  rest.  As  early  as  1880  he  was  in  the  Adirondacks  from 
June  4  until  deep  into  September;  the  next  year  he  went 
to  Georgia  for  two  months ;  the  following  year  he  made  a 
flying  trip  to  Europe  with  his  brother,  Dr.  William  Goodell, 
visiting  France  and  the  Netherlands;  in  1887  he  resigned 
the  presidency  of  the  college  on  account  of  his  health;  in 
1891  he  went  to  England;  early  in  1894  he  was  obliged  to 


114  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

submit  to  an  operation  for  appendicitis,  and  in  July  went 
abroad  with  family  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Gil- 
man  Stanton  of  Winchester,  Mass.,  but  was  home  again 
the  last  of  August;  in  1903  he  went  to  Nassau  and  Florida, 
and  in  1905  to  Florida.  The  last  three  years  of  his  life  he 
was  obliged  to  wear  a  corset,  or  as  he  called  it  "a  harness, " 
for  osteo-arthritis.  His  life  was  one  long  fight  with  disease, 
but  the  moment  there  was  any  improvement  in  his  condi- 
tion, he  was  back  at  his  post,  for  he  felt  that  a  necessity 
was  upon  him  and  he  must  work.  His  indomitable  energy 
could  not  be  restrained,  and  he  never  knew  how  to  hus- 
band his  strength.  The  talent  of  repose  was  denied  him. 
He  could  not  do  nothing;  he  could  not  lie  by. 

The  trustees  of  the  College  did  everything  in  their  power 
to  relieve  him  of  work.  They  voted  him  vacations  without 
loss  of  salary;  and  when  he  was  elected  chairman  of  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  of  the  Association  of  Agricultural  Col- 
leges and  Experiment  Stations,  they  allowed  him  the  neces- 
sary time  to  attend  to  those  duties,  which  often  required 
long  absences  from  the  college;  as  in  the  case  of  the  Second 
Morrill  Act  in  1890,  when  he  was  in  Washington  most  of 
the  time  for  more  than  two  months.  These  are  only  illus- 
trations, among  many,  of  their  thoughtfulness. 

Some  account  may  now  be  given  of  four  of  his  enforced 
pauses,  the  only  ones  of  which  any  record  is  left.  He  sailed 
for  England  August  31,1891,  in  company  with  his  wife, 
who  remained  with  him  at  Southampton  until  October  11, 
when  she  returned  to  America,  as  he  was  sufficiently  re- 
covered to  be  left  alone.   On  October  13  he  wrote:  — 

"I  skipped  down  to  the  island  of  Jersey  for  four  or  five 
days,  and  took  notes  which  I  hope  to  work  up  into  a  lecture 


EDUCATOR  115 

sometime.  It  was  a  most  enjoyable  trip  and  a  unique  one 
to  me.  I  went  round  among  the  farmers  and  saw  the  cattle 
at  home.  I  was  lucky  in  going  with  a  man  who  has  im- 
ported Jerseys  for  over  fifty  years,  and  he  took  me  round 
with  him  on  his  buying  trips.  It  was  about  as  instructive 
and  pleasant  a  trip  as  I  ever  took.  Sunday  I  attended 
service  in  a  church  about  eight  hundred  years  old.  The 
English  garrison  marched  in  in  full  regimentals  and  the 
music  was  by  the  full  band.  You  can't  think  how  it  echoed 
and  rolled  around  in  the  stone  arches.  It  happened  to  be 
Harvest  Home  festival  and  the  church  was  filled  with  flow- 
ers, fruits  and  vegetables." 

A  lecture  entitled  "The  Agriculture  of  the  Channel 
Islands  "  was  prepared  on  his  return  to  America,  and  is  given 
in  this  volume. 

From  London,  November  11,  he  wrote:  "I  am,  I  hope, 
entirely  recovered.  Have  pulled  up  steadily  ever  since  I 
left  America  and  hope  before  long  to  be  turning  my  face 
towards  the  States."  But  his  hope  of  recovery  was  not  to 
be  realized. 

During  his  visit  to  England  in  1894,  he  was  very  much 
interested  at  Oxford  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  at  Stratford 
in  everything  pertaining  to  Shakespeare,  and  in  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  in  Carisbrooke  Castle,  now  mostly  in  ruins,  with 
its  historical  associations,  its  foundation  going  back  to 
Saxon  times,  its  keep  of  Norman  times,  its  walls  and  tower 
of  the  thirteenth  century,  and  its  residential  buildings 
added  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  Here  King  Charles  I 
spent  a  year,  a  prisoner  of  the  Parliament,  scheming  to 
pair  off  the  Parliament  against  the  army,  and  made  his  last 
move  on  the  checkerboard  of  Fate,  in  an  attempt  to  bring 


116  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

a  Scottish  army  into  England,  which  led  to  his  trial,  and, 
as  Oliver  Cromwell  said,  to  the  "cruel  necessity"  of  his 
execution. 

In  the  year  1895  came  a  period  of  terrible  and  torturing 
anxieties,  which  made  his  life,  for  months,  an  awful  night- 
mare, bristling  with  horrors.  The  son  of  a  missionary,  he 
knew  something  of  the  exposures  of  a  missionary,  even  in 
the  near  East.  He  had  a  sister  in  Armenia  with  her  family, 
who  was  particularly  exposed,  as  her  husband  was  a  mis- 
sionary. He  knew  the  character  of  the  Armenians  and  of 
the  wild  tribes  of  the  mountains,  and  the  character  of 
the  Sultan,  Abd-ul  Hamid  II,  "the  assassin,"  as  Gladstone 
called  him.  When  the  Sultan  let  loose  the  savage  Kurds  and 
supported  them  with  Turkish  soldiers,  inspired  by  Moslem 
fanaticism,  upon  a  clever  and  industrious,  but  unpopular 
and  unwarlike  people,  Goodell  knew  full  well  what  would 
be  the  result,  and  his  imagination  pictured  such  scenes 
as  Milton  described  as  taking  place  in  the  valleys  of  Pied- 
mont, two  hundred  and  forty  years  before.  "Atrocity," 
says  the  great  poet,  "horrible  and  before  unheard  of! 
Such  savagery  —  Good  God,  were  all  the  Neros  of  all  times 
and  all  ages  to  come  to  life  again,  what  a  shame  they  would 
feel  at  having  contrived  nothing  equally  inhuman!" 

He  not  only  prepared  an  address,  which  was  published, 
but  he  appealed  to  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth  to 
use  his  influence  with  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and 
addressed  letters  to  influential  members  of  Congress.  But 
nothing  came  of  it.  The  great  powers,  for  one  reason  or 
another,  declined  to  interfere.  But  the  next  year  came 
the  Turkish  St.  Bartholomew  Day,  or  days,  in  the  streets  of 
Constantinople,  and  Lord  Salisbury,  then  at  the  head  of 


EDUCATOR  117 

the  British  Government,  "solemnly  and  publicly  warned 
the  Sultan  of  the  consequences  of  his  misgovernment  and 
suggested  the  eventual  necessity  of  the  employment  of 
force."  Happily  GoodelPs  sister  and  her  family  escaped  the 
brutalities  they  were  obliged  to  witness. 

Amid  all  his  trials  he  had  many  things  to  cheer  him.  At 
Commencement,  1897,  he  was  presented  with  a  very  large 
and  beautiful  loving  cup,  with  the  following  inscription: 
"By  the  Alumni  and  Former  Students  of  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  College,  June  22,  1897.  In  recognition  of 
Thirty  Years  of  Faithful  Service  to  our  Alma  Mater,  and 
in  loving  remembrance  as  a  friend  and  teacher."  It  was  a 
tribute  he  greatly  appreciated,  and  he  could  not  speak  of 
it  without  emotion. 

In  the  fall  of  1902  it  became  alarmingly  apparent  to  his 
friends  that  his  condition  was  critical  and  demanded  im- 
mediate attention,  although  it  did  not  seem  so  to  him.  He 
thought  that  if  he  could  get  away  for  a  week  or  two,  it  would 
do  him  a  world  of  good,  but  he  did  not  see  how  even  that 
was  possible.  His  friends,  however,  so  arranged  matters 
that  there  could  be  no  reasonable  excuse  on  his  part,  and 
one  of  them,  Colonel  Mason  W.  Tyler  of  Plainfield,  N.  J., 
offered  to  relieve  him  of  any  financial  difficulty.  This  move- 
ment was  generously  seconded  by  the  trustees,  who  unani- 
mously voted  him  leave  of  absence  without  loss  of  salary. 
When  he  was  informed  of  what  was  going  on,  he  expressed 
at  least  a  part  of  his  feelings  in  the  following  letters. 

Amherst,  Mass.,  December  18,  1902. 

My  dear  Blessed  Mason,  —  Truly  am  I  blessed  above 
all  others  in  my  friends.  Stebs  has  just  sent  me  your  generous 


118  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

offer,  but  I  cannot  accept  it,  much  as  I  would  like  to.  My 
annual  report  to  the  legislature  is  due  in  about  two  weeks, 
I  have  only  just  commenced  it.  Then  I  shall  have  three  bills 
in  the  legislature  whose  wild  career  must  be  watched  over. 
After  that,  if  I  could  get  away  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  it 
would  greatly  build  me  up.  I  have  had  a  little  whack  of 
bronchitis  and  to-day  was  out  for  the  first  time.  So  you 
see  I  am  improving  and  my  back,  under  the  gentle  treat- 
ment of  a  corset,  is  slowly  limbering  up. 
Heaven  bless  you  for  your  kindly  thoughts  of  me. 

Affectionately, 

Your  Dad. 

A  few  days  later,  when  the  whole  scheme  was  revealed 
to  him,  he  wrote :  — 

Amherst,  Mass.,  December  23,  1902. 

My  dear  Mason,  —  They  say  corporations  have  no 
souls.  I  am  beginning  to  doubt  it.  The  committee  of 
trustees  with  whom  for  six  months  I  have  been  a  co-worker 
met  last  Saturday  unbeknownst  to  me  (but  I  suspect 
Stebs);  agreed  to  take  upon  themselves  the  duty  of  care 
of  our  bills  in  the  legislature  this  winter,  and  voted  to 
recommend  to  the  full  board  of  trustees  to  give  me  leave 
of  absence  immediately  after  presentation  of  my  report. 
Verily  my  cup  runneth  over,  and  when  I  think  of  the  beau- 
tiful friendship  that  has  bound  you  and  Dick  and  Stebs 
and  myself  together  for  so  many  years,  my  eyes  grow  quite 
shiny  and  I  thank  the  Lord  that  I  have  been  permitted  to 
be  one  of  you.  And  so,  my  dear  Mase,  sometime  after  New 
Years  I  will  come  down  to  Plainfield  and  report  for  orders. 


EDUCATOR  119 

May  all  the  joys  of  Christmas  and  the  brightness  of  the 
New  Year  descend  upon  you  in  a  four-fold  measure,  and 
what  an  aureole  will  be  yours ! 

With  love  to  Mrs.  Mase, 

Ever  thy  Dad. 

After  completing  his  annual  report  to  the  legislature,  he 
started  January  16, 1903,  for  Nassau.  He  saw  many  things 
that  interested  him  and  as  usual  the  vegetation  attracted 
his  attention.   January  27  he  writes :  — 

"This  is  a  wonderful  little  island.  The  temperature  has 
not  fallen  below  70  and  it  has  twice  gone  up  to  79.  It  has 
showered  every  day  but  one,  and  what  with  the  warm 
debilitating  atmosphere,  filled  with  moisture,  one  does  not 
care  to  move  much.  But  sitting  on  the  piazza,  looking  off 
upon  the  water,  there  is  a  most  delicious  breeze  and  it  is 
hard  to  realize  that  at  home  you  are  all  shivering  over  10  to 
20  temperature.  The  two  most  delightful  things  here  are 
the  fruits,  —  grape-fruit,  three  kinds,  shaddocks,  paw- 
paws, .  .  .  bananas,  and  cocoa  trees,  —  and  the  bathing. 
The  latter  is  simply  delicious.  I  go  in  every  day  and  come 
out  feeling  like  the  morning  star.  It  (the  water)  is  so  pure 
and  fresh  and  green  that  you  can  look  down  a  good  many 
feet.  They  have  one  or  two  boats  constructed  with  a  glass 
bottom,  and  as  you  are  towed  along  by  a  small  tug  you  can 
watch  the  coral,  the  sponge  and  the  star-fish  on  the  bot- 
tom. I  have  not  yet  tried  it  but  they  say  it  is  most  beauti- 
ful in  effect. 

"The  star  excursion  is  a  kind  of  combination  one.  You 
are  rowed  a  mile  across  to  Hog's  Island,  furnished  with 
bathing  suit,  and  take  a  swim,  eat  all  the  fruit  you  care  to, 


120  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  then  rowed  back,  all  for  twenty-five  cents.  Here  is 
richness  for  you!  There  are  no  troops  here  and  the  police 
are  colored.  They  look  funny  enough  in  their  helmets  and 
red  stripes.  They  are  either  very  effective  or  else  the  people 
are  very  good.  I  think  it  must  be  the  latter,  for  I  am  told 
they  all  eat  oatmeal  in  the  morning,  and  you  know  what 
a  penitential  diet  does  for  me.  I  don't  know  just  what  to 
say  about  myself.  Caught  some  cold  yesterday  and  don't 
feel  like  the  morning  star  to-day,  —  short  breath  and  puffi- 
ness,  —  but  I  hope  for  the  best." 

Writing  again  from  Nassau  on  February  7,  he  gives  this 
account  of  himself :  — 

"I  am  just  out  of  the  water  from  a  swim  and  find  your 
cheery  letter,  but  my  hand  is  so  shaky  that  I  have  taken 
to  a  pencil.  My  friends  have  been  more  than  kind  to 
me,  for  the  post-office  to-day  brought  me  seven  letters; 
three  of  these,  it  is  needless  to  say,  came  from  my  wife. 
And  here  let  me  stop  to  say:  Heaven  bless  our  wives! 
What  in  the  world  could  we  possibly  do  without  them? 
The  worst,  or  the  best,  of  it  is  that  they  treat  us  so  well. 
We  get  the  swelled  head  and  think  we  are  some  pumpkins, 
when  we  are  not  worthy  to  kiss  the  ground  on  which  they 
stand.  I  am  afraid  you  may  think  this  is  somewhat  Van- 
cien,  but  I  have  been  thinking  all  this  morning  how  she, 
i.  e.  my  wife,  has  had  to  watch  over  and  take  care  of  me 
all  the  time,  and  how  little  I  have  been  able  to  do  for  her. 

"An  interesting  item  to  you  may  be  that  there  are  no 
taxes  here  except  on  glass.  Hence  you  may  drive  through 
the  coon  quarter  of  the  city,  namely,  in  the  quarter  where 
11,000  live,  and  you  will  not  see  a  single  glass  window,  — 
nothing  but  wooden  shutters.   At  night,  after  six  o'clock, 


EDUCATOR  121 

it  is  very  gloomy.  Every  house  and  store  shut  up  tight, 
without  a  gleam  of  light.  Contrary  to  all  precedent,  it  has 
rained  every  day  but  three  since  my  coming  here,  and  I 
cannot  truthfully  say  anything  more  about  my  health 
than  that  my  bark  is  on  the  island." 

It  would  seem  from  this  parody  on  Byron's  line  and  pun 
on  the  word  "bark"  that  his  cough  had  not  subsided. 

The  weather  was  unfavorable,  and  finding  that  his  stay 
on  the  island  was  not  likely  to  prove  beneficial,  he  crossed 
over  to  the  mainland  and  settled  for  a  few  days  at  Jensen, 
Florida.  There  was  at  once  a  marked  change  in  his  con- 
dition and  he  writes  March  7 :  — 

"Here  I  am  in  this  beautiful  little  town  on  the  Indian 
River  drawing  in  life  and  health  with  every  breath  I  draw. 
Have  ceased  coughing,  —  can  breath  like  a  major  and  even 
survey  the  intricacies  of  my  collar-button,  or  the  lacing 
of  my  shoe-strings  without  a  quiver.  A  narrow  island 
separates  us  from  the  ocean,  and  I  fall  asleep  to  the  mur- 
muring of  the  wind  and  the  steady  beat  of  the  surf.  No  one 
could  help  getting  well  in  the  soft,  balmy  air  and  beautiful 
sunshine.  But  the  old  problem  of  steering  by  the  North 
Star  confronts  me  worse  than  ever,  for  the  sun  rises  in  the 
South  and  the  Big  Dipper  is  upside  down.  How  can  I 
right  myself  when  all  signs  fail?  I  think  I  shall  stay  here  a 
week  longer  and  then  go  to  Jacksonville. 

"The  Indian  River — horrible  misnomer,  for  an  arrant 
arm  of  the  sea  that  has  lost  its  way  and  goes  wandering 
along  some  hundred  miles  or  more  —  is  chuck-full  of 
fish,  and  you  cannot  look  upon  it  without  seeing  half  a 
dozen  or  more  splendid  red  mullets  leap  into  the  air  and 
fall  back  with  a  splash  into  the  water.  All  manner  of  tropi- 


122  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

cal  fruits  grow  here.  In  our  hotel  garden  are  seven  or  eight 
different-hued  hibiscus  in  bloom,  orange  trees,  limes,  gua- 
vas,  all  in  fruit,  plum  trees,  Australian  oaks  and  pines,  the 
camphor  and  cinnamon.  The  last  two  have  very  fragrant 
leaves.  But  alas!  that  amid  all  this  beauty  there  should  be 
any  offset.  But  there  surely  is.  A  depraved  microscopical 
red  spider  called  'Jigger'  [chego]  inhabits  the  vegetation 
and  burrows  in  the  person  of  the  unwary  spectator.  I  have 
met  the  jiggers  and  I  am  'theirn.'  They  have  rioted  and 
are  still  rioting  over  my  blameless  body.  From  my  waist, 
in  fact  my  neck,  down  to  my  toes  I  am  a  spotted  leopard, 
and  in  fact  I  find  it  as  hard  as  he  does  to  change  his  spots. 
I  counted  153  burrows  of  these  sinful  miscreants  and  gave 
it  up.  But,  oh,  the  blissful  luxury  of  a  scratch!  Job  and  his 
potsherd  are  nowhere.  I  have  been  told  to  grease  myself, 
and  I  have  done  so  till  I  can  wiggle  through  the  smallest 
hole  a  politician  ever  found.  I  think  I  am  heading  them 
off,  but  the  race  is  a  hot  one,  for  they  got  a  mighty  fine 
start.  From  Jacksonville  I  shall  go  to  Asheville  to  acclimate 
myself,  and  so  North  and  homewards  which  I  am  forbidden 
to  reach  till  the  12th  or  13th  of  April." 

Jensen,  Florida,  March  14,  1903. 

My  dear ,  —  I  have  been  having  a  most  delight- 
ful time  here  in  Jensen.  Allen  l  has  returned,  and  we  see 
each  other  almost  every  day.  The  old  friendship  and 
associations  have  been  renewed,  and  as  we  skimmed  the 
waters  in  our  light  boat  we  have  talked  and  laughed  over 
the  old  times.  I  have  questioned  him  closely  about  the 
*  paragogic  nu, '  and  as  he  professed  an  entire  ignorance  of 

1  W.  Irving  Allen,  a  classmate. 


EDUCATOR  123 

the  subject,  I  owned  up  that  it  was  a  terra  incognita  to 
me.  He  owns  a  fine  plantation  of  pineapples  and  about 
ten  acres  of  bean-land  across  the  river,  on  the  island  that 
separates  us  from  the  ocean.  ...  A  pineapple  plantation 
is  a  very  beautiful  sight,  for  you  see  bud,  flowers  and  per- 
fect fruits  at  the  same  time  in  the  plantation.  The  flowers 
come  out  singly  on  each  scale  of  the  half -grown  apple. 
They  are  of  a  deep  blue  and  contrast  with  the  brilliant  red 
of  the  inner  leaves  and  the  red  brown  of  the  fruit.  How  the 
mischief  such  a  luscious  fruit  ever  grows  out  of  the  pure 
white  sand  gets  me,  but  Nature  beats  us  all,  and  I  am  not 
going  to  set  myself  in  opposition  to  her  laws.  The  beans 
do  not  grow  in  this  sand  but  in  a  fine  soil  on  the  island. 
They  are  shipping  at  this  station  about  a  thousand  crates 
a  day  to  New  York.  The  leaves  of  the  pineapples  termi- 
nate in  a  very  sharp,  aggressive  thorn,  and  as  the  edges 
are  alive  with  thorns  it  is  no  joke  to  gather  the  fruit.  The 
picker  goes  in  with  leather  gaiters,  gray  duck  trousers  and 
long  gauntlets,  and  throws  the  apples  to  the  catcher,  who 
follows  him  up  in  small  paths  that  have  been  cut  or  left 
across  the  field  twenty  or  thirty  feet  apart.  Then  they  are 
taken  to  the  packing-house  on  wooden  tram-ways  that 
bisect  the  field,  and  there  they  are  sorted,  packed  and 
crated.  There  are  about  four  miles  of  this  pineapple  plan- 
tation skirting  the  river-front.  But  how  Nature,  —  Well, 
there;  I'll  sure  just  leave  Nature  to  work  out  her  own  sal- 
vation alone  in  her  own  sweet  way,  without  interference 
on  my  part.  The  planters  all  up  and  down  the  coast  line 
recognize  me  as  Captain  Allen's  friend,  and  I  have  received 
many  courtesies  from  them. 

I  shall  stay  here  till  Wednesday  the  17th,  then  go  to  Jack- 


124  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

sonville,  stay  a  couple  of  days  to  see  Sam  Vance,  thence  to 
Asheville  for  a  fortnight's  stay  to  harden  myself,  and  so 
work  my  way  slowly  North,  for  the  Drs.  won't  hear  to  my 
getting  back  before  the  9th  or  10th  of  April.  You  will  be 
delighted  to  know  that  I  have  not  coughed  nor  had  an  at- 
tack of  short  breathing  since  coming  here. 

I  don't  know  when  I  shall  be  at  Asheville,  but  I  think 
old  General  Delivery  will  take  care  of  my  mail. 

My  very  best  love  to  Mrs. and  believe  me, 

Yours  always. 

This  is  our  first  rainy  day  since  reaching  here. 

From  Asheville,  N.  C.  March  22,  he  writes:  "Your  letter 
warning  me  of  Asheville  found  me  here.  To  tell  you  the 
truth  I  think  a  little  cold  will  do  me  good.  I  have  found 
it  rather  warm  and  enervating,  and  want  to  be  able  to  do  a 
little  walking  without  perspiring  to  beat  the  band,  and  feel 
my  collar  and  bosom  melting  away.  I  shall  be  sorry  indeed 
not  to  stop  over  and  see  you,  but  I  cannot  tell.  The  Chinese 
Ambassador  has  brought  five  boys  with  him  for  education. 
He  wants  me  to  take  one  into  my  own  family,  provide 
places  for  the  others,  and  be  their  guardian.  I  have  agreed 
to  stop  in  Washington  and  see  him." 

The  Ambassador  was  Sir  Chentung  Liang-Cheng,  who 
now  (1911)  represents  the  Celestial  Empire  at  the  Court  of 
Berlin.  When  a  boy  he  was  sent  to  America  for  education, 
and  while  here,  pursuing  his  studies,  became  very  intimate 
in  Professor  Goodell's  family.  A  friendship  grew  up  be- 
tween the  professor  and  the  boy,  which  was  cherished  by 
both  with  ever-increasing  admiration  and  affection  until 
the  hand  of  one  had  withered. 


EDUCATOR  125 

On  April  13,  President  Goodell  arrived  in  Amherst,  but 
not  very  much  improved  in  health.  A  council  of  physicians 
was  called  and  on  the  27th  he  writes :  — 

"I  have  delayed  writing  until  I  could  give  you  the  re- 
port of  the  Doctors.  They  have  now  pinched,  punched  and 
rapped  at  the  seat  of  life.  They  have  listened  to  the  pro- 
longed expulsion  of  the  air  from  my  lungs  and  they  have 
twisted,  pulled  out  sideways  and  shut  up  like  a  jack-knife 
my  legs,  and  they  all  with  one  accord  declare  there  is  no- 
thing the  matter  with  me  except  'that  tired  feeling.'  They 
have  given  me  a  mixture  of  iron,  quinine  and  strychnine  to 
take  three  times  a  day.  They  have  given  me  nitroglycerine 
and  strychnine  pills  to  take  when  I  feel  my  breath  is  com- 
ing short  and  fast;  and  they  are  building  on  an  ingenious 
plan  a  new  corset  to  fit  more  tenderly  around  my  ribs. 
Well,  now,  my  dear  M.,  all  this  is  literally  true.  They  find 
no  organic  disease,  but  declare  me  to  be  worn  out  and 
without  strength  to  expel  the  air  from  my  lungs;  and  hence 
the  struggle,  in  which  the  impure  air  gets  the  better  of  me. 
It  is  very  mortifying  to  know  that  I  am  not  sick  but  only 
tired,  and  so  I  am  slapping  into  my  sacred  person  all  sorts 
of  poisonous  and  sedative  drugs  and  trying  to  sleep  eight 
hours  a  night.  Please  don't  think  I  am  exaggerating,  for 
I  do  not  believe  I  have  one  single  word.  But  when  Dr.  S. 
in  New  London,  Dr.  H.  in  Amherst,  and  Dr.  G.  in  Boston, 
all  tell  me  the  same  thing,  I  can't  help  feeling  a  little  bit 
easy  round  the  edges  as  if  I  had  been  babying  myself  — 
and  yet  they  all  hint  at  all  sorts  of  abominable  things  if  I 
don't  let  up  on  work.  It 's  dreadful  hard  when  there  is  so 
much  to  be  done. 

"Dick  was  here  yesterday  for  ten  or  fifteen  minutes. 


126  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

What  a  pleasure  it  is  to  get  back  once  more  into  the  midst 
of  our  circle!  I  did  n't  know  how  dear  you  all  were  to  me 
till  I  came  away,  and  then  M.  and  D.  and  S.  tugged  at  my 
heart-strings.  The  Bible  says,  *  Every  heart  knoweth  its 
own  bitterness.'  I  think  there  ought  to  be  something  like 
this:  *  Every  heart  knoweth  its  inability  to  express  its  in- 
most feelings.'  For  I  can't  measure  out  in  words  my  thank- 
offering.  I  can  only  thank  God  for  giving  me  so  dear  a 
friend  as  you,  who  have  been  loyal  to  me  so  many  years." 

From  this  attack  he  gradually  recovered  strength  to  at- 
tend to  the  ordinary  business  of  the  College;  but  the  brisk 
step  and  spontaneous  activity,  so  characteristic  of  him,  were 
gone.  It  was  very  apparent,  even  to  a  casual  observer, 
that  every  movement  was  the  result  of  a  conscious  effort  of 
the  will.  But  the  blithe,  mirthful  spirit  was  still  clearly  in 
evidence,  and  he  faced  the  duties  of  his  position  with  the 
cheerfulness  and  self-possession  of  a  man  in  full  health. 
This  probably  led  many  to  think  that  his  condition  was 
not  so  serious  as  it  really  was.  But  for  two  years  the  stu- 
dents lost  something  of  his  cheering  and  inspiring  person- 
ality. Yet  there  seems  to  have  been  no  failure  in  his 
mental  grasp.  His  last  report,  that  of  1905,  which  must 
have  received  its  finishing  touches  after  his  final  and  fatal 
attack,  shows  no  loss  of  intellectual  power  or  enthusiasm. 
Indeed  it  is  the  most  potent  of  them  all,  especially  in  his 
statement  of  the  needs  of  the  College. 

In  the  meantime  he  was  really  hovering  so  near  the  edge 
of  life  that  an  exposure  of  any  kind  was  pretty  sure  to  prove 
fatal.  It  seems  impossible  that  he  should  not  have  been 
aware  of  his  condition;  but  if  he  was,  it  did  not  seem  to 
have  disturbed  him  in  the  least,  and  probably  did  not.  His 


EDUCATOR  127 

personal  friends  and  the  trustees,  however,  were  not  with- 
out grave  apprehensions.  About  the  middle  of  December, 
1904,  while  waiting  for  a  car  at  Holyoke,  he  took  a  chill 
which  utterly  prostrated  him.  This  attack  was  much  more 
alarming  than  any  he  had  as  yet  experienced.  Again  his 
friend  Colonel  Tyler  made  it  financially  easy  for  him  to  go 
wherever  it  was  thought  best,  and  have  his  wife  as  his 
companion.  The  trustees  were  not  to  be  outdone,  and  at 
a  meeting  held  January  2,  1905,  voted  to  give  him  six 
months'  leave  of  absence  with  full  pay.  The  motion  was 
made  by  Mr.  William  H.  Bowker,  one  of  the  graduates  of 
the  first  class  sent  out  from  the  College,  who  spoke  with  a 
good  deal  of  feeling,  and  there  was  a  very  warm  expression 
of  sympathy  and  affection  for  the  president  in  this  new 
trial. 

Here  is  his  own  account  of  his  condition,  written  Decem- 
ber 27,  1904:  — 

"This  last  attack  seems  to  have  knocked  things  upside 
down  and  left  me  as  far  as  health  is  concerned  in  a  pretty 
shaky  condition.  To  state  very  briefly,  there  is  a  slight  ef- 
fusion of  serum  in  the  lung  cavity,  which  is  gradually  being 
absorbed.  Then  there  is  a  constant  emphysema  of  the  lung 
which  keeps  me  short-breathed.  My  limbs  are  slightly 
swollen,  but  the  most  serious  trouble  is  some  irritation  of 
the  urinary  organs.  Anyway,  as  near  as  I  can  find  out  the 
doctors  propose  to  keep  me  in  the  house  until  everything 
is  cleaned  up  and  then  send  me  South  till  warm  weather. 
For  eleven  days  I  have  not  had  a  bit  of  anything  solid,  — 
nothing  except  milk  and  soda  water,  —  and  I  think  I  am 
slowly  improving,  but  it  is  not  absolutely  strengthening." 

The  improvement  he  looked  for  was  very  slow  and  on 


128  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

January  15,  1905,  he  expresses  his  feelings  and  states  his 
condition :  — 

"No  human  being  has  ever  had  so  many  friends  as  I  have. 
It  is  almost  worth  falling  on  evil  days  to  see  how  they  rally 
round  me.  God  bless  and  keep  you  all.  Pardon  my  delay 
in  not  answering  your  last,  but  I  have  had  three  very  bad 
days  without  any  breath  to  speak  of.  The  serum  in  my 
chest  has  stopped  being  absorbed  and  I  don't  know  when 
the  Doctor  will  let  me  start." 

Ten  days  later,  January  25,  he  writes:  "In  regard  to  the 
time  of  my  going  South,  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  can  tell  you 
nothing  about  it.  I  got  into  a  pretty  miserable  situation 
with  certain  features  that  were  rather  alarming.  They  sent 
for  a  specialist  from  Boston.  He  was  here  Tuesday  night, 
looked  me  over,  and  pronounced  it  as  his  opinion  that  I 
shall  pull  up  from  this  provided  I  give  myself  complete 
rest,  —  and  so  he  commenced  giving  me  rest  by  sending 
me  to  bed  and  ordering  me  to  remain  there  —  or  on  the 
lounge  —  until  such  time  as  it  seems  feasible  to  let  me 
loose  on  Florida." 

It  would  give  a  very  erroneous  impression  as  to  the  state 
of  his  mind  if  the  letters  here  cited  were  thought  to  be  wholly 
given  to  describing  his  various  symptoms.  His  references 
to  his  condition  are  a  very  small  part  of  them.  The  great 
burden  of  the  letters  from  which  extracts  are  made  is  given 
to  making  fun  of  the  friend  he  happens  to  be  writing  to,  or 
to  some  personal  matters  which  interest  him,  and  especially 
to  expressing  his  gratitude  to  his  friends.  It  is  all  told  in 
this  sentence,  although  expressed  in  many  different  ways: 
"It  is  very  delightful  to  see  how  my  friends  rally  round 
me  and  I  assure  you  I  appreciate  it  to  the  uttermost." 


EDUCATOR  129 

He  had  a  friend  to  whom  the  spelling  of  ordinary  Eng- 
lish words  was  an  inscrutable  mystery,  who  happened  to 
dictate  a  letter  to  a  typewriter  for  him,  and  he  wrote  in 
reply  February  20:  "Thanks  for  your  good  long  letter  of 
February  13.  The  neatness  of  your  letter  and  the  accuracy 
of  your  spelling  leads  me  to  think  that  the  use  of  the  type- 
writer is  a  means  of  grace  to  you.  I  am  still  housed  here  in 
Amherst.  *  Afflictions  sore  long  time  I  bore,'  but  rough 
breathing  seems  to  hang  on  worst  of  all.  I  have  been  hop- 
ing against  hope,  to  leave  here  next  week,  about  the  end  of 
March,  but  I  am  very  much  afraid  that  the  doctor  will  put 
me  off  another  week.  I  think  we  will  settle  down  for  our 
health  at  Fort  Pierce.  When  we  get  comfortably  settled, 
I  will  let  you  know  just  where  we  are,  and  then  I  shall 
expect  frequent  messages. " 

The  last  letter  written  in  Amherst,  the  day  he  left  for  Flo- 
rida, shows  that  he  knew  that  his  case  was  serious,  but  it 
has  in  it  the  ring  of  courage  that  never  fails.  He  was  not 
of  those  who  accept  Longfellow's  sentimental  metaphor:  — 

And  our  hearts,  though  stout  and  brave, 
Still,  like  muffled  drums,  are  beating 
Funeral  marches  to  the  grave. 

It  was  written  to  his  amanuensis:  "For  all  your  hopes 
and  prayers  in  my  behalf,  accept  my  thanks.  I  need  them 
all.  For  verily  I  have  been  down  into  the  depths  and  my 
head  is  barely  above  the  waves  now.  'Yes,'  said  the  doctor, 
'there  is  not  an  organ  in  your  body  performing  its  functions 
properly,  sir.'  Hence  you  may  know  why  I  closed  up  my 
note  so  hurriedly  last  week.  The  spirit  indeed  was  willing 
but  the  flesh  was  almighty  weak.  We  expect  this  afternoon 
to  proceed  to  New  York  and  take  boat  for  Jacksonville. 


130  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

I  do  not  know  whether  serving  two  masters  is  another  case 
of  God  and  Mammon,  but  anyway  I  commend  to  your  care 
Professor  Brooks.  Deal  gently  with  him  —  and  hold  the 
fort."  (Professor  Brooks  had  been  appointed  president 
fro  tempore.) 

But  at  last,  to  use  his  own  expression,  he  was  "let  loose 
on  Florida";  or, as  he  states  it  in  another  place:  "I  am  to 
flee  to  the  mountains  of  Hepsidam."  He  felt  great  confi- 
dence that  the  climate  would  have  an  invigorating  influ- 
ence, and  said  that  it  was  the  only  place  that  did  him  any 
good  before.  He  left  Amherst  in  company  with  his  wife, 
on  March  6,  and  sailed  from  New  York  the  next  day  for 
Jacksonville  on  the  way  to  Fort  Pierce.  They  arrived  at 
Jacksonville  Saturday  morning,  March  11,  spent  the  day 
in  the  city,  and  went  on  to  Fort  Pierce  in  the  evening, 
arriving  there  about  8  o'clock. 

The  journey  was  very  tedious  and  irritating.  He  writes 
March  17:  "We  have  fairly  comfortable  quarters  at  this 
hotel.  I  am  afraid  your  good  wife  would  have  something 
to  say  about  the  beds,  —  the  same  as  mine  does,  —  but 
that  is  one  of  the  things  that  has  to  be  endured.  As  we  sit 
in  our  room,  in  the  second  story,  the  oleanders  in  the  garden 
are  flush  with  the  windows  —  there  are  palmetto,  rubber 
and  lemon  trees,  and  the  garden  slopes  down  to  the  water, 
where  are  colonized  something  like  a  hundred  pelicans,  and 
it  is  our  great  amusement  to  watch  them  dive  and  catch 
the  fish,  which  they  lay  neatly  away  in  their  pouches  for 
future  reference.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  my  legs  began 
swelling  again  as  soon  as  I  left  home,  so  that  I  am  confined 
quite  severely  to  the  house.  The  weather  to-day  is  all  that 
one  could  ask  and  I  shall  hope  now  to  improve." 


EDUCATOR  131 

A  few  days  after  his  arrival  he  wrote:  "If  I  had  had  the 
strength  of  a  flea  and  the  perseverance  of  an  ant,  I  should 
have  written  you  before  this,  but  the  fact  was  that  two  of 
the  old  symptoms  came  back  on  me  after  reaching  here, 
the  swelling  of  my  legs  and  increased  difficulty  in  breathing. 
The  weather  is  not  altogether  what  one  could  wish.  Yes- 
terday we  had  a  day  to  make  one  dream,  temperature  79, 
with  a  fine  breeze  blowing  most  of  the  day.  I  expect  as  soon 
as  the  weather  becomes  settled  and  warm  that  I  shall  brace 
up  and  take  a  fresh  hold.  I  shall  trust  in  my  next  letter  to 
be  able  to  say:  'Behold  how  long  a  letter  I,  Dad,  have 
written  unto  my  Calvin.' " 

If  fine  spirits  and  courage  could  have  saved  a  man  in  his 
condition  he  would  surely  have  pulled  up. 

He  had  expected  to  stay  at  Fort  Pierce  a  month  longer, 
but  as  the  season  was  over  and  the  hotel  was  closed,  there 
was  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  go  to  St.  Augustine.  This 
he  did  the  more  readily  for,  as  he  said,  it  was  a  larger  place 
and  there  he  was  sure  of  finding  a  good  physician.  But  the 
journey  was  very  tedious  and  aggravated  all  his  symptoms. 
Almost  immediately  on  arriving,  the  doctor  ordered  him 
to  the  hospital.  The  evidences  of  failing  strength  were  very 
apparent.  On  April  10,  he  asked  his  wife  to  write  at  his 
dictation,  but  when  he  came  to  the  case  in  hand  he  did  not 
feel  equal  to  it.  She  writes  the  same  day :  "  He  is  very  cheer- 
ful as  usual." 

The  next  day  he  put  a  postscript  to  her  letter:  "I  hardly 
know  what  I  can  say  to  you.  I  came  down  here  hoping  and 
expecting  to  improve  immediately,  but  instead  of  that  I 
had  to  go  to  the  hospital  and  it  is  too  soon  to  speak  of  re- 
sults.   My  doctor  used  to  know  my  brother  William,  and 


132  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

took  care  of  him  in  his  last  days  of  life,  when  he  was  here 
in  St.  Augustine.  He  is  a  man  wonderfully  well  posted  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  end  to  the  reserve  forces  that  he  is  able 
to  fall  back  on.  As  soon  as  I  learn  anything  from  him,  or 
can  speak  favorably  myself  of  my  condition,  I  will  write 
you  more  fully.  My  breathing  this  morning  is  much  easier, 
but  the  swelling  has  not  gone  down  very  much  but  is  im- 
proved somewhat." 

His  next  letter  is  written  with  pencil  and  simply  says 
that  the  doctor  has  recommended  that  he  go  North.  He 
was  disappointed  as  he  wished  to  stay  longer  at  St.  Au- 
gustine. His  wife  writes  April  19:  "The  doctor  advises 
us  to  get  nearer  home.  We  go  by  the  Savannah  line  of 
steamers  direct  and  will  arrive  in  Boston  Monday  the 
24th."  She  understood  what  the  doctor's  advice  meant, 
for  it  had  been  evident  to  her  for  some  time  that  the  end 
might  come  at  any  moment,  although  he  showed  no  sign 
to  the  last,  by  word  or  look,  of  anxiety  on  that  point. 

When  within  a  few  hours'  sail  of  Boston  Bay,  at  1.45  on 
Sunday  morning,  April  23,  while  in  the  full  possession  of 
his  faculties,  he  was  relieved  of  "the  turmoil  for  a  little 
breath,"  so  gently  that  he  probably  mistook  the  Angel  of 
Death  for  the  Angel  of  Sleep. 

Like  a  shadow  thrown 
Softly  and  lightly  from  a  passing  cloud, 
Death  fell  on  him. 

The  funeral  services  were  conducted  in  the  College 
Chapel  at  Amherst,  on  the  afternoon  of  April  27,  and  were 
of  the  simplest  kind.  The  casket  was  covered  and  surrounded 
with  many  beautiful  tributes  of  esteem  and  affection,  and 
the  audience  was  one  whose  very  presence  was  the  finest  of 


EDUCATOR  133 

tributes.  Such  a  concourse  of  intelligent,  active  and  enter- 
prising men  is  seldom  seen  together,  and  among  them  was 
the  conspicuous  figure  of  the  minister  of  the  Chinese  Em- 
pire. He  had  been  informed  of  the  death  of  President 
Goodell  just  in  time  to  take  the  train  that  made  it  possible 
for  him  to  reach  Amherst  in  season  for  the  funeral;  and  can- 
celling all  his  social  engagements  for  fourteen  days,  he  came 
to  pay  the  tribute  of  his  presence  to  a  friend  of  whom  he 
said,  "He  has  been  as  a  father  and  a  brother  to  me." 

While  the  remains  were  being  escorted  to  their  final  rest- 
ing place  in  West  Cemetery  by  the  battalion  of  college  cadets, 
the  bells  of  his  Alma  Mater  and  of  the  College  of  which  he 
had  been  President  sent  out,  to  slow  and  measured  beat, 
sounds  that  to  some  in  that  company  of  friends  did  not  seem 
to  have  the  solemn,  funeral  toll,  but  rather  the  tone  of  the 
bells  that  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  heard  as  he  approached  the 
gate  of  the  Celestial  City.  A  few  words  were  offered  of 
prayer,  of  thanksgiving  that  "the  song  of  woe  is  after  all 
an  earthly  song,"  of  heartfelt  thanks  for  what  we  had  had, 
and  for  the  hope  immortal;  and  Mother  Earth  received  to 
her  safe  keeping  all  that  was  visible  to  the  mortal  eye. 

When  the  cadets  returned  they  gathered  round  the  flag- 
pole in  the  college  Campus,  where  the  beautiful  symbol  of 
the  Republic,  which  he  had  followed  when  it  was  being 
torn  by  shot  and  shell,  hung  at  half-mast,  and  taps  were 
sounded.  It  was  both  a  beautiful  and  a  significant  service. 
The  soldier,  in  the  army  and  out,  had  fought  the  good 
fight,  had  finished  his  course,  had  kept  the  faith.  The 
world  was  all  before  them,  to  be  made  better  by  their 
words,  or  works,  or  both,  and  the  music  that  calls  to  duty 
after  taps  is  inspiring. 


IV 
CONCLUSION 

It  has  been  the  general  purpose  in  this  sketch  to  let 
President  Goodell,  so  far  as  possible,  give  his  own  account 
of  things,  events  and  persons  as  he  met  them  from  time 
to  time.  There  are,  however,  certain  traits  of  character 
that  lent  an  indescribable  charm  to  his  conduct  and  re- 
lations with  men,  which  deserve  special  notice.  After  he 
resigned  the  presidency  in  1887  he  consented  to  reelection 
on  condition  that,  when  he  was  relieved  of  certain  work 
himself,  it  should  not  result  in  increasing  the  labors,  or  di- 
minishing the  pay,  of  any  of  his  associates  in  the  Faculty. 
This  is  illustrative  of  his  whole  career.  Thoughtfulness  of 
others  was  ever  in  the  foreground  of  his  mind.  It  may  be 
safely  doubted  whether  he  ever  consciously  sought  an 
advantage  for  himself  which  would  result  in  an  injury,  or  be 
unjust,  to  any  one  else.  Indeed,  the  various  positions  which 
he  held  were  not  of  his  own  seeking,  but  were  thrust  upon 
him,  and  whatever  honor,  or  emolument,  was  connected 
with  them  was  earned  by  bearing  the  great  responsibilities 
they  imposed  and  the  hard  work  they  entailed. 

An  unobtrusive  guardianship  of  the  interests  of  others 
was  characteristic  of  his  generous  nature  and  manifested 
itself  in  many  ways.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  children 
of  missionaries  who  were  sent  to  this  country  to  be  edu- 
cated.   He  kept  in  touch  with  his  college  classmates  and 


CONCLUSION  135 

took  a  lively  interest  in  their  varying  fortunes,  and  the  same 
spirit  was  extended  to  the  students  of  his  own  college  both 
before  and  after  graduation.  The  bright  boy  struggling  for 
an  education  could  have  no  better  friend  than  the  presi- 
dent, and  the  drain  on  his  resources  was  sometimes  very 
great.  There  is  always  a  liability  of  pecuniary  loss  in  such 
cases,  which  he  could  ill  afford  to  bear;  but  like  all  generous 
men,  he  never  learned  anything  by  his  own  experience  or 
the  experience  of  others.  When  the  student  had  gone  out 
into  the  world,  he  was  still  an  object  of  personal  interest. 
President  Goodell  often  did,  to  help  others,  what  very  few 
men  even  of  a  generous  nature  would  have  done,  especially 
if  they  had  a  reasonable  excuse  for  taking  no  interest  in 
the  matter. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  effort  to  estab- 
lish schools  of  mines  and  mining  in  connection  with  the 
land-grant  colleges.  Of  President  Goodell's  part  in  this 
undertaking  it  has  been  said:  "Nothing,  perhaps,  better 
shows  President  Goodell's  conscientious  devotion  to  the 
duties  of  his  office,  regardless  of  the  interest  to  him  per- 
sonally and  to  his  institution,  than  his  persistent  efforts,  as 
chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  to  secure  the  passage 
of  a  bill  to  provide  a  school  of  mines  in  connection  with  the 
land-grant  colleges.  This  was  a  matter  in  which  most  of  the 
institutions  represented  by  the  Association  were  greatly 
interested,  and  President  Goodell  worked  long  and  faith- 
fully in  its  interests,  although  knowing  full  well  that  the 
school  if  provided  would  become  a  part  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Institute  of  Technology.  It  never  seemed  to  occur  to 
him  to  labor  less  diligently  on  that  account,  and  he  spent 
weeks  in  Washington  during   the  sessions  of   Congress, 


136  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  made  frequent  trips  back  and  forth,  when  the  condition 
of  his  health  would  have  been  abundant  excuse  for  less 
strenuous  effort." 

He  was  a  keen  observer  of  men,  and  his  large  experience 
in  legislative  business  caused  him  to  recognize  the  value  to 
a  cause  of  its  being  well  stated.  This  undoubtedly  led  him 
to  emphasize  strongly,  as  it  was  natural  for  him  to  do,  "the 
study  of  one's  mother  tongue,"  and  to  give  it  a  larger  place 
in  the  curriculum  than  is  usual  in  our  agricultural  colleges. 
In  this  respect  he  was  master  of  what  he  admired.  Resolu- 
tions referred  to  a  committee  of  which  he  was  a  member 
were  usually  returned  to  the  assembly  much  shorter  and 
very  much  clearer.  His  annual  reports  to  the  Governor 
and  Council,  and  especially  his  report  as  chairman  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Agri- 
cultural Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  show  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  subject  and  a  conciseness  and  lucidity 
of  statement  which  reflect  the  nature  of  his  mind.  Hard- 
headed  business  men,  who  usually  have  strong  convictions 
that  their  ideas  are  right,  found  him  clear  and  just  in  his 
statement  of  the  point  in  controversy. 

A  contractor  had  a  large  bill  against  the  College,  which 
had  been  running  some  three  years  and  had  been  the  sub- 
ject of  much  angry  altercation.  It  was  hanging  over  the 
College  when  Professor  Goodell  was  elected  president,  and 
he  (the  contractor)  thought  that,  before  having  recourse  to 
the  law,  he  would  present  his  bill  again.  To  use  his  own 
words:  "I  stated  my  side  of  the  case  and  then  President 
Goodell  stated  what  he  thought  would  be  right  for  the  Col- 
lege and  just  to  me,  and  I  thought  so  too,  and  we  settled 
in  half  an  hour." 


CONCLUSION  137 

Professor  Goodell  was  a  teacher  par  excellence,  but  after 
he  became  president,  the  work  of  administration  gradually 
increased  to  such  an  extent  that  after  1890  he  did  little 
work  in  the  class-room.  But  that  he  was  a  great  success 
there  is  the  unanimous  testimony  of  all  who  entered  his 
room.  The  testimony  of  three  of  his  old  pupils  who  have 
attained  eminence  as  educators  will  give  a  clear  idea  of 
his  relations  with  the  students  in  and  out  of  the  class- 
room. 

A  professor  of  agriculture  writes:  "His  relations  with  the 
young  men  were  of  the  closest.  He  made  them  feel  his  love 
and  his  interest  in  them,  while  at  the  same  time  he  retained 
their  thorough  respect.  His  great  ability  and  sound  scholar- 
ship, combined  with  his  great  warm  heart,  his  bright  and 
genial  personal  characteristics,  his  quick  and  clear  percep- 
tions and  excellent  judgment,  made  the  students  feel  ab- 
solute confidence  in  him.  They  knew  he  was  equal  to  any 
emergency.  They  not  only  felt  he  was  their  friend,  but 
knew  it.  He  was  a  rare  teacher.  He  always  had  perfect 
command  of  his  subject,  and  the  students  under  him  soon 
came  to  feel  a  strong  desire  to  work  in  his  subjects." 

The  president  of  an  agricultural  college  writes:  "I  take 
pleasure  in  saying  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  animated 
and  inspiring  teachers  that  I  ever  knew.  His  class-room 
was  always  filled  with  radiations  of  animation  and  wit.  He 
had  an  original  way  of  putting  things,  and  expounded  every- 
thing with  such  vim  and  snap  that  no  one  could  sleep  in  his 
class-room  and  all  must  listen  and  learn.  As  an  illustration 
of  his  quick  wit,  I  remember  that  a  classmate  of  mine  was 
reading  German  one  day,  when  he  unwittingly  translated 
the  word '  bauer '  as  pheasant,  whereupon  Professor  Goodell 


138  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

immediately  remarked:  *  Don't  make  game  of  him,  don't 
make  game  of  him.'" 

The  eminent  diplomatist  who  represented  with  distin- 
guished ability  the  Chinese  Empire  for  some  years  at 
Washington,  Sir  Chentung  Liang-Cheng,  writing  from 
Berlin,  pays  the  following  tribute  to  the  influence  of  the 
character  of  President  Goodell :  — 

It  was  my  good  fortune  in  my  boyhood  days  spent  as  a 
student  in  America,  to  have  enjoyed  the  friendship  and  ever- 
inspiring  influence  of  Professor  Goodell.  And  now  I  avail 
[myself  of]  the  opportunity  to  express  my  deep  satisfaction 
that  a  memoir  of  his  life  is  being  written,  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  one  whose  life  of  usefulness  may  be  well  fol- 
lowed by  others. 

Professor  Goodell  possessed  all  the  human  good  quali- 
ties which  won  for  him  the  respect  and  love  of  his  students, 
his  neighbors  and  his  acquaintances.  He  was  a  man  with  a 
big  heart,  always  ready  and  most  cheerful  to  assist  or  do  a 
kind  turn  to  his  fellowmen.  He  oftentimes  sacrificed  his 
own  wants,  in  a  quiet  way,  in  order  to  relieve  the  more  ur- 
gent needs  of  those  who  were  under  his  charge.  Duty  to 
his  college,  which  he  had  served  so  faithfully  and  admir- 
ably, was  his  foremost  interest.  He  labored  incessantly  for 
its  betterment,  notwithstanding  his  failing  health  demanded 
a  relax  of  his  energies.  His  cheerfulness  never  seemed  to 
forsake  him  even  under  the  most  perplexing  circumstances. 
He  was  ever  ready  to  have  a  sympathetic  word  and  impart 
his  counsel  to  the  youthful  student  who  sought  his  guid- 
ance; and  was  always  able  to  inspire  hope  and  courage.  To 


CONCLUSION  139 

be  in  his  association  was  to  survive  in  an  atmosphere  of 
cheerfulness  and  enlightenment. 

A  soldier,  as  well  as  educator,  one  cannot  fail  to  be  im- 
pressed by  him.  The  highest  citizenship  is  public  welfare 
first  and  private  interest  secondary.  Nor  can  one  be  re- 
strained to  be  imbued  from  him  that  sense  of  honor,  justice, 
duty,  and  fraternity  —  all  essential  qualities  for  the  make- 
up of  a  successful  and  a  happy  life. 

Professor  Goodell,  in  his  long  valuable  service  to  the 
Massachusetts  State  Agricultural  College,  during  which 
time  a  number  of  my  countrymen  have  received  his  watch- 
ful care,  has  moulded  the  lives  of  many  a  sturdy  young 
man  for  the  world  of  usefulness.  His  life  will  be  cherished 
with  grateful  memory  by  all.  No  profusion  of  words  is 
sufficient  to  exalt  his  noble  character.  And  the  same  grate- 
ful sentiments  will  be  reechoed  from  the  fields  of  distant 
Manchuria  and  from  the  far-off  shores  of  the  Orient. 

Chentung  Liang-Cheng. 

Berlin,  25th  April,  1911. 

And  still  another  says:  "President  Goodell  was  an  in- 
spiring teacher,  very  thorough  and  exacting  in  his  work, 
and  spared  himself  no  pains  in  making  his  subjects  thor- 
oughly understood  by  his  students.  He  had  a  great  faculty 
for  discerning  very  quickly  whether  or  not  a  student  under- 
stood the  matter  he  was  trying  to  present,  and  had  little 
patience  with  shamming  or  superficial  work.  From  the 
earliest  days  he  evidently  had  a  very  strong  influence  over 
the  boys.  He  was  to  them  a  counsellor  and  companion,  one 
whom  they  admired  and  trusted.  He  always  impressed  me 
as  being  eminently  just.  He  divorced  personal  feeling  from 
official  duty." 


140  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

To  help  his  classes  in  history  and  literature  he  drew  up 
and  published  "A  List  of  Fictitious  Works  illustrating  His- 
toric Epochs,"  giving  the  century  when  and  the  country 
where  the  scenes  of  the  stories  were  laid.  There  are  some- 
thing like  five  hundred  and  fifty  entries.  He  prepared  also 
a  Chart  of  Contemporary  Sovereigns  of  Europe. 

Discipline  in  an  army  and  discipline  in  a  college  is  an  es- 
sential feature  in  the  success  of  both.  President  Goodell 
seems  to  have  understood  how  to  get  on  with  young  men. 
As  a  disciplinarian  it  has  been  said  by  one  who  had  been  long 
associated  with  him  in  the  Faculty:  "He  was  patient  and 
long-suffering,  but  when  patience  was  exhausted  and  trans- 
gression was  continued,  he  was  firm  and  unyielding  in  in- 
flicting punishment.  He  knew  when  to  compromise,  and 
the  kindness  of  his  heart  prompted  him  to  search  for  every 
avenue  of  compromise  not  inconsistent  with  justice  and 
equity.  He  knew  too  when  not  to  compromise,  and  when 
this  time  came  he  was  ready  to  stand  his  ground  regardless 
of  the  consequences  personal  to  himself." 

The  faculty  of  a  college  are  not  always  "a  happy  family," 
and  it  is  sometimes  more  difficult  to  govern  them  than  the 
student  body.  One  of  President  Goodell's  predecessors 
is  said  (on  good  authority)  to  have  remarked,  that  "the 
students  did  not  give  him  half  as  much  trouble  as  the 
professors  and  their  wives."  In  answer  to  the  question, 
"What  were  President  Goodell's  relations  to  his  Faculty  ? ' 
the  following  answer  was  received  from  one  who  had  full 
knowledge  of  the  case. 

"In  all  his  relations  with  his  Faculty,  President  Goodell 
was  uniformly  kind  and  considerate.  He  respected  the 
dignity  and  authority  of  his  Faculty  as  a  governing  body. 


CONCLUSION  141 

In  cases  of  severe  discipline  he  always  allowed  the  students 
to  have  a  fair  and  impartial  hearing;  but  when  the  Faculty 
had  reached  a  decision  and  passed  sentence,  he  insisted 
that  there  should  be  no  appeal  and  that  the  sentence  be 
executed.  He  had  great  sympathy  with  inexperienced 
teachers.  Many  an  hour  did  he  give  in  counsel  and  advice 
to  them,  trying  to  bring  them  lessons  from  his  own  experi- 
ence. Even  when  he  thought  that  the  archer  would  never 
be  able  successfully  to  "teach  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot," 
he  would  hope  against  hope  and  give  the  unfortunate  an- 
other chance.  Among  the  many  hearts  saddened  by  his 
death  not  a  few  were  those  whom  the  President  had  helped 
in  the  trying  task  of  teaching  college  students." 

His  acquaintances  were  very  numerous.  There  were 
probably  very  few  men  interested  in  industrial  education 
whom  he  did  not  know  personally;  and  beyond  this,  from 
year  to  year  he  had  been  accustomed  to  appear  before 
committees  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  and  of  the 
National  Congress,  and  became  acquainted  with  the  leading 
men  in  those  shifting  assemblies,  and  he  never  forgot  their 
looks  or  their  opinions.  Such  was  his  nature  that  the  casual 
acquaintance  was  so  favorably  disposed  toward  him  as  to 
proceed  naturally  to  esteem  and  friendship.  His  circle  of 
friends  was  very  large,  and  included  the  representatives 
of  all  conditions,  all  parties,  all  races,  and  all  religions.  Dif- 
ferences of  opinion  on  important  points,  and  even  sharp 
contests  where  large  pecuniary  interests  were  involved,  did 
not  disturb  his  feelings  toward  the  friend  who  opposed.  In 
the  contest  between  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 
and  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  in  regard 
to  the  division  of  the  money  granted  by  the  Federal  govern- 


142  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

ment  for  agricultural  and  mechanical  education,  the  two 
contestants,  President  Goodell  and  President  Francis  A. 
Walker,  came  into  court  every  morning,  shook  hands,  chat- 
ted together  and  addressed  each  other  by  the  old  familiar 
names  of  " Frank"  and  "Harry."  Yet  each  one  was  dead 
in  earnest  that  he  was  right,  and  the  other  was  wrong; 
but  when  the  smoke  of  the  contest  had  cleared  away,  it  did 
not  leave  even  the  shadow  of  a  light  cloud  on  their  spirits. 
Indeed  his  loyalty  to  his  friends  was  chivalrous.  He  could 
not  desert  a  friend  even  when  that  friend  was  guilty  of 
an  unpardonable  mistake  or  even  a  crime.  He  illustrated 
in  his  conduct  Emerson's  declaration,  "A  friend  may  be 
regarded  as  the  masterpiece  of  Nature." 

President  Goodell  was  a  man  of  deep,  strong  and  active 
humanitarian  sentiments.  He  knew  what  it  cost  to  be  pa- 
triotic in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  in  "times  that  tried 
men's  souls,"  and  his  interest  in  his  old  companions  in 
arms  was  green  and  fresh  to  the  last.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Loyal  Legion  and  of  the  Edwin  M.  Stanton  Grand 
Army  post,  was  commander  at  one  time  of  the  post  and 
for  many  years  a  member  of  the  relief  committee.  He 
looked  after  the  memory  of  the  dead  with  tender  care;  the 
unfortunate  were  always  an  object  of  his  solicitude,  and 
his  apology  for  the  old  soldier,  who  had  lost  not  a  leg  or  an 
arm,  but  his  self-control,  is  a  fine  bit  of  writing  on  a  high 
plane  of  morality. 

Insight  as  keen  as  frosty  star 
Was  to  his  charity  no  bar. 

He  had  a  profound  sympathy  with  the  toiling  millions 
of  earth,  whose  names  are  writ  on  water,  who  have  done  so 


CONCLUSION  143 

much  for  man  and  his  advancement,  and  when  talking 
of  their  situation  would  often  repeat  the  lines  of  Bayard 
Taylor,  which  seem  to  have  been  favorites  with  him. 

The  healing  of  the  world 
Is  in  its  nameless  Saints.   Each  separate  star 
Seems  nothing,  but  a  myriad  separate  stars 
Break  up  the  night  and  make  it  beautiful. 

He  was  very  much  interested  in  the  views  of  Prince 
Kropotkin,  especially  in  his  articles  on  '*  Mutual  Aid': 
which  appeared  in  the  u  Nineteenth  Century."  In  these 
articles  the  Prince  brought  out  the  fact  that  the  great 
principle  of  mutual  aid  gave  the  best  chance  for  the 
survival  of  those  who  best  support  each  other  in  the 
struggle  for  life.  He  began  with  the  lower  animals  and 
traced  it  through  savagery,  barbarism,  and  every  stage 
of  civilization.  The  wealth  of  illustration  and  the  tri- 
umphant march  of  the  argument  cleared  up  some  vexed 
questions  in  GoodelPs  mind  and  strengthened  his  opti- 
mistic views  by  showing  that  the  realization  of  the  golden 
rule  was  a  part  of  Nature's  plan. 

His  sympathies  were  not  of  a  sentimental  nature.  There 
was  hardly  a  movement  for  social  betterment  in  his  time 
in  which  he  was  not  interested.  But  what  he  did  was  usu- 
ally done  quietly,  with  the  hope  to  secure  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  case.  His  ideas  of  woman  as  wife  and  mother 
have  been  made  sufficiently  evident,  but  he  did  not  con- 
fine her  activities  to  those  important  functions  and  was 
desirous  to  illustrate  her  contributions  to  civilization  in 
another  direction.  For  this  purpose  he  gathered  materials 
for  a  paper  on  "Woman  as  an  Inventor,"  but  failing  health 
compelled  him  to  abandon  the  project  for  the  time  being. 


144  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

In  1891,  he  called  the  attention  of  the  Executive  of  the 
Commonwealth  to  the  "sweating  system,"  sending  refer- 
ences, to  which  Governor  Russell  replied:  "I  thank  you 
very  much  for  your  letter  of  March  9  with  its  references  on 
the  *  sweating  system,'  which  I  shall  be  glad  to  examine." 

In  his  immediate  environment  he  was  a  transcendent 
power  of  beneficent  action,  but  this  action  was  silent  in  its 
operations  and  shunned  publicity.  Indeed,  he  was  one  of 
those  rare  spirits,  "who  passing  through  the  valley  of 
Baca  make  it  a  well." 

He  was  one  of  the  most  grateful  of  men,  and  his  grati- 
tude extended  beyond  the  courteous  or  kindly  act  done  per- 
sonally to  him  to  the  heroes  who  had  struck  a  blow  for 
right,  or  ennobled  life  by  a  heroic  deed  or  beautiful  thought. 
This  enabled  him  to  appreciate  every  institution,  or  opin- 
ion, that  had  done  anything  to  ennoble  the  lot  of  men.  He 
probably  thought  that  the  monks  were  men  "whose  chief 
distinction  was  to  be  unmanly";  but  he  saw  one  phase  of 
their  life,  and  in  his  address  on  "The Influence  of  the  Monks 
on  Agriculture,"  he  speaks  of  them  as  fellow  workers.  It 
was  a  luxury  to  do  him  a  favor,  not  because  he  never  forgot 
it,  but  because  he  made  you  feel  that  he  stood  on  that  high 
vantage  ground  where  a  "grateful  mind  by  owing  owes 
not." 

He  saw  the  beauty  in  the  common  relations  of  life,  in 
noble  conduct,  in  heroic  deeds,  in  wide  sympathies  and  in 
the  aspirations  of  mankind.  Of  the  invocation  at  the  end 
of  the  Governor's  Proclamation  for  the  annual  Thanks- 
giving,—  "God  save  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts," —  he  said,  "It  always  fills  me  with  uncontrollable 
emotions,  and  I  wonder  how  anybody  can  read  it  in  public." 


CONCLUSION  145 

He  loved  to  read  that  stirring  Lyric  of  Brownell,  "The 
Bay  Fight,"  when  "Farragut's  Flag  was  flying,"  but  he 
could  never  get  beyond  the  passage  beginning:  "Up  went 
the  white."  What  follows  is  a  vivid  description  of  the  sud- 
den change  that  comes  over  brave  men,  all  savage  with 
fight,  when  they  come  to  look  at  the  cost  of  victory,  the 
dead,  the  dying,  the  wounded,  and  think  of  the  heartrend- 
ing sorrows  that  come  to  men,  women  and  little  children 
in  some  far-away  and  once  happy  home. 

Although  not  "a  book  man,"  or  a  collector  of  books,  in 
the  ordinary  sense,  he  was  a  lover  of  books  and  familiar 
with  the  great  masters  of  our  speech  from  Chaucer  to 
Tennyson.  Literature  was  to  him  not  so  much  an  inter- 
preter of  nature  and  man,  as  a  revelation  of  the  widening 
possibilities  of  human  life,  of  finer  modes  of  feeling,  and  of 
nobler  thoughts.  Of  the  older  writers,  Edmund  Spenser 
seems  to  have  been  a  favorite,  and  as  he  entered  the  long 
picture-gallery  of  the  "Faerie  Queene,"  he  felt  as  Milton 
did:  "Our  sage  and  serious  Spenser  is  a  better  teacher  than 
Scotus  or  Aquinas."  The  old  dramatists,  who  are  known 
to  the  great  majority  of  modern  readers  only  by  name,  were 
a  mine  in  which  he  worked,  and  he  made  extensive  studies 
of  some  of  them.  Massinger  seems  to  have  been  his  favorite. 
He  possessed  in  a  remarkable  degree  "retentiveness," 
which  George  Eliot  calls  "a  rare  and  massive  power,  like 
fortitude."  It  is  indeed  a  happy  gift  to  be  able  to  enjoy  and 
profit  by  a  good  book  and  keep  both  the  enjoyment  and 
the  profit  as  a  perpetual  inheritance.  He  had  a  remarkably 
retentive  memory  which  served  him  well  both  in  work  and 
play.  The  scenes  he  had  witnessed,  the  persons  he  had  met, 
the  heroic  deeds  and  noble  thoughts  of  which  he  had  heard 


146  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

or  read,  seemed  to  hang  to  it  as  clusters  of  grapes  to  their 
stem,  always  ripe  and  ready  for  use.  But,  more  than  this, 
he  had  a  peculiar  memory  for  queer  things  and  odd  scraps 
of  poetry,  old  saws,  bits  of  simon-pure  nonsense,  the  blun- 
ders or  unfortunate  speeches  of  his  friends,  and  he  had  an 
abrupt  way  of  addressing  them,  suggested  by  some  curious 
thing  in  the  past.  One  of  his  students,  now  the  president  of 
an  agricultural  college,  he  usually  accosted  with  some  long 
German  compound,  as  — "  Constantinopolischerdudel- 
sackspleikugesellschaf  t ! " 

While  this  love  of  literature  left  a  charming  impression 

upon  his  reports  and  addresses,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  was 

carried  into  the  curriculum  of  the  college,  it  made  itself  felt 

in  another  and  very  practical  way.   Year  by  year  we  find 

a  statement  in  the  annual  report  of  the  value  of  the  library, 

and  the  statements  grow  stronger  with  advancing  years. 

"What  tools  and  stock  are  to  the  workman,"  he  says, 

"books  are  to  the  professor  and  students.    The  library  is 

the  right  arm  of  the  instructor  and  the  most  important 

factor  in  the  education  of  the  pupil.  There  is  no  one  thing 

which  conduces  so  powerfully  to  intellectual  growth  and 

activity  in  a  college  as  a  general  and  intelligent  use  of  the 

library."   Again,  "In  its  relations  to  education  the  library 

goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  instruction  in  the  recitation 

room  and  is  its  strongest  support.  It  touches  the  pupil  and 

the  teacher  alike,  and  is  the  fountain-head  from  which  each 

department  draws  its  inspiration."   In  the  last  report  but 

one  he  says:  "The  library  should  be  kept  up  to  the  very 

highest  state  of  efficiency.   It  is  really  the  pivot  on  which 

the  whole  college  turns  and  should  be  the  very  centre  of 

college  life."  He  acted  for  many  years  as  librarian,  and  gave 


CONCLUSION  147 

a  good  deal  of  thought  and  the  best  part  of  his  spare  time 
to  building  up  and  strengthening  the  library  along  the 
lines  of  study  pursued  in  the  college.  As  the  result  of  his 
untiring  efforts  it  became  one  of  the  best  equipped  libra- 
ries for  its  purpose  in  the  country,  and  one  that  the  people 
of  the  Commonwealth  have  a  just  right  to  be  proud  of. 
Toward  the  last  he  began  to  call  attention  to  its  limited 
quarters  and  said  that  a  new  fire-proof  building  would  be 
needed  in  the  near  future. 

But  his  interest  in  libraries  was  not  confined  to  that  of 
the  college.  He  lent  a  helping  hand  in  building  up  the  li- 
brary of  the  town  of  Amherst.  With  this  institution  he 
was  connected  in  various  ways  for  twenty-seven  years,  and 
here  as  everywhere  he  was  not  a  figure-head,  or  contented 
to  give  a  little  good  advice,  but  a  worker.  It  is  said  that  the 
card-catalogue  contains  some  seven  thousand  entries  in 
his  handwriting.  He  thought  that  the  libraries  of  the  land- 
grant  colleges  should  be  enriched  by  the  publications  of  the 
government,  and  that  so  important  a  matter  should  not 
be  left  to  the  representatives  of  the  various  states  in  Con- 
gress but  should  be  upon  a  firm  basis.  To  accomplish  this 
he  commenced  a  campaign  with  great  earnestness.  In 
reply  to  his  appeal  Senator  George  F.  Hoar  writes :  — 

February  24,  1900 

My  dear  President  Goodell,  —  I  think  the  Land- 
Grant  Colleges  should  all  be  public  depositories  of  public 
documents,  and  I  will  endeavor  to  have  the  pending  bill 
so  amended  as  to  accomplish  the  purpose. 

I  am  faithfully  yours, 

Geo.  F.  Hoar. 


148  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Many  of  the  symbols  of  religion  in  common  use  were  ex- 
ceedingly distasteful  to  him  on  account  of  what  seemed 
to  him  their  coarse  and  vulgar  materialism,  and  he  did 
not  possess  the  faculty  of  spiritualizing  that  which  had 
no  possible  suggestion  of  the  spirit.  Of  religion  itself  he  said 
little  and  of  theology  nothing,  especially  in  his  later  years. 
His  early  impressions  on  the  subject  were  calvinistic  in  their 
tone  and  temper  and  would  probably  seem  rigid  from  the 
standpoint  of  to-day.  But  Calvinism  was  in  its  best  days 
one  of  the  finest  schools  for  the  education  of  the  domestic 
affections  the  world  has  ever  seen,  and  his  loyalty  to  the 
memory  of  his  father  and  his  teachings  may  have  led  to 
his  reticence  on  this  subject.  During  freshman  year  (No- 
vember 14, 1858)  he  united  with  the  church  connected  with 
Amherst  College,  and  seems  never  to  have  severed  his 
relations  with  it.  But  after  his  marriage,  as  there  was  no 
church  of  the  denomination  his  wife  preferred  in  town,  a 
compromise  was  made  and  they  worshiped  at  the  Episco- 
pal church.  Although  he  was  never  a  communicant  he  held 
several  offices  in  the  society  and  was  clerk  of  the  parish 
long  after  his  position  as  president  made  it  incumbent  on 
him  to  attend  services  at  the  College  chapel,  although  he 
always  maintained  that  the  college,  being  a  state  institu- 
tion, should  not  be  connected  with  any  particular  form  of 
religion.  There  is  every  evidence  that  he  was  attracted  by 
the  preacher  more  than  by  any  dogmas  he  might  or  might 
not  teach.  When  a  young  man  he  used  to  attend,  as  oppor- 
tunity offered,  services  at  the  West  (Unitarian)  Church, 
Boston,  and  he  wrote  that  when  his  family  heard  of  it  they 
were  both  shocked  and  alarmed,  but  he  said  that  he  did  not 
know  that  he  was  walking  in  the  paths  of  Satan  until  they 


CONCLUSION  149 

told  him.  The  truth  was  that  the  preacher's  poetic  inter- 
pretation of  things  and  events,  and  the  light  he  threw  on 
the  hidden  beauty  and  inner  meaning  of  the  common  re- 
lations of  life,  fascinated  him.  He  was  looking  for  what  the 
preacher  suggested  concerning  the  significance  and  reality 
of  daily  life,  rather  than  for  either  of  the  doxies,  and  he  saw 
neither.  His  mind  was  so  liberal  that  there  was  probably 
not  a  church  in  Christendom  with  whom  he  could  not  have 
worshiped,  but  it  is  very  doubtful  whether  he  would  have 
united  with  any  of  them. 

When  asked  what  he  thought  of  death,  he  replied:  "It  is 
a  perfectly  natural  event  and  that  is  all  we  know  about  it." 
To  funerals  as  usually  conducted  he  had  an  instinctive 
aversion.  His  cheerful  and  hopeful  nature  recoiled  from 
the  amount  of  doleful  and  depressing  Scripture  commonly 
read,  and  the  dark  symbols  of  mortality  so  often  exhibited 
were  not  in  accordance  with  his  feelings  or  thoughts  on 
such  occasions.  "How  easy,"  he  said  in  going  away  from 
the  funeral  of  one  of  his  friends,  "how  easy  it  would  have 
been  to  have  selected  some  Scripture  that  would  have 
cheered  and  comforted  instead  of  that  which  was  so  chilly 
and  heartless!  It  was  enough  to  give  one  the  nightmare." 

It  is  easier  to  get  a  look  at  the  true  inwardness  of  the 
moral  and  religious  tone  of  a  man's  mind  and  nature  by 
what  he  loves  than  by  what  he  says.  In  talking  with  a 
friend  as  they  sat  on  the  piazza  of  his  home,  the  conversa- 
tion turned  on  favorite  passages  in  literature ;  and  after  the 
exchange  of  quite  a  number,  he  went  into  the  library  and 
brought  out  a  copy  of  Edmund  Spenser,  and  turning  to  the 
8th Canto  of  the  second  book  of  the" Faerie Queene," read 
not  without  emotion  the  two  opening  stanzas :  — 


150  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

And  is  there  care  in  heaven?   And  is  there  love 
In  heavenly  spirits  to  these  creatures  bace 
That  may  compassion  of  their  evilles  move? 
There  is:  else  much  more  wretched  were  the  cace 
Of  men  then  beasts.   But  O!  th'  exceeding  grace 
Of  highest  God  that  loves  his  creatures  so, 
And  all  his  workes  with  mercy  doth  embrace, 
That  blessed  Angels  he  sends  to  and  fro, 
To  serve  to  wicked  men,  to  serve  his  wicked  foe. 

"  How  oft  do  they  their  silver  bowers  leave, 
To  come  to  succour  us  that  succour  want! 
How  oft  do  they  with  golden  pineons  cleave 
The  flitting  skyes,  like  flying  Pursuivant, 
Against  fowle  feendes  to  ayd  us  militant! 
They  for  us  fight,  they  watch  and  dewly  ward, 
And  their  bright  Squadrons  round  about  us  plant: 
And  all  for  love,  and  nothing  for  reward. 
O!  why  should  hevenly  God  to  men  have  such  regard?" 

A  man  who  really  feels  what  these  lines  express,  —  that 
there  is  an  eternal  guardianship  of  the  individual  and  his 
highest  interests  by  an  infinitely  wise  and  intelligent  good- 
ness; that  the  air  of  this  world  is  filled  with  ministering 
powers  and  helpful  judgments,  —  has  arrived  at  a  very 
high  altitude  of  experience.  Come  what  may,  be  it  sun- 
shine or  storm,  victory  or  apparent  defeat,  it  is  all  the  same 
to  him.  Cheerfulness,  hopefulness  and  courage  will  inspire 
him  to  the  work  that  is  before  him,  and  no  stormy  night, 
however  dark,  can  quench  the  genial  light  that  emanates 
from  the  thought  of  a  living  God  in  a  living  Humanity. 

Henry  Hill  Goodell  did  the  work  of  a  true  man.  He  was 
a  brave  soldier,  an  inspiring  teacher,  an  able  administra- 
tor, an  active  citizen,  and  a  dear  good  friend.  Into  all  these 
relations  and  duties  he  put  a  fine  spirit  of  mingled  cheerful- 
ness, hopefulness  and  courage.    The  monuments  he  has 


CONCLUSION  151 

built  in  the  hearts  of  his  many  friends  may  seem  even  now 
to  be  crumbling  to  the  dust;  but  things  are  not  as  they 
seem;  they  will  stand  "while  time  and  thought  and  being 
last  and  immortality  endures."  He  was  an  important  fac- 
tor at  the  beginning  of  a  great  work  destined  to  be  of  in- 
calculable importance  to  a  great  people;  and  when  its  his- 
tory is  written  he  will  appear  as  a  wise  and  courageous 
pioneer  and  be  assigned  to  his  rightful  place  by  an  admiring 
and  grateful  posterity. 


ADDRESSES 


HOW  THE  PAY  OF  A  REGIMENT  WAS 
CARRIED  TO  NEW  ORLEANS1 

You  have  done  me  the  honor  to  ask  me  to  address  you 
to-night  on  some  personal  incidents  connected  with  the 
late  war,  and  I  accept  the  more  gladly  because,  when  those 
stirring  scenes  were  being  enacted,  you  who  sit  before  me 
to-night  were  only  a  possibility  and  had  not  then  become 
an  actuality.  It  seems  hard  to  believe  that  a  generation 
has  passed  away  —  a  whole  generation  of  breathing,  speak- 
ing men;  and  when  another  thirty  years  has  gone,  there  will 
remain  few  if  any  survivors  to  tell  the  story  of  those  days. 
It  is  fitting  then,  before  the  whole  has  faded  into  a  dream 
of  the  past,  enveloped  by  that  haze  which  time  eventually 
throws  round  everything  of  bygone  times,  to  try  and  recall 
some  few  of  its  features.  What  was  worth  fighting  for  dur- 
ing four  years  is  worth  talking  about  now  —  not  boastingly, 
but  reverently,  forever  and  forever  and  forever. 

If  law  and  order,  honor,  civil  right  — 

If  they  wan't  worth  it,  what  was  worth  a  fight? 

Happily  all  strife  is  ended.  The  loyal  common  sense  of 
the  nation  demands  and  will  have  a  real  peace,  that  means 

1  This  address  was  prepared  for  the  Grand  Army  post  in  Amherst,  and 
was  afterwards  repeated,  with  some  alterations,  at  the  request  of  the 
students  of  the  Agricultural  College.  As  here  printed  it  was  delivered  to 
the  students. 


156  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

a  peace  of  political  life,  not  the  peace  of  political  death. 
"No  North!  No  South!  No  East!  No  West!  But  one 
people,"  —  as  our  lamented  Governor,  in  his  matchless  ad- 
dress at  Chattanooga,  puts  it,  —  "but  one  people,  animated 
by  one  purpose  as  splendid  as  ever  the  heart  of  man  con- 
ceived, —  with  one  destiny,  so  grand  and  high  that  it  fills 
the  future  with  a  glory  such  as  the  sons  of  men  never  looked 
on  before." 

Old  Homer  in  his  blindness  understood  this  when  he  put 
into  the  mouth  of  the  gallant  Trojan  these  words:  "Tell  me 
not  of  auguries.  Let  your  birds  fly  to  the  East  or  to  the 
West.  I  care  not  in  this  cause;  we  obey  the  will  of  Zeus  who 
rules  over  us  all,  and  our  own  best  omen  is  our  country's 
cause." 

Did  you  ever  think  how  large  a  part  sentiment  plays  in 
the  great  crises  of  the  world?  In  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life 
one  acute  Yankee  peddler  mind  is  worth  more  for  service 
to  his  day  and  generation  than  forty  poetic  souls ;  but  when 
the  storm  and  strife  of  politics  split  states,  and  we  are  where 
steel  and  not  gold  will  get  us  honorably  and  honestly  out, 
and  the  world  is  war,  then  it  is  that  the  sentimental  side 
of  human  nature,  that  sentiment  that  poets  and  thinkers 
feel,  steps  to  the  front  and  leads  where  the  peddler  nature 
dares  not  lead  the  way.  The  men  who  hold  the  widest  sway 
in  the  hearts  of  humanity,  who  have  defended  liberty  when 
assaulted,  who  have  poured  oil  and  healing  balm  into  her 
wounds  after  battle,  are  the  men  of  this  sort,  men  of  this 
deep,  poetic  instinct,  this  moral  tenderness,  this  apprecia- 
tion of  the  immortal.  It  is  all  that  survives  of  the  influence 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  of  every  ancient  state.  Sparta,  a  land 
of  soldiers  and  slaves,  gave  us  nothing;  but  the  airy-minded 


ADDRESSES  157 

Athenian,  the  antique  dreamer,  holds  the  ear  and  the  eye 
of  the  race  to-day.  Philip  and  his  phalanx  drove  Demos- 
thenes to  death;  while  Demosthenes  touches  the  lips  of 
every  fiery-souled  orator  that  has  ever  stirred  us  to  tears 
or  rage.  It  is  Plato's  page  against  the  sword  of  Sparta.  It 
is  the  difference  between  Hamilton,  the  financial  savior  of 
a  poor  and  struggling  nation,  and  Jay  Gould,  the  mere 
dancing  bear  of  a  stock-market,  —  the  statesman  versus 
the  speculator.  It  is  Napoleon  at  Wagram,  riding  up  and 
down  his  shot-riddled  ranks  to  save  his  crown,  as  opposed 
to  Winthrop  or  Shaw  leading  the  assault  to  save  his  coun- 
try. It  is  the  man  who  thought  and  fought  for  all  time  as 
opposed  to  the  man  who  fought  only  for  himself  and  his 
little  hour.  It  is  spirituality  against  sordidness;  it  is  high 
thoughts  against  low;  it  is  the  visible  against  the  invisible; 
it  is  the  dollar  against  the  whole  duty  of  man;  it  is  the  world 
and  its  baseness  against  heaven  and  its  purity. 

There  has  been  a  great  amount  of  nonsense  written  about 
the  war  and  its  heroes.  In  books,  war  is  most  dramatic 
and  poetic  reading;  in  life  it  is  horrid  cruelty,  pure,  unadul- 
terated cruelty  —  the  savagery  of  wild  beasts.  The  harvest 
blackens  beneath  its  breath,  the  sweet,  fair  flowers  cower 
and  pale  at  its  approach.  The  springing  grass  is  crushed 
under  the  ceaseless  roll  of  artillery  wheels,  or  is  dyed  a 
crimson  red,  drunk  with  the  blood  of  heroes.  Leonidas  and 
his  brave  three  hundred,  dark  with  the  dust  and  blood  of 
conflict,  —  that  was  real  war,  and  yet  fair  ladies  who  have 
read  their  story  with  kindling  eyes  and  burning  cheek  would 
have  thought  them  no  lovely  sight  in  their  hour  of  travail. 
The  hero  of  a  Sunday-school  book  is  sometimes  a  muff  or  a 
milk-sop,  sometimes  a  fair  ideal;  but  the  hero  of  a  battle- 


158  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

field,  grimed  with  powder,  ay,  sometimes  black  with  guilt, 
is  life,  —  half -humanities,  half -brutalities.  Shakespere 
makes  Norfolk  in  the  play  say :  — 

"As  gentle  and  as  jocund,  as  to  jest 
Go  I  to  fight." 

There  are  natures,  I  suppose,  occasionally,  who  really 
feel  the  joy  of  conflict  and  go  as  jocund  to  a  fray  as  to  a 
feast;  but  in  my  heart  of  hearts  I  cannot  help  suspecting 
them.  Thank  heaven!  they  are  few  and  far  between.  No- 
body sane  and  fairly  intelligent  ever  went  out  to  try  conclu- 
sions with  death  in  this  dancing  humor,  and  the  heroism 
of  the  boys  in  blue  had  little  of  pride  and  pomp,  of  sounding 
music  and  streaming  banner  and  "Vive  l'Empereur"bois- 
terousness  about  it.  No!  there  was  nothing  of  the  kid- 
glove  review  or  pomp  and  finish  of  a  dress  parade  about 
their  battles.  With  faces  drawn  and  gray,  with  heart  in 
mouth  and  pulse  beating  like  a  trip-hammer,  men  stood  and 
fought,  wondering  whether  they  could  possibly  hold  on  a 
single  moment  longer,  wondering  whether  it  were  possible 
they  could  ever  get  out  alive,  and  yet  fixing  their  unyield- 
ing feet  as  firmly  in  the  earth  as  a  badger's  claws  and  mak- 
ing a  badger's  bitter  fight,  simply  because  it  was  the  hard 
but  single  road  to  their  full  duty.  Homely  heroes  they  were, 
but  as  genuine  specimens  as  ever  fought  at  the  front  and 
fell  where  they  fought. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  think  that  a  man  with  heroism 
enough  to  rally  a  losing  fight  by  personal  exposure  should 
not  be  noble  all  the  way  through,  but  human  nature  is  often 
like  a  pocket-mine  out  of  which  may  come  great  nuggets, 
but  no  continuous  yield.    So  the  man  who  astonishes  you 


ADDRESSES  159 

by  taking  his  life  in  his  hands  and  heroically  exposing  it 
may  often  disappoint  you  by  sordidness  when  you  expect 
continuous  and  consistent  sacrifice.  There  was  none  of 
the  romance  of  historical  heroism  about  our  boys :  in  camp 
there  was  something  of  the  meanness,  something  of  the 
hypocrisy,  something  of  the  cowardice  and  blatant  boast- 
ing found  among  mankind  out  of  camps;  but  this  was  ex- 
ceptional where  suffering  and  privation  and  peril  were 
daily  probing  every  man  to  the  very  marrowbones  of  his 
manhood.  There  is  sturdy,  admirable  manliness  in  dying 
bravely  for  error,  but  there  is  more  than  manliness,  there 
is  magnificent  moral  sense,  in  dying  for  truth.  Courage 
alone  is  not  a  patent  of  nobility,  for  Macbeth,  steeped  to 
his  lips  in  crime,  teemed  with  valor,  with  desperate,  Satanic, 
self -preservative,  not  self -abnegating  instinct.  Martyrdom 
is  of  itself  no  proof  of  morality;  many  a  so-called  martyr's 
ashes  are  not  worth  collecting;  the  smoke  of  his  sacrifice 
only  vexed  the  sweet  air  of  heaven,  and  his  blood  was  the 
seed  of  no  church  that  was  worth  humanity's  sustaining. 

The  poor  drunken  wretches  in  tattered  clothes,  reeling 
through  our  streets  to-day,  but  wearing  the  button  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  are  not  pleasant  objects  to 
contemplate  and  are  too  often  dismissed  with  sneer  and 
scorn.  But  never  forget  the  debt  of  gratitude  you  owe  them. 
Life  was  just  as  dear  to  them  as  to  you,  but  they  risked  it. 
Death  was  just  as  much  an  object  of  fear  to  them  as  to  you, 
but  they  dared  it.  And  for  what?  For  a  mere  bit  of  senti- 
ment? For  a  bit  of  bunting  bearing  a  square  of  blue,  sown 
with  stars,  and  barred  with  stripes  of  red  and  white?  No! 
not  that.  But  for  an  idea,  a  principle,  eternal  as  the  ever- 
lasting hills, — for  right,  for  justice,  for  humanity.   Forgive 


160  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

them  then  for  the  sake  of  the  victory  they  won.  Forgive 
them  for  the  blood  they  lavishly  poured  out.  Forgive  them 
for  the  lives  they  freely  offered. 

Martyrs  for  freedom  cannot  die. 

When  marches  end,  when  strifes  are  o'er, 
In  deathless  deeds  they  live,  whose  sleep 

The  roll-call  shall  disturb  no  more. 

I  have  wandered  far  from  my  subject,  but  I  could  not 
help  giving  expression  to  the  thoughts  that  have  so  often 
burned  within  me,  as  sitting  on  the  chapel  stage  I  have 
looked  down  into  your  faces  and  realized  how  little  you 
could  possibly  know  or  feel  the  great  heart-throbs  of  your 
country  during  the  years  1861  to  1865.  But  you  have  asked 
me  for  some  personal  reminiscence,  and  discarding  those 
of  general  interest,  I  have  selected  an  incident  which  may 
be  entitled,  "How  the  pay  of  a  regiment  was  carried  to 
New  Orleans." 

It  was  the  spring  of  1863,  and  General  Banks  had  inau- 
gurated the  campaign  which  ended  in  the  capture  of  the 
last  rebel  stronghold.  We  had  marched  to  the  very  out- 
works of  Port  Hudson  and  engaged  the  Confederate  forces 
on  that  historic  night,  when,  lashed  to  the  main-top  high 
above  the  boiling  surges,  stout-hearted  Farragut  drove  his 
vessels  through  the  storm  of  shot  and  shell  that  was  hurled 
upon  him  from  the  heights  above,  and  cut  the  rebel  com- 
munications between  Port  Hudson  and  Vicksburg.  These 
two  fortified  places  were  the  only  ones  left  oo  the  Missis- 
sippi not  in  our  hands.  Grant  was  already  hammering  at 
Vicksburg,  but  before  Port  Hudson  could  be  invested,  it 
was  necessary  to  dispose  of  General  Taylor  and  his  forces, 


ADDRESSES  161 

who  from  their  position  in  the  south  could  fall  upon  our  un- 
protected rear  or  make  a  dash  for  New  Orleans.  Returning 
then  to  our  camp  at  Baton  Rouge,  after  a  few  days'  rest, 
we  were  suddenly  divided  into  two  forces,  one  marching 
down  through  the  country  to  engage  the  enemy  at  New 
Iberia,  and  the  rest  of  us  sent  round  by  water  and  up  through 
the  Atchafalaya  to  intercept  and  cut  them  to  pieces. 

It  was  only  a  partial  success.  Driven  from  their  position 
in  Fort  Bisland,  they  fell  upon  us  in  their  retreat  before 
we  were  fairly  in  position,  and  held  us  in  check  while  the 
whole  army  slipped  by.  Then  commenced  the  long  pursuit, 
enlivened  by  daily  skirmish  and  fighting,  which  lasted 
from  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  to  Shreveport  in  the  extreme 
northwestern  corner  of  the  State,  where  they  were  driven 
across  the  border  into  Texas. 

It  was  on  this  march  that  the  incident  occurred  which  I 
am  about  to  narrate.  We  had  been  marching  all  day,  in 
fact  from  before  the  dawn,  trying  to  reach  the  Bayou  Ver- 
milion before  the  enemy  could  destroy  the  bridge.  Men  fell 
out  by  the  score,  but  still  we  hurried  on  with  all  the  speed 
our  wearied  limbs  could  support.  Just  as  it  was  growing  too 
dark  to  see,  a  battery  opened  upon  us  and  there  was  a  sharp 
charge  of  cavalry.  We  were  hastily  thrown  into  position 
to  receive  them,  but  in  an  instant,  wheeling,  they  had 
dashed  across  the  bridge,  destroying  it  in  our  very  faces 
before  it  could  be  prevented. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  while  we  camped  there, 
waiting  for  the  construction  of  a  new  bridge,  about  half 
the  advance  division  took  the  opportunity  to  strip  and  go 
in  bathing.  Suddenly,  without  an  instant's  warning,  a  troop 
of  cavalry  dashed  down  the  opposite  bank  and  opened  fire 


162  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

upon  us.  Such  a  spectacle  never  before  was  seen.  The  long 
roll  was  sounding,  and  naked  men  in  every  direction  were 
making  a  dash  for  their  guns,  trying  to  dress  as  they  ran. 
Some,  with  their  trousers  on  hindside  before,  did  n't  know 
whether  they  were  advancing  or  retreating  and  ran  the 
wrong  way;  others,  with  simply  a  shirt  and  cap,  were  try- 
ing to  adjust  their  belts.  Officers  were  swearing  and  mounted 
aides  were  dashing  about  trying  to  bring  order  out  of  con- 
fusion. It  was  the  foundation  of  the  story  Kipling  tells  of 
the  parade  after  the  taking  of  Lungtungpen.  "Thin  we 
halted  and  formed  up,  the  wimmen  howling  in  the  houses 
and  Lift'nint  Brazenose  blushin'  pink  in  the  light  av  the 
mornin'  sun.  'T  was  the  most  ondasint  parade  I  iver  tuk  a 
hand  in.  Foive  and  twenty  privits  an'  a  officer  uv  the  line 
in  review  order,  an'  not  so  much  as  wud  dust  a  fife  betune 
'email  in  the  way  of  clothin'.  Eight  avus  had  their  belts 
an'  pouches  on;  but  the  rest  had  gone  in  wid  a  handful  of 
cartridges  an'  the  skin  God  gave  thim.  They  was  as  nakid 
as  Vanus." 

The  next  day  we  were  ordered  to  Barrett's  Landing  to 
act  as  guard  for  a  steamer  coming  up  through  the  bayous 
with  supplies,  and  here  my  story  properly  begins. 

It  was  April  22,  1863,  and  the  regiment,  exhausted  by 
the  conflict  of  the  14th  and  the  rapid  march  ensuing,  fol- 
lowing hard  upon  the  track  of  Taylor's  flying  forces,  from 
Franklin  on  to  Opelousas,  was  resting  at  Barrett's  Landing, 
when  suddenly  the  whole  camp  was  thrown  into  a  ferment 
and  fever  of  excitement  by  the  news  that  the  paymaster 
had  arrived  and  would  be  at  headquarters  at  twelve  o'clock. 
Oh,  welcome  news  to  men  who  had  been  without  pay  for 
six  months !  How  the  eye  glistened,  and  the  mouth  watered 


ADDRESSES  163 

for  the  leeks  and  fleshpots  of  Louisiana!  What  visions  of 
sutler's  delicacies  opened  up  once  more  to  those  whom  long 
tick  had  gradually  restricted  to  a  Spartan  diet  of  hard  tack 
and  salt  pork !  What  thoughts  of  home  and  the  money  that 
could  be  sent  to  loved  ones  far  away,  suffering  perhaps  for 
lack  of  that  very  money !  But  how  to  do  it  —  there  was 
the  question.  Here  we  were  in  the  very  heart  of  the  rebel 
country,  two  hundred  miles  at  least  from  New  Orleans, 
in  the  midst  of  an  active  campaign.  No  opportunity  to 
send  letters  except  such  as  chance  threw  in  the  way, 
and  no  certainty  that  such  letters  would  ever  reach  their 
destination.  Added  to  this  came  the  order  to  be  ready  to 
march  at  four  o'clock.  Whither  we  knew  not;  but  the  foe 
was  ahead,  and  our  late  experience  had  taught  us  that 
life  was  but  an  uncertain  element  and  that  a  rebel  bullet 
had  a  very  careless  way  of  seeking  out  and  finding  its 
victims. 

In  the  midst  of  all  the  bustle  and  confusion,  the  sergeant- 
major  came  tearing  along  through  the  camp,  excitedly 
inquiring  for  Lieutenant  Goodell.  That  estimable  officer,  I 
am  sorry  to  say,  having  received  no  pay,  owing  to  some 
informality  in  his  papers  when  mustered  in  from  second  to 
first  lieutenant,  had  retired  into  the  shade  of  a  neighboring 
magnolia  tree  and  was  there  meditating  on  the  cussedness 
of  paymasters,  mustering  officers,  the  army  in  general.  In 
fact  everything  looked  uncommonly  black,  and  never  be- 
fore had  he  so  strongly  believed  in  universal  damnation. 
To  him,  then,  thus  communing,  came  long-legged  Symonds, 
the  sergeant-major,  and  said:  "You  will  report  for  duty  at 
once  to  head-quarters.  You  are  directed  to  receive  the  pay 
of  the  regiment  and  proceed  forthwith  to  New  Orleans, 


164  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

there  to  express  it  home,  returning  to  the  regiment  as  soon 
thereafter  as  practicable." 

Gone  at  once  were  my  sulks,  —  vanished  in  an  instant 
my  ill-humor,  black  demons  and  everything.  Though  I 
could  not  help  wondering  how  in  all  creation  I  was  going 
to  perform  a  journey  of  several  hundred  miles,  that  would 
occupy  a  week  at  least,  without  a  cent  of  money  in  my 
pocket.  A  clerk  was  detailed  to  asist  me,  and  for  the  next 
hour  I  counted  money  over  a  hard-tack  box,  jamming  it 
away  instantly  into  my  haversack,  while  he  entered  in  a  lit- 
tle book  the  amounts  received  from  each  person,  the  sums 
given  to  pay  for  its  expressage,  and  the  addresses  to  which 
it  was  to  be  sent.  No  time  to  make  change.  Even  sums 
were  given,  counted,  and  tucked  away  with  a  rapidity 
which,  it  seems  to  me  now,  could  not  have  been  equaled 
even  by  the  deft  cashier  of  our  own  First  National. 

At  the  landing  was  a  little  stern-wheel  steamer,  captured 
from  the  rebels,  which  was  to  leave  for  Brashear  City  in  an 
hour  or  two.  The  sick  and  wounded  were  hastily  transferred 
to  it,  and  as  the  regiment  marched  off,  I  stepped  on  board, 
with  my  precious  haversack,  now  swollen  out  to  unwonted 
proportions.  Not  a  stateroom,  not  a  berth  was  to  be  had. 
There  was  no  safe  in  which  I  could  deposit  valuables.  Too 
many  knew  what  I  was  carrying,  and  I  dared  not  for  an 
instant  lift  the  weight  from  my  shoulders,  or  remove  my 
sword  and  pistol.  Like  Mary's  lamb,  where'er  I  went,  the 
haversack  was  sure  to  go. 

Never  shall  I  forget  the  beauty  of  that  sail,  and,  but  for 
the  feeling  of  distrust  and  suspicion  that  made  me  look 
upon  every  man  that  approached  me  as  a  personal  enemy, 
I  should  have  thoroughly  enjoyed  it.    We  were  dropping 


ADDRESSES  165 

down  one  of  those  little  bayous  that  intersect  the  State  in 
every  direction.  The  spring  freshets  had  swollen  the  stream 
and  set  its  waters  far  back  into  the  forests  that  lined  its 
banks  on  either  side.  Festoons  of  Spanish  moss  drooped 
like  a  mourning  veil  from  bough  to  bough.  Running  vines 
with  bright-colored  sprays  of  flowers  twined  in  and  out 
among  the  branches  of  the  trees.  The  purple  passion  flower 
flung  out  its  starry  blossoms  to  the  world,  the  sign  and  sym- 
bol of  a  suffering  Saviour,  —  while  the  air  was  heavy  with 
the  scent  of  magnolias  and  yellow  jessamines.  Crested 
herons,  snowy  white,  rose  from  the  water,  and,  stretching 
their  long  necks  and  legs  out  into  a  straight  line  with  their 
bodies,  winged  their  flight  above  the  tree-tops;  pelicans 
displayed  their  ungainly  forms  as  they  snapped  at  the  pass- 
ing fish  and  neatly  laid  them  away  for  future  reference  in 
their  pouches;  strange  birds  of  gaudy  plumage  flew  from 
side  to  side,  harshly  screaming  as  they  hid  themselves  in  the 
dense  foliage.  Huge  alligators  sunned  themselves  along 
the  shore,  or  showed  their  savage  muzzles  as  they  slowly 
swam  across  our  path.  Frequently,  at  some  sharp  bend,  it 
seemed  as  if  we  must  certainly  run  ashore;  but,  the  engine 
being  reversed,  the  current  would  swing  the  bow  round,  and 
by  dint  of  hard  pushing  with  poles,  we  would  escape  the 
threatened  danger,  and  start  again  in  our  new  direction. 

Sunset  faded  into  twilight,  and  twilight  deepened  into 
the  darkness  and  silence  of  a  Southern  night,  —  and  then 
the  entire  loneliness  and  responsibility  of  my  position  sud- 
denly overwhelmed  me.  I  had  no  place  to  lie  down,  and 
hardly  dared  sit,  for  fear  of  falling  asleep.  It  seemed  as 
though  I  could  hear  whispers  behind  me,  and  every  now 
and  then  I  would  catch  myself  nodding,  and  wake  with  a 


166  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

cold  chill  running  up  and  down  the  small  of  my  back,  as  I 
felt  sure  that  some  unlawful  hand  was  tampering  with  my 
burden.  With  the  coming  of  the  dawn,  I  breathed  more 
freely,  but  the  day  seemed  interminable,  and  it  became  a 
very  burden  to  live.  Twice  we  broke  down,  and  tying  up 
to  a  friendly  tree  repaired  the  damage.  Night  came  again, 
and  found  us  still  miles  away  from  our  destination.  It  was 
horrible.  I  walked  the  deck  —  drank  coffee  —  pinched  my- 
self—  ran  pins  into  my  legs.  "Oh,  if  I  can  only  keep 
awake!"  I  kept  repeating  to  myself.  But  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning  we  broke  down  again,  with  the  prospect  of  being 
detained  some  hours.  I  knew  that,  if  I  did  not  reach  Brashear 
City  by  seven  o'clock,  I  should  be  another  dreary  day  on 
the  way,  and  lose  my  connections  with  the  single  train  for 
New  Orleans.  Time  was  an  element  of  importance,  for  I 
should  lose  the  mail  steamer  for  New  York  and  be  delayed 
in  my  return  to  the  regiment,  which  I  had  left  in  the  heart 
of  Louisiana,  marching  onward  —  I  knew  not  where,  but 
with  faces  set  towards  the  North. 

Finding  that  we  were  distant  from  eight  to  twelve  miles 
across  country,  according  to  the  different  estimates,  I  deter- 
mined to  make  the  attempt  to  reach  it  on  foot.  Any  danger, 
anything  seemed  preferable  to  staying  on  the  boat.  With 
the  first  breaking  of  the  dawn,  when  I  could  get  my  bear- 
ings, I  slung  myself  ashore.  A  private  in  my  regiment, 
discharged  for  disability,  begged  to  accompany  me.  With 
weapons  ready  for  instant  use,  we  pushed  along,  afraid  of 
our  own  shadows,  looking  for  a  lurking  foe  behind  every 
bush;  and  when  some  startled  bird  suddenly  broke  from  its 
covert,  the  heart  of  one,  at  least,  stood  still  for  a  moment, 
and  then  throbbed  away  like  a  steam-engine.  If  a  man  was 


ADDRESSES  167 

seen,  however  distant,  we  dropped  to  cover  and  watched 
him  out  of  sight  before  we  dared  move.  For  the  first  mile 
our  progress  was  very  slow  —  now  wading  through  water, 
now  sinking  in  the  mud,  floundering  about  as  best  we  could, 
while  the  mosquitoes  and  gnats  settled  down  on  us  in 
swarms,  uttering  a  triumphant  buzzing  as  though  they 
recognized  the  fact  that  they  had  fresher  blood  to  feed  on 
than  that  offered  by  the  fever-stricken  victims  of  the 
South,  and  were  determined  to  make  the  most  of  their  oppor- 
tunity. But  the  open  country  once  reached,  we  lengthened 
out  our  steps  and  struck  into  a  six-mile  gait.  Soon  my  com- 
panion began  to  falter  and  fall  behind.  But  I  could  not  af- 
ford to  wait.  Telling  him  that  I  presumed  he  was  all  right, 
but  I  could  not  run  any  risks,  I  stood  him  up  by  a  tree,  and 
taking  his  gun,  marched  off  a  couple  of  hundred  yards,  then 
laying  it  down,  I  shouted  to  him  to  come  on,  and,  setting 
off  at  the  top  of  my  speed,  saw  him  no  more.  Whether  he 
ever  reached  his  destination,  or  whether  —  wandering 
helplessly  along  —  he  was  swooped  down  upon  by  some 
guerilla  and  led  away  to  starve  and  die  in  a  Southern 
prison,  I  did  not  learn  for  many  years.  But  at  the  last  re- 
union I  attended,  having  been  called  on  to  respond  to  the 
toast,  "The  postal  service  of  the  regiment  and  what  you 
know  about  it,"  at  the  conclusion  of  my  remarks,  a  stout, 
grizzled  veteran  grasped  my  hand  and  said:  "Loot,  I'm 
glad  to  see  you.  I  thought  it  pretty  cruel  of  you  to  leave 
me  alone  in  Dixie,  but  you  had  warned  me  beforehand, 
and  I  guess  you  were  right." 

Avoiding  the  houses  and  striking  across  the  fields,  I  made 
the  last  part  of  the  way  at  full  run,  and  drew  up  panting  and 
exhausted  at  Berwick  Bay  shortly  after  six.  Not  a  moment 


168  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

was  to  be  lost.  I  could  hear  the  engine  puffing  across  the 
waters.  Shouting  to  a  darkey  who  seemed  to  rise  up  pre- 
ternaturally  out  of  the  ground,  I  ordered  him  to  row  me 
over;  and  a  more  astonished  man  I  think  I  never  saw,  than 
he  was,  when,  on  reaching  the  opposite  shore,  with  bat 
ten  minutes  to  spare,  I  bolted  from  the  boat  without  a  word 
and  started  on  the  run  for  headquarters.  The  general  was 
asleep,  but  an  aide  carried  in  my  pass,  signed  by  General 
Banks,  brought  it  back  countersigned,  and  in  five  minutes 
more  I  was  aboard  the  train  moving  on  to  New  Orleans. 

Of  this  part  of  my  journey  I  have  a  very  indistinct  re- 
membrance. My  impression  is  that  I  dozed  whenever  I 
sat  down,  and  I  was  so  dog-tired  I  could  hardly  stand.  I 
had  had  nothing  to  eat  since  the  night  before,  and  was  faint 
and  exhausted  with  hunger  and  my  exertions.  Nothing 
but  the  special  training  my  class  had  taken  in  the  gymna- 
sium during  the  previous  year  for  just  such  an  emergency 
pulled  me  through  the  long  run  and  long  fast  following  it. 
It  was  only  a  run  of  one  hundred  miles,  but  I  think  we  must 
have  stopped  to  wood  and  water  at  every  cottonwood  grove 
and  swamp  along  the  way;  and  I  remember  at  one  of  these 
periodical  stops  going  out  on  the  platform  and  there  falling 
into  an  altercation  with  a  little  red-headed  doctor,  who  — 
whether  he  had  scented  my  secret  or  not,  with  that  divine 
intuition  for  discovering  the  hidden  peculiar  to  the  craft, 
—  had  made  himself  officiously  offensive  to  me,  and  now 
wanted  to  borrow  my  revolver  to  shoot  a  copper-head  that 
lay  coiled  up  by  the  side  of  the  track.  Refused  in  that,  he 
next  wanted  to  examine  my  sword;  and  when,  under  some 
trifling  pretext,  I  abruptly  left  him,  and,  going  inside  the 
car,  sat  down  as  near  as  possible  to  a  bluff -looking  lieuten- 


ADDRESSES  169 

ant,  whose  honest  face  seemed  a  true  indication  of  char- 
acter, his  wrath  knew  no  bounds  and  was  quite  out-spoken. 
Peace  to  your  injured  spirit,  oh  fiery-headed  son  of  Es- 
culapius,  if  you  are  still  in  the  land  of  the  living!  I  here 
tender  you  my  humble  apologies.  Doubtless  you  intended 
nothing  more  than  to  compare  the  efficiency  of  my  leaden 
balls  with  one  of  your  own  deadly  boluses,  or  to  see  how  my 
cleaver  compared  in  sharpness  with  one  of  your  own  little 
scalpels.  But  at  that  particular  time  I  should  have  been 
suspicious  of  my  own  brother  had  he  desired  to  inspect  or 
use  my  arms. 

It  was  late  Saturday  afternoon,  when,  tired,  and  faint, 
the  ferry  landed  me  in  the  city.  Pushing  straight  to  the 
office  of  the  Adams  Express  Company,  I  told  them  I  had 
the  pay  of  a  regiment  to  express  home,  and  wanted  five  or 
six  hundred  money-blanks  and  envelopes.  I  shall  never 
forget  the  look  of  incredulity  with  which  the  clerk  looked 
at  me.  I  was  dirty  and  ragged,  just  in  from  the  front  — 
wore  no  shoulder-straps,  for  we  had  been  ordered  to  remove 
them  and  diminish  the  chances  of  being  picked  off  by  the 
sharp-shooters,  but  had  sword  and  pistol  and  an  innocent- 
looking  haversack  hanging  at  my  side.  However,  he  said 
not  a  word  but  passed  over  the  papers. 

My  next  adventure  was  in  a  saloon,  where,  on  calling 
for  a  drink  of  whiskey,  I  was  informed  that  they  were  not 
allowed  to  sell  to  privates.  On  my  throwing  down  my  pass 
signed  by  General  Banks,  the  courteous  keeper  acknow- 
ledged his  mistake,  and  invited  me  to  take  something  at  his 
expense.  Immediately  after  supper,  to  which  —  it  is  hardly 
necessary  to  say  —  I  was  accompanied  by  that  confounded 
haversack  (I  fairly  loathed  it  by  this  time),  I  retired  to  my 


170  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

room,  locked  the  door  and  went  to  work.  Excitement  kept 
me  up  and  by  two  o'clock  everything  was  done;  the  money 
counted  and  placed  in  the  envelopes,  and  the  blanks  filled 
out,  and  the  footing  correctly  made.  Then  only  did  I  know 
how  much  I  had  carried  with  me,  and  how  precious  were 
the  contents  of  my  haversack.  Barricading  my  door  with 
the  table,  and  wedging  a  chair  in  between  it  and  the  bed, 
I  thrust  the  haversack  between  the  sheets,  slid  in  after  it, 
laid  my  revolver  by  the  pillow,  and  in  an  instant  was  sound 
asleep.  The  next  morning,  on  going  down  to  breakfast, 
I  innocently  inquired  of  the  clerk  in  the  office  if  he  would 
give  me  a  receipt  for  valuables.  "Certainly,"  was  his  smil- 
ing rejoinder,  "for  how  much?"  —  "$24,346,"  I  replied, 
and  half-opening  my  haversack,  showed  him  the  bundles  of 
express  envelopes,  explaining  that  it  was  the  pay  of  a  regi- 
ment. "Where  did  you  keep  this  last  night? "  was  the  next 
question.  "In  my  room."  —  "You  d —  fool,  it  might  have 
been  stolen."  —  "True,  but  I  thought  it  would  be  safe 
enough,  and  besides  I  did  not  know  how  much  I  had." 

Breakfast  over,  I  repaired  at  once  to  the  office  of  the  ex- 
press company,  and  by  noon,  with  my  receipts  in  my 
pocket,  I  stepped  forth  feeling  as  if  a  gigantic  load  had 
been  rolled  from  my  shoulders. 

Of  my  journey  back  there  is  no  need  to  speak :  but  suf- 
fice it  to  say  that  two  or  three  weeks  thereafter,  one  night 
as  the  sun  was  setting,  I  stood  with  beating  heart  on  the 
levee,  outside  of  Simsport  on  the  Red  River,  waiting  for 
the  coming  of  the  regiment  on  its  march  down  from  Alexan- 
dria. Column  after  column  passed  and  still  I  waited.  But 
suddenly  I  caught  the  roll  of  drums  and  there  came  a  dim- 
ness over  my  eyes,  for  I  recognized  familiar  forms.    The 


ADDRESSES  171 

colonel  riding  at  the  head  —  the  little  drum-major  —  the 
colors  and  each  well-known  face.  As  they  came  up  and  I 
saluted,  some  one  recognized  me  and  called  my  name. 
Instantly  the  cry,  "Lieutenant  Goodell  has  come!"  swept 
down  the  line,  and  with  one  mighty  shout  the  boys  wel- 
comed back  the  bearer  of  their  pay.  That  night  I  went 
from  campfire  to  campfire  and  gave  to  each  orderly  ser- 
geant the  receipts  for  his  company.  Of  all  that  money  only 
one  envelope  went  astray,  and  the  express  company  made 
good  the  loss. 

But  one  more  incident  remains  to  be  told,  and  then  my 
story  is  done.  It  seems  that,  owing  to  my  delay  in  returning 
to  the  regiment  (having  to  wait  for  transportation  more 
than  a  week),  the  men  began  to  get  uneasy,  and  finally  one 
day  a  man  hinted  that  I  had  made  off  with  the  money. 
Instantly  the  little  drum-major,  whom  I  had  once  rescued 
in  an  evil  plight  in  Hartford  where  we  were  encamped, 
leaped  at  him,  knocked  him  down  and  gave  him  such  a 
licking  as  he  had  not  had  since  his  childhood  days,  when, 
stretched  across  the  maternal  knee,  he  shed  bitter  tears, 
as  the  shingle  sought  and  found  him  every  time. 


THE  CHANNEL  ISLANDS  AND  THEIR 

AGRICULTURE 

The  subject  assigned  me  to-night  is  the  Channel  Islands 
and  their  agriculture.  There  is  no  more  interesting  spot  on 
the  face  of  the  globe,  and  none  that  displays  sharper  con- 
trasts. Geographically  belonging  to  France,  territorially 
they  form  an  outlying  dependency  of  the  British  crown. 
Apparently  most  barren  and  unfertile  of  soil,  they  yield 
crops  rivaling  in  richness  those  of  the  virgin  plains  of  our 
own  great  West.  Rent  and  torn  by  the  waves  that  rush  in 
upon  them  from  the  Atlantic,  lashed  by  the  refluent  surge 
from  the  coast  of  France,  and  swept  by  the  boiling  tides  that 
under  favoring  circumstances  rise  to  a  height  of  over  forty 
feet,  they  find  in  the  floating  sea-wrack  of  the  very  waves 
which  threaten  their  existence  the  chief  element  of  their  fer- 
tility. Lying  at  the  very  entrance  of  the  English  Channel, 
just  where  it  broadens  out  and  loses  itself  in  the  immensity 
of  the  ocean,  and  exposed  to  every  wind  that  blows,  they  yet 
enjoy  a  climate  so  equable  and  mild  that  the  flowers  of  the 
tropics  bloom  there  the  year  round  in  the  open  air. 

No  less  remarkable  in  their  characteristics  are  the  people. 
Calling  themselves  Englishmen,  they  yet  speak  a  patois  of 
French  impossible  to  be  understood  by  any  one  not  native 
born,  and  compel  its  use  in  school  and  court.  Blindly  adher- 
ent to  ancient  law  and  custom,  they  have  made  themselves 
known  the  world  over  for  the  advanced  position  they  have 
taken  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  agriculture.  Jealously  re- 


ADDRESSES  173 

sisting  every  encroachment  upon  their  liberties,  and  so  inde- 
pendent that  all  laws  affecting  them  have  first  to  be  passed 
upon  and  approved  by  their  own  States  before  becoming 
valid,  they  yet  are  the  most  loyal  of  subjects  and  tena- 
cious in  their  support  of  the  crown.  The  last  of  the  great 
French  possessions  united  to  England  when  William  the 
Conqueror  crossed  the  Channel  and  overthrew  the  Saxon 
dynasty,  they  have  remained  through  all  these  years 
unshaken  in  their  fidelity  to  the  representatives  of  their 
hereditary  sovereigns.  Race,  language,  contiguity  of  terri- 
tory, would  seem  to  have  allied  them  to  Norman  France; 
yet  so  slight  was  the  bond  that  held  them,  that  shortly  after 
the  separation  we  find  this  added  petition  in  their  litany: 
"From  the  fury  of  the  Norman,  good  Lord  deliver  us." 
Undoubtedly  in  bygone  ages,  before  subsidence  had  taken 
place,  these  islands  formed  a  part  of  the  continent,  and  were 
actually  joined  to  France;  but  now  they  stand  like  sentinels, 
lone  outposts,  surrounded  by  rushing  tides  and  raging  seas, 
which  in  their  ceaseless  action  have  eaten  out  and  swept 
away  the  softer  and  more  friable  rocks,  leaving  only  a  "fret 
work  of  those  harder  barriers  that  still  resist  attack,  and  are 
enabled  to  present  a  bold  and  serried  front  against  their 
relentless  enemy." 

The  Channel  Islands  are  six  in  number,  namely,  Jersey, 
Guernsey,  Alderney,  Sark,  Jethou  and  Herm,  and  lie  one 
hundred  miles  south  of  England  and  fifteen  from  the  shores 
of  France,  being  well  within  a  line  drawn  parallel  to  the 
coast,  from  the  end  of  the  peninsula  on  which  Cherbourg  is 
built.  The  two  largest  of  these  —  Jersey  and  Guernsey  — 
are  the  ones  with  which  we  shall  concern  ourselves  to-night. 
Small  in  area,  mere  dots  on  the  surface  of  the  globe,  they 


174  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

yet  have  won  for  themselves  a  name  and  place  in  the  agri- 
culture of  every  civilized  nation  of  the  world.  The  first, 
some  eleven  miles  in  length  by  five  and  a  half  in  breadth, 
covers  an  area  of  28,717  acres;  the  second,  nine  and  a  half 
miles  in  length  by  six  and  a  half  in  breadth,  contains  about 
19,705  acres.  Of  these  areas  scarce  two-thirds  is  land  that 
can  be  cultivated,  for  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  forma- 
tion is  mostly  granite,  rising  in  cliffs  from  two  hundred  to 
four  hundred  feet,  with  deep  indentations  and  wide  encirc- 
ling bays  where  the  sea  has  eaten  into  the  shore.  From 
the  elevated  crest  to  the  water's  edge  is  a  "wide  margin  of 
descent  upon  which  fertile  soil  cannot  accumulate,  and  a 
poor  and  scanty  pasturage,  its  only  possible  produce,  is  gen- 
erally more  or  less  overpowered  by  brake,  gorse  and  heath." 

As  you  approach  the  Jersey  coast  nothing  more  pictur- 
esque can  well  be  imagined.  Ten  miles  of  granite  cliff  stretch- 
ing along  its  northern  exposure,  two  hundred  and  forty  to 
four  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet  in  height,  while  on  the  south 
eight  miles  of  similar  formation  rise  from  two  hundred  to 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  against  this  the  waters  madly 
foam  and  break  and  dash  their  spray  far  up  the  sides,  rend- 
ing and  rifting  them  in  every  possible  manner,  or  wearing 
out  dark  chasms  and  overhanging  arches.  There  results 
from  this  formation  a  general  slope  and  exposure  to  the 
south  very  favorable  to  vegetation.  Furthermore,  the  whole 
island  is  intersected  from  north  to  south  by  a  succession  of 
ravines  or  valleys,  gradually  widening  and  increasing  in 
depth,  and  forming  a  natural  channel  for  the  small  streams 
taking  their  origin  in  the  springs  which  everywhere  abound. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  three  primary  elements  necessary 
to  the  success  of  agricultural  operations  are  skilful  hus- 


ADDRESSES  175 

¥ 

bandry,  a  well-constituted  soil  and  a  genial  climate.  All 
three  of  these  requisites  Jersey  possesses  in  the  highest 
degree.  Though  resting  on  a  bed  of  primary  rocks  of  gran- 
ite, syenite,  and  schist,  absolutely  wanting  in  organic  re- 
mains, yet  the  soil  is  a  rich  loam,  varying  in  lightness  with 
the  character  of  the  underlying  stratum.  Even  in  the  bays, 
where  the  sand  driven  by  the  winds  has  encroached  upon 
the  soil,  the  land  is  so  successfully  tilled,  that  St.  Clements 
Bay  has  won  for  itself  the  title  of  the  "Garden  of  Jersey." 
The  climate  is  one  of  the  most  equable  and  mild  in  the  world. 
Rarely  does  it  fall  below  the  freezing  point,  and  there  is 
but  one  instance  on  record  of  its  reaching  83  degrees.  The 
ground  seldom  freezes  more  than  an  inch  or  two,  and  the 
slight  snows  serve  to  keep  off  the  frost  altogether.  Winter 
there  is  none,  but  the  spring  is  usually  cold  and  late.  The 
mean  daily  range  of  the  thermometer  is  exceptionally  small. 
Taking  the  average  of  ten  years,  it  is  found  to  be  but  8.1  de- 
grees. The  days  of  summer  are  not  very  hot,  but  the  nights 
are  comparatively  warm,  and  there  is  hardly  any  chill  in  the 
night  air  at  any  season  of  the  year.  There  is  no  recorded 
climate,  and  probably  no  climate  whatever  in  north  temper- 
ate latitudes,  on  either  side  of  the  Atlantic,  that  presents  so 
small  a  daily  range  of  the  thermometer.  Such  is  the  opinion 
of  an  enthusiastic  traveler. 

As  a  result  of  this,  many  kinds  of  plants  and  shrubs  are 
at  least  a  fortnight  earlier  than  even  in  the  warmer  parts 
of  England,  and  the  ripening  of  fruit  in  the  open  air  during 
July,  August  and  September  is  invariably  some  days  ear- 
lier than  at  Greenwich,  although  the  summer  is  cooler  than 
at  that  place.  Another  striking  peculiarity,  which  doubt- 
less has  its  effect  upon  vegetation,  is  the  rainfall.   Taking 


176  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  average  of  six  years,  rain  is  found  to  fall  on  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  days,  but  it  most  frequently  occurs  at  night 
or  early  in  the  morning,  seldom  lasting  through  the  day, 
thereby  securing  the  maximum  of  sunshine.  The  mean  an- 
nual rainfall  is  about  thirty -three  inches.  Under  these 
favorable  conditions  of  temperature  and  moisture  a  flora 
that  is  almost  tropical  prevails.  Fuchsias  reaching  the  pro- 
portions of  shrubs,  rhododendrons  twenty  to  twenty -five 
feet  in  height,  araucarias,  —  or  monkey-trees,  as  they  are 
popularly  designated,  —  oleanders,  yuccas,  palms,  azaleas, 
and  camellias  flourish  in  the  open  air,  while  climate  and  soil 
appear  to  be  particularly  suitable  for  the  cultivation  of  the 
dahlia.  Finer  specimens  I  have  never  seen.  The  lauresti- 
nus  was  in  bloom  in  November,  and  fig  trees  and  oranges 
were  everywhere  to  be  seen  trained  against  the  south  walls 
of  enclosures. 

It  is  a  climatic  law  that  in  all  places  where  the  mean 
temperature  is  below  62.6  degrees,  the  revival  of  nature  in 
spring  takes  place  in  that  month  of  which  the  mean  tem- 
perature reaches  42.8  degrees.  On  the  island  of  Jersey  this 
occurs  in  February.  This  again  is  a  very  important  factor 
in  the  agricultural  development  of  the  place,  for  the  early 
spring  and  the  proximity  of  the  great  markets  of  London 
and  Paris  enable  the  inhabitants  to  dispose  of  their  produce 
at  a  great  profit.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  man  to 
pay  for  a  piece  of  potato  land  as  high  a  rental  as  two  to 
three  hundred  dollars  an  acre,  and  to  sell  his  crop  of  four  or 
five  hundred  bushels  for  $1,000  or  $1,100.  But  this  is  not 
the  end,  for  immediately  after  the  gathering  of  the  first  crop 
the  land  is  freshly  manured  and  a  second  crop  is  planted, 
yielding  from  two-thirds  to  three-fourths  the  amount  of  the 


ADDRESSES  177 

first.  These  results  can  be  secured  only  by  the  application 
of  large  quantities  of  manure.  Barn-yard  manure  and  also 
artificial  fertilizers  are  used;  but  the  main  dependence  is 
placed  upon  the  vraic  or  sea- weed.  The  old  legend  runs: 
"No  vraic,  no  corn;  no  corn,  no  cows;  no  cows,  no  bread 
for  children's  mouths."  This  is  either  washed  ashore  by 
the  action  of  the  waves,  or,  at  the  period  of  maturity,  is 
separated  by  bill-hooks  or  sickles  fastened  to  long  poles 
and  drawn  in  by  rakes  with  a  head  two  or  three  feet  wide 
and  handles  twelve  to  twenty  feet  long.  The  cutting  and 
gathering  of  the  vraic  is  a  general  holiday,  terminating 
usually  in  a  frolic.  It  is  only  allowed  twice  a  year:  once  in 
February,  beginning  with  the  first  new  or  full  moon  and 
lasting  five  weeks;  and  again  in  June,  beginning  in  the 
middle  of  the  month  and  closing  on  the  31st  of  August. 
Whole  families  will  frequently  unite,  and,  going  to  some 
spot  previously  selected,  work  hard  all  day,  the  men  stand- 
ing up  to  their  waists  in  water,  using  their  unwieldy  sickles 
and  rakes,  and  the  women  and  children  dragging  the  prize 
up  beyond  the  reach  of  the  tide.  With  the  coming  of  night 
the  sea-weed  is  removed  in  carts,  and  then  all  hands,  meet- 
ing at  the  house  of  some  one  of  their  number,  spend  the 
hours  in  dancing  and  singing.  During  the  first  four  weeks  of 
the  summer  cutting,  only  the  poor,  or  those  having  no 
cattle,  are  allowed  to  gather  this  harvest  of  the  sea.  That 
cast  up  by  the  waves  may  be  taken  at  all  seasons  by  any  per- 
son between  the  hours  of  sunrise  and  eight  o'clock  at  night. 
About  sixty  thousand  loads  are  gathered  annually,  valued 
for  manurial  purposes  at  about  fifty  cents  per  load.  It  is 
applied  either  fresh  at  the  rate  of  ten  loads  to  the  acre,  or 
in  the  form  of  ashes  obtained  by  burning  it,  a  load  yielding 


178 


HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 


about  three  bushels  of  ash.  There  are  two  species  of  this 
vraic,  the  Fucus  and  the  Laminaria,  and  the  following 
analyses  will  give  an  idea  of  their  value :  — 


ANALYSES   OP   VRAIC 

Laminaria 
digitata 

(Per  cent) 

Fucus 
vesiculosus 

(Per  cent) 

Water  in  the  undried  weed         .... 

Dry  Weed 
Organic  matter,  per  cent 

Insoluble  ash 

82.00 

70.11 

23.56 

6.33 

71.00 

80.36 

14.08 

5.56 

Composition  of  Soluble  Ash 

Sulphuric  acid 

Chlorides  of  Potash  and  sodium 

x otasn       ...••••• 

100.00 

2.13 

21.53) 

6.89 

0  48 

100.00 

4.17 

11.40 

2.04 

0.01 

The  drift  weed  belongs  to  the  Laminaria,  of  which  there 
are  two  varieties,  and  the  cut  weed  to  the  Fucus,  of  which 
there  are  three.  The  latter  is  considered  the  more  valuable, 
perhaps  from  its  containing  a  larger  percentage  of  organic 
matter. 

The  population  of  Jersey,  according  to  the  last  census,  is 
a  little  over  65,000.  The  area  of  the  island  is,  as  already 
stated,  28,717  acres.  Of  this,  only  19,514  are  under  cul- 
tivation, so  that  practically  three  persons  are  supported 
to  each  acre.  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  note  the 
acreage  of  the  different  crops,  and  compare  it  with  the 
amount  of  produce  exported.     In  1891,  the  corn  crops 


ADDRESSES  179 

(wheat,  barley,  oats,  rye,  beans,  and  peas)  occupied  2,199 
acres,  wheat  leading  with  1,700;  green  crops,  including 
potatoes,  turnips,  mangolds,  cabbages,  and  vetches, 
7,816,  potatoes  leading  with  7,000;  clover  and  grasses  under 
rotation,  5,247;  permanent  pasture,  4,053;  flax,  3;  small 
fruits,  158;  and  uncropped  arable  land,  38.  Horses  num- 
bered 2,360;  cattle,  12,073;  sheep,  305;  and  pigs,  7,618. 
In  that  same  year  there  were  exported,  into  England  alone, 
2,300  cows  and  calves,  or  a  little  over  one-sixth  the  en- 
tire number;  25  tons  of  butter;  1,863,165  bushels  of  po- 
tatoes, an  average  of  266  bushels  to  every  acre  under  cul- 
tivation; 86,000  dozen  eggs;  74,969  bushels  of  fruit  and 
vegetables,  to  the  value  of  $400,000;  the  whole  footing  up 
to  the  snug  little  income  of  $3,700,000,  to  be  distributed 
among  the  2,600  farmers  owning  or  cultivating  land.  It  is 
a  noticeable  fact  that,  while  the  cattle  were  valued  at 
£40,000,  the  potatoes  were  placed  at  £447,134,  or  eleven 
times  that  sum. 

The  above  figures  are  equally  applicable  to  Guernsey, 
except  that  there  a  greater  amount  of  fruit  is  grown,  the 
yearly  export  of  grapes  footing  up  to  more  than  500  tons. 
Tomatoes  are  raised  in  immense  quantities  for  the  Lon- 
don market,  but  no  reliable  statistics  were  available.  As 
compared  with  our  best  varieties,  they  are  very  inferior 
in  size  and  quality.  The  vines  are  trained  up  against  the 
sides  of  the  houses,  and  continue  bearing  sometimes  more 
than  one  year.  The  principal  fruits  are  grapes,  apples  and 
pears.  Jersey  cider  was  at  one  time  so  celebrated  that  the 
agricultural  society  of  the  Department  of  the  Lower  Seine 
in  France  sent  over  a  commission  to  learn  the  methods  of 
manufacture;  but  the  apple  trees  are  now  giving  way  to  the 


180  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

potato,  though  still  30,000  to  40,000  bushels  of  the  fruit 
are  exported  annually.  Climate  and  soil  seem  especially 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  pears,  of  which  there  are  some 
fifty  varieties  grown,  —  bergamottes,  doyennes,  beurres,  etc. 
But  the  most  remarkable  are  the  chauniontel,  whose  fruit 
frequently  reaches  proportions  that  are  truly  wonderful. 
For  fear  you  should  think  I  am  drawing  on  my  imagination, 
permit  me  to  quote  from  official  records :  — 

"These  pears  are  usually  plucked  about  the  10  th  of  Octo- 
ber, but  are  not  fit  for  use  for  several  weeks,  being  in  per- 
fection about  Christmas.  Those  weighing  sixteen  ounces 
are  regarded  as  first-rate,  and  fetch  good  prices.  Pears  of 
this  size  average  in  value  twenty-five  to  thirty  dollars  per 
hundred  in  the  island  markets;  but  as  they  diminish  in  size 
and  weight  the  value  falls  rapidly,  the  numerous  small  fruit 
being  considered  only  fit  for  baking,  although  in  point  of 
flavor  they  are  little  inferior.  The  largest  and  best  grown 
fruit  on  record  was  raised  at  Laporte  in  Guernsey  in  1849. 
It  measured  six  and  one-half  inches  in  length,  fourteen  and 
one-half  in  girth,  and  weighed  thirty-eight  ounces.  As  a 
group  of  pears  from  a  single  tree,  there  is  perhaps  no  more 
remarkable  instance  recorded  than  one  occurring  in  the  sea- 
son of  1861,  when,  of  five  fruit  obtained  from  one  tree  in 
the  garden  of  Mr.  Marquand  of  Bailiff's  Cross,  Guernsey, 
four  of  them  weighed  together  seven  and  one-half  pounds. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  in  this  case  the  tree,  though 
usually  prolific,  bore  only  these  five  fruit.  The  pears  in 
question  weighed  respectively  thirty-two  and  one-half, 
thirty-three,    thirty-one   and   one-half,    and   twenty-two 


ounces." 


Equally  remarkable  among  the  vegetables  are  the  great 


ADDRESSES  181 

cow  cabbages.  They  reach  a  height  of  eight  to  ten  feet.  I 
myself  measured  one  that  was  over  eleven,  and  at  the  agri- 
cultural rooms  at  St.  Helier  there  is  preserved  the  record 
of  one  whose  stalk  measured  sixteen.  It  takes  a  year  for 
these  plants  to  mature.  They  are  set  in  November  or  De- 
cember, about  two  feet  apart,  and  grow  all  through  the 
following  season.  The  ground  is  hoed  up  against  them  when 
they  have  reached  a  certain  height,  having  been  previously 
enriched  with  sea-weed.  The  leaves  are  stripped  off  as 
they  become  large,  being  used  either  for  feeding  cattle  or 
packing  butter,  and  the  plants  are  left  to  spindle  up  with  a 
small  crown  at  the  top.  The  stalks,  which  occasionally  take 
on  tree-like  dimensions,  are  used  as  palisades  for  fences  or 
poles  for  beans,  but  most  frequently  they  are  shellacked 
over  or  varnished  and  made  into  canes,  selling  readily  to 
tourists  at  prices  ranging  from  fifty  cents  to  a  couple  of 
dollars. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  readily  conjectured 
that  the  potato  is  the  chief  crop.  The  greatest  care  is  taken 
in  the  selection  of  seed,  and  they  are  handled  as  tenderly  as 
the  choicest  fruit,  each  tuber  being  picked  up  separately  and 
placed  in  an  open  crate,  only  one  layer  deep.  In  some 
sheltered  spot  or  in  a  shed  these  crates  are  piled  up  one 
above  the  other  till  ready  for  use.  When  preparing  for 
planting,  these  are  placed  in  some  warm  corner  and  the 
potatoes  allowed  to  sprout,  selection  being  made  of  those 
shoots  which  have  formed  a  healthy  top  and  spring  from 
a  good  eye.  About  twenty-two  hundred-weight  of  seed  per 
acre  is  used,  being  set  about  ten  inches  apart,  and  in  rows 
some  twenty-two  or  three  inches  wide.  Cultivated  in  the 
open  air,  they  are  ready  for  market  in  April  and  May,  but 


182  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

with  the  glass-house  system  now  in  vogue  they  are  matured 
much  earlier.  Previous  to  the  inroads  of  the  potato  disease, 
which  greatly  affected  the  crops,  it  was  no  uncommon  thing 
to  have  a  yield  of  twenty  tons  to  the  acre,  and  the  average 
was  fourteen;  but  it  has  now  dropped  to  ten  or  eleven.  So 
great  is  the  demand  for  these  potatoes  that  few  are  retained 
for  home  use,  and  large  quantities  are  imported  from  France 
into  Jersey  for  consumption;  but,  owing  to  the  early  crop 
being  exported  at  a  very  high  price,  and  the  French  potatoes 
purchased  when  the  price  is  lowest,  the  balance  of  profit 
remains  very  largely  in  favor  of  the  island. 

Some  idea  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil  may  be  formed  from 
the  following  figures :  Hay  averages  three  and  one-half  tons 
to  the  acre;  a  good  return  of  one-year-old  clover  is  over  four 
tons,  of  two-year-old  not  more  than  three  and  one-quarter; 
wheat  averages  thirty-five  bushels,  though  in  some-favored 
fields  the  yield  has  reached  sixty;  mangolds  fifty  tons,  occa- 
sionally reaching  seventy;  parsnips  twenty-five  to  thirty; 
and  carrots  thirty.  Wheat  is  sown  in  January,  and  that 
is  followed  by  parsnips  and  potatoes;  oats  in  February,  and 
mangolds  in  April.  The  rotation  of  crops  is  a  five-year  one, 
namely,  turnips,  potatoes,  wheat,  hay,  hay.  The  grass  is 
top-dressed  in  January  or  February  with  sea- weed,  and  that 
is  followed  later  in  the  season  by  an  application  of  liquid 
manure.  Everything  is  turned  to  getting  the  most  possible 
out  of  the  land;  and  a  recent  writer,  with  just  a  touch  of 
sarcasm,  remarks:  "Jersey  still  remains  a  land  of  open- 
field  culture,  and  yet  its  inhabitants,  who  happily  have  not 
known  the  blessings  of  Roman  law  and  landlordism,  and 
still  live  under  the  common  law  of  Normandy,  obtain  from 
their  land  twice  as  much  as  the  best  farmers  of  England. 


ADDRESSES  183 

Besides  their  potatoes,  they  grow  plenty  of  cereals  and 
grass  for  cattle;  they  have  more  than  one  cow  to  each  acre 
of  meadows  and  fields  under  grass;  they  export  every  year, 
besides  a  large  amount  of  dairy  products,  some  2,300  milch 
cows;  and,  on  the  whole,  obtain  agricultural  produce  to  the 
amount  of  $750  to  each  acre  of  the  surface  of  the  island.'* 
So  much  has  been  said  and  written  of  late  years  respect- 
ing the  cattle  of  Jersey  that  it  would  seem  almost  unneces- 
sary to  make  mention  of  them.  A  few  facts,  however,  in 
regard  to  their  management  and  care,  may  not  be  unin- 
teresting. In  round  numbers,  twelve  thousand  are  scattered 
over  the  island,  but  nowhere  are  large  herds  to  be  seen. 
Bunches  of  two  or  three,  at  most  five  or  six,  are  found  on  the 
different  farms,  rarely  more.  This  is  easily  accounted  for  by 
the  small  holdings  of  the  farmers,  the  19,000  acres  of  arable 
land  being  distributed  among  2,600  owners.  Of  the  entire 
number,  according  to  the  returns  of  1891,  6,700  were  cows 
and  heifers  in  milk  or  in  calf,  668  were  two  years  and  over, 
and  4,600  were  under  two  years.  Cows  are  considered  in 
their  prime  at  six  and  continue  good  until  ten.  After  that 
they  deteriorate  rapidly.  The  first  calf  is  usually  dropped 
when  the  animal  is  two  or  under,  and  this  has  been  offered 
as  a  reason  for  the  small  size  of  the  breed.  Cattle  are  al- 
lowed to  remain  out  from  May  to  October.  After  that  they 
are  housed  at  night,  being  driven  in  at  four  and  let  out  at 
nine  the  following  day.  They  are  fed  morning  and  evening, 
their  ration  being  the  same,  three-fourths  bushel  of  roots 
and  a  little  hay,  and  are  milked  three  times  a  day  during 
the  summer.  When  out  at  pasture  they  are  never  allowed 
to  roam,  but  are  close  tethered  by  a  rope  about  four  yards 
in  length.  Three  times  a  day  the  stake  to  which  the  tether 


184  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

is  attached  is  moved  eighteen  inches  on  a  line  parallel  to  the 
side  of  the  field.  In  this  manner  the  most  economical  use  is 
made  of  the  pasturage,  and  every  blade  of  grass  is  cropped 
close.  The  whole  care  of  the  cattle  devolves  upon  the  women, 
who  make  great  pets  of  them.  As  a  result,  they  become 
singularly  gentle  and  docile. 

Since  1789,  when  a  very  stringent  law  was  passed,  the 
breed  has  been  kept  absolutely  pure,  a  fine  of  one  thousand 
dollars  being  imposed  for  every  head  of  foreign  cattle  intro- 
duced, besides  confiscation  of  cattle  and  boat,  the  cattle 
confiscated  being  killed  on  the  spot,  and  the  meat  distributed 
sold  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  the  parish  where  it  is 
seized.  In  addition  to  the  above  heavy  fine  imposed  on 
the  captain,  each  sailor  is  liable  to  a  fine  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  or  in  lieu  thereof  to  six  months'  imprison- 
ment. Up  to  1833  no  one  had  thought  of  improving  the 
breed  by  any  system  or  fixed  rule,  but  on  the  formation  of 
the  Royal  Jersey  Agricultural  Society,  a  scale  of  points  for 
judging  cattle  was  adopted,  premiums  were  offered  and  the 
following  regulations  laid  down:  "Any  person  withholding 
from  the  public  the  service  of  a  prize  bull  shall  forfeit  the 
premiums;  and  all  heifers  having  had  premiums  adjudged 
them  shall  be  kept  on  the  island  until  they  have  dropped  the 
first  calf."  These  efforts  and  the  increasing  demand  for  the 
stock  have  led  to  the  improvement  of  the  breed  in  certain 
definite  directions.  The  following  scale  of  points  has  been 
adopted  by  the  society :  — 

RATIO   SCALE   OF   POINTS   FOR  BULLS 
Articles  Points 

1.  Registered  pedigree .5 

2.  Head  fine  and  tapering,  forehead  broad 5 

3.  Cheek  small        .  2 


ADDRESSES  185 

4.  Throat  clean 4 

5.  Muzzle  dark,  encircled  by  light  color,  with  nostrils  high  and  open  4 

6.  Horns  small,  not  thick  at  the  base,  crumpled,  yellow,  tipped  with 

black 5 

7.  Ears  small  and  thin,  and  of  a  deep  orange  color  within        .         .  5 

8.  Eyes  full  and  lively 4 

9.  Neck  arched,  powerful,  but  not  coarse  and  heavy        ...  5 

10.  Withers  fine,  shoulders  flat  and  sloping,  chest  broad  and  deep      .  4 

11.  Barrel-hooped,  broad,  deep,  and  well  ribbed  up         ...  5 

12.  Back  straight  from  the  withers  to  the  setting  on  of  the  tail        .  5 

13.  Back  broad  across  the  loins 3 

14.  Hips  wide  apart  and  fine  in  the  bone          .....  3 

15.  Rump  long,  broad  and  level 3 

16.  Tail  fine,  reaching  the  hocks,  and  hanging  at  right  angles  with  the 

back 3 

17.  Hide  thin  and  mellow,  covered  with  fine,  soft  hair     ...  4 

18.  Hide  of  a  yellow  color,        ........  4 

19.  Legs  short,  straight  and  fine,  with  small  hoofs     ....  4 

20.  Arms  full  and  swelling  above  the  knees 3 

21.  Hind  quarters  from  the  hock  to  point  of  rump  long,  wide  apart, 

and  well  filled  up 3 

22.  Hind  legs  squarely  placed  when  viewed  from  behind,  and  not  to 

cross  or  sweep  in  walking 3 

23.  Nipples  to  be  squarely  placed  and  wide  apart    ....  5 

24.  Growth 4 

25.  General  appearance 5 

Perfection 100 

No  prize  to  be  awarded  to  bulls  having  less  than  80  points.  Bulls  having 
obtained  75  points  shall  be  allowed  to  be  branded. 


RATIO   SCALE   OF  POINTS   FOR   COWS  AND   HEIFERS 
Articles  Points 

1.  Registered  pedigree 5 

2.  Head  small,  fine  and  tapering     .......  3 

3.  Cheek  small,  throat  clean 4 

4.  Muzzle  dark,  and  encircled  by  a  light  color,  with  nostrils  high  and 

open 4 


186  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

5.  Horns  small,  not  thick  at  the  base,  crumpled,  yellow,  tipped  with 

black 5 

6.  Ears  small  and  thin,  and  of  a  deep  orange  color  within   .         .  5 

7.  Eye  full  and  placid 3 

8.  Neck  straight,  fine,  and  lightly  placed  on  the  shoulders     .         .  3 

9.  Withers  fine,  shoulders  flat  and  sloping,  chest  broad  and  deep     .  4 

10.  Barrel-hooped,  broad  and  deep,  being  well  ribbed  up     .         .5 

11.  Back  straight  from  the  withers  to  the  setting  on  of  the  tail     .      5 

12.  Back  broad  across  the  loins        .......       S 

13.  Hips  wide  apart  and  fine  in  the  bone;  rump  long,  broad  and 

level        ...........       5 

14.  Tail  fine,  reaching  the  hocks,  and  hanging  at  right  angles  with 

the  back  ..........  3 

15.  Hide  thin  and  mellow,  covered  with  fine,  soft  hair       ...  4 

16.  Hide  of  a  yellow  color 4 

17.  Legs  short,  straight  and  fine,  with  small  hoofs     ....  3 

18.  Arms  full  and  swelling  above  the  knees 3 

19.  Hind  quarters  from  the  hock  to  point  of  rump  long,  wide  apart 

and  well  filled  up, 3 

20.  Hind  legs  squarely  placed  when  viewed  from  behind,  and  not  to 

cross  or  sweep  in  walking 3 

21.  Udder  large,  not  fleshy,  running  well  forward,  in  line  with  the 

belly,  and  well  up  behind 5 

22.  Teats  moderately  large,  yellow,  of  equal  size,  wide  apart  and 

squarely  placed 5 

23.  Milk  veins  about  the  udder  and  abdomen  prominent     .         .  4 

24.  Growth      ...........  4 

25.  General  appearance 5 

Perfection 100 

No  prize  shall  be  awarded  to  cows  having  less  than  80  points. 
No  prize  shall  be  awarded  to  heifers  having  less  than  70  points. 
Articles  21  and  23  shall  be  deducted  from  the  number  required  for  per- 
fection in  heifers,  as  their  udder  and  milk  veins  cannot  be  fully  developed. 

We  have  thus  far  dealt  only  with  open-air  cultivation, 
but  there  is  another  phase,  still  more  interesting,  in  which 
everything  is  grown  under  cover.  Until  the  glass-houses  of 


ADDRESSES  187 

Jersey  and  Guernsey  have  been  visited,  no  one  can  fairly 
appreciate  the  possibilities  of  intensive  gardening.  Origin- 
ally erected  for  the  purpose  of  growing  grapes,  they  now 
combine  that  with  the  raising  of  all  crops  grown  in  the  open 
air.  These  glass  shelters  are  of  the  simplest  construction, 
in  most  cases  mere  frames  of  glass  and  wood,  sometimes 
heated,  but  oftener  not.  But  they  yield  enormously,  crop 
after  crop,  throughout  the  entire  season.  Hardly  is  one  out 
of  the  way  than  another  takes  its  place.  Before  the  potatoes 
are  out  of  the  ground,  beet  or  broccoli  is  set  between  the 
rows,  etc.  The  whole  island  of  Guernsey  is  dotted  with 
them:  here  mere  lean-tos  against  the  sides  of  the  buildings, 
there  more  substantial  structures  in  the  fields,  or  again 
rising  tier  upon  tier  up  the  steep  hillsides.  The  grape  crop, 
of  which  the  annual  exportation  from  the  island  of  Guernsey 
is  over  five  hundred  tons,  valued  at  some  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  on  which  the  inhabitants  chiefly  relied  for 
an  income,  has  now  become  a  side  issue,  and  is  entirely 
eclipsed  by  the  immense  quantities  of  potatoes,  tomatoes, 
peas,  beans,  and  carrots  raised  under  these  shelters.  It  was 
not  my  good  fortune  to  visit  these  glass-houses  in  the  early 
season:  but  in  November,  on  the  island  of  Jersey,  at  Goose 
Green,  in  a  house  some  nine  hundred  feet  long  by  forty-one 
or  two  broad,  I  saw  them  ploughing  down  the  centre  while 
they  gathered  tomatoes  from  the  vines  on  either  hand, 
and  picked  the  pendent  bunches  of  grapes  from  the  trellis - 
work  on  the  sides. 

No  more  interesting  description  of  the  vegetable  houses 
has  been  written  than  that  by  Prince  Kropotkin,  and  you 
will,  I  am  sure,  bear  with  me  for  a  few  moments  if  I  quote 
from  his  recent  article  on  the  "Possibilities  of  Agriculture." 


188  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

"I  saw  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  covered  with  glass  and 
heated  for  three  months  in  the  spring,  yielding  about  eight 
tons  of  tomatoes  and  about  two  hundred  pounds  of  beans 
as  a  first  crop  in  April  and  May,  to  be  followed  by  two  crops 
more  during  the  summer  and  autumn.  Here  one  gardener 
was  employed,  with  two  assistants;  a  small  amount  of  coke 
was  consumed;  and  there  was  a  gas  engine  for  watering 
purposes,  consuming  one  dollar's  worth  of  gas  every  month. 
I  saw  again,  in  cool  greenhouses,  pea  plants  covering  the 
walls  for  a  length  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  which  already 
had  yielded  by  the  end  of  April  thirty-two  hundred  pounds 
of  exquisite  peas,  and  were  yet  as  full  of  pods  as  if  not  one 
had  been  taken  away.  I  saw  potatoes  dug  from  the  soil  in 
April  to  the  amount  of  five  bushels  to  the  twenty-one  feet 
square,  and  so  on.  And  yet  all  that  is  eclipsed  by  the 
immense  vineries  of  Mr.  Bashford  in  Jersey.  They  cover 
thirteen  acres,  and  from  the  outside  these  huge  glass-houses 
and  chimneys  look  like  a  factory.  But  when  you  enter  one 
of  the  houses,  nine  hundred  feet  long  and  forty-six  feet 
wide,  and  your  eye  scans  that  world  of  green  embellished 
by  the  reddening  grapes  or  tomatoes,  you  forget  the  ugli- 
ness of  the  outside  view.  As  to  the  results,  I  cannot  better 
characterize  them  than  by  quoting  what  Mr.  W.  Bear,  the 
well-known  writer  upon  English  agriculture,  wrote  after  a 
visit  to  the  same  establishment;  namely,  that  the  money  re- 
turns from  these  thirteen  acres  *  greatly  exceed  those  of  an 
ordinary  English  farm  of  thirteen  hundred  acres.'  The  last 
year's  crops  were  twenty-five  tons  of  grapes  (which  are  cut 
from  May  till  October,  ranging  in  price  at  wholesale  from 
one  dollar  a  pound  to  eighteen  cents),  eighty  tons  of  toma- 
toes, thirty  tons  of  potatoes,  six  tons  of  peas,  and  two  tons  of 


ADDRESSES  189 

beans,  to  say  nothing  of  other  subsidiary  crops.  On  seeing 
such  results  one  might  imagine  that  all  this  must  cost  a 
formidable  amount  of  money;  but  not  so.  The  cost  of  Mr. 
Bashford's  houses,  most  excellently  well  built,  is  only  $2.34 
per  square  yard  (heating  pipes  not  taken  into  account) ;  and 
all  the  work  is  done  by  thirty-six  men  only;  three  men  to 
each  acre  of  greenhouses  seems  to  be  a  Guernsey  average. 
As  for  fuel,  the  consumption  amounts  to  no  more  than  one 
thousand  cart-loads  of  coke  and  coal.  Besides,  one  can  see 
in  the  Channel  Isles  all  possible  gradations,  from  the  well- 
constructed  greenhouses  just  mentioned,  to  the  simple  shel- 
ters made  out  of  thin  planks  and  glass,  without  artificial 
heat,  which  cost  only  ten  cents  per  square  foot,  and  never- 
theless allow  of  having  the  most  surprising  crops  quite  ready 
for  sale  by  the  end  of  April.  Altogether,  the  glass-house  is 
no  more  a  luxury.  It  becomes  the  kitchen  garden  of  the 
market  gardener." 

One  of  the  most  noticeable  features  of  these  islands  is  the 
appearance  of  thrift  everywhere  discernible.  Everything 
speaks  of  ease  and  prosperity;  paupers  there  are  none.  The 
poor  are  rarely  seen.  Roadside,  garden,  and  house  alike 
betoken  comfort  and  sufficiency.  Not  only  are  the  out- 
skirts of  the  town  filled  with  substantial  buildings,  but  the 
homes  of  the  farmers  are  solid  granite  structures,  it  may  be 
with  cement  floor  instead  of  boards,  the  roofs  thatched  or 
tiled,  showing  red  against  the  dark,  rich  background  of  foli- 
age, but  all  comfortably,  neatly  furnished,  the  windows  cur- 
tained with  cambric  or  lace,  while  outside  they  are  bowered 
in  roses,  jasmines,  or  myrtles.  There  is  a  feeling  of  home,  of 
ownership,  of  pride  in  possession  that  strikes  one  at  once; 
and  who  that  has  once  enjoyed  the  simple,  hearty  hospitality 


190  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

of  those  kindly  people  will  ever  forget  it?  The  loaf  of  cake 
proffered  by  the  good  housewife,  with  a  half  apology  perhaps 
for  its  not  being  as  light  as  it  ought  to  be;  the  "jersey 
wonder"  (a  species  of  doughnut)  melting  away  in  the 
mouth  before  one  fairly  knows  it  is  there;  the  pitcher  of 
cider  or  bottle  of  wine,  —  everything  is  freely  offered,  and 
the  guest  made  welcome  to  the  best.  The  exquisite  neatness 
which  characterizes  the  house  is  just  as  plainly  visible  in  its 
out-door  surroundings.  The  well-kept  walks,  the  neat, 
orderly  barns  and  sheds,  the  gardens  with  their  flowers  and 
fruit,  and,  above  all,  the  trim,  cleanly  roads,  all  bespeak  the 
same  care  and  thrift.  Everything  is  turned  to  account;  the 
droppings  of  the  horses  and  cattle  along  the  roads  are  care- 
fully swept  up  and  placed  on  the  manure  heap,  the  twigs 
broken  by  the  gales  are  picked  up  and  put  away  for  fuel, 
and  the  leaves  falling  from  the  trees  are  gathered  together 
and  carried  away  to  enrich  the  land.  Nothing  is  lost,  and 
the  waste,  except  in  questions  of  labor,  is  reduced  to  a 
minimum.  But  the  tools  are  heavy  and  clumsy,  and  to 
this  day  most  of  the  farmers  work  their  ground  with  a 
plough  that  has  a  wooden  mould-board  with  an  iron  point, 
the  horses  being  hitched  tandem. 

The  roads  and  lanes  deserve  special  mention.  The  former 
are  well  built,  and  as  a  general  thing  follow  the  windings  of 
the  valleys,  while  branching  from  them  in  every  direction 
are  an  infinity  of  lanes,  so  narrow  that  at  intervals  bays  are 
constructed  to  allow  teams  to  pass  each  other.  No  weeds 
along  the  margins  are  to  be  seen,  for  both  road  and  lane  are 
macadamized  and  bordered,  sometimes  by  stone  walls  or 
well-trimmed  hedges,  but  oftener  by  earth-banks,  upon  or 
beside  which  are  rows  of  trees.  These  high,  earthen  banks, 


ADDRESSES  191 

taking  the  place  of  fences,  with  trees  growing  on  top,  and 
covered  all  over  with  the  greenest  and  most  luxuriant  of 
ivies,  give  to  the  lanes  the  appearance  of  trenches  cut  in  the 
soil,  and  this  effect  is  heightened  by  the  arching  of  the  trees 
overhead  and  the  interlacing  of  their  branches,  which  even 
in  midday  cast  a  shade  that  is  almost  twilight;  and  for 
miles  you  ride  along  through  these  leafy  bowers,  sheltered 
from  the  sun,  protected  from  the  wind,  listening  to  the  song 
of  birds,  till  at  last  the  vista  opens,  and  suddenly  you  see 
the  waves  rolling  madly  in,  and  catch  the  thunders  of  the 
surf  upon  the  granite  cliffs. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  To  what  do  the  Channel 
Islands  owe  their  prosperity.  Given  an  equable  climate,  a 
fertile  but  not  rich  soil,  and  a  skilful  husbandry,  and  you 
have  the  three  prime  requisites  of  success.  That  is  true  as 
far  as  it  goes,  but  there  is  still  a  factor  wanting  to  make  the 
explanation  complete.  Other  writers  have  placed  it  in  the 
possession  of  a  race  of  cattle  popular  throughout  the  world, 
a  climate  which  is  perfection,  and  a  ready  market  almost  at 
their  very  door.  To  these  combined,  I  would  add,  "A 
diffused  property,  a  diffused  capital,  and  a  diffused  intelli- 
gence.'" The  19,000  acres  of  arable  land  of  Jersey  are 
divided  among  2,600  farmers;  only  six  have  farms  of  one 
hundred  acres;  some  fifty  or  more  own  twenty  acres; 
but  the  great  majority  have  small  holdings  from  one-half 
acre  to  five  or  six.  Land  does  not  often  change  hands.  If 
inherited,  it  cannot  be  devised  by  will,  but  must  follow  the 
line  of  succession,  the  law  requiring  that  at  death  every 
child  shall  receive  a  part,  the  oldest  son  having  the  house 
in  addition.  The  land  laws  thus  discourage  aggregation  of 
property,  and  favor  its  distribution  among  the  members  of 


192  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  family.  Every  man  is  at  the  same  time  a  land-owner,  a 
capitalist  and  a  laborer.  To  this  "diffusion  of  property," 
and  to  the  universal  thrift  and  industry  naturally  following 
such  diffusion,  I  attribute  the  general  prosperity  of  the 
people.  It  is  natural  that  a  man  owning  his  little  piece  of 
land  should  improve  it  to  the  utmost,  and  make  it  yield  the 
largest  income  possible.  The  man  occupying  temporarily 
another's  land  will  not  lay  out  upon  it  any  more  than  he  can 
possibly  help.  There  results,  then,  from  these  small  hold- 
ings, an  intense  cultivation  not  possible  on  large  estates. 

How  different  the  case  is  in  England  may  be  seen  from 
the  following  figures:  of  the  36,000,000  acres  comprising 
England  and  Wales,  4,500  persons  own  20,000,000;  288 
hold  over  5,000,000;  52  hold  over  9,000  acres  apiece;  204 
hold  over  5,000  and  2,432  hold  over  1,000.  More  than  one- 
half  is  owned  by  private  individuals,  holding  1,000  acres 
and  upward.  In  Scotland  this  aggregation  of  land  by  the 
few  is  still  more  striking.  Of  its  19,000,000  acres,  nine- 
tenths  are  held  by  less  than  1,700  persons,  and  one-half  of 
the  whole  of  its  area  is  held  by  70  persons.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  land-owners  is  131,530,  but  of  these  111,658  own 
less  than  an  acre  apiece.  The  largest  estate  is  held  by  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  and  amounts  to  1,326,- 
000  acres.  With  such  a  distribution  of  property,  and  with  a 
poor  law  costing  thirty-five  million  dollars  annually,  what 
outlook  is  there  for  the  English  farmer?  What  hope  of  ever 
acquiring  possession  of  the  little  plot  of  land  on  which  he 
works  and  spends  his  days,  or  what  motive  to  induce  him  to 
improve  property  he  cannot  leave  to  his  children?  A  recent 
writer  puts  it  in  an  nutshell  when  he  says:  "In  England 


ADDRESSES  193 

the  agricultural  laborers,  with  the  lands  about  them  all 
taken  up  and  so  unsalable,  and  with  a  poor  law  to  provide 
for  them  under  all  the  calamities  of  life,  whether  brought 
about  by  mishap  or  by  their  own  wilful  vice,  have  but  little 
motive,  even  if  they  had  the  opportunity,  for  saving." 


REMINISCENCES  OF  THE  ORIENT 

"Many  a  traveller  will  remember,  no  doubt,  a  sudden 
thrill  on  awakening  suddenly  in  the  midst  of  his  first  night 
on  Eastern  soil  —  waking  as  it  were  from  dream  into  dream. 
For  there  came  a  voice,  solitary,  sweet,  sonorous,  floating 
from  on  high  through  the  moonlight  stillness,  the  voice  of 
the  blind  Muezzeen,  singing  the  Ulah  or  first  call  to  prayer. 
And  at  the  sound,  many  a  white  figure  would  move  silently 
on  the  low  roofs,  and  not  merely,  like  the  palms  and  cy- 
presses around,  bow  his  head,  but  prostrate,  and  bend  his 
knees.  And  the  sounds  went  and  came:  'God  is  good! 
God  is  great!  Prayer  is  better  than  sleep!  There  is  no 
God,  but  God,  and  Mahomet  is  his  prophet!  La  elah  il 
Allah!  Mahomet  racoul  Allah!  He  giveth  life  and  he 
dieth  not!  O  thou  bountiful!  Thy  mercy  ceaseth  not! 
My  sins  are  great!  Greater  is  thy  mercy!  I  extol  thy 
perfections!'  And  then  the  cry  would  be  taken  up  and 
prolonged  by  other  Muezzeens,  and  from  the  north  and 
the  south,  the  east  and  the  west,  came  floating  on  the 
morning  stillness  this  pious  invitation  to  prayer,  —  this 
proclamation  to  all  the  world  of  the  embodiment  of  the 
Moslem  creed:  'There  is  no  God,  but  God,  and  Mahomet 
is  his  prophet.'" 

Who  that  has  ever  been  in  the  East  can  for  an  instant 
lose  the  impression  of  that  first  moment,  so  vividly  por- 
trayed in  the  above  sketch?  It  is  perhaps  the  most  charac- 
teristic feature  of  Eastern  life,  and  one  that  is  repeated  daily, 


ADDRESSES  195 

again  and  again,  in  every  Turkish  city.  A  creed  so  simple 
and  yet  so  bold  in  its  utterance !  Its  very  strength  lies  in  its 
simplicity;  and  the  millions  who  have  lived  and  died  in  the 
profession  of  its  faith  have  carried  its  tenets  triumphantly 
from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  great  wall  of  China 
and  the  heart  of  further  India. 

Reminiscences  of  the  East :  of  the  land  of  the  fig-tree  and 
olive,  the  vine  and  the  pomegranate,  the  myrtle  and  rose, 
the  musk  and  the  ottar  of  Araby  the  Blest,  and  the  delicious 
notes  of  nightingales  warbling  as  though  intoxicated  with 
their  own  sweet  song.  What  images  rise  up  before  me  and 
return  to  my  memory!  Out  of  all  this  luxuriance,  what 
shall  I  select  as  my  theme? 

Shall  I  tell  you  of  that  wondrous  city,  "alone  of  all  the 
cities  of  the  world,  standing  on  two  continents,"  massed  on 
its  seven  hills,  and  rising  tier  on  tier  of  swelling  domes  and 
burnished  minarets,  each  one  a  centre  of  refulgent  light,  yet 
so  toned  down  and  softened  under  the  light  of  a  sky  known 
in  no  other  clime  than  in  the  East,  so  circled  round  by  masses 
of  dark  verdure  which  cluster  round  the  sacred  edifices,  that 
the  eye  finds  no  inharmonious  point,  but  wanders  with  re- 
curring delight  over  the  whole? 

Or  shall  I  tell  you  of  the  great  war  between  the  crescent 
and  the  cross,  when,  lying  almost  within  sound  of  the  great 
guns  whose  iron  hail  was  crashing  upon  the  doomed  city  of 
Sevastopol,  we  watched  the  transports  sailing  by,  carrying 
reinforcements  to  the  allied  troops  or  bringing  to  the  city 
the  thousands  of  unhappy  wretches,  gashed  and  maimed, 
battered  out  of  the  semblance  of  humanity,  or  who,  stricken 
down  by  the  insidious  attack  of  disease,  had  been  brought 
there  to  linger  a  while  and  die? 


196  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Or,  once  more,  shall  I  tell  you  of  the  land  itself,  its 
products  and  resources,  the  people  and  their  ways,  their 
lives  and  occupations,  their  various  methods  of  gaining 
their  daily  bread? 

It  has  seemed  to  me  that  perhaps  this  last  was  the  more 
appropriate.  And  yet  I  almost  despair  of  giving  you  an 
adequate  idea  of  a  country  and  a  people  where  everything 
is  done  in  a  manner  so  exactly  opposite  to  our  own.  The 
distinction  they  make  between  the  religious  and  the  moral 
character  is  very  singular.  With  us  there  can  be  no  religion 
without  morality;  but  with  them  the  religious  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  moral  character.  The  pirate  committing 
murder  on  the  high  seas,  and  taken  red-handed,  refuses  to 
eat  meat  on  Friday  and  thus  imperil  his  soul,  even  while  his 
hands  are  yet  wet  with  his  brother's  blood.  The  robber 
stripes  you  to  the  skin,  takes  everything  you  possess,  mal- 
treats and  threatens  you  with  death,  and  then  calmly 
ejaculates  as  he  leaves  you,  *  May  God  save  you,  my  lamb, 
if  in  danger!   I  give  you  into  His  keeping." 

No  one  is  ever  supposed  to  be  the  less  covetous,  the  less 
a  cheat,  a  gambler,  a  liar,  a  defrauder,  a  robber,  a  murderer, 
because  he  prays.  Nothing  is  further  from  his  own  thoughts 
or  the  thoughts  of  the  bystanders,  than  that  his  prayers 
should  exert  any  transforming  influence  upon  his  own  char- 
acter. And  why  should  they?  For  when  they  have  busi- 
ness to  transact  with  their  neighbors  on  temporal  matters, 
they  use  a  language  which  all  can  understand,  but  whenever 
they  have  any  business  with  their  Maker  about  their  eternal 
interests,  it  is  always  done  in  a  language  they  do  not  under- 
stand. Outwardly  pious  and  sincere,  inwardly  they  are 
whited  sepulchres  and  full  of  dead  men's  bones.     The 


ADDRESSES  197 

traveler  in  the  highway,  the  artisan  in  his  shop,  the  mer- 
chant in  the  bazaar,  the  lounger  in  the  cafe,  when  the  hour 
for  prayer  arrives,  hastens  to  spread  his  little  carpet  on  the 
ground  and  goes  through  the  required  formula.  But  he  is 
keenly  alive  all  the  time  to  whatever  is  going  on  about  him, 
and  when  his  pious  ejaculations  are  ended,  will  be  found  to 
have  lost  not  an  iota  of  anything  that  may  have  been  said 
during  his  temporary  fit  of  piety.  If  a  professional  story- 
teller has  been  amusing  the  crowd  with  some  entertaining 
tale  while  he  was  praying,  he  will  be  found  not  to  have  lost 
the  point  of  the  story,  or  the  pith  of  any  joke. 

The  writer  of  the  article  entitled  "Baron  Hirsch's  Rail- 
way in  Turkey,"  tells  the  following  story:  A  peasant  one 
day  sent  in  all  haste  for  an  American  missionary  to  come 
and  pray  for  him.  Not  a  little  surprised  at  the  unusual  re- 
quest, the  missionary  went,  and  the  peasant  remarked, 
"Your  prayers  are  more  efficacious  than  those  of  our 
priests."  The  missionary  was  somewhat  surprised  at  this, 
and  after  modestly  murmuring  something  concerning  faith, 
was  preparing  to  comply  with  the  request,  when  the  man 
continued,  "I  have  taken  a  ticket  in  the  Vienna  lottery. 
If  I  win  through  your  prayers,  you  shall  have  one-half." 

It  was  apparently  a  perfectly  natural  thing,  this  copart- 
nership of  earth  and  heaven,  and  the  peasant  could  see  no 
impropriety  in  invoking  the  prayers  of  those  he  considered 
more  potent  than  he.  He  put  up  the  money,  the  missionary 
furnished  the  prayers,  and  they  went  divvys  on  the  result. 
What  harm? 

But  to  turn  from  the  moral  side  to  the  customs  of  every- 
day life.  The  barber,  for  example,  pushes  the  razor  from 
him;  ours  draws  it  to  him.    The  carpenter  draws  the  saw 


198  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

towards  him,  for  all  the  teeth  are  set  in;  ours  does  the  re- 
verse, for  the  teeth  are  set  out.  The  mason  sits  while  he  lays 
and  trims  his  stone,  ours  stands.  The  scribe  writes  from 
right  to  left,  usually  upon  his  hand  or  knee;  ours  from  left  to 
right,  upon  the  table  or  desk.  Even  in  the  matter  of  build- 
ing a  house,  the  same  law  prevails.  We  begin  at  the  bottom 
and  finish  at  the  top;  the  Turks  begin  at  the  top,  and  fre- 
quently the  upper  rooms  are  entirely  finished  and  habit- 
able, while  all  below  is  a  mere  framework  like  a  lantern. 

The  Oriental  uses  a  pipe  so  long  that  he  cannot  hold  a 
coal  to  the  bowl  and  at  the  same  time  draw  a  whiff  of  to- 
bacco smoke  from  the  other  end.  We  use  one  so  short  that 
the  scent  of  burned  hair  too  often  mingles  with  that  of  the 
fragrant  weed.  We  polish  our  boots  with  elaborate  care; 
but  these  people,  whose  religion,  perhaps,  will  not  allow 
them  to  use  brushes  made  from  the  bristles  of  the  unclean 
beast,  wipe  up  their  shoes  with  their  hands,  and  then  put 
on  the  last  finishing  touches  with  their  handkerchiefs,  or 
the  slack  of  those  wonderful  things  denominated  Turkish 
trousers.  Burnaby,  in  his  "On  Horseback  through  Asia 
Minor,"  quotes  a  missionary  as  saying:  "The  Turks  about 
here  are  just  the  bottom-side-upwardest,  and  the  top-side- 
downwardest,  the  back-side-forwardest,  and  the  forward- 
side-backwardest  people  I  have  ever  seen.  Why,  they  call 
a  compass  which  points  to  the  north,  'queblen,'  or  south, 
just  for  the  sake  of  contradiction;  and  they  have  to  change 
their  watches  every  twenty-four  hours,  because  they  count 
their  time  from  after  sunset,  instead  of  reckoning  up  the  day 
like  a  Christian."  One  more  striking  point  of  difference,  and 
we  have  done.  The  Turks  through  long  ages  led  a  roving, 
wandering  life  in  the  immense  plains  of  northern  and  cen- 


ADDRESSES  199 

tral  Asia.  Rising  from  the  position  of  slave  and  subject  to 
that  of  master,  they  gradually  fought  their  way  down  to 
the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  occupied  the  entire 
territory.  But  the  inherited  instincts  of  so  many  genera- 
tions have  never  been  completely  laid  aside.  As  in  their 
warlike,  migratory  state,  the  tent  was  to  them  simply  a 
sleeping-place  to  which  they  retired  for  the  night,  so  the 
house  has  been  to  them  ever  since.  Home,  in  our  sense  of  the 
word,  with  all  its  beautiful  associations,  has  no  answering 
equivalent  in  their  mind,  and,  in  fact,  there  is  no  word  in 
their  language  which  can  convey  such  an  idea. 

To  add  to  the  difficulty  of  giving  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
people  of  Turkey,  is  the  fact  that  they  do  not  form  a  single 
race,  amalgamated  and  blended  into  one,  though  made  up 
of  different  race-elements,  but  are  composed  of  Turks,  Jews, 
Greeks,  Armenians,  wild  tribes  of  Koords,  Turcomans, 
Kuzel  Bash,  and  the  Bulgarian,  Croatian,  and  Slavonian 
tribes  of  the  Danubian  principalities,  each  retaining  its  dis- 
tinct nationality,  its  own  religious  rites,  and  its  own  peculiar 
customs  and  ways.  Of  the  population  of  eight  millions  in 
round  numbers  in  European  Turkey,  the  Turks  number 
about  3,600,000,  and  the  rest  are  Christian  and  Jews.  In 
Asiatic  Turkey  the  proportion  is  about  the  same.  Of  these, 
the  Greeks  and  the  Jews  are  the  tradesmen;  the  Armenians 
the  artizans  and  bankers;  the  Bulgarians  and  Croats  are 
agricultural  in  their  tastes,  while  the  Koords  and  Turco- 
mans live  largely  by  plunder  and  by  the  produce  of  their 
herds.  In  such  an  assemblage  of  races  you  would  naturally 
expect  to  find  great  differences;  and  yet,  after  all,  certain 
distinct  features  will  be  found  peculiar  to  all,  and  certain 
customs  that  are  common  to  all. 


200  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

As  a  rule,  the  Turk  will  be  found  to  be  honest  and  truth- 
ful, and  living  up  to  the  command  laid  down  by  Mahomet 
in  the  earlier  days  of  his  inspiration :  "  When  thou  hast  given 
thy  word,  stand  fast  by  it,  and  let  the  words  of  thy  mouth 
be  even  as  thy  written  agreement."  Of  the  other  races  we 
cannot  say  as  much.  The  Jews,  as  in  all  ages,  are  the 
money-getters,  and  live  and  thrive  in  their  quarters,  as  in 
the  Ghetto  of  Rome,  in  a  squalor  and  filth  that  would 
quickly  exterminate  any  other  race.  The  Greeks  are  shrewd 
and  enterprising,  but  the  characterization  of  the  Cretans  by 
St.  Paul  is  no  inapt  description  of  their  character:  "The 
Cretans  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts,  slow  bellies."  Their 
own  countryman,  Euripides,  even  before  the  time  of  the 
apostle,  wrote:  "Greece  never  had  the  least  spark  of  hon- 
esty"; and  Lord  Byron,  twenty  centuries  after,  one  of  the 
most  enthusiastic  in  their  cause,  exclaims:  "I  am  of  St. 
Paul's  opinion,  that  there  is  no  difference  between  Jews  and 
Greeks  —  the  character  of  both  being  equally  vile." 

The  Armenians,  on  the  other  hand,  are  a  purer,  simpler 
race,  retaining  much  of  that  individual  nationality  which 
made  them  formidable  in  the  days  of  the  Romans.  But 
contact  with  the  outer  world  —  with  the  foreigners  pouring 
into  Turkey  —  is  changing  their  character  for  the  worse. 
It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  farther  you  go  from  the  capi- 
tal and  the  large  cities,  the  simpler  and  more  innocent  the 
lives  of  the  people. 

In  nothing  is  this  difference  of  nationality  so  strikingly 
manifested  as  in  the  cemeteries.  The  Turks  plant  theirs 
with  the  cypress,  and  at  the  head  of  a  grave  where  a  man  is 
buried,  a  stone  is  erected  crowned  with  a  turban,  or,  in  more 
recent  times,  with  the  national  emblem  —  the  fez.  At  the 


ADDRESSES  201 

foot  of  the  grave  a  plainer  stone  marks  the  resting-place  of 
the  woman.  The  turban  is  absent,  and  in  its  place  the  top 
of  the  stone  is  rounded  or  pointed,  while  a  running  vine  is 
worked  around  the  outer  edge.  The  inscription  is  very 
simple  —  only  the  name  of  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and 
a  recommendation  of  his  soul  to  the  only  living  and  true 
God.  A  beautiful  custom  prevails,  both  among  the  Turks 
and  the  Christian  population,  of  hollowing  out  two  small 
cavities  in  the  tablet  covering  the  grave  itself,  which  are 
kept  filled  with  seeds  and  fresh  water  to  attract  the  birds  to 
come  and  build  their  nests  near  by  and  sing  their  songs  over 
the  graves  of  the  departed. 

The  cemeteries  of  the  Jews  are  in  keeping  with  their  daily 
life.  As  their  object  is  so  to  live  as  not  to  attract  attention 
and  thus  call  down  upon  themselves  the  persecution  of  their 
neighbors,  so  the  resting-places  of  their  dead  display  the 
same  neglect  and  want  of  care.  Nothing  drearier  or  more 
desolate  can  be  imagined.  Not  a  tree  or  shrub  to  relieve  the 
melancholy  waste.  Nothing  but  the  barren  hillsides,  strewn 
for  miles  around  with  gray  slabs,  lying  in  the  most  terrible 
confusion. 

Not  so  the  Greeks  and  Armenians.  Choosing  some  beau- 
tiful site,  as  in  the  "  Grand  Champ  des  Morts  "  at  Constan- 
tinople, overlooking  the  Bosphorus  and  the  Marmora,  they 
plant  the  stately  palm  or  the  graceful  terebinthus  [turpen- 
tine], erect  a  coffee-house,  and  make  it  a  fashionable 
resort.  Its  cool  and  airy  situation,  its  agreeable  shade  and 
the  convenience  of  comfortable  seats  afforded  by  the  tomb- 
stones, make  it  a  pleasant  promenade.  Here,  on  the  flat 
tablets,  the  elders  mark  out  a  rough  board  and  play  games 
of  chance  or  checkers,  or  perchance  discuss  the  merits  of 


202  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

their  ancestors  sleeping  quietly  beneath.  Here  lovers  wan- 
der arm  in  arm  and  whisper  their  fond  nothings,  undis- 
turbed by  ghosts  of  former  days.  And  here  the  gallants,  as 
they  sip  their  wine,  order  so  many  Roman  candles  burnt  in 
honor  of  their  ladies. 

The  occupation  of  the  deceased  is  always  portrayed 
upon  his  tombstone :  an  adze  or  saw  representing  a  carpen- 
ter; a  lancet,  a  barber;  an  anvil,  a  blacksmith;  an  inkstand, 
a  scribe  or  lawyer;  and  if,  perchance,  his  end  has  been 
hastened  by  violence,  the  manner  of  his  * 'taking  off"  is 
faithfully  portrayed.  Here  you  may  see  a  representation 
of  the  deceased  upon  his  knees,  holding  his  head  in  his 
hands,  while  jets  of  blood  spout  fromhis  neck  in  stiff  curves, 
like  those  issuing  from  a  beer  bottle  on  a  tavern  sign.  There 
you  may  see  the  fatal  bowstring  adjusted  about  the  neck 
as  he  awaits  the  tightening  of  the  cord.  These  representa- 
tions carry  with  them  no  associations  of  infamy  or  crime. 
They  are  but  the  heraldic  quarterings  to  be  found  among 
the  aristocracy  of  other  nations,  and  if  they  had  a  name 
would  be  called  the  "scimetar  pendant,  or  the  bowstring 
displayed  in  a  field  azure."  Only,  instead  of  being  blazoned 
upon  the  carriages  of  the  living,  they  are  placed  upon  the 
tombstones  of  the  dead;  for  they  signify  that  the  wealth 
of  the  deceased  was  sufficient  to  excite  the  avarice  of  the 
reigning  power.  "To  die,  then,  by  the  sword  or  bowstring, 
implies  the  possession  of  wealth,  and  the  surviving  relatives 
glorify  themselves  in  perpetuating  this  record  of  financial 
standing  and  consideration." 

To  the  observant  traveler  in  the  East,  one  of  its  most 
noticeable  features  is  the  absence  of  farm  life  among  its  in- 
habitants.   Between  village  and  village  you  rarely  meet 


ADDRESSES  203 

with  isolated  farm-houses  or  cultivated  areas.  You  pass 
directly  from  the  town  or  hamlet,  with  its  surrounding- 
gardens  and  arable  land,  into  a  wild,  unbroken  territory,  in- 
fested only  by  wild  beasts  and  lawless  men.  From  motives 
of  security,  the  people  all  live  together  in  the  villages;  the 
farmer  going  to  his  farm,  two  or  three  miles  away,  every 
morning,  and  quitting  work  an  hour  before  sundown,  to  re- 
turn to  his  distant  family.  Even  in  the  neighborhood  of 
large  cities  you  find  this  to  be  the  case;  and  within  fifteen 
miles  of  Constantinople  itself,  with  its  million  or  more  of 
population,  could  still  be  shot,  only  a  few  years  ago,  wild 
boars  and  wolves  in  the  dense  forests  surrounding  the  Bents 
of  Belgrade. 

Another  very  noticeable  fact  is  the  utter  disregard  of  fer- 
tilizers. Great  heaps  of  manure  accumulate  in  the  sheep- 
folds,  the  poultry  yards  and  horse-stables,  which  are  allowed 
to  waste  from  lack  of  knowledge  of  their  value.  It  is  true 
that  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  where  are 
grown  the  celebrated  melons,  three  of  which  make  a  camel's 
load  of,  say,  six  hundred  pounds,  a  hole  is  scooped  in  the 
sand,  a  handful  of  hen  or  pigeon  manure  thrown  in,  the  seed 
planted,  and  Nature  left  to  do  the  rest.  But  this  is  the  ex- 
ception to  the  rule.  Nor  should  we  blame  these  people  too 
severely,  when  we  have  such  bright  and  shining  examples  of 
the  same  pernicious  practice  in  this  country.  In  California, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Santa  Barbara,  the  manure  is  hauled,  not 
to  the  field,  but  to  the  public  highways,  where  it  is  care- 
fully spread  to  keep  down  the  dust;  and  in  Canada  the  farm- 
ers were  reported  only  this  last  summer  as  dumping  it  by 
the  cart-load  into  the  rivers. 

The  droppings  of  the  cow,  on  the  other  hand,  are  care- 


204  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

fully  preserved,  worked  up  with  coarse  straw  and  stubble, 
and  dried  for  winter  fuel;  for  over  large  areas  the  woods 
have  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  poor  people  have  no 
other  resource.  The  preparation  of  the  winter's  supply  is 
especially  the  duty  of  the  women,  and,  to  quote  the  words 
of  the  veteran  missionary  Van  Lennep :  "  We  have  watched 
them  collecting  the  manure  from  the  track  which  the  cattle 
follow  in  going  to  pasture  in  the  morning,  shaping  it  into 
round  cakes,  six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  by  handling  it 
as  they  would  a  lump  of  dough,  and  with  a  skilful  twist  of 
their  hand  suddenly  sticking  it  on  the  walls  of  their  houses 
to  dry  in  the  sun.  They  seem  to  enter  upon  this  duty  as  a 
matter  of  course,  and  conduct  it  with  an  artistic  dexterity 
which  proves  that  it  is  one  of  the  accomplishments  of  the 
good  housewife  much  to  be  desired." 

As  to  the  distribution  of  the  arable  land,  we  may  make 
the  general  division  into  villages  and  "Chifliks,"  or  farms  of 
considerable  extent.  The  common  farmers  live  in  villages 
for  safety.  They  may  own  the  land  around  them  in  common, 
but  generally  each  man  has  his  own.  The  commune  system 
is  mainly  in  European  Turkey,  and  is  the  ancient  system  of 
the  Slavic  race. 

The  "Chifliks,"  or  large  farms,  are  usually  owned  by 
Turks,  and  vary  in  size  from  several  hundred  to  as  many 
thousand  acres.  They  constitute  a  village  in  themselves: 
the  landed  proprietor  in  the  centre,  usually  on  an  elevated 
bit  of  ground,  and  the  huts  of  his  dependents  clustered 
around  and  below.  It  is  only  the  old  feudal  system  revived : 
the  lord  in  his  castle,  and  the  hovels  of  his  humble  retainers 
grouped  about  the  walls.  These  large  estates  are  devoted 
principally  to  grazing;  but  if  there  is  good  wheat  land  you 


ADDRESSES  205 

may  see  immense  fields  of  grain,  from  which  a  good  yield  is 
considered  nine  to  ten  bushels  for  one  of  sowing.  The  crops 
are  never  measured  by  the  acre,  and  the  above  yield  would 
probably  be  not  over  twenty  bushels  to  the  acre. 

The  threshing  floor  and  its  implements  and  operations 
would  interest  an  American  farmer  in  the  very  highest  de- 
gree. Frequently  a  whole  village  will  unite  in  constructing 
one  for  common  use.  A  description  of  such  an  one  from 
Hamlin's  "Among  the  Turks"  may  not  be  uninteresting: 
"  I  examined  one  that  was  about  one  thousand  feet  in  length, 
and,  say,  one-third  of  that  in  breadth.  It  was  made  by 
hauling  on  to  it  hundreds  of  loads  of  clay  and  coarse  gravel. 
The  whole  was  made  into  mortar,  and  spread  some  five  or 
six  inches  deep  on  a  level,  well-prepared  surface.  It  was 
then  tamped  every  day  by  a  force  of  men,  that  went  all  over 
it  twice  a  day,  until  it  became  too  dry  and  solid  for  further 
work.  It  is  now  artificial  stone.  Its  inclination  from  a  level 
is  just  enough  to  keep  it  clear  of  water.  With  occasional 
repairs,  it  lasts  for  generations.  About  three-fourths  of 
this  floor  is  given  to  threshing,  the  rest  to  winnowing.  The 
grain  from  the  field  is  spread  six  or  eight  inches  deep  over 
the  floor,  and  then  the  whole  animal  force  of  the  village  is 
turned  in  upon  it,  — horses,  donkeys,  mules,  horned  cattle, 
with  carts  and  drags,  or  with  nothing  but  the  feet." 

But  the  most  effective,  the  finishing-off  instrument,  is 
doubtless  that  referred  to  by  the  Prophet  Isaiah  (xli,  15- 
16),  where  he  says:  "Behold,  I  will  make  thee  a  new  sharp 
threshing  instrument  having  teeth."  And  this  having  teeth  is 
what  I  desire  especially  to  bring  to  your  attention.  In  ap- 
pearance it  looks  very  much  on  the  upper  side  like  a  com- 
mon stone  drag  or  boat.    It  is  of  plank,  about  three  inches 


206  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

thick,  of  the  toughest  wood,  and  studded  on  the  under  side 
with  sharp  flints.  The  edges  of  these  flints,  after  being 
driven  into  the  socket  chiseled  out  for  them,  are  trimmed 
sharp;  and  thus  completed  it  makes  a  most  savage-looking 
implement.  Seated  on  this,  with  a  long  pole  to  prevent 
the  bundles  from  riding  up  over  the  bow,  the  driver  urges 
on  his  bullocks.  As  it  goes  round  and  round  the  area,  it  cuts 
and  bruises  the  straw  fine,  and  this,  with  the  chaff,  takes  the 
place  of  hay  for  cattle-feed  in  the  East.  The  threshing 
process  over,  there  are  two  raking  operations :  one  to  clear 
off  the  coarse  straw  not  good  for  food;  this  is  piled  up  as 
worthless  chaff  to  be  burned.  Then  follows  a  skillful  raking 
off  of  the  finer  straw  without  taking  up  the  wheat.  After 
being  passed  through  sieves,  which  let  the  wheat  and  chaff 
pass  through  but  retain  the  coarser  stuff,  it  is  ready  for 
the  winnowing.  This  is  accomplished  by  tossing  the  wheat 
high  into  the  air,  from  shovels  made  of  beech,  with  long, 
elastic  handles,  to  allow  the  breeze  to  carry  off  the  lighter 
particles.  Two  more  sif tings,  in  sieves  of  different-sized 
meshes,  complete  the  operation. 

The  wheat  thus  cleaned  looks  well,  but  oh,  the  labor! 
Thousands  and  thousands  of  bushels  are  injured  or  destroyed 
annually  by  the  rains  before  the  threshing  is  over;  for  at 
best,  even  with  several  threshing-floors,  it  will  take  a  num- 
ber of  weeks  for  all  in  the  village  to  have  their  turn.  Efforts 
have  been  made  from  time  to  time  to  introduce  more  per- 
fect machines,  but  the  attempt  has  always  been  viewed 
with  distrust  by  the  natives,  and  dark  hints  have  been 
mysteriously  circulated  of  the  agency  of  the  Evil  One.  We 
all  remember  the  story  of  the  opposition  to  the  penny  post 
in  London,  and  how  it  was  denounced  by  the  long-headed 


ADDRESSES  207 

ones  as  an  "insidious  Popish  contrivance."  History  only 
repeats  itself;  and  it  is  this  same  conservative  spirit  that 
Sir  Walter  Scott  satirizes  in  his  "Antiquary,"  when  he  puts 
into  the  mouth  of  Mause  Headrigg  the  following  objections 
to  winnowing  machines:  "It  is  a  new-fangled  machine  for 
freeing  the  corn  frae  the  chaff,  thus  impiously  thwarting 
the  will  o'  divine  Providence,  by  raising  wind  for  your 
leddyship's  use  by  human  art,  instead  of  soliciting  it  by 
prayer,  or  patiently  waiting  for  whatever  dispensation 
of  wind  Providence  was  pleased  to  send  upon  the  shieling 
hill." 

The  other  implements  of  husbandry  are  very  simple  and 
primitive.  The  ox-yoke  is  made  of  two  straight  pieces,  one 
above,  the  other  below  the  neck,  the  top  piece  alone  being 
hollowed.  Two  straight  pins  serve  instead  of  the  yoke  to 
inclose  the  neck,  a  strong  trunnel  in  the  middle  taking  the 
place  of  staple  and  ring. 

The  plough  is  absurdly  ridiculous.  Take  a  pole  about 
ten  feet  long,  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter  at  the  butt; 
and  by  mortise  and  tenon  unite  this  at  a  slightly  acute  angle 
to  another  piece  of  about  equal  size,  sharpened  and  shod 
with  iron  to  plough  the  earth,  and  variously  provided  with 
some  sort  of  a  handle  for  the  ploughman's  hand,  and  you 
have  an  Oriental  plough.  It  does  not  turn  a  furrow,  it 
simply  scratches  the  earth  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  inches, 
and  then  the  ground  must  be  cross-ploughed  in  order  to 
secure  anything  like  an  adequate  preparation  for  the  sowing. 
European  ploughs,  to  which  several  pairs  of  buffaloes  were 
attached,  have  been  introduced  at  various  times,  but  were 
soon  given  up  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  finding  animals 
strong  enough  to  draw  them.    The  hope  of  success  lies  in 


208  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  improvement  of  the  breed,  but  there  is  something  be- 
yond this,  for  the  best  breeds  introduced  soon  degenerate 
from  lack  of  nourishment.  The  country  must  be  better 
governed,  property  made  more  secure,  before  farmers  will 
find  it  to  their  advantage  to  give  their  cattle  more  than 
the  scanty  grass  they  can  pick  up  here  and  there  on  the 
parched  hillsides.  The  improvement  of  implements  will  fol- 
low as  a  matter  of  course.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the 
ordinary  horses :  barley  and  straw  alone,  and  the  treatment 
received  through  many  generations,  have  produced  the 
small,  wiry,  enduring  hack  of  Asia  Minor,  as  far  removed 
from  the  lithe  form  and  airy  grace  of  the  Arab  steed  as 
light  is  from  darkness. 

The  spade  is  triangular  in  shape,  with  a  straight  handle, 
longer  than  a  man  is  tall.  A  few  inches  above  the  blade,  a 
piece  of  wood  is  mortised  in,  upon  which  the  foot  is  set,  to 
force  the  blade  deep  into  the  earth.  The  length  of  the 
handle  enables  the  laborer  to  lay  his  whole  weight  upon  the 
extremity,  and  afterwards  use  it  as  a  lever  in  order  to  raise 
a  large  quantity  of  soil,  which  he  merely  turns  over.  "  Shal- 
low ploughing  but  deep  spading  seem  then  to  be  the  two 
chief  rules  of  Oriental  agriculture." 

The  hoe  has  a  broad  blade,  not  flat,  but  slightly  concave, 
the  handle  very  short,  compelling  the  laborer  to  crouch 
to  his  work.  The  sickle  is  about  the  same  form  as  our  own. 
The  scythe  shorter,  heavier,  clumsier,  the  snath  nearly 
straight,  with  but  one  handle,  the  left  hand  grasping  the 
snath  itself.  The  blade  has  no  curve  worth  mentioning. 
Fortunately  for  the  back  of  the  laborer,  hay  is  in  so  little  de- 
mand that  the  scythe  is  practically  used  only  in  the  cradle, 
and  that  not  by  Turks,  but  almost  exclusively  by  the  Bui- 


ADDRESSES  209 

garians.  As  you  pass  by  the  great  wheat  fields  you  will  see 
men  and  women  with  their  sickles  slowly  and  laboriously 
reaping  the  golden  harvest.  Ask  them  whether  they  could 
not  do  the  work  much  more  rapidly  and  easily  with  the 
cradle,  and  they  will  answer,  "Doubtless."  Ask  them  why 
they  do  not  use  it,  they  will  reply,  "Good  Lord!  it  is  not 
our  custom."  And  that  is  the  end  of  all  controversy  with 
an  Oriental.  To  change  the  custom  of  his  fathers  is  as 
impious  an  act  as  to  defile  the  bones  of  his  ancestors  or 
curse  his  grandmother. 

One  is  sometimes  in  despair  of  any  progress  in  the  East- 
ern world.  The  beginning  must  be  made  at  the  root.  Edu- 
cate the  youth,  and  they  are  as  ready  for  improvement  as 
any  people.  In  some  places  on  the  rich  lands  of  the  Danube, 
modern  implements  of  harvesting  have  been  introduced, 
and  the  produce  doubled,  because  the  farmer  is  no  longer 
afraid  of  sowing  more  than  he  can  gather.  The  women  do  a 
great  deal  of  work  in  the  fields,  and  may  be  seen  laboring 
side  by  side  with  the  men.  The  position  occupied  by  them 
may  be  fairly  well  illustrated  by  the  following  story:  A 
gentleman  riding  one  day  in  the  country  overtook  a  man 
who  had  laden  his  wife  with  a  heavy  bundle  of  sticks.  He 
remonstrated  with  him,  saying,  "My  good  man,  it  is  too 
bad  that  you  should  load  your  wife  down  in  this  way. 
What  she  is  carrying  is  a  mule's  burden."  —  "Yes,  your 
excellency,"  the  man  replied,  "what  you  say  is  true.  It  is 
a  mule's  burden.  But  then  you  see  Providence  has  not  sup- 
plied us  with  mules,  and  he  has  supplied  us  with  women." 

It  is  the  same  all  through  the  East.  Sir  Thomas  Munro,  in 
his  "Travels  to  the  City  of  the  Caliphs,"  relates  as  a  reason 
why  an  Indian  should  be  exempt  from  paying  his  tax  that 


210  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

he  pleaded  the  loss  of  his  wife,  who  "did  as  much  work  as 
two  bullocks." 

Stuart  Woods,  in  a  recent  number  of  the  "  Quarterly  Jour- 
nal of  Economics,"  says :  "The  agricultural  processes  of  dif- 
ferent countries  are  among  the  surest  indications  of  the 
condition  of  the  laboring  population.  In  Germany  it  is  a 
common  sight  to  see  a  cart  drawn  by  a  woman  and  a  dog. 
Where  labor  is  dearer  and  money  more  plenty,  or  the 
people  a  little  easier,  a  horse  releases  both  alike  from  their 
unnatural  task.  In  the  United  States,  where  labor  is  dear, 
costly  agricultural  machinery  is  extensively  used  in  spite  of 
the  smallness  of  the  farms.  It  is  much  used  in  England  also, 
because  there  the  farms  are  large;  and  wages,  although  lower 
than  in  the  United  States,  still  far  exceed  those  of  other 
countries.  In  Russia,  on  the  other  hand,  in  Turkey  and  in 
Asiatic  countries,  we  find  the  rudest  tools;  baskets  are  used 
instead  of  wheelbarrows,  wooden  ploughs  instead  of  iron 
ones;  and  gangs  of  spade-men  replace  both  the  ploughs  and 
the  beasts  which  draw  them.  A  part  of  this  is  no  doubt  due 
to  sheer  stupidity,  but  much  is  also  due  to  the  price  of  labor 
and  the  rates  of  interest." 

The  products  of  the  soil  are  as  various  as  the  climate  and 
geological  character  of  the  country.  Fruits  are  abun- 
dant, of  excellent  quality,  and  extensively  used  by  the  whole 
population.  Grapes  are  delicious,  and  within  reach  of  the 
poorest,  selling  at  the  rate  of  two  pounds  and  three-fourths 
for  two  or  three  cents.  Apples,  apricots,  peaches,  cherries, 
and  plums  have  their  localities  of  abundant  growth,  but  no 
attention  is  paid  to  obtaining  the  best  kinds,  or  improving 
those  already  possessed.1 

1  I  am  largely  indebted  to  Hamlin's  Agriculture  of  the  East  for  my  facts. 


ADDRESSES  211 

Of  grapes,  whoever  has  once  partaken  of  the  famous 
chaoush  from  the  Bithynian  side  of  the  Bosphorus,  will 
forever  eschew  all  others :  thin-skinned,  small-seeded,  fine- 
pulped,  —  a  dream,  a  delight,  —  something  to  be  talked 
about,  never  to  find  equaled.  The  vineyards  of  the  Chris- 
tians and  the  Moslems  differ  in  one  very  important  particu- 
lar. The  former  cultivate  those  kinds  suitable  for  making 
wines;  the  latter,  those  that  are  best  for  food.  While  the  one 
are  making  spirits,  the  others  are  preparing  that  grape- 
molasses  called  pekmez,  which  is  extensively  used.  In  it, 
all  manner  of  fruits  are  stewed  or  boiled,  and  the  preserves 
laid  aside  for  winter  use.  With  it,  savory  dishes  of  quinces 
and  meat,  or  chestnuts  and  meat,  are  prepared,  much  re- 
lished by  the  poor. 

The  olive  is  grown  over  a  very  wide  area,  especially  in 
Asiatic  Turkey  and  the  Mediterranean  islands.  It  is  a  uni- 
versal article  of  food.  Give  an  Oriental  bread  and  black 
olives  for  a  lunch,  and  he  is  happy.  Add  to  this,  olive  oil  to 
flavor  his  stewed  beans,  his  clam  and  rice,  and  his  salads, 
and  he  is  happier.  Beyond  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  go. 
The  olive  orchard  in  the  flowering  time  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  sights  in  the  world,  —  the  gnarled  and  twisted 
trunks  hoar  with  age;  the  short,  oblate,  slightly  curled  sil- 
very leaves;  the  branches  fairly  bending  beneath  the  weight 
of  the  snowy  petals,  and  the  ground  beneath  and  around 
white  as  with  flakes  of  snow.  Job  says,  referring  to  this 
peculiarity  of  its  shedding  its  blossoms:  "He  shall  cast  off 
his  flowers  as  the  olive."  Next  to  the  cereals,  it  is  by  far 
the  most  important  agricultural  product  of  Turkey.  Its 
berry,  pickled,  forms  the  chief  article  of  food;  the  oil,  pro- 
duced from  its  pericarp,  seasons  most  of  the  dishes,  and 


212  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

keeps  alive  the  light  that  cheers  the  winter's  gloom;  its 
wood,  close-grained  and  hard,  takes  on  a  beautiful  polish 
and  is  very  highly  prized;  while  its  bark  and  leaves,  pos- 
sessing certain  febrifuge  principles,  are  much  sought  after 
by  the  leeches  of  the  country.  The  tree  is  slow  in  reaching 
maturity,  but  after  the  fifteenth  or  sixteenth  year  it  bears  on 
indefinitely,  and  seems  never  to  lose  its  vitality.  There  are 
trees  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane  estimated  to  be  one  thou- 
sand years  old,  still  in  full  sap  and  vigor.  It  is  of  all  fruit 
trees  the  hardiest,  for  scarcely  any  amount  of  mutilation, 
any  severity  of  frost,  or  even  sharp  scorching  by  fire,  suf- 
fices to  destroy  its  life.  "So  long  as  there  is  a  fragment 
remaining,  though  externally  the  tree  looks  as  dry  as  a  post, 
yet  does  it  continue  to  bear  its  load  of  oily  berries;  and  for 
twenty  generations  the  owner  gathers  fruit  from  the  faithful 
old  patriarch.  This  tree  also  requires  but  little  labor  or  care 
of  any  kind,  and,  if  long  neglected,  will  revive  again  when 
the  ground  is  dug  or  ploughed,  and  yield  as  before.  Vine- 
yards forsaken  die  out  almost  immediately,  and  mulberry 
orchards  neglected  run  rapidly  to  ruin;  but  not  so  the  olive. 
Though  they  may  not  have  been  attended  to  for  half  a  cen- 
tury, yet  they  continue  to  be  a  source  of  income  to  their 
owners." 

These  peculiarities  Virgil  observed  and  carefully  noted  in 
his  "Georgics"  nearly  two  thousand  years  ago:  — 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  no  culture  needs 

The  olive  tree  at  all;  not  if  the  knife 

Forthcurved  expects,  nor  clinging  hoe,  when  once 

It  in  the  field  is  fixed,  and  bears  the  breeze. 

To  it  the  earth,  its  bosom  loosened  up 

By  furrows  of  the  ploughshare's  hook-like  tooth, 


ADDRESSES  213 

Sufficient  moisture  gives,  and  gives  the  plough 
Returns  of  weighty  fruitage  rich  and  ripe. 

Georgics,  II. 

Why,  cleave  an  olive  tree's  dry  stump,  and,  strange 
And  wondrous  strange  to  tell,  an  olive  root 
Will  from  the  dry  wood  come! 

Frequently  a  whole  village  will  unite  and  plant  a  grove 
in  common.  Then  not  even  the  berries  that  fall  to  the 
ground  are  allowed  to  be  picked  till  a  proclamation  is  is- 
sued by  the  head  man  of  the  village  or  the  governor  of  the 
province.  A  tree  yields  from  ten  to  fifteen  gallons  of  oil,  and 
the  profits  are  about  one  hundred  dollars  to  the  acre.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  tree  bears  only  every  other  year;  but  this 
is  due  probably  to  the  vicious  manner  of  gathering  the  fruit, 
—  beating  the  branches  with  long  poles  to  shake  off  the 
berries,  and,  in  so  doing,  bruising  and  destroying  the  tender 
buds  that  are  setting  for  the  next  year's  crop. 

The  husks  with  which  the  prodigal  son  would  fain  have 
filled  his  belly,  and  which  Scripture  says  the  swine  did  eat, 
were  not  after  all  such  very  poor  fare.  Many  a  repentant 
sinner  might  go  farther  and  fare  worse.  They  are  the  fleshy 
pods  of  the  locust  tree,  a  leathery  brown  when  fit  to  eat, 
from  six  to  eight  inches  in  length,  containing  a  spongy, 
mealy  pulp,  of  a  sweet  and  pleasant  taste  in  its  ripened  state, 
and  in  which  are  imbedded  a  number  of  shining  brown  seeds, 
very  hard,  and  somewhat  resembling  a  split  pea.  These 
seeds  are  of  no  value  whatsoever,  on  account  of  their  bitter 
flavor;  but  the  sweet  pulp  of  the  pod,  when  dry,  is  exten- 
sively used  as  an  article  of  food,  particularly  among  the 
laboring  classes.  In  Syria  it  is  ground  up  into  a  coarse  flour, 
and  a  species  of  molasses  made,  which  is  used  in  the  prepara- 


214  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

tion  of  different  kinds  of  sweetmeats.  As  food  for  horses  it 
is  exported  in  large  quantities  into  the  south  of  Europe. 
Into  this  country  and  Great  Britain  it  finds  its  way,  under 
the  name  of  locust  beans  or  St.  John's  bread,  receiving  both 
names  from  the  ancient  tradition  that  they  are  the  "  locusts  ' 
which  formed  the  food  of  John  the  Baptist  in  the  wilderness. 
The  tree  is  cultivated  extensively  in  all  the  countries  bor- 
dering the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  both  for  its  food- 
producing  qualities  and  its  wood,  which  is  hard  and  sus- 
ceptible of  a  fine  polish.  In  size  and  manner  of  growth  it 
resembles  an  apple  tree,  but  is  more  bushy  and  thick-set. 
It  yields  a  prolific  harvest,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  see  a  tree 
bearing  over  half  a  ton  of  green  pods. 

One  other  tree  deserves  mention,  not  on  account  of  its 
food-producing  qualities,  but  for  its  importance  in  a  com- 
mercial point  of  view.  It  is  the  shrub  oak,  —  the  Quercus 
cegilops,  —  which,  growing  wild  on  the  mountain  slopes  and 
rugged  steeps,  where  nothing  else  will  grow,  gives  employ- 
ment to  hundreds  of  men,  women,  and  children,  who,  in  the 
season,  go  out  to  gather  the  acorns.  These  are  brought 
down  in  sacks  to  the  nearest  seaport,  whence  they  are  ex- 
ported, thousands  of  tons  annually,  under  the  name  of 
"valonia,"  to  be  used  in  the  tanneries  of  Europe.  They 
readily  command  eighty  to  ninety  dollars  a  ton;  and,  from 
the  seaport  towns  of  Smyrna  and  the  islands  adjacent, 
forty  thousand  tons  have  been  sent  to  England  alone  in  a 
single  year. 

The  cereals  of  the  empire  do  not  differ  much  from  ours. 
The  exports  are  barley,  maize,  and  wheat.  Rye,  oats,  and 
millet  give  good  results,  and  there  are  various  other  seeds 
of  good  native  use.   Looking  only  at  the  soil,  climate,  in- 


ADDRESSES  215 

dustrial  population,  and  the  rivers  and  coasts  of  her  great 
inland  seas,  Turkey  ought  to  be  our  formidable  rival  in  the 
markets  of  Europe;  but  her  state  of  paralysis  is  such  that 
nothing  is  to  be  apprehended  from  that  quarter.  Destruc- 
tive treaties  with  England  and  stupid  legislation  on  the  part 
of  her  own  government  have  reduced  her  to  a  state  of  hope- 
less bankruptcy. 

Turkish  agriculture  and  horticulture  furnish  all  that  the 
heart  could  wish  in  the  shape  of  edible  vegetables.  All  that 
we  produce  is  there  produced,  with  the  exception  of  potatoes, 
which  are  imported  from  Europe;  squashes  of  various  kinds, 
and  measure  unlimited;  okra,  spinach,  celery;  melons,  un- 
rivaled in  flavor  and  size;  cucumbers  of  any  length  you 
choose. 

The  people  of  the  East  eat  hardly  any  meat,  but  live 
almost  wholly  on  vegetables.  The  same  regimen  that  made 
the  three  Israelitish  captives  at  the  Babylonian  court  so 
much  fairer  and  fatter  than  those  fed  on  the  king's  meat, 
seems  to  agree  remarkably  with  the  people  now.  Given  a 
little  rice,  some  unleavened  bread,  a  few  olives,  a  cucumber 
cut  up  with  garlic  and  seasoned  with  oil,  and  a  pound  or  two 
of  grapes  or  other  fruit,  and  you  produce  those  miracles  of 
strength  to  be  found  in  the  Turkish  porters,  who,  adjusting 
the  burden  to  the  pack  they  carry  on  their  backs,  walk  off 
with  a  load  of  from  five  to  seven  hundred  pounds,  and  make 
nothing  of  it. 

Tobacco  is  grown  in  many  parts  of  the  empire,  but  it  is  a 
government  monopoly,  and  the  taxes  levied  upon  the  un- 
happy cultivators  are  so  burdensome  that  they  are  gradu- 
ally being  forced  to  give  up  the  business.  The  finest  tobacco, 
distinguished  for  its  mild  character  and  exquisite  flavor, 


216  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

comes  from  the  hill-sides  of  Latakia,  a  seaport  town  of 
Syria.  It  is  a  little  singular  that  smoking,  introduced  into  the 
East  not  earlier  than  the  seventeenth  century,  should  have 
taken  such  deep  root  that  the  Turks  and  the  Persians  are 
now  looked  upon  as  the  greatest  smokers  in  the  world.  Men, 
women,  and  children,  with  consummate  skill,  roll  their  lit- 
tle cigarettes,  —  for  they  are  never  purchased  ready  made ; 
and  the  yellow  stain  on  the  finger-tips  is  as  characteristic 
a  mark  as  the  black  on  the  hand  of  a  printer's  devil. 

Coming  now  to  the  farm-yard,  we  find  it  abundantly  pro- 
vided with  animal  life.  In  every  part  of  Turkey  domestic 
fowls  are  met  with,  and  the  traveler  always  finds  eggs  and 
chickens,  if  nothing  more.  In  European  Turkey  large  flocks 
of  geese  and  turkeys  are  raised  for  the  Constantinople  mar- 
ket, and  are  driven  down  from  the  inland  farms,  a  distance 
even  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  This  task  is  usually 
performed  by  gypsies;  and  we  have  often  wondered  at  the 
unerring  precision  with  which,  with  their  hooked  sticks, 
they  would  suddenly  arrest  some  lunatic  goose  in  full  career 
of  wings  and  feet.  The  hens  are  transported  in  crates  on 
the  backs  of  horses. 

The  Turkish  horse  is  a  smaller,  hardier  animal  than  ours. 
It  is  more  tractable,  less  nervous,  has  a  better  disposition, 
and  rarely  runs  away.  It  is  broken  only  to  be  ridden,  and 
not  driven;  for,  outside  of  the  city  of  Constantinople,  there 
is  not  a  pleasure  carriage  to  be  found  in  the  whole  empire. 
In  the  cities  all  loads  are  carried  on  the  backs  of  the  porters, 
or,  suspended  on  poles,  are  carried  by  two  or  more  of  the 
same  class.  In  the  country  are  to  be  found  only  the  rudest 
kinds  of  carts,  drawn  by  bullocks  or  buffaloes,  —  the  wheels 
cut  out  of  a  solid  piece  of  wood  four  or  five  inches  thick;  and 


ADDRESSES  217 

as  no  grease  is  used,  the  terrible  squeaking  and  groaning 
that  is  made,  as  the  carts  lumber  along,  remind  one,  as  has 
been  quaintly  said,  of  "all  the  pandemonium  of  hell  let 
loose." 

The  horses  of  the  sultan's  stable,  and  of  some  of  the 
pashas',  are  magnificent  creatures,  wholly  or  in  part  of  Arab 
blood.  But  the  larger  proportion  of  the  horses  met  with 
are  of  a  very  inferior  breed.  The  Turkish  cavalry  is  well 
mounted,  and  the  horses  are  far  lighter  and  smaller  than 
those  in  the  English  or  French  service;  and  during  the 
Crimean  war  there  was  nothing  attracted  so  much  admira- 
tion as  the  splendid  horses  of  the  allies.  The  sultan,  and, 
indeed,  the  whole  Turkish  government,  jealously  guard  the 
Arab  race  of  horses,  that  no  infidel  foreigner  may  ever  pos- 
sess the  pure  breed.  The  pure-blooded  Arab  mare  is  never 
to  be  sold  or  given  away  to  a  foreigner,  nor  can  the  Moslem 
take  her  with  him  outside  of  the  country.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  it  ever  has  been  done,  and  whether,  in  the  cases 
claimed,  the  blood  is  pure  and  the  pedigree  sure. 

Perhaps  no  one  is  better  qualified  to  speak  of  the  Arab 
horses  than  the  traveler  Palgrave,  whose  command  of  the 
Eastern  languages  was  such,  that,  in  the  guise  of  a  native, 
he  penetrated  into  the  very  heart  of  Arabia,  and  lived  for 
months  unsuspected  among  the  people.  Nay,  in  one  of  his 
journeys  in  Turkey,  he  actually  officiated  in  one  of  the 
mosques  in  place  of  the  regular  priest,  who  had  been  taken 
sick.  Practicing  as  a  physician  in  the  Nejed  district,  where 
the  race  of  horses  is  the  purest,  and  having  been  permitted 
to  see  and  examine  the  stud  of  the  sultan,  he  says:  "Never 
had  I  seen  or  imagined  so  lovely  a  collection.  Their  sta- 
ture was,  indeed,  somewhat  low,  —  I  do  not  think  that 


218  HENRY  HILL   GOODELL 

any  came  fully  up  to  fifteen  hands :  fourteen  appeared  to  me 
to  be  about  their  average;  but  they  were  so  exquisitely  well 
shaped  that  want  of  greater  size  seemed  hardly,  if  at  all,  a 
defect.  Remarkably  full  in  the  haunches,  with  a  shoulder 
of  a  slope  so  elegant  as  to  make  one,  in  the  words  of  an 
Arab  poet,  'go  raving  mad  over  it';  a  little,  a  very  little 
saddle-backed,  just  the  curve  which  indicates  springiness 
without  any  weakness;  a  head  broad  above,  and  tapering 
down  to  a  nose  fine  enough  to  verify  the  phrase  of  '  drinking 
from  a  pint-pot,'  did  pint-pots  exist  in  Nejed;  a  most  intel- 
ligent yet  singularly  gentle  look;  full  eyes;  sharp,  thorn-like 
little  ear;  legs  fore  and  hind  that  seemed  as  if  made  of  ham- 
mered iron,  so  clean  and  yet  so  well  twisted  with  sinew;  a 
neat,  round  hoof,  just  the  requisite  for  hard  ground;  the  tail 
set  on,  or  rather  thrown  out,  at  a  perfect  arch;  coat  smooth, 
shining  and  light;  the  mane  long,  but  not  overgrown  or 
heavy;  and  an  air  and  step  that  seemed  to  say,  'Look  at 
me ;  am  I  not  pretty? '  Their  appearance  justified  all  repu- 
tation, all  value,  all  poetry.  .  .  .  But,  if  asked  what  are, 
after  all,  the  especially  distinctive  points  of  the  Arab  horse, 
I  should  reply,  the  slope  of  the  shoulder,  the  extreme  clean- 
ness of  the  shank,  and  the  full,  rounded  haunch,  —  though 
every  other  part,  too,  has  a  perfection  and  a  harmony  un- 
witnessed anywhere  else." 

No  Arab  ever  dreams  of  tying  up  his  horse  by  the  neck. 
The  tether  replaces  the  halter.  A  light  iron  ring  furnished 
with  a  padlock  encircles  the  hind  leg  just  above  the  pastern. 
A  rope  is  attached  to  this,  and  made  fast  to  an  iron  peg  set 
in  the  ground.  To  make  of  their  horse  a  devoted  friend  is 
the  end  sought  after  by  all  Arabs.  With  them  he  leads,  so 
to  speak,  a  domesticated  life,  in  which,  as  in  all  domestic 


ADDRESSES  219 

life,  women  play  a  conspicuous  part,  —  that,  in  fact,  of  pre- 
paring, by  their  gentleness,  vigilance,  and  unceasing  atten- 
tion, the  solidarity  that  ought  to  exist  between  the  man  and 
the  animal.  A  sustained  education,  daily  contact  with  man, 
—  that  is  their  grand  secret;  it  is  that  which  makes  the 
Arab  horse  what  he  is,  —  an  object  worthy  of  our  unexcep- 
tional admiration.  No  wonder  the  Arab  poets  sing,  with  the 
metaphor  and  hyperbole  peculiar  to  that  glowing  clime: 
"Say  not  it  is  my  horse;  say  it  is  my  son.  He  outstrips  the 
flash  in  the  pan,  or  the  glance  of  the  eye.  His  eye-sight  is  so 
good  that  he  can  distinguish  a  black  hair  in  the  night-time. 
In  the  day  of  battle  he  delights  in  the  whistling  of  the  balls. 
He  overtakes  the  gazelle.  He  says  to  the  eagle,  'Come 
down,  or  I  will  ascend  to  thee.'  When  he  hears  the  voice 
of  the  maidens,  he  neighs  with  joy.  When  he  gallops,  he 
plucks  out  the  tear  from  the  eye.  He  is  so  light  he  could 
dance  on  the  bosom  of  thy  mistress  without  bruising  it.  He 
is  a  thorough-bred,  the  very  head  of  horses.  No  one  has  ever 
possessed  his  equal.  I  depend  on  him  as  my  own  heart." 

The  famous  Arab  chieftain,  Abd-el-Kadr,  who  for  so  many 
years  gloriously  resisted  French  aggression  in  northern 
Africa,  betrayed  unhappily  by  fortune,  but  saved  by  his- 
tory, prepared,  while  languishing  in  confinement  in  France, 
a  series  of  maxims  concerning  the  horse  and  its  management, 
that  are  worthy  of  close  attention.  His  method  of  judging  a 
horse  is  "to  measure  him  from  the  root  of  the  mane  close  to 
the  withers,  and  descend  to  the  end  of  the  upper  lip  be- 
tween the  nostrils.  Then  measure  from  the  root  of  the  mane 
to  the  end  of  the  tail-bone,  and  if  the  fore-part  is  longer  than 
the  hind  part,  there  is  no  doubt  the  horse  will  have  excellent 
qualities.  To  ascertain  if  a  young  horse  will  grow  any  more, 


220  HENRY  HELL  GOODELL 

measure  first  from  the  knee  to  the  highest  point  situated  in 
the  prolongation  of  the  limb  above  the  withers,  then  from 
the  knee  downwards  to  the  beginning  of  the  hair  above  the 
coronet  (to  the  crest  of  the  hoof) ;  if  these  two  measures  are 
to  one  another  as  two-thirds  to  one-third,  the  horse  will  grow 
no  more.  If  this  proportion  does  not  exist,  the  animal  has 
not  done  growing;  for  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
height  from  the  knee  to  the  withers  should  represent,  in  a 
full-grown  horse,  exactly  double  the  length  of  the  leg  from 
the  knee  to  the  hoof." 

And  now,  with  a  few  choice  maxims  from  the  same  hand, 
I  must  pass  on  to  other  themes :  — 

No  one  becomes  a  horseman  until  he  has  been  often  thrown. 

Thorough-bred  horses  have  no  vice. 

A  horse  in  a  leading-string  is  an  honor  to  his  master. 

Whoso  forgets  the  beauty  of  horses  for  that  of  women,4will  never  prosper. 

Horses  know  their  riders. 

The  best  time  of  day  for  giving  barley  is  the  evening.    Unless  on  a 

journey,  it  is  useless  to  give  it  in  the  morning. 
Water  a  horse  at  sunrise,  and  it  makes  him  lose  flesh.    Water  him  in 

the  evening,  and  it  puts  him  in  good  condition.   Water  him  in  the 

middle  of  the  day,  and  you  keep  him  as  he  is. 
During  the  great  forty-day  heats,  water  your  horses  only  every  other 

day. 

"The  pious  Ben-el- Abbas  —  Allah  be  good  to  him!  — 
hath  said":  — 

Love  horses  and  take  care  of  them. 
Spare  no  trouble; 

By  them  comes  honor,  by  them  comes  beauty. 
If  horses  are  forsaken  of  men, 
I  will  receive  them  into  my  family, 

I  will  share  with  them  the  bread  of  my  children; 

My  wives  shall  cover  them  with  their  veils, 

And  cover  themselves  with  the  horse-cloths. 


ADDRESSES  221 

I  ride  them  every  day 

Over  the  field  of  adventures; 
Carried  away  in  their  impetuous  career, 

I  combat  the  most  valiant. 
My  steed  is  as  black  as  a  night  without  moon  or  stars. 

He  was  foaled  in  vast  solitudes; 

He  is  an  air-drinker,  son  of  an  air-drinker. 
His  dam  also  was  of  noble  race,  and  our  horsemen  have  named 
him  the  javelin. 

The  lightning  flash  itself  cannot  overtake  him; 

Allah  save  him  from  the  evil  eye ! 

The  mule  needs  no  remark.  He  is  the  same  useful,  hard- 
working, unpopular  animal  in  Turkey  as  in  America.  He 
has  the  same  moral  obliquity  of  character,  and  the  same 
uncertainty  in  his  business  end,  as  elsewhere.  His  great 
usefulness  in  the  transportation  of  goods  makes  him  worthy 
of  better  treatment  than  he  receives. 

The  donkey,  the  poor  donkey,  is  everywhere  in  the  way. 
He  is  the  common  bearer  of  a  certain  class  of  burdens  in  all 
the  cities.  You  meet  him  in  every  street.  He  crowds  you 
to  the  wall  with  protruding  load.  Everybody  curses  and 
kicks  him,  while  he  is  doing  his  best.  He  carries  all  the 
sand,  lime,  bricks,  boards,  and  lighter  timbers  for  building. 
He  carries  away  all  the  refuse  of  every  kind.  He  is  the 
most  useful,  abused,  and  patient  of  animals.  Men,  women, 
and  children  ride  him.  He  always  leads  the  caravan  of 
camels,  mules,  or  horses.  Everybody  uses  him;  nobody 
loves  him;  everybody  abuses  him.  The  Eastern  world  could 
not  live  without  him. 

The  prince  of  burden-bearers  is  the  camel.  He  is  in 
truth  the  "ship  of  the  desert."  He  bears  enormous  loads, 
of  from  six  to  eight  hundred  pounds,  twenty -five  to  thirty 
miles  a  day.  But  for  him  all  inland  commerce  would  cease. 


222  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

From  the  far-off,  isolated  hamlets  of  the  East  he  gathers 
up  and  brings  down  to  the  seaport  towns,  or  to  the  few 
through  which  a  railway  passes,  the  products  of  the  country, 
and  returns  laden  with  the  merchandise  of  Europe.  Awk- 
ward beyond  description,  with  his  short  body  and  long  neck 
and  legs,  moving  noiselessly  over  the  ground  with  his  soft- 
padded  feet,  you  wonder,  and  yet  shrink  from  him.  Dia- 
bolical in  expression,  he  is  ugliness  personified. 

In  the  breeds  of  cattle  there  is  room  for  great  improve- 
ment. There  are  none  of  superior  breed;  and  beef  of  good 
quality  is  not  to  be  found  in  Turkey.  The  best  quality, 
which  is  imported,  is  from  South  Russia.  Until  the  time  of 
the  Crimean  War  such  a  thing  as  beefsteak  was  hardly 
known.  It  was  mutton,  mutton  everywhere.  Well  do  we 
remember  the  first  morsel  of  steak  we  ever  tasted.  It  was 
fried  in  a  frying-pan,  done  till  there  was  n't  a  drop  of  juice 
in  it,  and  came  up  garnished  with  garlic  and  onions,  and 
covered  over  with  parsley.  But  what  a  flavor  it  possessed ! 
"Something  original  and  authentic,"  as  Howells  puts  it, 
"  mingled  with  vague  reminiscences  of  canal-boat  travel  and 
woodland  camp."  Like  the  Englishman  "who  had  no  pre- 
judices," from  that  moment  I  hated  mutton. 

The  ox  is  small  and  hardy,  but  for  heavy  draft  the  buffalo 
is  in  constant  use.  This  ugly-looking  animal,  whose  para- 
dise is  a  mud-hole,  into  which  he  can  sink  with  the  excep- 
tion of  his  mouth  and  eyes,  is  very  powerful.  The  female 
gives  a  milk  that  is  rich,  though  somewhat  strong  and  odor- 
ous. The  manufacture  of  butter  is  infamously  bad.  The 
churns  used  are  of  various  kinds.  Earthen  jars,  shaped  like 
a  barrel,  swelling  in  the  centre,  are  filled  with  cream  and 
then  tilted  up  and  down.  The  trunk  of  a  tree,  hollowed  out 


ADDRESSES  223 

and  boarded  at  both  ends,  is  hung  to  a  beam  and  swung  to 
and  fro.  The  skins  of  animals,  particularly  the  goat,  with  the 
hair  inside,  are  sewed  in  the  form  of  a  bag,  and,  being  filled 
with  cream,  are  rapidly  rolled  over  and  over  on  the  ground 
until  the  butter  comes.  The  gypsies,  it  is  said,  when  start- 
ing on  their  journeys,  will  fill  the  skins  with  cream,  and,  sit- 
ting upon  them,  will  find  butter  when  they  reach  their  jour- 
ney's end.  It  is  said  that  in  early  times  the  missionaries 
used  to  punish  their  children  by  putting  them  under  the 
table  and  making  them  shake  a  bottle  of  milk.  Sawing  the 
butter  is  a  very  necessary  operation,  and  all  well-provided 
families  have  a  fine-tooth  saw  with  which  to  extract  the 
hairs  from  the  butter.  The  natives  melt  the  butter  for  cook- 
ing, and  easily  strain  out  the  hair.  But  no  attempt  is  ever 
made  to  eat  it  on  bread. 

A  missionary  on  the  rich  plains  of  the  Sangarius  tried 
to  introduce  a  reform  in  the  process  of  churning.  He  showed 
the  farmers  that  in  the  markets  of  Constantinople  their 
butter  brought  less  than  one-half  the  price  of  good  English 
or  Italian  butter.  He  tried  to  introduce  the  American  churn, 
and  the  mode  of  working,  salting,  and  putting  down.  It  is 
needless  to  say  the  attempt  was  an  utter  failure.  They  had 
always  had  hair  and  butter  together,  and  they  always  would 
have,  till  death.  In  Proverbs  (xxx,  33)  we  are  told:  "Surely 
the  churning  of  milk  bringeth  forth  butter,  and  the  wringing 
of  the  nose  bringeth  forth  blood."  There  would  seem  to  be 
at  first  sight,  no  special  analogy  between  the  process  of 
churning  and  pulling  a  man's  nose  until  the  blood  comes, 
if  you  consider  our  method  alone.  But,  in  the  native  op- 
eration, the  comparison  is  a  just  one  and  natural:  for 
the  women  seize  and  squeeze  and  wring  the  milk  in  their 


224  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

goat-skin  bottles  in  a  vigorous  way  which  would  soon  fetch 
the  blood  if  applied  to  the  nasal  organ  of  some  antagonist. 

The  mountains  and  plains  of  this  great  empire,  both  in 
Europe  and  Asia,  afford  unrivaled  facilities  for  the  keeping 
of  sheep.  In  the  summer  the  flocks  pasture  on  the  mountain 
slopes,  while  the  shepherds  with  fire-arms  and  dogs  keep 
careful  watch  against  the  attacks  of  wild  beasts.  In  the 
winter,  immense  flocks  migrate  from  European  Turkey  into 
the  milder  climate  of  Asia  Minor.  There  is  such  an  enor- 
mous extent  of  vacant  pasture-land  that  no  expense  is 
incurred,  except  in  the  transportation  of  so  many  animals 
across  the  Bosphorus  or  Dardanelles. 

The  fat-tailed  Caramanian  sheep  are  the  most  singular 
and  surprising  animals  to  be  met  with  in  Turkey.  While  yet 
lambs,  the  tail  begins  to  broaden  and  thicken  with  a  fat 
which  is  regarded  by  the  natives  as  a  great  delicacy,  and 
equal  to  butter  for  cooking  purposes.  In  a  few  months  the 
weight  and  size  of  the  tail  becomes  a  positive  burden  to  the 
animal,  furnishing,  in  those  creatures  that  have  been  care- 
fully fed  and  tended,  from  fourteen  to  twenty  pounds  of  pure 
fat,  superior  to  lard,  and  entering  into  competition  with  but- 
ter. If,  as  often  happens,  the  end  of  the  tail  drags  upon  the 
ground,  so  as  to  endanger  excoriation,  a  very  simple  though 
laughable  remedy  is  resorted  to.  A  little  carriage,  rudely 
made,  with  wheels  about  six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  is 
placed  under  the  end  of  the  tail,  which  is  thus  sufficiently 
sloped  out  from  the  body,  and  is  so  harnessed  to  the  lord 
(or  lady)  of  the  tail,  that  it  is  borne  about  without  injury, 
and  may  "laugh  and  grow  fat"  at  its  leisure.  You  may 
thus  often  see  a  sheep  going  on  foot,  and  its  tail  following 
in  a  carriage.   The  natives  will  tell  you  that  these  carriage 


ADDRESSES  225 

tails  sometimes  produce  seventeen  okes  (forty-six  and  three 
quarters  pounds)  of  pure  fat;  but  the  Oriental  imagination 
is  prone  to  get  the  better  of  the  real  facts,  and  the  figures 
above  given  (fourteen  to  twenty  pounds)  are  perhaps  nearer 
the  truth.  It  is  sufficient  to  know  that  the  tails  do  some- 
times become  so  heavy  as  to  anchor  the  sheep  and  cause 
its  death,  if  suitable  precautions  are  not  taken. 

According  to  a  recent  article  in  the  "Country  Gentle- 
man," these  sheep  are  found  in  Syria,  Egypt,  north  Africa, 
Asia  Minor  and  western  Asia,  and  were  described  by  Herod- 
otus and  Aristotle  more  than  two  thousand  years  ago;  but 
the  writer  could  not  resist  adding  a  pound  or  two  to  his  tale, 
and  he  claims  that  "animals  are  not  rare  whose  tails  weigh 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds, 
while  the  average  weight  is  forty  to  sixty." 

Another  fact  is  peculiar  about  the  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats.  The  ewes  are  milked  as  regularly  as  we  milk  our 
cows,  and  it  is  done  with  wonderful  rapidity.  Two  grasps 
of  the  overflowing  udder,  and  it  is  emptied.  Among  my 
earliest  recollections  is  that  of  a  flock  of  goats  being  driven 
every  morning  to  my  father's  door  and  there  milked,  in 
order  to  insure  our  receiving  our  day's  supply  of  the  lacteal 
fluid  in  its  virgin  purity.  Immense  quantities  of  cheese, 
made  from  the  milk  of  sheep  and  goats,  moulded  into  disks 
twelve  to  fourteen  inches  in  diameter  and  an  inch  thick, 
are  transported  from  the  interior  of  the  country  to  the  mar- 
kets of  the  great  city. 

Of  the  Angora  goats,  with  their  long,  fine,  silky  hair, 
natives  of  the  rocky  slopes  in  the  province  of  Angora,  I 
have  not  the  heart  to  speak.  From  the  silky  fibre  of  their 
hair,  skilled  workmen  had  long  supplied  the  world  with  rare 


226  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  high-priced  goods  of  female  apparel.  But,  with  the 
priceless  blessings  of  free  trade,  the  country  was  flooded 
with  a  cheap  imitation  made  by  machinery.  The  flocks 
dwindled  away,  the  occupation  of  whole  villages  was  gone, 
and  abject  poverty  and  ruin  overtook  the  wretched  inhabit- 
ants. 

You  will  perhaps  have  noticed  the  absence  of  any  allusion 
to  the  swine  among  the  domestic  animals  enumerated.  The 
reason  is  obvious.  Considered  as  unclean  beasts  by  both 
Turk  and  Jew,  it  is  only  in  Christian  villages  that  they  are 
to  be  found.  What  was  cursed  under  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion and  continued  to  be  cursed  under  the  Mohammedan, 
is  still  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  the  faithful;  and, 
though  their  mouths  may  water  as  the  delicate  aroma  of 
roast  suckling  pig  arises  on  the  air,  yet  they  rigidly  abstain 
from  any  participation.  Two  infallible  signs,  one  negative 
and  one  positive,  disclose  the  character  of  a  Christian  town 
in  Turkey,  —  the  absence  of  minarets  and  the  presence  of 
pigs.  In  consequence  of  the  pig  being  in  this  manner  a 
Christian  animal,  there  is  an  oppressive  tax  on  pigs,  levied 
when  the  animal  is  three  months  old.  The  risk  incurred 
from  the  payment  of  so  large  a  tax  (ten  piasters)  on  so  young 
an  animal  is  so  great  that  many  of  them  are  killed  shortly 
after  birth,  and  an  important  article  of  food  is  lost  to  the 
peasantry. 

I  have  rambled  on  longer  than  I  intended,  for  one  re- 
miniscence has  led  on  to  another;  but  I  cannot  close  without 
alluding  to  one  more  fact  which  must  be  patent  to  every 
thoughtful  observer  traveling  in  the  Levant  to-day,  and 
that  is,  the  constancy  of  the  Eastern  mind  to  itself,  and  the 
immutability  of  its  customs  and  observances.    The  same 


ADDRESSES  227 

scenes  penned  by  the  writers  of  Holy  Writ  two  thousand 
years  ago  are  repeated  to-day  unchanged. 

Rebekah  still  lets  down  her  pitcher  at  the  wayside  foun- 
tain, and  helps  the  thirsty  Labans  to  a  refreshing  draught. 

The  tender  Ruths  still  glean  where  Boaz  reaps. 

The  Miriams  still  dance  and  sing  the  song  of  triumph, 
as  they  go  forth  to  welcome  home  their  conquering  heroes. 

The  women  still  in  humble  posture  grind  their  corn,  as, 
sitting  on  the  ground,  they  whirl  the  upper  grindstone  round 
upon  the  nether  one. 

Still,  at  the  evening  meal,  reclined  about  the  table,  raised 
but  a  few  inches  from  the  floor,  they  dip  their  piece  of  un- 
leavened bread  into  the  common  dish,  just  as  in  the  days 
when  Jesus  said,  "He  that  dippeth  his  hand  with  me  in  the 
dish,  the  same  shall  betray  me." 


THE  INFLUENCE  OF  THE   MONKS  IN 

AGRICULTURE 

I  have  chosen  for  my  subject  this  afternoon  "The  influ- 
ence of  the  monks  in  agriculture,"  —  the  influence  of  men 
who,  taking  their  lives  in  their  hands,  flung  themselves  into 
the  wild  forests  and  abandoned  wastes  of  Europe  and  the 
remoter  East,  and  wrought  a  work  which,  so  far  as  we  can 
judge,  could  have  been  wrought  in  no  other  way;  "for  it 
was  done  by  men  who  gave  up  all  that  makes  life  dear  and 
worth  the  living,  for  the  sake  of  being  good  themselves  and 
making  others  good."  They  were  the  pioneers  of  a  physical, 
no  less  than  a  moral,  civilization.  Never  were  instruments 
less  conscious  of  the  high  ends  they  were  serving,  and  never 
were  high  ends  more  rapidly  or  more  effectually  achieved. 
Apostles  of  the  Lord,  they  pushed  out  into  the  midst  of 
tribes  only  wilder  and  more  savage  than  the  country  they 
inhabited,  determined  to  bring  them  within  the  fold.  But 
the  instinct  of  self-preservation  compelled  them  first  to  turn 
aside  to  reclaim  and  till  the  soil,  to  construct  houses,  to  pro- 
vide themselves  with  the  necessities  of  life,  to  practise  the 
arts  and  sciences  in  order  that  they  might  live.  And  so, 
ministering  to  their  bodily  wants,  they  ended  by  forcing 
upon  their  barbaric  neighbors,  first,  civilization,  and  then 
Christianity.  Kingsley,  in  his  spirited  way,  tells  us:  "They 
accepted  the  lowest  and  commonest  facts  of  the  peasant's 
life.  They  outdid  him  in  helplessness  and  loneliness,  in 
hunger  and  dirt  and  slavery,  and  then  said :  'Among  all  these 


ADDRESSES  229 

I  can  yet  be  a  man  of  God,  wise,  virtuous,  free  and  noble  in 
the  sight  of  God,  though  not  in  the  sight  of  Caesar's  courts 
and  knights.'" 

The  time  at  which  this  great  work  began  was  almost  coin- 
cident with  the  Christian  era,  and  lasted  through  what  we 
are  pleased  to  call  the  dark  or  mediaeval  ages,  which,  how- 
ever, when  we  come  to  examine  them,  we  find  to  our  sur- 
prise filled  with  light,  with  charities  of  the  noblest  kind 
and  enduring  monuments  of  Christian  grace. 

With  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  and  the  influx  of  the 
great  waves  of  barbaric  tribes  that  swept  over  Europe, 
civilization  was  stamped  out  and  Christianity  ceased  to 
exist.  The  cleared  lands  and  cultivated  fields  reverted  to 
forest  and  moor,  cities  and  towns  lay  in  ruins,  and  the  citi- 
zen was  reduced  to  the  condition  of  the  beggar  and  the  slave. 
The  despairing  cry  of  St.  Jerome  from  his  peaceful  hermit- 
age at  Bethlehem  fell  vainly  on  the  ears  of  a  hopeless  world : 
"For  twenty  years  Roman  blood  has  been  flowing  every 
day  between  Constantinople  and  the  Julian  Alps.  Scythia, 
Thrace,  Macedonia,  Dacia,  Thessalonica  and  Epirus  all 
belong  to  the  barbarians,  who  ravage,  rend  and  destroy 
everything  before  them.  How  many  noble  matrons  and 
maids  have  been  the  toys  of  their  lust;  how  many  bishops  in 
chains,  priests  butchered,  churches  destroyed,  altars  turned 
into  stables,  relics  profaned !  Sorrow,  mourning  and  death 
are  everywhere.  The  Roman  world  is  crumbling  into  ruins." 
And  what  St.  Jerome  so  vividly  describes  of  the  Eastern 
world  was  equally  true  of  the  West.  France,  Germany, 
Spain,  Italy,  and  England  had  all  fallen  a  prey  to  the  never- 
ending  swarms  that  poured  across  the  barrier  rivers,  the 
Rhine  and  the  Danube. 


230  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

But  out  of  the  midst  of  this  universal  chaos  and  desola- 
tion now  burst  forth  an  army  of  Christian  soldiers.  Some, 
taking  upon  themselves  vows  of  solitude  and  self-renuncia- 
tion, penetrated  the  wilderness  to  live  as  ascetics,  —  a  life 
of  prayer  and  holy  calm,  withdrawn  from  the  turmoil  and 
wretchedness  of  the  world;  others,  seeking  out  the  most 
inaccessible  and  unfrequented  spots,  erected  their  build- 
ings, and,  gathering  about  them  their  disciples,  entered  upon 
the  true  monastic  life;  while  yet  others  again,  as  missiona- 
ries, advanced  boldly  into  the  enemy's  dominions,  to  con- 
quer back  for  the  church  the  territory  it  had  lost,  and  to 
gather  into  its  folds  these  new  peoples  and  new  tribes  whose 
invasion  had  destroyed  the  Roman  world.  And  it  was  their 
glory  that  in  a  few  short  centuries  they  succeeded.  But, 
whether  as  hermits  or  missionaries  or  monks  they  aban- 
doned their  homes  and  embraced  this  painful  life,  the  result 
was  in  every  case  the  same,  —  agriculture  and  the  arts  first, 
and  civilization  and  Christianity  last.  It  could  not  be  other- 
wise; the  necessities  of  the  case  compelled  it.  Solitaries 
who  shrank  from  all  contact  with  humanity  were  becoming 
the  unconscious  instruments  of  the  civilization  and  con- 
version of  savages  and  heathen.  They  penetrated  valleys 
choked  with  rocks,  brambles,  and  brushwood,  the  over- 
growth of  generations  interlaced  into  a  barrier  not  to  be 
penetrated  by  anything  weaker  than  their  untiring  energy. 
They  are  the  sternest  of  ascetics  and  most  isolated  of  her- 
mits. But  their  rest  is  broken  by  penitents  who  come  to 
ask  their  blessing  and  who  implore  permission  to  live  under 
their  authority.  The  solitary  cell  of  the  hermit  becomes  the 
nucleus  of  a  society,  —  the  society  a  centre  of  many  congre- 
gations radiating  from  it.  The  little  plot  of  herbs  becomes 


ADDRESSES  231 

a  garden;  the  garden  stretches  out  into  fields  of  waving 
grain;  the  hills  are  clothed  with  vines,  the  valleys  bowered 
in  fruit  trees. 

Opening  their  doors  to  all,  receiving  under  their  shelter 
and  protection  the  oppressed,  the  weak,  the  criminal,  the 
slave,  the  sin-sick  soul,  weary  of  this  life  and  despairing  of 
another,  the  mourner  and  the  comfortless,  it  frequently 
happened  that  the  inmates  of  these  cloisters,  those  attached 
to  one  community  and  under  one  jurisdiction,  numbered 
thousands.  Lecky  tells  us  that  in  one  city  on  the  Nile 
there  were  twenty  thousand  monks  and  ten  thousand 
nuns,  —  the  religious  far  outnumbering  the  other  classes  of 
society.  In  England  and  Ireland  these  monastic  commu- 
nities assumed  a  peculiar  form.  Kings,  followed  by  their 
entire  tribe,  presented  themselves  at  the  baptismal  font  and 
came  under  religious  rule;  and  frequently  these  kings  were 
chosen  abbots,  and  as  in  their  worldly  life  they  had  ruled 
their  subjects,  so  in  their  spiritual  life  they  continued  to  be 
their  recognized  head  and  leader.  To  such  an  extent  was 
this  carried,  that  in  England  in  the  course  of  a  single  cen- 
tury there  resulted  an  alarming  diminution  of  the  military 
resources  of  the  country;  and  there  is  still  extant  a  letter  of 
the  great  churchman,  the  Venerable  Bede,  in  which,  im- 
ploring the  kings  and  bishops  to  put  a  stop  to  the  grants  of 
land  for  monastic  purposes,  because  subsequently  misused, 
he  says:  "Many  Northumbrians  put  aside  their  arms,  cut 
off  their  hair  and  hasten  to  enroll  themselves  in  the  monas- 
tic ranks,  instead  of  exercising  themselves  in  their  military 
duties.  The  future  alone  will  tell  what  good  will  result  from 
this."  Perhaps  some  of  you  will  recollect  a  more  modern 
instance  in  the  law  of  Peter  the  Great,  forbidding  any  State 


232  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

officer,  citizen  in  business,  or  workman,  to  enter  the  cloisters, 
declaring  that  he  would  not  consecrate  to  idleness  subjects 
that  might  be  useful. 

To  support  now  these  throngs  of  people  that  assumed  the 
cowl,  it  was  necessary  for  the  monks  to  devote  themselves 
to  agriculture  and  horticulture,  and  this  they  did  in  a  most 
successful  manner.  "It  is  impossible  to  forget,"  says  the 
great  historian  of  the  monks,  "it  is  impossible  to  forget  the 
use  they  made  of  so  many  vast  districts  (holding  as  they  did 
one  fifth  of  all  the  land  in  England),  uncultivated  and  unin- 
habited, covered  with  forests,  or  surrounded  with  marshes. 
For  such,  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  was  the  true  nature  of 
the  vast  estates  given  to  the  monks,  and  which  had  thus  the 
double  advantage  of  offering  to  communities  the  most  inac- 
cessible retreats  that  could  be  found,  and  of  imposing  the 
least  possible  sacrifice  upon  the  munificence  of  the  giver." 
Kings  and  barons  vied  with  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to 
save  their  souls  from  hell  and  pave  the  way  to  heaven  by 
giving  to  these  poor  monks  land  the  most  desolate  and  un- 
fertile, land  no  other  human  beings  would  inhabit,  land  cov- 
ered with  sand  or  rock  or  buried  in  water  for  the  greater 
part  of  the  year. 

How  man  or  woman  born  could  live  in  such  unwholesome 
and  unproductive  spots  and  thrive  seems  absolutely  mi- 
raculous, but  these  patient  toilers  of  the  church  surmounted 
all  the  difficulties  which  stared  them  in  the  face,  of  begin- 
ning the  cultivation  of  a  new  country.1  The  forests  were 
cleared,  the  marshes  made  wholesome  or  dried  up,  the 
soil  irrigated  or  drained,  according  to  the  requirements 
of  each  locality,  while  bridges,  roads,  dykes,  havens,  and 
1  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the  West. 


ADDRESSES  233 

lighthouses  were  erected  wherever  their  possessions  or  in- 
fluence extended.  The  half  at  least  of  broad  Northumber- 
land, covering  an  area  of  about  two  thousand  square  miles, 
was  lost  in  sandy  plains  and  barren  heaths;  the  half  at 
least  of  East  Anglia  and  a  considerable  part  of  Mercia  were 
covered  with  marshes,  difficult  of  access.  Yet  in  both 
these  regions  the  monks  substituted  for  these  uninhabit- 
able deserts  fat  pasturage  and  abundant  harvests.  The 
latter  district,  the  present  name  of  which  (the  Fens)  alone 
recalls  the  marshy  and  unwholesome  nature  of  the  soil, 
became  the  principal  theatre  of  the  triumphs  of  agricult- 
ural industry,  performed  by  the  monks.  Medehampstead 
(now  Peterborough),  Ely,  Croyland,  Thorney  (now  South- 
ampton), Ramsay,  were  the  first  battlefields  of  these  con- 
querors of  nature,  these  monks  who  made  of  themselves 
ploughmen,  breeders  and  keepers  of  stock,  and  who  were 
the  true  fathers  of  English  agriculture,  which,  thanks  to 
their  traditions  and  example,  has  become  the  first  agri- 
culture in  the  world. 

Perhaps  in  no  better  way  can  I  more  graphically  bring 
before  you  the  immense  work  of  the  monks  than  by  giving 
you  a  picture  of  the  fen  district  of  Southampton  before 
Thorney  Abbey  was  founded,  and  then  reading  you  the 
description  of  this  abbey  by  the  great  bishop  of  Tyre,  Wil- 
liam of  Malmesbury.  Southampton  is  a  peninsula  making 
down  between  the  mouths  of  the  Itchen  and  the  Test  or 
Anton  into  the  tide- swept  channel  that  separates  it  from 
the  Isle  of  Wight.  It  was  nothing  but  a  vast  morass.1  The 
fens  in  the  seventh  century  were  probably  like  the  forests  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  or  the  swamp  shores  of  the 

1   Kingsley,  Hermits. 


234  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Carolinas.  It  was  a  labyrinth  of  black,  wandering  streams; 
broad  lagoons,  morasses  submerged  every  spring-tide; 
vast  beds  of  reed  and  sedge  and  fern;  vast  copses  of  willow, 
alder,  and  gray  poplar,  rooted  in  the  floating  peat,  which 
was  swallowing  up  slowly,  all-devouring,  yet  all-preserving, 
the  forests  of  fir  and  oak,  ash  and  poplar,  hazel  and  yew, 
which  had  once  grown  in  that  low,  rank  soil.  Trees  torn 
down  by  flood  and  storm  floated  and  lodged  in  rafts,  dam- 
ming the  waters  back  upon  the  land.  Streams  bewildered 
in  the  forests  changed  their  channels,  mingling  silt  and  sand 
with  the  black  soil  of  the  peat.  Nature  left  to  herself  ran 
into  wild  riot  and  chaos  more  and  more,  till  the  whole 
fen  became  one  dismal  swamp. 

Four  or  five  centuries  later  William  of  Malmesbury  visits 
the  place  and  leaves  us  this  charming  picture  of  the  change : * 
"It  is  a  counterfeit  of  Paradise,  where  the  gentleness  and 
purity  of  heaven  appear  already  to  be  reflected.  In  the 
midst  of  the  fens  rise  groves  of  trees  which  seem  to  touch 
the  stars  with  their  tall  and  slender  tops;  the  charmed  eye 
wanders  over  a  sea  of  verdant  herbage,  the  foot  which 
treads  the  wide  meadow  meets  with  no  obstacle  in  its 
path.  Not  an  inch  of  land  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  lies 
uncultivated.  Here  the  soil  is  hidden  by  fruit  trees;  there 
by  vines  stretched  upon  the  ground  or  trailed  on  trellises. 
Nature  and  art  rival  each  other,  the  one  supplying  all  that 
the  other  forgets  to  produce.  O  deep  and  pleasant  solitude ! 
Thou  hast  been  given  by  God  to  the  monks,  so  that  their 
mortal  life  may  daily  bring  them  nearer  to  heaven." 

Everywhere  we  see  the  monks  instructing  the  population 
in  the  most  profitable  methods  and  industries,  naturalizing 
1  Chronicle  of  William  of  Malmesbury. 


ADDRESSES  235 

under  a  vigorous  sky  the  most  useful  vegetables  and  the 
most  productive  grains,  importing  continually  into  the 
countries  they  colonized  animals  of  better  breed,  or  plants 
new  and  unknown  there  before;  here  introducing  the  rear- 
ing of  cattle  and  horses,  there  bees  or  fruit;  in  another  place 
the  brewing  of  beer  with  hops;  in  Sweden,  the  corn  trade; 
in  Burgundy,  artificial  pisciculture;  in  Ireland,  salmon 
fisheries;  about  Parma,  cheese-making,  and  finally  occupy- 
ing themselves  with  the  culture  of  the  vine,  and  planting 
the  best  vineyards  of  Burgundy,  the  Rhine,  Auvergne,  and 
England;  for  the  monks  of  Croyland  introduced  the  vine 
even  into  the  fens  of  Ely  and  in  other  countries  where  it 
has  now  disappeared.  They  were  the  first  to  turn  their  at- 
tention to  improving  the  breeds  of  cattle,  declaring  that 
the  promiscuous  union  of  nobody's  son  with  everybody's 
daughter  resulted  in  half -starved  oxen  "euyll  for  the  stone 
and  euyll  for  digestyon,  fitter  to  be  used  outside  as  a  water- 
proof e  than  inside."  They  taught  the  necessity  of  letting 
the  land  be  fallow  for  a  time  after  several  years  of  continu- 
ous cropping;  they  practised  rotation  of  crops,  using  clover 
as  the  last  in  the  series ;  they  improved  the  different  varieties 
of  fruits  and  learned  the  art  of  grafting,  budding,  and  layer- 
ing; they  taught  by  precept  and  example  the  value  of  drain- 
age and  irrigation.  In  short,  in  everything  making  for  pro- 
gressive agriculture  we  find  them  blazing  the  way;  and  when 
the  monasteries  were  suppressed  by  Henry  VIII,  a  death- 
blow was  struck  for  a  time  at  scientific  agriculture  and 
horticulture. 

And  what  they  did  for  England  was  paralleled  by  their 
work  upon  the  continent.  Need  we  point  to  any  other  in- 
stance than  that  of  Vitrucius  peopling  the  sand-banks  of 


236  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Flanders  or  Belgium  with  religious,  who,  by  their  unwearied 
industry,  reclaimed  those  arid  wastes  and  turned  those 
burning  sands  into  one  vast  garden?  Need  we  speak  of  the 
country  separating  Belgium  from  Holland,  and  how  it  was 
cleared  by  the  monks  who  taught  its  wild  inhabitants  agri- 
culture as  well  as  Christianity?  In  a  manuscript  bearing 
date  of  1420  a  monk  proposed  the  artificial  propagation  of 
trout.  It  was  the  monks  of  Fulda  who  started  the  cele- 
brated vineyards  of  Johannisberg,  the  Cistercian  monks 
that  of  Clos  Vougeot.  The  Benedictines  brought  vines  from 
Beaune  to  plant  on  the  banks  of  the  Allier.  The  monks  of 
Mozat  set  out  walnut  trees,  still  so  abundant  in  Lower  Au- 
vergne.  They  first  cared  for  the  preservation  of  forests  as 
affecting  climate  and  fertility.  They  stored  up  the  waters 
of  springs  and  distributed  them  in  drought;  and  it  was  the 
monks  of  the  abbeys  of  St.  Laurent  and  St.  Martin  who 
first  brought  together  and  conducted  to  Paris  the  waters  of 
springs  wasting  themselves  on  the  meadows  of  St.  Gervais 
and  Belleville;  and  in  Lombardy  it  was  the  followers  of  St. 
Bernard  who  taught  the  peasants  the  art  of  irrigation,  and 
made  that  country  the  most  fertile  and  the  richest  in  Europe. 
We  approach  now  another  and  higher  phase  of  monastic 
life.  In  its  earlier  days  we  find  the  monks  engaging  in  the 
practice  of  agriculture  from  the  necessities  arising  out  of 
the  conditions  in  which  they  were  placed.  They  had 
ploughed,  they  had  sowed,  they  had  reaped,  in  order  to 
preserve  their  lives.  But  now  agriculture  becomes  a  part 
of  their  religion,  and  the  great  St.  Benedict  enjoins  upon 
his  disciples  three  objects  for  filling  up  their  time :  Agricul- 
ture, literary  pursuits,  and  copying  manuscripts.1  He 
1  Weishardt,  History  of  Monasticism. 


ADDRESSES  237 

comes  before  the  world  saying:  "No  person  is  ever  more 
usefully  employed  than  when  working  with  his  hands  or 
following  the  plough,  providing  for  the  use  of  man.  .  .  . 
He  bent  himself  to  the  task  of  teaching  the  rich  and  the 
proud,  the  poor  and  the  lazy,  the  alphabet  of  prosperity 
and  happiness." 

Agriculture  was  sunk  to  a  low  ebb.  Marshes  covered  once 
fertile  fields,  and  the  men  who  should  have  tilled  the  land 
spurned  the  plough  as  degrading.  The  monks  left  their 
cells  and  their  prayers  to  dig  ditches  and  plough  fields.  The 
effort  was  magical.  Men  once  more  turned  back  to  a  noble 
but  despised  industry,  and  peace  and  plenty  supplanted 
war  and  poverty.  So  well  recognized  were  the  blessings  they 
brought,  that  an  old  German  proverb  among  the  peasants 
runs,  "It  is  good  to  live  under  the  crozier."  They  ennobled 
manual  labor,  which,  in  a  degenerate  Roman  world,  had 
been  performed  exclusively  by  slaves,  and  among  bar- 
barians by  women.  For  the  monks,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to 
say  that  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  like  an  immense 
alms  spread  over  a  whole  country.  The  abbots  and  super- 
iors set  the  example,  and  stripping  off  their  sacerdotal 
robes  toiled  as  common  laborers.  Like  the  good  parson 
whom  Chaucer  portrays  in  the  Prologue  to  the  "Canter- 
bury Tales":— 

This  noble  ensample  unto  his  scheep  he  gaf 
That  first  he  wroughte  and  after  that  he  taughte. 

When  a  papal  messenger  came  in  haste  to  consult  the 
Abbot  Equutius  on  important  matters  of  the  church,  he 
was  not  to  be  found  anywhere,  but  was  finally  discovered  in 
the  valley  cutting  hay.  Under  such  guidance  and  such 
example  the  monks  upheld  and  taught  everywhere  the 


238  iHENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

dignity  of  labor,  first,  by  consecrating  to  agriculture  the 
energy  and  intelligent  activity  of  freemen,  often  of  high 
birth  and  clothed  with  the  double  authority  of  the  priest- 
hood and  of  hereditary  nobility,  and  second,  by  associating 
under  the  Benedictine  habit  sons  of  kings,  princes,  and 
nobles  with  the  rudest  labors  of  peasants  and  serfs. 

There  is  still  another  phase  of  this  monastic  life.  We 
have  seen  that  the  one  universal  and  regular  duty  imposed 
was  the  necessity  of  being  constantly  employed.  It  was 
work  for  the  sake  of  work.  The  object  sought  was  not  so 
much  what  would  be  produced  by  the  labor  as  to  keep  the 
body  and  mind  so  constantly  employed  that  temptations 
could  find  no  access  and  sin  would  therefore  be  escaped. 
Consequently  it  was  a  matter  of  comparative  indifference 
what  the  work  was.  The  harder  and  more  painful  and  un- 
attractive to  men  in  general  it  might  be,  so  much  the  better 
for  the  monk.  If  sufficiently  difficult,  the  element  of  pen- 
ance was  added,  and  it  became  a  still  more  effectual  means 
of  grace.  In  this  way  the  monks  did  a  great  amount  of 
extremely  useful  work  which  no  one  else  would  have  under- 
taken. Especially  is  this  true  of  the  clearing  and  reclaiming 
of  land.  A  swamp  was  of  no  value.  It  was  a  source  of 
pestilence.  But  it  was  just  the  place  for  a  monastery  be- 
cause it  made  life  especially  hard ;  and  so  the  monks  carried 
in  earth  and  stone,  and  made  a  foundation,  and  built  their 
convent,  and  then  set  to  work  to  dyke  and  drain  and  fill  up 
the  swamp,  till  they  had  turned  it  into  fertile  plough-land 
and  the  pestilence  had  ceased. 

The  connection  of  the  monasteries  with  the  great  centres 
of  population  to-day  is  an  interesting  one.1    The  require- 
1  Gibbins,  Industrial  History  of  England. 


ADDRESSES  239 

ments  of  the  monks  and  the  instruction  they  were  enabled 
to  impart  soon  led  to  the  establishment  in  their  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  first  settlement  of  artificers  and  retail 
dealers,  while  the  excess  of  their  crops,  their  flocks  and  their 
herds  gave  rise  to  the  first  markets,  which  were  as  a  rule 
held  before  the  gate  of  the  abbey  church,  or  within  the 
church-yard,  among  the  tombs.  Thus  hamlets  and  towns 
were  formed  which  became  the  centres  of  trade  and  general 
intercourse,  and  thus  originated  the  market-tolls  and  the 
jurisdiction  of  these  spiritual  lords.  Out  of  these  hamlets 
clustered  around  the  monasteries  arose  in  England  South- 
ampton, Peterborough,  Bath,  Colchester,  Oxford,  Cam- 
bridge, Ely,  and  many  others. 

In  the  earlier  days  the  monks  had  always  taken  the  lead 
in  farming,  and  if  improvements  were  introduced  it  was 
sure  to  be  the  monks  who  were  the  pioneers.  How  useful 
the  monasteries  had  been,  and  what  an  important  factor 
they  were,  is  perhaps  best  seen  from  the  effect  their  disso- 
lution had  upon  the  laboring  classes.  Henry  VIII  sup- 
pressed six  hundred  and  forty-four  monasteries,  ninety  col- 
leges, two  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  free 
chapels,  and  one  hundred  and  ten  hospitals.  These  held 
one  fifth  of  all  the  land  in  the  kingdom  and  one  third  the  na- 
tional wealth.  At  the  same  time  nearly  one  hundred  thou- 
sand male  persons  were  thrown  out  of  employment.  "It  is 
possible,"  says  Symes  in  Traill's  "Social  England,"  'that 
the  relieving  of  a  large  number  of  persons  from  the  obliga- 
tions of  celibacy  partly  accounts  for  the  great  increase  of  the 
population  which  undoubtedly  took  place  in  Henry's  reign. 
Moreover,  experience  proves  that  people  reduced  to  poverty 
and  desperation  often  show  extraordinary  recklessness  in 


240  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

bringing  people  into  the  world."  However  that  may  be,  we 
find  the  population,  from  the  reign  of  Henry  VII  to  the 
death  of  Henry  VIII,  increasing  from  two  and  one  half 
millions  to  four  millions. 

But  this  change  in  population  without  corresponding  dis- 
tribution of  wealth,  this  transference  of  one  third  the  na- 
tional wealth,  was  attended  by  another  still  more  disas- 
trous effect,  and  that  was  "the  change  in  the  character  of 
the  demand  for  labor,  which  reduced  to  the  ranks  of  the 
unskilled  those  whose  skill  was  no  longer  in  demand." 
The  land  taken  up  by  the  king  was  bestowed  upon  his 
nobles  and  favorites,  and  these,  desirous  of  securing  im- 
mediate and  larger  profits,  enclosed  immense  areas  and 
turned  to  the  breeding  and  pasturing  of  sheep.  It  was 
the  substitution  of  pasture  for  tillage,  of  sheep  for  corn, 
of  commercialism  for  a  simple,  self-sufficing  industry,  of 
individual  gain  for  the  old  agrarian  partnership  in  which 
the  lords  or  abbots,  the  parsons,  yeomen,  farmers,  copy- 
holders, and  laborers  were  associated  for  the  supply  of  the 
wants  of  the  villagers.1  A  perfect  frenzy  for  raising  sheep 
took  possession  of  the  agricultural  community.  No  pains 
were  spared  to  increase  the  extent  of  pasturage.  Small 
tenants  were  evicted,  laborers'  cottages  were  pulled  down, 
the  lords'  demesnes  turned  into  pastures,  and  wastes  and 
commons  which  had  before  been  open  to  all  were  now  en- 
closed for  the  same  purpose.  Every  one  was  now  con- 
vinced that  "the  foot  of  the  sheep  would  turn  sand  into 
gold,"  and  hastened  to  substitute  grazing  for  tillage. 

But  while  there  was  this  sudden  and  wholesale  trans- 
ference of  the  arable  land  to  pasturage,  as  sudden  and  vio- 

1  Traill,  Social  England. 


ADDRESSES  241 

lent  a  change  in  the  character  of  labor  was  required.  The 
dog  and  the  shepherd  took  the  place  of  the  ploughmen  and 
their  teams,  and  thus  diminished  the  demand  for  labor  at 
the  very  moment  when  the  supply  was  increased.  Very 
serious  results  followed.  The  poorer  tenants  were  ruined  and 
an  immense  number  of  persons  were  thrown  out  of  employ- 
ment, to  become  beggars  and  thieves.  It  was,  says  Gibbins, 
in  the  "Industrial  History  of  England,"  the  beginning  of 
English  pauperism.  That  this  was  no  trifling  change  in  the 
social  condition  of  the  people  the  following  quotations  will 
prove:  "The  Statute-book  for  1489  tells  us  that  the  Isle  of 
Wight  is  lately  become  decayed  of  people,  by  reason  of 
many  towns  and  villages  having  been  beaten  down  and  is 
desolate  and  not  inhabited,  but  occupied  with  beasts  and 
cattle;  throughout  England,  too,  we  are  assured  that  idle- 
ness daily  doth  increase;  for  where  in  some  towns  two  hun- 
dred were  occupied  and  lived  of  their  lawful  labor,  now  there 
are  occupied  only  two  or  three  herdsmen."  Starkey,  the 
royal  chaplain  in  the  next  reign,  only  puts  this  more  epi- 
grammatically  when  he  says:  "Where  hath  been  many 
houses  and  churches  to  the  honor  of  God,  now  you  shall  find 
nothing  but  sheepcotes  and  stables  to  the  ruin  of  men,  and 
that  not  in  one  place  or  two,  but  generally  throughout  this 
realm."  Finally,  if  any  further  evidence  is  wanted  to  show 
that  great  hardships  were  being  entailed  upon  the  peasantry 
there  are  the  indignant  words  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  in  which 
he  bids  us  sympathize  with  "the  husbandmen  thrust  out 
of  their  own,  or  else  by  covin  and  fraud,  or  by  violent 
oppression  put  beside  it,  or  by  wrongs  and  injuries  so 
wearied  that  they  sell  all";  and  goes  on  to  denounce  the 
noblemen  and  gentlemen,  yea,  and  certain  abbots  that  lease 


242  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

no  grounds  for  tillage;  that  enclose  all  into  pasture,  and 
throw  down  houses;  that  pluck  down  towns  and  leave  no- 
thing standing,  but  only  the  church  to  be  made  a  sheep  - 
house. 

In  a  word,  then,  the  monks  were  the  scientific  farmers  of 
the  day.  They  had  access  to  all  the  knowledge  of  the  an- 
cients, and  the  constant  intercourse  with  their  brethren  in 
other  countries  kept  them  acquainted  with  methods  of  agri- 
culture and  products  other  than  their  own;  and  when  their 
great  religious  houses  were  suppressed,  agriculture,  of  which 
they  had  been  the  pioneers,  came  for  a  time  to  a  standstill. 

There  were  four  great  periods  in  which  these  disciples  of 
civilization  were  steadily  pushing  their  way  into  the  dark- 
ness of  an  unregenerate  world;  and  in  like  manner  there 
were  four  great  periods  in  which,  in  one  way  or  another, 
vast  estates  were  added  to  their  jurisdiction  and  came  under 
their  kindly  influence.  The  first,  covering  the  first  five 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  may  not  inappropriately  be 
termed  that  of  the  Apostles  and  early  fathers.  And  I  can- 
not help  quoting  here  the  vivid  words  of  Hillis,  descriptive 
of  that  era:  "With  matchless  enthusiasm  these  young 
knights  of  the  new  chivalry  leaped  into  the  arena.  Begin- 
ning at  Jerusalem  they  scattered  in  every  direction,  march- 
ing forth  like  columns  of  light.  When  twenty  years  had 
passed  Matthew  was  two  thousand  miles  to  the  southwest. 
At  the  same  time  Jude  was  two  thousand  miles  to  the 
northeast.  James  the  Less  journeyed  east  into  Judea.  Paul 
journeyed  to  the  west.  When  twoscore  years  had  passed 
all  the  disciples  save  one  had  achieved  a  violent  death  and 
blazed  out  paths  in  the  dark,  tangled  forests.  And  when 
the  torch  fell  from  the  hands  of  these  heroes,  their  disciples 


ADDRESSES  243 

snatched  up  the  light  and  rushed  on  to  new  victories.  Now 
that  long  time  has  passed,  history  has  summarized  the  influ- 
ence of  these  missionaries.  If  we  ask  who  destroyed  the 
great  social  evils  of  Rome,  Lecky  answers,  'The  Christian 
missionaries.'  Ask  when  the  rude  tribes  of  the  northern 
forests  began  to  be  nations,  Hallam  answers,  '  When  Boni- 
face crossed  the  Alps  on  his  Christian  mission.'  Asked  for 
the  beginning  of  England's  greatness,  Green  tells  us  the 
story  of  the  two  Christian  teachers  who  one  winter's  night 
entered  the  rude  banquet  hall  of  King  Ethelbert." 

About  the  middle  of  this  period  commenced  the  hermit 
or  ascetic  life  in  the  far  East.  Paul,  Anthony,  Pacomius, 
and  others,  gathering  together  the  thousands  of  disciples 
that  had  followed  them,  peopled  the  arid  wastes  and  rocky 
valleys  of  the  Thebaid  with  their  nuns  and  monks. 

Next  follows  the  missionary  period,  in  which  these  de- 
voted soldiers  of  the  cross,  pushing  their  adventurous  way 
into  every  part  of  Europe,  reconquered  for  the  church  the 
territory  it  had  lost,  and,  planting  their  monasteries  in  the 
wildest  and  most  unfrequented  spots,  became  the  heralds  of 
civilization  and  Christianity.  In  this  period  and  in  the  last 
the  monasteries  were  largely  enriched  by  the  gifts  of  the 
faithful,  —  in  most  cases  the  donors  begging  the  interces- 
sion of  the  monks  in  their  behalf.  Thus  St.  Eloysius  in  his 
charter  to  the  monks  of  Solignac  writes:  "I,  your  suppli- 
ant, in  the  sight  of  the  mass  of  my  sins,  and  in  hopes  of 
being  delivered  from  them  by  God,  give  to  you  a  little 
thing  for  a  great,  earth  in  exchange  for  heaven,  that  which 
passes  away  for  that  which  is  eternal."  So  Peter,  the  Lord 
of  Maule,  says:  "The  prudent  ant  as  she  sees  winter  ap- 
proach makes  the  more  haste  to  bring  in  her  stores,  so  as  to 


244  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

assure  herself  of  abundant  food  during  the  cold  weather. 
I,  Peter,  profiting  by  this  lesson,  and  desirous,  though  a 
sinner  and  unworthy,  to  provide  for  my  future  destiny,  I 
have  desired  that  the  bees  of  God  may  come  to  gather 
honey  in  my  orchards,  so  that  when  their  fair  hives  shall  be 
full  of  rich  combs  of  this  honey,  they  may  be  able,  while 
giving  thanks  to  their  Creator,  to  remember  him  by  whom 
this  hive  was  given." 

Eager,  ardent,  and  impetuous,  these  anchorites  seemed 
to  take  the  continent  by  storm.1  Amid  the  gloom  of  the 
Thuringian  forests,  among  the  wild  precipices  and  caves  of 
the  mountains  of  the  Hartz,  on  the  wild,  desolate  shores  of 
the  German  and  Baltic  seas,  amid  the  glaciers  and  fiords 
of  the  Scandinavian  peninsula,  on  the  banks  of  the  Ysill 
and  the  Weser,  from  the  Weser  to  the  Elbe  and  thence  to 
the  ocean,  these  devoted  missionaries  toiled  and  taught  and 
laid  down  their  lives. 

The  third  great  period  came  at  the  close  of  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, and  may  be  termed  the  age  of  expectancy  and  dread. 
All  things  seemed  coming  to  an  end,  and  the  year  one  thou- 
sand was  fixed  upon  as  the  day  when  the  heavens  should 
melt  with  fervent  heat  and  the  hills  be  rolled  together  and 
crushed.  We  can  scarcely  form  any  idea  of  the  feverish 
state  of  mind  of  society.  As  the  days  sped  on  and  the  time 
approached  for  the  universal  dissolution  of  nature,  the  panic 
was  at  its  height.  Property  was  disposed  of  for  a  merely 
nominal  sum,  or  willed  to  the  Church,  the  bequest  commenc- 
ing with  these  words,  "  In  expectation  of  the  approaching  end 
of  the  world."  The  monasteries  and  abbeys  received  vast 
acquisitions  of  property  and  were  thronged  with  sinners 
1  McLear,  Apostles  of  Mediaeval  Europe. 


ADDRESSES  245 

seeking  a  refuge  within  the  pale  of  the  Church.  Kings  laid 
down  their  sceptres  and  lands  were  left  untilled.  Famine 
and  pestilence  added  their  horrors  to  the  universal  despair. 
Human  flesh  was  openly  consumed  and  the  graves  of  the 
dead  were  rifled  to  furnish  sustenance  to  the  living.  Night 
after  night,  at  any  unusual  disturbance  of  the  elements, 
whole  families,  nay,  the  inhabitants  of  whole  villages,  left 
their  beds  and  watched  the  livelong  night,  shivering,  upon 
the  bleak  hillsides,  or  in  the  gateways  of  the  churches. 
The  fear  of  death  was  upon  all,  —  God  and  the  judgment- 
bar  an  ever-present  reality.  The  terrors  of  an  unknown 
world  stared  them  in  the  face.  Hell  opened  wide  the  por- 
tals of  its  gates,  and  the  cries  and  torments  of  the  damned 
seemed  to  rise  up,  upon  the  excited  ear.  "Help,  Lord,  for 
we  perish!  Save,  Lord,  from  thy  wrath!"  was  the  wail  of 
a  despairing  world. 

Can  we  wonder  that,  in  such  circumstances  as  these, 
surrounded  by  such  an  atmosphere  as  this,  the  Church 
should  gain  a  predominating  influence,  and  that  as  a  me- 
dium between  God  and  man  it  should  stretch  forth  its  arm 
and  be  recognized  as  all-powerful  and  efficient?  And  when 
the  last  night  of  suspense  was  over  and  the  sun  had  risen 
again,  and  men  breathed  freer  and  felt  that  the  crisis  was 
past,  would  they  not  have  a  feeling  of  gratitude  that  ex- 
pressed itself  in  gifts  to  those  whom  they  had  learned  to 
look  upon  as  intercessors? 

The  fourth  and  last  period  is  that  of  the  Crusades,  when 
all  Europe,  stirred  by  one  single  impulse,  leaps  into  vigorous 
life,  and  hurries,  men,  women,  and  children,  to  the  rescue  of 
the  Holy  Land.  Of  the  universality  of  this  movement,  the 
last  impulse  of  the  migratory  instinct  among  these  tribes  so 


246  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

lately  settled  down,  William  of  Malmesbury,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Tyre,  has  left  us  a  striking  account  in  his  Chroni- 
cle. Having  said  that  after  the  great  council  of  Clermont 
every  one  retired  to  his  home,  he  continues  thus:  "Imme- 
diately the  fame  of  this  great  event  being  spread  through 
the  universe,  penetrates  the  minds  of  Christians  with  its 
mild  breath,  and  wherever  it  blew  there  was  no  nation,  how- 
ever distant  or  obscure  it  might  be,  that  did  not  send  some 
of  its  people.  This  zeal  not  only  animated  the  provinces 
bordering  on  the  Mediterranean,  but  all  who  had  ever  heard 
the  name  of  a  Christian  in  the  most  remote  isles  and  among 
barbarous  nations.  Then  the  Welshman  abandoned  his 
forests  and  neglected  his  hunting ;  the  Scotchman  deserted 
his  fleas,  with  which  he  is  so  familiar;  the  Dane  ceased  to 
swallow  his  intoxicating  draughts,  and  the  Norican  turned 
his  back  upon  his  raw  fish.  The  fields  were  left  by  the  cul- 
tivators and  the  houses  by  the  inhabitants;  all  the  cities 
were  deserted.  People  were  restrained  neither  by  ties  of 
blood  nor  the  love  of  country;  they  saw  nothing  but  God. 
All  that  was  in  the  granaries  or  destined  for  food  was  left 
under  the  guardianship  of  the  greedy  agriculturist.  The 
voyage  to  Jerusalem  was  the  only  thing  hoped  for  or  thought 
of.  Joy  animated  the  hearts  of  those  who  set  out;  grief 
dwelt  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  remained.  Why  do  I  say 
of  those  who  remained?  You  might  have  seen  the  husband 
setting  forth  with  his  wife,  with  all  his  family;  yea,  you 
would  have  laughed  to  see  all  the  penates  put  in  motion  and 
loaded  upon  carts.  The  road  was  too  narrow  for  the  pas- 
sengers, more  room  was  wanted  for  the  travelers,  so  great 
and  numerous  was  the  crowd." 

From  this  great  movement,  which  lasted  two  hundred 


ADDRESSES  247 

years,  the  Church  gained  an  enormous  increase  of  power  and 
territory.  The  secular  princes  ruined  themselves  for  the 
cause  of  Jesus  Christ,  whilst  the  princes  of  the  Church  took 
advantage  of  the  fervor  of  the  Christians  to  enrich  them- 
selves. It  bought  up  for  a  mere  song  an  immense  extent 
of  property,  which  the  owners  disposed  of  to  raise  the 
funds  requisite  to  equip  them  for  this  long  journey,  and  thus 
laid  the  foundation  for  those  extensive  church  endowments 
which  in  the  time  of  Luther  and  the  French  Revolution 
excited  so  bitter  a  controversy. 

Summing  up  then  the  influence  of  the  monks,  we  can 
outline  it  thus:  The  rule  of  St.  Benedict  presented  agri- 
culture as  an  occupation  useful  and  worthy  of  a  truly  reli- 
gious person  whose  life  was  to  be  spent  between  manual 
labor  and  spiritual  contemplation.1  He  taught  that  the 
brothers  ought  not  to  feel  themselves  humiliated  if  poverty 
compelled  them  to  gather  with  their  own  hands  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil.  First,  then,  they  themselves  cultivated  the 
ground,  and  this  has  been  continued  even  until  our  own 
time  in  certain  orders.  The  monks  of  Citeaux  were  par- 
ticularly distinguished  in  this  respect,  for  in  their  earlier 
days  it  was  not  permitted  them  to  possess  any  revenues. 
When  a  new  monastery  was  founded  there  was  ordinarily 
bestowed  upon  it  land  not  yet  broken  or  land  which,  hav- 
ing been  devastated  by  the  incursions  of  the  enemy,  had 
become  useless  to  its  owner.  Sometimes  it  was  covered 
with  forests  or  with  water,  or  it  was  a  sterile  valley  sur- 
rounded by  lofty  mountains,  or  a  country  in  which  there 
was  no  arable  land  and  it  was  necessary  for  the  monastery 
to  purchase  earth  in  the  neighborhood  and  bring  it  in.  The 

1  Hurter,  Geschichte  Papst  Innocenz  III  und  seiner  Zeitgenossen. 


248  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

monks  cleared  with  their  own  hands  the  forests  and  erected 
peaceful  habitations  for  man  in  the  spots  where  formerly 
had  lurked  the  wolf  and  the  bear.  They  turned  aside  devast- 
ating torrents,  they  restrained,  by  means  of  dykes,  rivers 
accustomed  to  overflow  their  banks;  and  soon  the  deserts 
where  before  was  heard  only  the  cry  of  the  owl  and  the 
hiss  of  the  serpent  were  changed  into  smiling  fields  and  fat 
pasturage.  The  love  of  solitude,  the  desire  of  placing  by 
every  means  possible  a  check  to  human  passion,  inspired 
them  to  seek  out  sites  the  most  unhealthy  and  to  render 
them  by  cultivation  not  only  sanitary  but  even  profitable. 
Modern  writers  recognize  that  Italy,  devastated  by  the  re- 
peated incursions  of  Barbarians,  owed  its  restoration,  its 
tranquillity,  and  the  preservation  of  the  last  remains  of  art 
to  the  monasteries.  Wherever  we  see  them  rise  we  see 
agriculture  reappear,  —  the  people  relieved  from  their  bur- 
dens, and  kindly  relations  established  between  the  master 
and  the  slave. 

In  the  twelfth  century  impenetrable  forests  still  covered 
the  valley  of  the  Jura.  A  monastery  of  the  order  of  Premon- 
tre  cut  down  the  first  trees  in  their  forests  and  attracted 
there  the  first  colonists.  A  monastery  of  the  order  of  Citeaux 
had  but  a  short  time  previously  restricted  within  its 
banks  the  river  Saone,  which  covered  with  its  overflow  the 
foot  of  Rodomont.  It  cleared  the  soil  of  the  virgin  forest 
where  now  is  situated  the  little  city  of  Rougemont  with  its 
two  thousand  inhabitants.  At  great  expense  and  by  almost 
superhuman  effort  dykes  were  opposed  to  the  waves  of  the 
ocean,  and  they  snatched  from  the  element  a  soil  which  the 
work  of  man  changed  afterward  into  fertile  fields.  Marshes 
became  arable  land  and  the  home  of  man.    The  monks 


ADDRESSES  249 

loved  to  acquire  these  marshes  in  order  to  render  them 
amenable  to  cultivation,  and  frequently  even  their  monas- 
teries rose  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  waters.  When  it  was 
impossible  to  drain  them,  or  when  economy  demanded  it, 
they  brought  straw  and  laid  it  down  in  bundles,  and  upon 
these  bundles  earth  was  placed.  They  dug  out  ponds  into 
which  they  collected  the  superfluous  waters  by  tiles  used  to 
drain  the  land.  In  this  way  the  monastic  orders  extended 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil  from  the  south  of  Europe  even 
to  the  most  distant  north.  They  facilitated  communication 
between  different  points,  and  were  the  organizers  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  industry.  Sweden  owes  to  them  the  perfection 
of  its  race  of  horses  and  the  beginnings  of  commerce  in  wheat. 
On  the  island  of  Tuteron,  where  was  formerly  located  a 
monastery  of  the  order  of  Citeaux,  plants  still  grow  spon- 
taneously, which  in  the  neighborhood  one  is  compelled  to 
cultivate  with  care.  The  Abbot  William  brought  the  first 
salad  from  France  into  Denmark.  If  in  the  eleventh  cen- 
tury England  could  boast  of  an  agriculture  more  advanced 
than  many  other  countries,  if  it  presented  less  forest  and 
heath  and  more  cultivated  lands  and  fat  pasturage,  it  owes 
it  to  the  zeal  of  the  monks  who  had  found  there  in  early 
times  a  hospitable  welcome.  It  was  the  monks  who  in 
Flanders  cleared  the  forests,  drained  the  marshes,  rendered 
fertile  the  sandy  lands,  snatched  from  the  sea  its  most  an- 
cient possessions  and  changed  a  desert  into  a  blooming 
garden. 

There  were  certain  abbeys,  especially  in  England,  that 
took  the  greatest  care  not  to  clear  the  country  of  all  trees. 
It  is  related  of  Alexander,  the  first  Abbot  of  Kirkstall,  that, 
foreseeing  the  necessities  of  the  future,  he  forbade  the  cut- 


250  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

ting  down  of  the  vast  forest  he  had  acquired  by  divine  pro- 
tection, and  preferred  to  purchase  elsewhere  the  timber  he 
required  in  erecting  his  large  buildings.  The  monks  of 
Pipwel  in  Northampton  did  not  cease  to  plant  trees  in  their 
forests  and  were  said  to  watch  over  them  as  a  mother  over 
an  only  child.  For  their  own  private  necessities  they  made 
use  of  dead,  dry  wood  and  reeds. 

As  a  rule,  the  monks  took  great  care  in  the  cultivation  of 
their  land  to  conform  to  the  laws  of  climate,  soil,  and  lo- 
cality. In  the  north  they  devoted  themselves  especially 
to  the  raising  of  cattle,  and  in  these  countries  the  greatest 
privileges  that  could  be  given  them  were  woods  and  the 
right  to  allow  the  swine  to  wander  in  them.  In  other  coun- 
tries they  occupied  themselves  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit 
trees,  the  improvement  of  which  was  their  work.  It  was 
the  celebrated  nursery  of  Chartreuse  of  Paris  that  up  to  the 
epoch  of  the  Revolution  furnished  fruit  trees  to  almost  the 
whole  of  France,  and  the  remembrance  of  their  labors  still 
lives  in  the  name  of  certain  delicious  fruits,  such  as  the 
doyenne  and  bon  chretien  pears.  The  finest  orchards  and 
vineyards  belonged  to  the  monasteries.  All  the  chronicles 
speak  of  the  cultivation  of  Mt.  Menzing  in  the  Canton  of 
Zug,  which  produced  abundantly  wheat  and  fruits  and  par- 
ticularly nuts.  The  friendly  relations  existing  between  the 
monasteries,  the  interchange  of  visits  between  the  monks  of 
the  different  establishments,  were  of  great  advantage,  for 
foreign  plants  and  fruits  were  exchanged  and  cultivated. 

The  monks  were  the  first  to  devise  tools  for  gardening. 
They  had  calendars  in  which  were  set  down  all  that  experi- 
ence had  taught  them  respecting  the  breeding  of  cattle,  the 
sowing  of  land,  the  harvesting  of  crops,  and  every  kind  of 


ADDRESSES  251 

plantation.  William  of  Malmesbury  boasts  of  the  fertility 
of  the  valley  of  Gloucester  in  wheat,  in  fruits,  and  in  vine- 
yards, adding  that  the  wines  of  this  province  are  the  best  in 
England  and  scarcely  yield  in  quality  to  the  wines  of  France. 
The  best  vineyards  of  Germany  not  only  belonged  to  the 
monasteries,  but  had  been  planted  by  them,  and  we  are 
forced  to  recognize  the  judgment  with  which  these  first 
planters  selected  their  grounds.  Tradition  tells  us  that  the 
monks  of  St.  Peter  in  the  Black  Forest  planted  the  first  vines 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Weilheim  and  Bissingen,  and  the 
wine  of  this  latter  place  is  still  the  best  in  the  whole  country. 
The  monks  of  Lorsch  planted  the  vineyards  of  Bergstrasse 
and  those  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine.  Epicures  when 
drinking  the  delicious  wine  of  Johannisberg  still  recall  with 
gratitude  the  monastery  of  Fulda.  In  every  country  of 
Europe  the  monks  stimulated  the  progress  of  agriculture  as 
much  by  their  personal  efforts  as  by  the  example  they  gave 
to  others.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  world  that  the  first 
founders  of  the  religious  orders  enjoined  upon  their  dis- 
ciples manual  labor  rather  than  spiritual,  and  that  the  first 
monasteries  were  founded  not  in  the  cities,  as  those  which 
were  founded  later,  but  in  the  wildest  and  most  unfre- 
quented spots,  which  were  transformed  by  their  activity 
and  labors  into  the  homes  of  thousands  of  peaceful  and  in- 
dustrious men. 

What  I  have  said  of  the  monks  of  Europe  is  equally  true 
of  the  missions  of  this  country.  There  was  the  same  evolu- 
tion, and  at  their  dissolution  the  same  fate. 

When  Father  Junipero  Serra  and  his  followers  came  as 
Franciscan  missionaries  and  established  the  chain  of  mis- 
sions at  San  Diego,  Los  Angeles,  San  Gabriel,  Monterey, 


252  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Santa  Clara,  San  Buenaventura,  San  Juan  Capistrano  and 
San  Francisco  (Dolores),  and  San  Luis  Obispo,  between 
1767  and  1783,  they  estimated  that  there  were  over  eighty 
thousand  Indians  in  Alta  California.  At  the  mission  of 
San  Gabriel  there  were  about  seven  thousand.  The  priests 
wrote  that  they  had  never  found  anywhere  such  tractable 
and  energetic  savages  as  those  in  California.1 

After  a  few  years  the  missionaries  were  never  afraid  to 
trust  their  lives  and  property  among  the  Indians.  The 
fathers  taught  the  Indians  at  the  several  missions  to  sow 
wheat,  grind  corn,  till  the  soil,  raise  herds  of  cattle,  dress 
hides,  and  make  their  clothing.  The  priests  brought  grape- 
vines, olives,  fruits,  and  nuts  from  their  old  homes  in  Spain 
and  Castile,  and  taught  the  Indians  how  to  cultivate  them 
in  California  soil.  In  time  the  missionaries  had  induced 
all  the  Indian  families  to  come  and  dwell  in  pueblo  com- 
munities about  the  missions,  where  the  Spanish  padres  were 
monitors,  socially,  industrially,  and  religiously.  When  the 
missions  were  legally  disestablished  by  order  of  the  Mexi- 
can government,  and  the  lands  were  partitioned  to  Mexican 
families,  the  herds  and  flocks  sold,  and  the  missionaries  told 
to  seek  other  walks  of  life,  the  Indian  pueblos  soon  went  to 
ruin.  The  Indians  themselves  wandered  aimlessly  away, 
settling  in  one  place  until  driven  to  another  by  the  white 
man.  No  one  attempted  to  preserve  their  moral  condition, 
and  to  the  natural  savage  inclination  for  licentiousness  was 
added  the  bad  example  of  the  low  whites  of  the  frontier  of 
those  days. 

My  friends,  I  have  outlined  to  you  in  briefest  manner  to- 
day the  work  of  these  grand  old  monks  during  a  period  of 
1  Bancroft,  Pacific  States  ;  Griswold,  Spanish  Missions. 


ADDRESSES  253 

fifteen  hundred  years.  They  saved  agriculture  when  no- 
body else  could  save  it.  They  practised  it  under  a  new 
life  and  new  conditions  when  no  one  else  dared  undertake 
it.  They  advanced  it  along  every  line  of  theory  and  prac- 
tice, and  when  they  perished  they  left  a  void  which  genera- 
tions have  not  filled. 


THE  MASSACHUSETTS  AGRICULTURAL 

COLLEGE1 

In  1862,  when  the  nation  was  struggling  with  the  most 
gigantic  rebellion  the  world  has  ever  seen,  Congress,  with 
a  wise  foresight  seldom  equaled,  and  a  reversal  of  the  old 
motto,  "In  time  of  peace  prepare  for  war,"  calmly  turned 
from  the  perplexing  questions  of  the  conflict  and  con- 
sidered and  passed  an  act  donating  to  the  "several  states 
and  territories  which  may  provide  colleges  for  the  benefit 
of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,"  public  lands  equal- 
ing in  amount  thirty  thousand  acres  for  each  senator  and 
representative  then  in  Congress.  In  return  for  this  dona- 
tion it  stipulated  two  things :  first,  that  the  income  of  the 
fund  derived  from  the  sale  of  those  lands  should  be  held 
inviolably  for  purposes  of  instruction;  and,  second,  that 
military  instruction  should  be  given,  for  which  a  regular 
army  officer  would  be  detailed  by  the  United  States  govern- 
ment. Under  the  provisions  of  this  endowment  fifty -two 
colleges  and  schools  have  been  established,  either  as  inde- 
pendent organizations  or  as  colleges  of  universities  al- 
ready existing,  with  a  teaching  force  of  about  900,  and  an 
attendance  of  some  15,000  students. 

Let  it  be  clearly  understood  at  the  outset  that  these 
are  not  exclusively  agricultural  colleges,  but  institutions 
designed  for  the  benefit  of  the  industrial  classes.  "With- 
out excluding  any  studies  recognized  as  forming  part  of 

1  Reprinted  from  the  New  England  Magazine,  by  permission  of  the 
publishers. 


ADDRESSES  255 

a  liberal  education,  they  are  directed  to  teach  such  branches 
of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic 
arts,  with  the  declared  object  of  providing  for  those  classes 
a  liberal  and  practical  education  in  the  various  pursuits  and 
professions  in  life."  It  has  resulted  from  this  that,  adapt- 
ing themselves  to  the  individual  needs  of  their  respective 
states,  some  are  exclusively  agricultural,  while  others 
combine  the  agricultural  with  the  mechanical.  Three 
things  are  named  in  the  organic  law :  agriculture,  mechanic 
arts,  and  military  tactics.  The  name  "agricultural"  used 
alone  is  therefore  as  misleading  as  that  of  "mechanical'3 
or  "military"  would  be. 

A  quarter  of  a  century  has  passed  since  the  passage  of 
the  act,  and  sufficient  time  has  now  elapsed  to  show  its 
merits  or  defects.  The  grant  was  originally  based  upon 
representation  in  population,  resulting  in  very  unequal 
endowments,  the  smaller  states  receiving  a  much  smaller 
amount  than  the  larger  ones,  while  the  expenses  of  main- 
tenance were  about  the  same.  Again,  it  was  found  that  in- 
stitutions for  teaching  natural  science  required  a  much 
larger  outlay  for  the  "plant"  and  for  their  annual  work 
than  purely  literary  institutions.  The  scientific  work  re- 
quired to  be  done  in  the  course  of  instruction  and  experi- 
ment demanded  an  extensive  equipment  in  the  way  of 
laboratories,  machine-shops,  apparatus,  farms  to  be  used 
for  purposes  of  experiment,  cattle  to  be  tested  for  their 
qualities,  etc.  In  the  twenty -five  years  past  the  field  of 
science  had  so  greatly  enlarged,  and  the  demands  made 
upon  the  colleges  so  greatly  increased,  that  none  but  the 
wealthier  institutions  could  keep  pace  with  them,  or  even 
measurably  answer  the  requirements  of  the  times.     To 


256  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

provide  then  for  this  growing  demand  for  instruction  in  the 
sciences,  with  special  reference  to  their  applications  in  the 
industries  of  life,  and  to  compensate  for  the  inadequateness 
of  the  original  endowment,  Congress  has  this  year  [1890] 
passed  an  act,  supplementing  that  of  1862,  in  further  aid 
of  the  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges,  granting  an 
equal  amount  to  each  state.  In  doing  this  it  has  but  fol- 
lowed the  general  tendency  of  the  age.  "The  government 
of  every  leading  country  outside  of  the  United  States  has 
recognized  the  necessity  of  providing  on  a  large  and  gener- 
ous scale  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  scien- 
tific instruction  of  every  grade,  from  the  primary  to  the 
highest,  and  it  is  everywhere  regarded  as  one  of  the  first 
duties  of  statesmanship  to  see  that  the  citizens  of  the 
country  are  not  left  behind  in  the  race  of  modern  com- 
petition for  lack  of  any  resource  that  science  can  bring  to 
their  aid.  The  margin  of  profit  in  the  competition  of 
modern  industries  is  so  small  and  so  closely  calculated 
that  the  best  instructed  people  will  be  the  winning  people." 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  is  located  at 
Amherst.  The  act  of  incorporation  by  which  it  was  es- 
tablished became  a  law  April  29,  1863,  while  the  accept- 
ance of  the  congressional  grant  was  declared  eleven  days 
before.  The  College  is  under  the  control  of  a  board  of 
trustees,  consisting  of  the  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Board  of  Agriculture,  and  the  President  of  the  Faculty, 
as  ex-officio  members,  and  fourteen  others  appointed  by  the 
Governor  for  a  term  of  seven  years.  The  appointed  mem- 
bers are  divided  into  seven  classes,  so  that  two  vacancies 
in  their  number  regularly  occur  each  year.  The  board  was 


ADDRESSES  257 

organized  November  8, 1863,  with  John  A.Andrew  as  presi- 
dent, Allen  W.  Dodge  as  vice-president,  and  Charles 
L.  Flint  as  secretary.  The  question  of  the  location 
of  the  college  was  the  occasion  of  considerable  debate. 
A  number  of  influential  men,  including  Governor  An- 
drew, Professor  Agassiz,  and  President  Thomas  Hill, 
favored  making  the  agricultural  college  a  department  of 
Harvard.  The  decision  of  the  legislature  and  the  trustees 
was  in  favor  of  a  separate  institution.  It  was  characteris- 
tic of  our  great  war  governor,  that  no  sooner  was  the  de- 
cision of  the  legislature  made  in  favor  of  a  separate  institu- 
tion, than,  abandoning  all  his  previous  opinions,  he  entered 
heartily  into  this  plan  and  cooperated  to  the  extent  of 
his  power.  Several  towns  offered  to  comply  with  the  re- 
quirement of  the  legislature,  that  $75,000  for  the  erection 
of  buildings  be  pledged  before  any  portion  of  the  public 
funds  should  be  given  to  the  college.  Amherst  was  finally 
selected.  On  the  29th  of  November,  1864,  the  Hon.  Henry 
F.  French  was  elected  president  of  the  College.  He  was 
a  man  thoroughly  identified  with  agricultural  pursuits, 
had  written  a  work  on  drainage,  and  was  widely  known 
by  his  contributions  to  the  different  journals.  It  was  felt 
that  his  knowledge  of  the  subject  and  his  large  experience 
in  men  and  affairs  ensured  his  success;  but  he  failed  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  situation;  and  after  two  years,  a 
difference  of  opinion  having  arisen  between  himself  and 
the  trustees  as  to  the  proper  site  for  the  college  buildings, 
he  resigned.  Ill  luck  seemed  destined  to  pursue  the  College 
at  its  founding;  for  his  successor,  Professor  Paul  A.  Chad- 
bourne,  for  many  years  an  enthusiastic  and  successful 
instructor  in  the  natural  sciences  at  Williams  College, 


258  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

was  compelled  to  resign  in  a  few  months,  by  reason  of  ill- 
health.    The  trustees  then  elected  Professor  William  S. 
Clark,  who  had  been  for  years  interested  in  the  movement 
for  agricultural  education,  and  who  was  at  that  time 
filling  the  chair  of  chemistry  and  botany  in  Amherst  Col- 
lege. He  was  a  man  of  singular  enthusiasm  and  energy,  and 
to  him  more  than  any  one  else  the  College  owes  the  meas- 
ure of  success  it  has  attained.  The  course  of  study  marked 
out  by  him  has  been  substantially  followed  ever  since. 
Resolved  on  having  the  best,  he  quickly  gathered  about 
him  a  corps  of  instructors  that  made  the  College  at  once 
leap  into  prominence;  and  the  series  of  novel  experiments 
he  conducted  relating  to  the  circulation  of  sap  in  plants 
and  the  expansive  force  exerted  by  the  vegetable  cell  in 
its  growth,  caused  the  gifted  Agassiz  to  remark  that  if  the 
College  had  done  nothing  else,  this  alone  was  sufficient  to 
compensate  the  state  for  all  its  outlay.    The  squash  he 
had  selected  for  observation,  in  its  iron  harness,  lifting 
five  thousand  pounds  before  it  had  ceased  to  grow,  excited 
attention  far  and  wide,   and  was  visited  by  thousands.1 
But  his  best  work  was  as  an  educator.    Bringing  to  the 
lecture-room  that  intense  enthusiasm  and  personal  mag- 
netism so  characteristic  of  the  man,  he  quickly  established 
a  bond  of  sympathy  between  teacher  and  scholar  that 
was  never  broken.    The  same  brilliant  qualities  that  at- 
tracted men  in  the  outside  world  made  themselves  felt 
in  his  teaching.   The  dry  details  of  science  were  enlivened 
by  the  light  play  of  his  fancy,  and  the  charming  method  of 
his  teaching  seldom  failed  to  arouse  the  dullest  intellect. 
The  College  was  opened  to  receive  students  on  the  2d 

1  See  College  Report,  1875. 


ADDRESSES  259 

of  October,  1867,  and  forty-seven  students  were  admitted 
before  the  close  of  the  first  term.  Never  will  the  writer  of 
this  article  forget  the  remark  of  President  Clark,  as  we 
drove  over  together,  on  the  opening  day,  to  the  place  of 
examination :  "  I  do  not  know  of  a  single  man  that  is  coming 
to-day,  but  I  believe  the  heart  of  the  old  Bay  State  will 
beat  true  to  the  opportunity  presented  it."  And  when  we 
found  twenty-seven  young  men  awaiting  the  ordeal,  his 
joy  knew  no  bounds,  and  I  think  he  was  inclined  to  admit 
the  whole  number  at  once,  withour  further  trial.  During 
his  administration  the  perpetual  fund  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  College  was  largely  increased  by  the  generosity  of 
the  state,  new  buildings  were  erected,  and  the  faculty  was 
enlarged.  The  College  also  entered  into  an  agreement  to 
represent  the  agricultural  department  of  Boston  Univer- 
sity, the  matriculants  of  the  one  being  eligible  to  take 
the  diploma  of  the  other. 

The  buildings  of  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege at  the  present  time  include  a  laboratory,  botanic 
museum,  two  plant-houses,  dormitories  containing  reci- 
tation-rooms, a  chapel-library  building,  club-house,  farm- 
house with  barn  and  sheds,  drill-hall,  and  five  dwelling 
houses,  representing  a  total  value  of  about  $200,000. 
The  farm  consists  of  384  acres,  some  eighty  acres  of 
which  are  set  off  for  experimental  purposes,  and  the  rest 
divided  between  cultivated,  grass,  and  wood-land.  It  is  lo- 
cated on  the  eastern  water-shed  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
bounded  west  by  a  tributary  of  that  stream,  with  a  rivu- 
let running  through  it  from  southeast  to  northwest,  empty- 
ing into  the  tributary.  The  land  adjacent  to  these  streams 
is  rolling  and  high  enough  to  give   good   drainage;   the 


260  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

soil,  a  heavy,  sandy  loam,  with  underlying  clay.  The  east- 
ern and  highest  part  of  the  farm  is  drift,  covered  with 
gravelly  loam,  with  occasional  pockets  of  heavy,  sandy 
loam.  Much  of  this  part  of  the  farm  has  a  substratum  of 
hard  pan.  In  short,  the  soil  does  not  materially  differ  from 
that  found  in  other  parts  of  the  state,  always  excepting 
such  as  is  peculiar  to  particular  localities,  as  the  sand  of 
Cape  Cod,  etc.  Seventy  to  eighty  head  of  live  stock  are 
kept,  including  representatives  of  Ayrshires,  Guernseys, 
Holstein-Friesians,  Jerseys,  Shorthorns,  Percherons,  South- 
down sheep,  and  small  Yorkshire  swine. 

While  all  the  departments  are  fairly  well  equipped,  the 
agricultural  and  horticultural,  as  would  naturally  be  ex- 
pected, are  best  supplied,  and  no  pains  are  spared  to  prac- 
tically drive  home  the  teachings  of  the  recitation-room. 
As  the  agricultural  department  has  its  barns  and  different 
breeds  of  cattle,  its  labor-saving  implements  and  silos,  so 
the  horticultural  has  its  green-houses  and  nurseries,  its 
herbaria  and  models.  Orchards  of  fifteen  to  twenty  acres, 
containing  all  the  standard  varieties  of  small  and  large 
fruits,  lie  in  immediate  proximity,  and  for  further  prac- 
tical study  there  is  a  vineyard  containing  thirty  to  forty 
varieties  of  fully  tested  grapes;  a  nursery  of  30,000  to 
40,000  trees,  shrubs,  and  vines  in  various  stages  of 
growth;  a  market  garden;  and  a  grove  covering  several 
acres,  affording  ample  opportunity  for  observations  in 
practical  forestry.  Methods  of  planting,  training,  and 
pruning,  budding,  layering  and  grafting,  gathering  and 
packing  fruits  are  taught  by  field  exercises,  the  students 
doing  a  large  part  of  the  work.  The  botanical  department, 
naturally  joined  with  the  horticultural,  is  in  like  manner 


ADDRESSES  261 

well  supplied.  In  the  museum  is  the  Knowlton  herbarium, 
collected  by  W.  W.  Denslow  of  New  York,  consisting 
of  over  15,000  species  of  plants  from  all  parts  of 
the  world;  a  collection  of  models  of  nearly  all  the  leading 
varieties  of  apples  and  pears;  hundreds  of  sections  of  wood, 
cut  so  as  to  show  their  individual  structure;  specimens  of 
abnormal  and  peculiar  forms  of  stems,  fruits,  and  vege- 
tables; together  with  many  specimens  and  models  prepared 
for  illustrating  the  growth  and  structure  of  plants.  Sec- 
tions of  trees  joined  together  like  the  Siamese  twins  stand 
side  by  side,  with  the  "giant  squash"  in  its  iron  harness, 
while  along  the  walls  are  suspended  gigantic  specimens  of 
marine  algae.  For  use  in  the  lecture-rooms  are  diagrams  and 
charts  containing  over  3,000  figures,  illustrating  structural 
and  systematic  botany;  and  immediately  adjacent  is  the 
laboratory  fitted  up  with  tables  and  compound  microscopes, 
where  the  students  engage  in  practical  study  of  the  growth 
and  structure  of  the  common  plants  cultivated  in  the  green- 
house and  the  garden  or  on  the  farm.  Valuable  adjuncts  to 
the  recitation-room  are  the  conservatories  containing  a 
large  collection  of  tropical  productions,  together  with  all 
the  leading  plants  used  for  house  culture,  cut  flowers,  and 
outdoor  ornamentation.  The  same  practical  work  is  en- 
gaged in  here,  and  the  student  is  expected  to  make  himself 
familiar  with  the  different  methods  of  propagating,  hybrid- 
izing, and  cultivating  useful  and  ornamental  plants.  All 
kinds  of  garden  and  farm-garden  crops  are  grown  in  this 
department,  special  attention  being  given  to  the  treatment 
of  market-garden  crops,  the  selection  of  varieties,  and  the 
growth  of  seed. 

Located  on   the   college   grounds   are   two   experiment 


262  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

stations,  the  one  established  and  maintained  by  the  state, 
the  other  by  the  United  States  government,  entitled  the 
Hatch  Experiment  Station  of  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural College.1  The  former  is  under  a  board  of  control 
made  up  of  eleven  members,  four  of  whom  are  members 
ex  officio,  and  the  rest  elected  respectively  by  the  Board 
of  Agriculture,  the  Massachusetts  State  Horticultural 
Society,  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Agri- 
culture, the  trustees  of  the  Agricultural  College,  and  the 
State  Grange,  to  represent  their  organizations.  The  latter 
forms  a  department  of  the  college,  controlled  by  its  trus- 
tees and  subject  to  their  direction.  Each  is  distinct  from 
the  other  in  its  organization  and  work.  The  Hatch  Experi- 
ment Station  devotes  itself  to  the  investigation  of  meteoro- 
logical phenomena  as  affecting  plant  growth,  economic 
entomology,  and  the  practical  questions  of  every  kind 
arising  in  horticulture  and  agriculture,  while  the  state 
station  turns  its  attention  to  questions  of  analysis,  food 
rations,  diseases  of  plants,  and  the  like.  With  its  accus- 
tomed liberality  the  state  has  erected  and  equipped,  at  an 
expense  of  about  $30,000,  a  fine  laboratory,  and  a  build- 
ing with  a  glass  house  attached,  to  be  used  exclusively  for 
the  investigation  of  such  diseases  as  the  smut,  the  mildew, 
and  the  scab.  This  station  has  been  in  existence  about 
eight  years,  and  has  recently  issued  its  seventh  annual  re- 
port, filled  with  information  of  value  to  the  farmer. 

The  Hatch  Experiment  Station  is  of  more  recent  origin, 
being  created  by  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  February  25, 
1887,  appropriating  $15,000  annually  to  each  state  and 

1  The  two  Experiment  Stations  were  united  in  1895,  after  this  paper 
was  printed. 


ADDRESSES  263 

territory  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining 
an  experiment  department  in  connection  with  the  colleges 
of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  to  be  known  and 
designated  as  an  "agricultural  experiment  station." 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  act  the  station  at  Amherst 
was  organized,  March  2,  1888,  with  four  departments,  — 
the  agricultural,  horticultural,  entomological,  and  mete- 
orological. By  an  arrangement  with  the  state  station  all 
questions  of  a  chemical  nature  are  referred  to  it  for  in- 
vestigation, thereby  saving  the  expense  of  erecting  and 
equipping  another  laboratory.  Each  department  has  a 
building  of  its  own  allotted  exclusively  to  its  own  use.  In 
the  meteorological  department  a  full  set  of  self-recording 
instruments  has  been  placed,  where  daily  and  hourly  ob- 
servations of  all  meteorological  phenomena  are  taken  and 
kept.  The  horticultural  department  has  its  green-houses, 
in  which  tests  of  fertilizers  under  glass  are  made,  and  where 
experimentation  is  continued  throughout  the  year.  The 
agricultural  department  has  its  barn  fitted  up  in  the  most 
approved  way  for  conducting  tests  in  feeding,  or  investi- 
gating questions  pertaining  to  the  dairy.  The  entomologi- 
cal department  has  its  insectary,  where  plants  are  grown 
and  the  life-histories  of  their  insect  enemies  studied,  while 
at  the  same  time  trial  is  being  made  of  the  best  methods 
of  applying  different  insecticides.  The  general  policy  of  the 
station  has  been  to  furnish  information  on  such  subjects 
as  were  attracting  the  attention  of  the  public,  and  to  in- 
vestigate questions  of  practical  importance.  It  issues  regu- 
lar quarterly  bulletins,  and  special  ones,  as  occasion  seems 
to  demand;  thus,  when  the  gypsy  moth  appeared  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  state  a  special  illustrated  bulletin, 


264  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

describing  the  insect,  its  destructive  habits,  and  the  best 
remedies  for  combatting  it,  was  prepared  and  sent  to  every 
tax-payer  in  the  infested  district  and  the  adjacent  towns. 
All  these  bulletins  are  sent  free  to  each  newspaper  in  the 
state,  and  to  such  residents  engaged  in  farming  as  may 
request  the  same.  The  College  for  many  years  prior  to  the 
establishment  of  these  stations  had  been  carrying  on  ex- 
periments in  a  limited  way,  and  the  investigations  of 
Goessmann,  Stockbridge,  Maynard,  and  Clark  have  been 
of  immense  value  to  the  farmers  of  the  state,  and  are  re- 
cognized throughout  the  country. 

We  are  told  that  "agriculture  is  not  a  patchwork  of 
all  the  natural  sciences,  but  is  itself  a  vast  subject  upon 
which  the  various  natural  sciences  shed  their  rays  of 
light,"  and  that  the  teacher  of  agriculture  can  do  little 
more  than  indicate  the  points  of  contact  between  his 
own  great  subject  and  the  sciences  which  surround  it, 
leaving  the  explanations  to  those  into  whose  domains  they 
properly  fall.  With  this  broad  definition  of  agriculture,  — 
itself  a  science,  complete  in  itself,  yet  touching  all  sciences 
and  all  branches  of  knowledge,  —  and  taking  as  our  guide 
the  law  that  the  teacher  of  agriculture  can  but  indicate 
these  points  of  contact  and  leave  to  others  their  explana- 
tion, we  have  endeavored  to  rear  our  superstructure  of 
agricultural  education:  agriculture,  our  foundation;  bot- 
any, chemistry,  veterinary,  and  mathematics,  our  four 
corner-stones;  while  the  walls  arebuilt  high  with  horti- 
culture, market-gardening,  and  forestry  on  the  one  side, 
physiology,  etymology,  and  the  comparative  anatomy  of 
the  domestic  animals  on  the  second,  mechanics,  physics, 
and  meteorology  on  the  third,  and  a  study  of  the  English 


ADDRESSES  265 

language,  political  economy,  and  constitutional  history  on 
the  fourth.  These  separate  lines  of  study,  each  distinct 
in  itself,  yet  each  aiding  in  the  interpretation  or  solution 
of  the  difficult  problems  met  with,  require  a  four-year 
course.  They  proceed  hand  in  hand,  and  the  completion 
of  a  study  in  one  department  is  coincident  with  that  in 
another.  Mutual  help  is  the  watchword;  each  for  all  and 
all  for  each,  in  the  laying  broad  and  deep  the  foundation, 
and  building  up  the  solid  structure.  Thus,  when  the  rela- 
tions of  the  weather  —  of  heat,  air,  moisture  —  to  farming 
are  considered,  on  the  botanical  side  are  being  studied 
the  structure  of  the  plant,  its  organs,  the  relations  of  its 
root-system  to  soil  and  moisture;  on  the  chemical,  the 
elements  important  in  an  agricultural  point  of  view  and 
their  properties;  and  on  the  mathematical,  such  algebra 
and  geometry  as  will  lead  to  practical  work  in  drainage  and 
surveying.  So,  too,  when  soils  and  tillage  are  being  con- 
sidered, are  studied  in  like  manner  those  plants  beneficial 
or  injurious  to  man,  general  geology,  and  the  insects 
hurtful  or  otherwise  to  the  crops.  In  short,  the  effort  is 
made  to  have  each  course  supplement  and  harmonize 
with  the  other,  and  the  different  studies  so  fit  into  each 
other  as  to  make  one  rounded  whole.  But  let  it  be  under- 
stood that  while  the  greatest  effort  and  the  largest  ex- 
pense have  been  bestowed  upon  the  agricultural  depart- 
ment, the  authorities  of  the  College  entirely  disclaim  any 
attempt  to  narrow  its  graduates  down  to  a  choice  of  that 
profession  alone.  The  opportunity  for  acquiring  a  valu- 
able education,  which  shall  fit  one  for  the  practical  duties  of 
life,  is  open  to  all,  and  all  are  welcomed,  whatever  the  pro- 
fession they  may  ultimately  pursue.    Believing  that  the 


%m  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

training  of  her  young  men  in  all  that  pertains  to  the  use 
of  arms,  in  the  duties  of  the  officer  in  handling  and  in- 
structing troops,  and  in  the  construction  of  fortifications, 
would  be  of  immense  value  to  the  commonwealth,  the  state 
has  made  ample  provision  for  this  department.  A  fine 
drill  hall  and  armory  have  been  erected,  and  arms  and 
equipments  issued.  The  United  States  details  one  of  its 
officers  for  duty  at  the  College,  who  is  reckoned  as  one  of 
the  faculty,  and  who  is  responsible  for  the  efficiency  and 
good  order  of  the  department. 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  in  the  course  of  instruc- 
tion no  mention  is  made  of  the  mechanic  arts.  At  the  time 
of  the  legislative  acceptance  of  the  national  grant  the 
Institute  of  Technology  in  Boston  was  already  established, 
and  it  was  deemed  wiser  to  extend  aid  to  it  than  to  start 
a  new  school.  Accordingly,  one  third  of  the  income  de- 
rived from  the  maintenance  fund  of  the  United  States  has 
ever  since  been  annually  paid  over  to  it  from  the  treasury 
of  the  commonwealth.  This  action  of  the  legislature  re- 
lieves the  College  from  the  necessity  of  giving  instruction 
in  that  department,  and  has  resulted  in  making  the  Col- 
lege more  purely  agricultural  than  any  other  in  the  coun- 
try. Realizing  the  necessity  of  providing  a  higher  educa- 
tion within  the  reach  of  those  in  moderate  or  straitened 
circumstances,  the  state  has  thrown  wide  the  doors  of  its 
College  and  furnished  every  facility  for  acquiring  such 
education  at  a  minimum  cost.  Its  tuition  has  been  made 
practically  free,  and  by  the  establishment  of  a  labor  fund, 
out  of  which  a  portion  of  the  expenses  can  be  paid  in  hon- 
est work,  it  has  brought  within  the  reach  of  a  class  of  de- 
serving young  men  forming  the  best  possible  material  for 


ADDRESSES  267 

manhood  and  citizenship  an  education  obtainable  in  no 
other  way. 

The  College  has  had  many  earnest  friends,  but  it  has  also 
encountered  much  opposition.  The  importance  of  a  tech- 
nical education  has  until  recently  been  hardly  appreciated 
by  the  farmers  of  the  state.  The  rapidity  with  which  the 
native  population  has  emigrated  to  the  western  states, 
leaving  their  farms  in  the  hands  of  an  alien  population, 
has  been  a  factor  of  great  importance  in  this  connection. 
In  1870  a  determined  attempt  was  made  to  stop  all  further 
grants  of  money  from  the  state;  and  several  years  later  it 
was  proposed  to  make  the  Agricultural  College  a  depart- 
ment of  Amherst  College.  The  only  result  of  these  attempts, 
however,  has  been  to  establish  it  on  a  firmer  basis  than 
ever,  and  give  to  it  renewed  life  and  vigor. 


RELATION  OF  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF 
AGRICULTURE  TO  THE  MASSACHU- 
SETTS AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE1 

Many  centuries  ago  the  Apostle  Peter,  writing  to  his 
followers,  said:  "I  stir  up  your  pure  minds  by  way  of  re- 
membrance"; and  centuries  before  the  Apostle  Peter  lived 
it  had  been  written:  "Remember  the  days  of  old;  ask  thy 
father  and  he  will  show  thee;  thy  elders  and  they  will  tell 
thee."  It  is  fitting,  therefore,  that  at  the  close  of  this  first 
half -century  of  its  existence  the  Board  of  Agriculture  should 
hold  its  day  of  remembrance,  and,  calling  upon  its  father 
to  show  them  and  its  elders  to  tell  them,  should  gather  up 
the  memories  of  the  past  and  transmit  them  to  their  child- 
ren to  hold  and  guard  forever.  My  mission,  then,  to-day 
is  to  stir  up  your  pure  minds  by  recalling  to  your  remem- 
brance the  relation  of  this  Board  to  agricultural  education, 
and  more  particularly  to  its  college  of  agriculture.  Thirty- 
nine  years,  counting  from  the  charter  of  this  College,  is  the 
measure  of  its  span,  and  each  year  has  brought  with  it  some 
expression  of  the  Board's  thoughtful  care.  Even  before  its 
establishment  as  a  Board  we  find  the  trustees  of  the  Norfolk 
Agricultural  Society  voting  that  its  "president  and  secre- 
taries be  a  committee  to  mature  and  adopt  a  plan  for  a 
convention  of  delegates  from  the  various  agricultural  socie- 
ties of  the  Commonwealth,  to  be  holden  at  some  convenient 
time  and  place,  the  object  of  which  shall  be  to  concert 

1  Address  delivered  at  the  fiftieth  anniversary  meeting  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts State  Board  of  Agriculture,  at  Boston,  July  22, 1902. 


ADDRESSES  269 

measures  for  their  mutual  advantage,  and  for  the  promotion 
of  the  cause  of  agricultural  education."  At  the  morning 
session  of  that  convention,  held  at  the  State  House,  March 
20, 1851,  the  president,  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  announcing  the 
subjects  for  discussion,  spoke  as  follows:  "It  is  also  to  be 
hoped  that  the  cause  of  agricultural  education,  now  about  to 
receive  the  consideration  of  the  Legislature,  will  not  be  over- 
looked in  the  deliberations  of  this  body;  and,  if  it  be  the 
opinion  of  this  convention  that  agriculture  may  be  pro- 
moted by  the  application  of  science,  that  such  a  sentiment 
may  be  expressed  in  terms  so  explicit  as  not  to  be  misunder- 
stood, and  that  the  aid  of  government  may  be  solicited  for 
this  purpose."  At  the  afternoon  session  Mr.  Sewall  of  Med- 
field,  from  the  business  committee,  presented  a  preamble 
and  resolutions,  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  eighth  of  which  bear 
directly  upon  the  subject  now  under  consideration :  — 

Resolved  (4),  That  agricultural  schools  having  been  found, 
by  the  experience  of  other  nations,  efficient  means  in  pro- 
moting the  cause  of  agricultural  education,  which  is  so  es- 
sential to  the  prosperity  of  farmers  and  to  the  welfare  of 
communities,  it  becomes  at  once  the  duty  and  policy  of  the 
Commonwealth  to  establish  and  maintain  such  institutions 
for  the  benefit  of  all  its  inhabitants. 

Resolved  (5),  That  the  several  plans  for  an  agricultural 
school,  recently  reported  by  the  Board  of  Commissioners 
appointed  for  that  purpose,  are  worthy  the  profound  con- 
sideration of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  and  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  General  Court,  as  indicating  the  feasi- 
bility and  practicability  of  an  establishment  worthy  that 
exalted  character  which  the  State  has  secured  by  the  en- 


270  HENRY  HELL  GOODELL 

dowment  of  kindred  institutions,  designed,  like  these,  for 
the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  among  the  people. 

Resolved  (8),  That  the  convention  respectfully  suggests 
to  the  Legislature  the  propriety  and  expediency  of  reserving 
the  entire  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands  of  the 
Commonwealth  —  from  and  after  the  period  when  the 
common-school  fund  shall  have  reached  the  maximum 
fixed  by  the  act  of  1834  —  for  purposes  of  education  and 
charity,  with  a  view  to  extending  that  aid  and  encourage- 
ment to  a  system  of  agricultural  education,  which  the  im- 
portance of  the  subject  so  imperiously  demands. 

The  discussion  over  the  different  resolutions  was,  as  the 
faithful  chronicler  puts  it,  continued,  protracted,  and  at 
times  vigorous.  It  was  carried  over  into  the  evening  session, 
and  among  those  taking  part  we  find  the  names  of  Marshall 
P.  Wilder,  Governor  Boutwell,  President  Hitchcock  of 
Amherst  College,  Professor  Fowler  of  the  same  institution, 
Judge  Mack  of  Salem,  and  William  Buckminster,  editor 
of  the  "Massachusetts  Ploughman." 

John  Brooks  of  Princeton  appears  to  have  been  the  only 
opponent.  He  said :  "This  resolution  seems  to  squint  toward 
a  college.  If  it  has  that  tendency  I  shall  be  opposed  to  it, 
for  I  do  not  believe  that  the  farmers  are  prepared  to  spend 
money  in  instituting  a  college.  ...  As  for  lecturing  to  the 
people,  I  doubt  whether  that  is  advantageous,  for  the  very 
best  reason  to  my  mind  in  the  world,  —  that  the  lecturer 
will  not  know  what  to  say;  that  he  has  no  data  on  which 
to  make  out  any  speech,  because  science,  as  I  understand 
it,  is  based  upon  facts.  What  facts  has  this  commissioner 
that  are  applicable  to  agriculture  in  this  State?   I  say,  sir, 


ADDRESSES  271 

generally  speaking,  no  fact.  And  why?  Because  the  science 
of  agriculture  has  not  yet  grown  up  in  this  country." 

Richard  Bagg,  Jr.,  of  Springfield,  closed  some  breezy  re- 
marks by  exclaiming:  "Let  us  remember  that  if  the  State 
provide  the  means  and  appliances  for  a  scientific  course  of 
agricultural  study,  the  young  man  must  'wake  up  from 
his  drowsy  nap,'  and  qualify  himself  'to  go  up  higher." ' 

The  fourth  and  fifth  resolutions  were  adopted,  but  we 
fail  to  learn  the  fate  of  the  eighth,  having  reference  to  re- 
serving the  entire  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  public  lands  for 
purposes  of  education  and  charity. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, September  3,  1851,  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  William 
C.  Fowler,  John  W.  Proctor,  J.  H.  W.  Page,  and  S.  Reed 
were  chosen  a  committee  to  report  on  the  subject  of  agri- 
cultural education  and  the  best  measures  to  be  adopted  for 
the  encouragement  of  such  education.  The  report  of  this 
committee  was  presented  at  the  second  meeting  of  the 
Board  on  January  14,  1852.  It  was  discussed  at  this 
meeting,  and  also  at  the  third  meeting  of  the  Board,  on 
February  3,  1852,  when  it  was  adopted.  This  report, 
signed  by  Marshall  P.  Wilder  as  chairman,  resolves:  "That 
Massachusetts,  by  an  enlightened  policy  and  wise  legisla- 
tion, has  rendered  her  system  of  education  worthy  of  her 
exalted  reputation,  and  that  this  Board  most  earnestly 
desire  her  to  complete  that  system  by  providing  kindred 
institutions  for  the  scientific  education  of  the  farmer,  upon 
whom  is  levied  so  large  a  share  of  the  taxes  for  the  support 
of  governmental  and  philanthropic  objects;  that  it  is  the 
duty,  as  well  as  the  interest  of  the  State,  to  aid  in  furnish- 
ing the  means  for  such  an  education;  and  that  a  thorough 


272  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

systematic  course  of  education  is  as  necessary  to  prepare 
the  cultivator  of  the  soil  for  preeminence  in  his  calling,  as  to 
secure  excellence  in  any  of  the  schools  of  science  or  art." 
These  are  no  uncertain  words,  and  fittingly  echo  the  fer- 
vent hope  of  Mr.  Wilder  in  his  opening  remarks,  "that,  if 
it  be  the  opinion  of  this  convention  that  agriculture  may  be 
promoted  by  the  application  of  science,  such  a  sentiment 
may  be  expressed  in  terms  so  explicit  as  not  to  be  mis- 
understood." 

There  seems  to  have  been  at  this  time  a  general  awaken- 
ing to  the  necessities  of  an  agricultural  education.  Henry 
L.  Dawes,  in  an  address  on  agricultural  education  before 
the  Housatonic  Agricultural  Society  in  1853,  after  enumer- 
ating the  obstacles  to  be  encountered  by  the  farmer  in  the 
discharge  of  the  grand,  crowning  duty  of  the  day,  —  the 
regeneration  of  the  soil  of  Massachusetts,  —  said:  "And  the 
means  not  now  within  his  reach,  that  shall  enable  him  to 
triumph  over  them  in  this  great  attainment,  are  the  neces- 
sities of  the  farmers  of  this  Commonwealth.  The  means 
lie  in  an  agricultural  education.  And  for  their  accomplish- 
ment let  Massachusetts  establish  an  agricultural  school, 
where  will  be  taught  the  principles  of  the  science  and  their 
application  to  the  art  of  agriculture;  and  let  the  doors  of 
knowledge  be  opened  wide  to  all  the  sons  of  her  soil,  —  not 
for  the  study  of  the  speculative  and  mysterious,  but  of  the 
practical  and  useful." 

The  Board  of  Agriculture  led  the  way  in  this  popular 
movement;  and  we  find  that  at  its  third  meeting,  held 
September  7,  1852,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider 
the  expediency  of  preparing  a  manual  on  agriculture  for  the 
use  of  common  schools. 


ADDRESSES  273 

Again,  at  a  meeting  held  three  years  later,  January  16, 
1856,  a  committee  previously  appointed  to  consider  and 
report  to  the  Board  what  further  measures,  if  any,  were 
needed  to  subserve  the  cause  of  agriculture  in  this  Com- 
monwealth, made  the  following  report,  which  was  ac- 
cepted :  — 

Having  given  the  subject  their  careful  consideration,  the 
committee  are  of  the  opinion  that  nothing  would  be  better 
calculated  to  advance  the  cause  of  agriculture  and  foster 
and  direct  the  growing  interest  therein  throughout  the  com- 
munity at  large,  than  the  immediate  establishment  of  an 
experimental  farm,  and,  as  soon  as  the  funds  shall  permit, 
of  an  agricultural  school  in  connection  therewith,  where 
both  the  science  and  the  practice  of  farming  may  be  taught 
in  all  their  departments. 

Your  committee  do  not  propose  to  set  forth  in  detail 
the  many  reasons  which  have  led  them  to  this  conclusion, 
but  they  will  be  pardoned  in  suggesting  one  or  two  of  the 
most  important :  — 

First.  There  is  not  at  the  present  time,  to  the  knowledge 
of  your  committee,  any  society  or  board  existing  in  the 
Commonwealth  authorized  by  act  of  the  Legislature  to 
hold  funds  to  be  applied  exclusively  to  the  advancement  of 
scientific  and  practical  agriculture  or  the  diffusion  of  know- 
ledge connected  with  rural  economy. 

Secondly.  In  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  the  time 
has  arrived  when  the  wants  of  the  community  demand 
something  of  this  kind;  a  time  when  the  learned  profes- 
sions seem  more  than  full;  when  the  attention  of  our  citi- 
zens, and  in  particular  of  our  young  men,  is  being  more  than 


274  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

ever  directed  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil;  and  when  many 
both  wealthy  and  liberal  men  in  the  Commonwealth  are 
holding  out  the  inducement  of  an  ample  supply  of  funds  in 
furtherance  of  such  an  undertaking. 

Influenced  by  these  considerations,  among  many  others, 
your  committee  respectfully  recommend  that  a  committee 
be  chosen  by  this  Board  to  apply  to  the  present  Legislature 
for  an  act  authorizing  the  formation  of  a  Board  of  Trustees, 
capable  of  holding  funds  to  be  applied  in  establishing  an 
experimental  farm  and  agricultural  school  connected  with 
it,  designed  to  furnish  instruction  in  every  branch  of  rural 
economy,  theoretical  and  practical. 

B.  V.  French. 

Seth  Sprague. 

John  Brooks. 

Acting  on  the  recommendation  in  the  above  report,  the 
Board  appointed  Messrs.  French,  Newell,  Sprague,  Wilder, 
and  Secretary  Flint  a  committee;  and,  as  a  result  of  this 
action,  the  Legislature  incorporated  the  Massachusetts 
School  of  Agriculture,  but  no  institution  was  established. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  October  15, 
1856,  Messrs.  John  C.  Bartlett,  Benjamin  V.  French  and 
Secretary  Flint  were  appointed  a  committee  to  take  into 
consideration  the  propriety  of  having  a  text-book  on  agri- 
culture, prepared  under  the  sanction  of  the  Board. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  January  5,  1860,  Mr.  Richard  S. 
Fay  offered  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted :  — 

Resolved,  as  the  opinion  of  this  Board,  that  a  system  of 
agricultural  education  should  be  adopted  and  form  a  part 
of  the  educational  system  of  the  State. 


ADDRESSES  275 

Following  the  adoption  of  this  resolution,  the  Board 
chose  by  ballot  Messrs.  Simon  Brown,  Richard  S.  Fay  and 
Marshall  P.  Wilder  a  committee  to  prepare  a  plan  for 
carrying  it  into  effect,  and  to  report  the  same  to  the  Board 
for  further  action. 

At  a  later  meeting,  held  February  2,  1860,  Dr.  George 
B.  Loring  offered  the  following  resolutions,  which  were 
adopted :  — 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  on  agricultural  education 
be  and  hereby  are  authorized  to  prepare  an  elementary 
manual  of  agriculture  for  the  use  of  our  common  schools, 
to  be  submitted  to  this  Board  for  approval. 

Resolved,  That  the  said  committee  be  requested  to  cause 
to  be  introduced  the  aforesaid  manual,  when  approved  by 
this  Board,  into  the  common  schools  of  Massachusetts,  in 
the  manner  provided  for  the  introduction  of  school  books 
by  the  laws  of  the  Commonwealth;  and  that  said  committee 
be  authorized  to  apply  to  the  Legislature  for  the  passage 
of  an  act  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object. 

At  a  meeting  held  January  10,  1861,  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Fay,  it  was 

Voted,  That  the  committee  on  the  manual  be  authorized 
to  accept  a  proposition  from  Mr.  Emerson  and  Mr.  Flint, 
securing  to  them  the  copyright  of  the  manual  as  a  compen- 
sation for  their  services  in  preparing  the  book,  upon  such 
terms  as  to  price  of  the  work  to  be  furnished  to  public 
schools,  farmers'  clubs  and  agricultural  associations  in 
Massachusetts  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  said  committee. 


276  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  January  25,  1861,  Colonel 
Wilder  presented  the  following  resolution,  which  was  unan- 
imously adopted : — 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  approve  of  the  Manual  of 
Agriculture,  submitted  by  its  authors,  Messrs.  Geo.  B. 
Emerson  and  Charles  L.  Flint,  and  recommend  its  publica- 
tion by  those  gentlemen  as  a  work  well  adapted  for  use  in 
the  schools  of  Massachusetts. 

And  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  January  17,  1862,  on 
motion  of  Mr.  James  S.  Grinnell,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Joseph  White,  Charles  C.  Sewall,  and  Henry  H.  Peters,  be 
requested  to  represent  the  merits  of  the  Manual  of  Agri- 
culture to  the  committee  of  the  Legislature  on  education, 
on  the  order  "To  consider  the  expediency  of  including  the 
elements  of  agriculture  among  the  branches  to  be  taught  in 
all  the  public  schools  in  which  the  school  committee  deem 
it  expedient." 

As  a  result  of  this  action,  the  Legislature  of  1862,  by 
Chapter  7,  provided  that  "agriculture  shall  be  taught,  by 
lectures  or  otherwise,  in  all  the  public  schools  in  which  the 
school  committee  deem  it  expedient." 

But  it  must  not  be  imagined  for  a  moment  that  all  was 
plain  sailing.  There  were  to  be  found,  even  as  now,  those 
who  sneered  at  book  knowledge,  or  doubted  the  expediency 
of  any  such  measure.  Hon.  Amasa  Walker  did  not  hesitate 
to  say,  in  an  address  before  the  Worcester  South  Agricul- 
tural Society:  "Farmers  are  the  great  mass  of  the  people, 


ADDRESSES  277 

and  how  can  they,  from  their  very  numbers,  be  educated  at 
college?  And  then  the  expense  could  never  be  encountered 
by  the  farming  interest,  nor  could  the  sons  be  spared  from 
the  farms,  nor  would  it  be  desirable  to  so  break  up  their 
habits  as  farmers  as  to  put  them  under  one,  two  or  more 
years'  tuition  at  college.  Besides,  colleges  are  made  for 
professional  men,  not  for  the  people,  and  their  mission 
never  was  and  never  will  be  to  educate  the  million."  Mr. 
Jackson  said  that  if  a  boy  learned  to  read,  write,  cipher,  and 
spell,  he  would  make  an  excellent  farmer.  What  need  of 
science?  The  good  old  way  of  his  fathers  was  sufficient. 
It  was  only  the  old  story  told  by  George  Eliot  in  the  "Mill 
on  the  Floss,"  and  it  is  Farmer  John  who  speaks:  "What 
I  want,"  said  he,  "is  to  give  Tom  a  good  eddication,  —  an 
eddication  as  'ud  be  bread  for  him.  That  was  what  I  was 
thinking  of  when  I  gave  notice  for  him  to  leave  the  academy 
at  Lady  Day.  I  mean  to  put  him  to  a  downright  good 
school  at  midsummer.  The  two  years  at  th'  academy  'ud 
ha'  done  well  enough,  if  I  'd  meant  to  ha'  made  a  farmer  of 
him,  for  he's  had  a  fine  sight  more  schoolin'  nor  ever  I  got. 
All  the  learnin'  my  father  ever  paid  for  was  a  bit  o'  birch  at 
one  end  and  the  alphabet  at  the  other." 

And  even  our  good  Governor,  who  has  charmed  us  this 
morning  with  his  reminiscences  of  the  past,  is  reported  as 
saying  that  all  this  matter  of  agricultural  education  was 
mere  nonsense,  —  that  he  had  always  said  that  the  agri- 
cultural college  would  be  a  failure;  that  it  could  not  succeed 
in  the  nature  of  things,  for  as  soon  as  you  educated  a  boy, 
he  would  leave  the  farm.  Consequently,  the  conclusion  he 
came  to  was,  that  all  the  education  a  farmer  got  he  would 
have  to  get  at  the  tail  of  a  plough. 


278  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

At  the  very  first  intimation  of  a  movement  in  the  national 
House  of  Representatives,  looking  towards  the  establish- 
ment of  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts,  the  Board  of  Agriculture  promptly  placed 
itself  on  record.  At  a  meeting  held  April  7,  1858,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  do  most  heartily  approve  of  the 
objects  of  a  bill  presented  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  Congress,  December  14,  1857,  by  Hon.  Justin  S.  Morrill 
of  Vermont,  requesting  Congress  to  donate  public  lands  to 
each  State  and  Territory  which  may  provide  colleges  for 
the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts;  and  that 
our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  be  requested 
to  render  their  best  aid  in  securing  the  passage  of  said  bill 
into  a  law;  and  that  our  secretary  be  requested  to  serve 
each  of  our  Senators  and  Representatives  with  a  copy  of 
the  above. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  January  8,  1861,  Mr.  Levi 
Stockbridge  of  Hadley  offered  the  following  resolution: — 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Board,  the  time  has 
arrived  for  the  inauguration  of  measures  tending  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  agricultural  school  of  high  grade  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Commonwealth. 

At  a  meeting  held  the  25th  of  the  same  month,  on  motion 
of  Mr.  James  S.  Grinnell  of  Greenfield,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  this  Board,  believing  that  the  establish- 
ment of  an  agricultural  school  would  advance  the  interests 


ADDRESSES  279 

of  agriculture  in  this  Commonwealth,  is  disposed  to  give 
its  influence  to  any  well-directed  plan  for  such  a  school. 

Following  this  resolution,  Messrs.  Marshall  P.  Wilder, 
Freeman  Walker,  William  S.  Clark,  Levi  Stockbridge,  and 
Charles  C.  Sewall  were  chosen  a  committee  "to  cooperate 
at  their  discretion  with  any  men  or  body  of  men  who  may 
have  any  plan  for  an  agricultural  school,  and  to  present  and 
report  their  proceedings  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board." 

At  a  meeting  held  February  27,  1863,  Colonel  Wilder 
made  a  statement  of  the  doings  of  the  above  committee. 
After  some  discussion,  Dr.  George  B.  Loring  presented  the 
following  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted :  — 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  the  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, the  grant  of  land  made  by  Congress  to  the  several 
States  for  the  establishment  of  colleges  for  instruction  in 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  is  designed  expressly  for 
the  general  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge  in  these  two 
branches  among  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  the  Legislature  is  hereby  respectfully  re- 
quested to  make  such  disposition  of  the  grant  as  will  en- 
able the  Board  of  Agriculture,  as  immediately  representing 
the  farming  interests  of  the  Commonwealth,  to  enlarge  its 
sphere  of  usefulness  by  exercising  a  supervision  over  the 
employment  of  the  funds  arising  from  the  grant,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  confidence  of  the  agricultural  com- 
munity, and  of  conducting  such  a  scheme  as  will  operate 
for  the  benefit  of  those  engaged  in  this  business. 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Board,  the  interests 
of  the  State  and  intentions  of  Congress  require  that  the 


280  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

grant  should  be  principally  devoted  to  the  establishment 
of  an  educational  institution  for  the  practical  and  scientific 
study  of  agriculture  and  for  the  instruction  of  youths  who 
intend  to  follow  industrial  pursuits,  and  that  the  institu- 
tion should  not  be  immediately  connected  with  any  insti- 
tution established  for  other  purposes. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to 
present  these  resolutions  to  the  committee  of  the  Legisla- 
ture having  the  subject  under  consideration,  and  to  express 
the  views  of  this  Board  upon  the  proper  disposition  of  the 
Congresssional  grant. 

The  committee  provided  for  in  the  last  resolution  was 
constituted  by  the  appointment  of  Messrs.  Marshall  P. 
Wilder,  Paoli  Lathrop,  George  B.  Loring,  S.  B.  Phinney, 
John  Brooks,  Henry  Colt,  and  Charles  G.  Davis. 

At  a  meeting  held  January  30,  1865,  Dr.  Loring  offered 
the  following  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Resolved,  That  the  agricultural  College  should  maintain 
an  intimate  relation  to  the  agricultural  societies  and  the 
farmers  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  a  means  of  disseminating 
practical  information  and  affording  the  best  means  of  edu- 
cating young  men  for  the  business  of  farming. 

Resolved,  That,  for  this  purpose,  every  effort  should  be 
made  to  connect  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture  with  the 
government  of  the  college,  for  the  express  object  of  bringing 
the  agricultural  societies  into  close  connection  with  that 
institution,  and  as  the  most  useful  method  of  combining  all 
the  efforts  of  the  Commonwealth  in  one  system  of  practical 
agricultural  education. 


ADDRESSES  281 

From  this  time  on  we  find  the  Board  taking  the  most 
active  interest  in  the  establishment  of  the  College,  provid- 
ing in  every  possible  way  for  its  welfare,  and  seeking  to 
enter  into  a  closer  and  more  intimate  union.  We  can  do 
little  more  than  briefly  enumerate  these  continued  expres- 
sions of  its  good- will. 

We  find  it  in  1866  the  author  of  an  act  constituting  the 
president  of  the  College  a  member  ex  officio  of  the  Board; 
and  further  providing  that  it  should  be  constituted  into  a 
Board  of  Overseers  over  the  College,  but  without  powers 
to  control  the  action  of  its  trustees  or  to  negative  their 
powers  and  duties.  In  this  same  act  the  Board  was 
authorized  to  locate  its  cabinet  and  library  at  the  College, 
and  to  hold  its  stated  meetings  there. 

We  next  find  it  in  1867  urging  upon  the  agricultural 
societies  to  establish  and  maintain  at  least  one  scholarship 
at  the  College.  As  a  result  of  this  effort,  we  find  in  1869 
eighteen  of  these  societies  supporting  a  scholarship,  while 
the  Massachusetts  held  itself  responsible  for  three  and  the 
Essex  and  the  Plymouth  each  two.  At  this  same  time  it 
advocated  the  proposal  that  each  agricultural  society  should 
set  aside  one  sixth  of  the  monies  granted  to  it  by  the  State 
as  a  fund  towards  the  support  of  a  professor  at  the  College, 
whose  duty  it  should  be  to  carry  out  such  experiments  as 
the  Board  might  from  time  to  time  direct.  A  circular  was 
sent  out  to  each  of  the  thirty  agricultural  societies,  asking 
whether  it  would  consent  to  such  setting  aside  of  one  sixth 
of  its  stated  income.  This  proposition,  however,  failed  to 
go  into  effect;  and  a  resolution  was  then  adopted  stating 
that  it  was  desirable  that  the  secretary  of  the  Board  should 
be  located  at  the  College  and  become  a  professor,  performing 


282  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

such  professional  duties  as  the  trustees  might  direct,  and 
receiving  a  competent  salary  from  the  Commonwealth. 
This  resolution  was  reconsidered  the  next  year,  and  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  adopted:  "That  Charles  L.  Flint,  the 
secretary  of  this  Board,  be  authorized  to  deliver  a  course  of 
lectures  at  the  Agricultural  College,  or  to  discharge  such 
duties  connected  with  the  instruction  of  the  students  at  that 
institution,  as  the  trustees  may  assign  to  him,  provided 
that  such  services  do  not  conflict  with  his  duties  as  secre- 
tary aforesaid." 

Under  this  resolve  Mr.  Flint  lectured  at  the  College  for 
four  successive  years,  his  name  being  carried  on  the  cata- 
logue as  lecturer  on  dairy-farming. 

Again  in  1875  we  find  the  Board  renewing  its  efforts  to 
induce  the  several  agricultural  societies  to  maintain  each  a 
scholarship  at  the  college,  and  to  secure  the  attendance  of 
one  or  more  students  from  the  district  covered  by  their 
organizations. 

In  all  matters  of  financial  aid  the  Board,  by  direct  effort 
and  petition  to  the  General  Court,  was  a  powerful  support 
to  the  trustees.  This  was  particularly  manifest  in  the  years 
1868,  1869,  1876,  1877,  1882,  and  1899. 

When,  in  1880,  Governor  Talbot  and  the  Council  ad- 
vocated the  union  of  Amherst  College  and  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College,  it  was  the  Board  which,  under 
the  leadership  of  Benjamin  P.  Ware  of  Marblehead,  drew 
up  a  series  of  resolutions  embodying  its  adverse  feeling; 
and  again  in  1881  it  was  the  Board  which  directed  its 
secretary  to  petition  the  Legislature  to  establish  an  experi- 
ment station  at  the  College.  In  short,  wherever  we  look  we 
find  the  Board  of  Agriculture  at  the  front,  moulding  public 


ADDRESSES  283 

opinion  and  leading  the  way.  For  what  it  has  purposed  and 
tried  to  do,  for  what  it  has  done  in  the  past,  for  what  it  will 
do  in  the  future,  permit  me,  in  the  name  of  the  College 
I  represent,  to  express  my  grateful  appreciation.  With 
the  Board  for  its  councillors  and  overseers,  its  future  is 
secured. 


ADDRESS  BEFORE  THE  ASSOCIATION 
OF  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURAL  COL- 
LEGES AND  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS1 

Gentlemen  of  the  Association:  —  The  great  apostle 
of  German  materialism  was  wont  to  say  in  his  lectures: 
"Miracles,  gentlemen,  are  like  pills,  to  be  swallowed,  not 
chewed."  He  was  dealing  with  the  supernatural  and  what 
is  contrary  to  natural  law.  But  in  the  vast  realm  of  Nature 
and  the  investigation  of  her  phenomena,  the  miracles  daily 
performed  before  our  eyes  can  not  be  carelessly  disposed 
of  in  a  moment,  swallowed  without  consideration.  The  un- 
rolling of  the  leaf,  the  budding  of  the  flower,  the  maturing 
of  the  perfect  fruit,  the  wonderful  adaptation  of  parts  to 
specific  ends,  the  differentiation  of  various  organs,  as  the 
filaments  of  certain  plants  for  tactile  organs,  the  lobes  for 
capturing  insects,  and  the  glands  of  secretion  and  absorp- 
tion —  all  these  require  the  most  careful  and  patient 
observation.  All  natural  phenomena  have  their  physical 
and  natural  causes,  and  to  find  out  these  underlying 
causes  is  often  a  morsel  of  the  toughest  kind,  to  be  turned 
and  returned,  again  and  again,  before  the  final  act  of 
deglutition  takes  place  and  we  are  prepared  to  hazard 
an  opinion.  And  these  adaptations  of  nature  are  as 
countless  as  the  sands  upon  the  shore,  each  one  in  itself 

1  Address  delivered  at  Washington,  D.C.,  August  12,  1891,  on  taking 
the  chair  as  President  of  the  Association. 


ADDRESSES  285 

a  wonderful  physical  miracle,  only  to  be  interpreted  by 
the  patient  worker. 

We  are  tempted  to  exclaim  in  the  words  of  the  magic  song, 
where  Mephistopheles  draws  wine  out  of  the  table  in  Auer- 
bach's  cellar :  — 

Wine  is  grapes  and  grapes  are  wood, 
The  wooden  board  yields  wine  as  good. 
It  is  but  a  deeper  glance 
Into  Nature's  countenance. 
All  is  plain  to  him  who  saith, 
"Lift  the  veil  and  look  beneath, 
And  behold,"  the  wise  man  saith, 
"  Miracles  if  you  have  faith." 

The  rapt  seer,  looking  over  the  broad  field,  exclaimed: 
"Animate  and  inanimate  creation  are  mountainous  and 
glittering  with  them.  Down  into  the  regions  of  the  in- 
finitely small,  whither  only  the  most  searching  microscopes 
carry  the  sight;  up  into  the  regions  of  the  infinitely  large, 
whither  only  mightiest  telescopes  lift  our  struggling  vision; 
among  the  mechanisms  of  the  atomic  hosts  that  people 
a  single  leaf  and  among  the  mechanisms  of  those  swarming 
celestial  empires  whose  starry  banners  sweep  our  mighty 
skies,  it  is  everywhere  the  same"  —  exquisite  adaptations 
crowding  exquisite  adaptations;  means  so  exquisitely 
adapted  to  the  end  that  every  part  stands  in  the  most  per- 
fect balance  and  adjustment  to  the  other.  What  more  per- 
fect illustration  of  this  correlation  of  parts  can  be  pre- 
sented than  in  the  family  of  the  Vandece,  where  the  related 
positions  and  shapes  of  the  parts  —  the  friction,  viscidity, 
elastic  and  hygrometric  movements,  all  nicely  related  to 
one  another  —  come  into  play.  Yet  all  these  appliances  are 
subordinated  to  the  aid  of  insects;  for  when  the  retreating 


286  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

insect,  having  satisfied  its  quest,  gradually  worms  its  way 
out,  the  labellum  springs  back  into  place,  the  lip  of  the 
anther  is  lifted  up,  and  the  viscid  mass  from  the  rostellum, 
forced  into  the  anther,  glues  the  pollen  mass  to  the  insect 
and  thus  insures  its  transportation  to  some  other  flower. 

Darwins  and  Mullers,  it  is  true,  are  not  born  every  day, 
but  every  man  has  within  him  the  same  elements  of  success 
if  he  will  only  use  them  aright,  bringing  to  bear  upon  each 
problem  the  same  patient,  intelligent  observation,  adding 
link  to  link,  till  at  last  the  lengthening  chain  stands  per- 
fect and  complete. 

And  yet  there  will  always  remain  some  problems  that 
will  baffle  the  closest  scrutiny.  "The  deeper  science  searches 
into  the  mysteries  of  nature,  the  more  clearly  it  evolves 
the  simplicity  of  the  means  used  and  the  infinite  diversity 
of  results.  Thus  from  under  the  edge  of  the  veil  which  we 
are  enabled  to  lift,  a  glimpse  of  the  harmonious  plan  of  the 
universe  is  revealed  to  us.  But  as  for  the  primary  causes, 
they  remain  beyond  the  ken  of  mortal  mind;  they  lie 
within  another  domain;  which  man's  intellect  will  ever 
strive  to  enter  and  search,  but  in  vain." 

The  German  scholar  who,  after  a  life  of  patient  study  of 
a  single  word,  the  relative  pronoun,  regretted  on  his  death- 
bed that  his  efforts  had  been  scattered  and  that  he  had  not 
confined  himself  to  a  single  letter  of  the  Greek  alphabet, 
is  but  a  type  of  the  labor  required  in  establishing  a  single 
fact.  Diffusion  is  weakness,  concentration,  strength;  and 
the  man  who  with  divided  energies  studies  a  mass  of  facts 
is  outstripped  in  the  race  by  him  who  confines  himself  to 
one.  It  takes  ten  years  at  least,  said  President  Clark,  to 
establish  one  agricultural  fact;  but  it  is  on  the  aggregation 


ADDRESSES  287 

of  facts  that  stable  law  depends,  and  although  we  can  not 
always  see  the  immediate  practical  value  of  the  addition 
of  a  new  fact  to  the  fund  of  knowledge,  still  no  one  can  ever 
tell  how  much  vital  importance  is  hidden  in  it.  The  boy 
dallying  with  the  steam  issuing  from  his  mother's  teapot 
established  the  fact  of  its  condensation,  and  forthwith  be- 
came possible  its  application  to  all  the  tremendous  enginery 
of  modern  science.  Nor  should  a  fact  be  despised  because 
of  its  apparent  triviality.  The  great  father  and  founder  of 
fruitful  investigation,  Lord  Bacon,  says:  "The  eye  of  the 
understanding  is  like  the  eye  of  the  sense :  for  as  you  may 
see  great  objects  through  small  crannies  or  levels,  so  you 
may  see  great  axioms  of  nature  through  small  and  contemp- 
tible instances." 

Not  a  single  physical  science  can  be  named  that  has  not 
been  built  up  by  the  labors  of  men  who  were  seeking  for 
truth  while  those  very  labors  were  considered  puerile  and 
ridiculous  by  mere  utilitarians.  Every  scientific  truth,  it 
has  been  aptly  said,  has  to  pass  through  three  initial  stages 
before  it  can  be  firmly  established :  first,  that  of  denial  and 
ridicule  by  the  world;  second,  that  of  acceptance;  and  third, 
that  of  calm  assumption  that  it  has  always  been  so.  We  are 
told  that  Pythagoras,  when  he  discovered  that  the  square 
of  the  hypotenuse  was  equal  to  the  sum  of  the  squares  of  the 
other  two  sides,  offered  up  a  hecatomb,  in  grateful  recog- 
nition of  what  had  been  vouchsafed  him,  since  which  time 
whenever  a  scientific  truth  has  been  discovered  the  oxen 
have  always  bellowed.  The  best  scientific  results  of  the 
present  day  which  have  not  yet  borne  fruit  —  the  ques- 
tions that  engage  the  attention  of  our  scientists  —  are 
recounted  with  the  same  sneers  and  ridicule  by  those  who 


288  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

claim  to  be  practically  wise  as  were  observations  in  geology 
and  experiments  in  electricity  a  century  ago.  "  Every  great 
advance  in  practical  science  in  the  last  half-century  has 
been  simply  the  combining  or  utilizing  of  materials  and  re- 
sults wrought  out  as  isolated  products  of  facts,  after  long 
years  of  careful  investigation,  by  the  patient  truth-search- 
ers in  all  portions  of  the  world."  The  studies  of  Franklin, 
Volta,  Arago,  Henry,  and  Faraday  in  accumulating  facts, 
discovering  laws,  and  inventing  instruments,  made  the 
electric  telegraph  a  possibility  in  our  day. 

Those  men  prosper  best  in  this  world  of  universal  in- 
quiry who  sit  silent,  watch  longest,  and  accept  most  quickly 
each  suggestion  of  change.  The  thrifty  trees  hug  the  earth 
and  rocks  with  a  thousand  rootlets,  feed  on  air  with  ten 
thousand  leaves,  and  feel  everywhere  through  and  through 
them  the  throbbing  force  of  life;  but  who  can  tell  the  count- 
less generations  through  which  they  have  stood,  silently 
drinking  in  the  sunshine  of  heaven  and  gathering  and  ma- 
turing their  strength. 

All  theories  are  open  to  ceaseless  inquiry  and  correction 
and  we  can  expect  to  progress  only  by  the  patience,  the 
breadth  and  the  sagacity  of  our  work  in  uncovering  laws 
and  methods  of  life  in  themselves  very  secret  and  obscure. 

The  fundamental  working  conceptions  of  science  change 
with  the  changing  knowledge  of  the  facts  they  interpret,  but 
the  foundation  remains  the  same,  and  he  interprets  best 
who  penetrates  most  deeply  to  its  heart  and  questions  most 
closely  its  workings.  The  good  agriculturist  stands  in  a  kind 
of  awe  of  living  things.  He  is  diffident  in  the  suggestions 
he  makes  to  them,  and  if  the  hint  is  not  taken  he  withdraws 
it  at  once.     If  any  predisposition  appears,  he  humors  it 


ADDRESSES  289 

immediately  and  is  ready  to  stand  a  quiet  observer  in  the 
presence  of  the  putting  forth  of  vital  powers. 

Variety  is  the  initiatory  step  of  all  progress,  and  we  may 
thankfully  accept  a  score  of  unimportant  foundlings,  if 
after  repeated  failures  we  succeed  in  producing  one  ser- 
viceable one  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  human  kind. 

But  the  world  is  too  impatient  for  results — like  the  Athen- 
ians of  old,  madly  rushing  about,  ever  seeking  for  something 
new.  Progress  is  the  cry  of  the  age,  progressive  thought 
the  pet  pride  of  to-day.  The  charm  of  antiquity  is  broken. 
The  historic  tales  of  our  childhood  have  faded  into  myth 
before  the  cold  scrutiny  of  modern  learning.  The  idols  of 
the  past  are  overthrown  and  trodden  underfoot  by  the 
iconoclasts  of  the  present.  No  doctrine  is  too  sacred,  no 
dogma  too  hoary  for  the  levelers  of  to-day.  Every  year, 
nay  every  month,  witnesses  the  birth  of  some  new  theory, 
some  grand  discovery  in  the  laws  of  Nature,  who  in  her  old 
age  seems  as  prolific  of  law  as  a  continental  congress.  New 
creeds,  new  sciences,  new  methods  are  springing  up  like 
the  fabled  race  of  heroes  from  the  uncanny  sowing  of  the 
dragon's  teeth,  and  all  under  the  glorious  reign  of  progres- 
sive thought.  Well  will  it  be  for  us  if  in  this  universal 
demand  for  something  new,  something  strange,  some- 
thing out  of  the  beaten  track,  we  can  heed  the  lesson  of  the 
hour  and  patiently  watch  and  wait  —  watch  though  the 
world  deride  our  waiting;  wait  till  the  harvest  crowns  our 
watching. 

From  the  "seely  wench,"  who,  according  to  Piatt,  taught 
the  art  of  setting  corn  by  accidentally  dropping  some  wheat 
seeds  in  holes  into  which  she  ought  to  have  dibbled  car- 
rots and  radishes;  from  the  sowing  of  potatoes  broadcast 


290  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  the  drawing  of  ploughs  and  harrows  by  the  tails  of 
the  unfortunate  horses  in  the  eighteenth  century,  to  the  drill- 
ing and  the  sulky  or  steam-traction  ploughs  of  the  present 
age,  is  indeed  a  great  advance.  The  patient  workers  in  this 
our  chosen  field  have  not  been  many,  at  least  till  we  come 
down  to  our  own  time;  and  too  often,  alas,  to  quote  the 
spirited  words  of  another,  "like  the  ancient  alchemists  have 
starved  in  the  midst  of  their  golden  dreams.  Tusser,  teach- 
ing thrift,  never  throve.  Gabriel  Platter,  the  corn-seller,  who 
boasted  that  he  could  raise  thirty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the 
acre,  died  in  the  streets  for  want  of  bread.  Jethro  Tull, 
instead  of  gaining  an  estate,  lost  two  by  his  horse-hoeing 
husbandry.  Arthur  Young  failed  twice  in  farm  management 
before  he  began  his  invaluable  tours  of  observation";  and 
Bakewell,  irrigating  his  meadows  and  raising  four  crops  in  a 
single  season,  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  farm,  and  died 
in  comparative  poverty. 

But  each  one  has  lifted  the  veil  a  little  higher  and  left 
the  way  a  little  clearer  for  those  who  followed  him.  Tull, 
experimenting  in  drilling  and  horse-hoeing  husbandry,  all 
but  divined  the  mysteries  of  chemistry,  which  then,  as 
applied  to  agriculture,  were  undiscovered.  Thaer,  applying 
the  natural  sciences  to  agriculture,  established  a  system 
of  farm  accounts,  placing  values  on  the  various  farm  ma- 
terials, and  introduced  the  great  principle  of  rotation  of 
crops.  Bakewell,  discovering  the  principle  of  selection  in 
breeding,  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  of  perfection  his  flock 
of  Leicesters.  Stock  husbandry  rose  at  a  single  bound,  and 
henceforth  the  "promiscuous  union  of  nobody's  son  with 
everybody's  daughter"  was  at  an  end.  Davy,  by  his  chem- 
ical analyses  and  explanations  of  agricultural  processes,  laid 


ADDRESSES  291 

broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  agricultural  chemistry. 
Liebig,  teaching  the  applications  of  chemistry  to  agricul- 
ture and  the  nutrition  and  growth  of  plants  and  animals, 
inaugurated  the  era  of  progress  of  scientific  agriculture. 
Boussingault,  whose  careful  analyses  and  experiments  in 
connection  with  his  investigations  into  the  sources  of  the 
elements  of  nutrition  for  plants  and  the  value  of  food- 
rations  for  animals,  led  the  "Agricultural  Gazette"  to  say 
of  his  "Economie  Rurale"  that  it  was  the  most  important 
and  valuable  book  for  farmers  that  the  chemists  of  the 
present  century  have  produced;  Stockhardt,  popularizing 
agricultural  chemistry  by  his  lectures  and  his  writings; 
Mechi,  laying  down  the  rational  principles  of  farm-manage- 
ment; Henneberg,  unfolding  the  mysteries  of  the  physio- 
ology  and  economy  of  feeding  farm  animals ;  Ville,  teaching 
the  principles  of  complete  manures;  Grandeau,  teaching 
the  analytic  methods  of  agricultural  chemistry;  Deherain, 
for  years  conducting  exhaustive  field  experiments;  Mcercker 
and  Wagner  studying  the  application  of  potash,  nitrogen, 
and  phosphoric  acid  to  the  growing  plant;  the  two  Kuhns, 
working  in  the  respective  fields  of  the  physiology  of  cattle- 
feeding  and  the  chemistry  of  the  respiration  of  animals; 
Wolff,  in  food-rations,  Pettenkofer  in  respiration;  and  the 
lengthening  list  closes  with  the  name  of  one  whose  carefully 
conducted  experiments  for  half  a  century  have  made  the 
estate  of  Rothamsted  a  shrine  for  all  true  workers  in  the 
science  of  agriculture  —  a  Mecca  to  which  the  devout 
repair  as  do  the  followers  of  the  prophet  to  their  holy  city. 
Fifty-seven  years  ago  Sir  John  Bennet  Lawes,  entering 
into  possession  of  his  estate,  commenced  a  few  experiments 
on  the  effects  of  different  manures  upon  potted  plants  and 


292  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

afterwards  upon  plants  in  the  field.  Led  by  the  striking 
results  obtained  to  carry  on  the  same  line  of  investigation 
on  a  broader  scale,  nine  years  later  he  associated  with  him- 
self Dr.  Gilbert,  turned  a  barn  into  a  laboratory,  and  com- 
menced that  series  of  patient  and  exhaustive  experiments 
which  have  won  for  him  and  his  work  a  world-wide  reputa- 
tion. From  the  few  experiments  with  potted  plants  of  1835 
and  1836,  and  from  a  single  associate  working  in  a  barn 
used  for  chemical  purposes  in  1843,  his  station  has  risen 
in  staff  and  equipment  to  one  of  national  importance,  with 
its  sixty  or  more  broad  acres  permanently  set  aside  for 
agricultural  experiment;  its  trained  staff  of  workers,  chem- 
ists, botanists,  veterinarians,  computers,  and  recorders; 
its  laboratory,  presented  by  interested  agriculturists  in 
recognition  of  the  importance  of  his  work;  its  munificent 
endowment;  its  collection  of  over  40,000  bottles,  contain- 
ing the  results  of  thousands  of  analyses,  samples  of  the 
various  animal  and  vegetable  products,  ashes,  soils,  etc., 
connected  with  the  various  experiments ;  and  last,  its  manu- 
script library,  a  marvel  in  itself  —  thousands  of  pages, 
classified  and  indexed,  containing  a  complete  record  of 
every  ascertained  fact;  a  life-history,  if  we  may  so  term 
it,  of  every  experiment  undertaken;  a  mass  of  all  conceiv- 
able data  on  a  great  variety  of  subjects,  tabulated  and 
arranged  for  ready  reference. 

Rothamsted  has  from  the  outset  —  and  for  nearly  half  a 
century  —  voluntarily  placed  itself  at  the  disposition  of 
the  advocates  and  practitioners  of  advanced  agriculture. 
Scientific  and  practical  problems,  as  offered,  have  been 
accepted  and  faithfully  and  exhaustively  worked  out,  re- 
gardless of  expense  either  in  time  or  money.     Practical 


ADDRESSES  293 

agriculture  in  all  its  possible  bearings  is  represented  in 
the  publications,  and  hence  the  variety  of  the  style  of 
its  writings,  suited  to  the  education  of  an  audience  at 
Oxford  or  a  farmers'  club.  All  things  have  been  laid  under 
contribution  and  made  to  minister  to  it.  The  earth,  the  air, 
and  the  water  have  in  turn  given  up  their  secrets.  Like  the 
All-seeing  One,  the  hundred-eyed  Argus  of  antiquity,  or 
Briareus  of  the  hundred  hands,  it  has  suffered  nothing  to 
escape  its  close  scrutiny  and  inquiry.  From  the  pure  rain- 
drops of  heaven  to  the  drainage  waters  of  the  earth,  and 
from  the  capture  and  imprisonment  of  the  free  nitrogen  of 
the  atmosphere  to  the  composition,  utilization,  and  value 
of  town-sewerage,  it  questions  them  all;  and  whether  they 
answer  in  the  tongue  of  the  chemist,  the  botanist,  or  the 
engineer,  the  answer  has  invariably  been  in  the  direct  in- 
terests of  practical  progressive  agriculture. 

The  value  to  agriculture  of  the  work  already  accomplished 
is  well-nigh  incalculable.  Far  less  can  be  estimated  that 
of  the  future,  for  which,  in  the  will  of  the  generous  founder, 
ample  provision  has  been  made.  Of  its  immediate  import- 
ance, English  agriculturists  speak  in  no  uncertain  terms. 
The  author  of  the  "Pioneers  and  Progress  of  English  Farm- 
ing," referring  to  the  experiments  of  Sir  John  Bennet 
Lawes  and  Dr.  Gilbert,  says:  "The  triumph  of  chemistry 
is  summed  up  in  the  system  of  successive  cropping  without 
impoverishment,  which  has  been  established  by  them. 
It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  enormous  influence  which 
their  experiments  have  already  exercised  upon  farming,  or 
to  assign  limits  to  the  increased  productiveness  of  the  soil 
which  England  might  have  witnessed  but  for  the  disastrous 
period  of  1873-89." 


294  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Gentlemen  of  the  Association  :  in  my  feeble  way  I 
have  endeavored  to  outline  to  you  the  great  work  accom- 
plished at  Rothamsted.  I  have  likened  that  station  to 
Argus  of  the  hundred  eyes,  to  Briareus  of  the  hundred  hands. 
Those  mystic  impersonations  of  power  and  sight  were  de- 
pendent each  of  them  upon  the  individual  eyes  and  hands, 
which  went  to  make  up  their  being.  In  like  manner  the 
strength  of  the  station  depends  upon  the  individual  char- 
acter and  make-up  of  its  staff. 

We  have  with  us  here  to-night  an  eye  and  hand  of  Roth- 
amsted— an  eye  which  has  not  sought  in  vain  the  inter- 
pretation of  Nature's  problems;  a  hand  which  has  most 
skillfully  assisted  the  eye  in  these  interpretations. 


WHAT  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  IN  OUR 
COLLEGES  OF  AGRICULTURE? x 

In  an  old  book  containing  the  wisdom  of  an  age  two  thou- 
sand years  older  than  the  present,  I  find  this  quotation : 
"How  can  he  get  wisdom  that  holdeth  the  plow  and  that 
glorieth  in  the  goad,  that  driveth  oxen  and  is  occupied  in 
their  labors  and  whose  talk  is  of  bullocks?" 

Apparently  the  same  need  of  instruction  was  as  urgent 
then  as  now,  and  the  tiller  of  the  soil  in  the  fertile  plains 
of  the  eastern  world  felt  that  there  was  something  more  to 
be  desired  than  simply  following,  day  in,  day  out,  the  dreary 
routine  his  fathers  had  left  him.  That  there  were  sources 
of  information  even  then  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the 
wise  Solomon  could  discourse  of  trees,  from  the  cedar  of 
Lebanon  even  to  the  hyssop  springing  out  of  the  wall;  and 
it  is  added  that  he  spake  also  of  beasts,  of  fowls,  of  creeping 
things,  and  of  fishes.  The  same  questions  that  stirred  the 
heart  of  the  agricultural  seer  so  many  centuries  ago  are 
pressing  with  renewed  force  now,  and  more  light  is  sought 
on  all  the  difficult  problems  that  present  themselves  to  the 
farmer  of  to-day.  It  is  the  mission  of  the  agricultural  colleges 
to  furnish  this  light  and  lead  the  way. 

I  am  asked  to  present  this  afternoon  a  brief  paper  on 
what  should  be  taught  in  our  agricultural  colleges.    Per- 

1  An  Address  delivered  at  Washington,  D.  C,  November  10,  1896. 
From  Proceedings  of  the  Tenth  Annual  Convention  of  the  Association 
of  American  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations. 


296  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

haps  I  can  express  myself  in  no  way  more  clearly  than  by 
outlining  to  you  the  course  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural College.  That  has  stood  ever  since  its  foundation, 
in  1867,  for  agriculture  alone,  instruction  in  the  mechanic 
arts  being  supplied  by  the  Institute  of  Technology,  which 
has  shared  with  it  the  proceeds  of  the  grant  of  1862  and 
the  later  one  of  1890. 

While  it  has  been  the  purpose  of  the  faculty  to  give  the 
best  possible  instruction  upom  every  subject  taught,  there 
has  been  no  effort  to  expand  the  course  beyond  the  proper 
limits  of  a  simple  professional  school,  or  to  compete  in  any 
manner  with  other  existing  institutions.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  College  has  from  the  outset  been  intended  to  be  some- 
thing very  different  from  a  mere  manual-labor  or  farm 
school  for  training  apprentices  in  the  various  operations  of 
husbandry.  Since  the  first  few  years  manual  labor  has  been 
entirely  discarded,  except  in  so  far  as  it  has  an  educational 
value  —  not  how  to  plough  and  hoe,  but  when  and  where 
to  do  it  to  the  best  advantage.  The  hours  of  student-life 
can  be  much  more  profitably  employed  than  in  mere  manual 
labor,  opportunities  for  which  are  everywhere  presented, 
while  the  facilities  for  education  are  offered  only  at  the 
college  and  for  a  limited  period.  More  mind  and  less 
muscle  is  the  watchword  of  to-day.  In  preparing  the  soil, 
in  planting,  in  cultivating,  in  haying,  in  harvesting,  in 
threshing,  in  the  management  of  the  dairy,  in  fact  almost 
everywhere,  intelligence  is  the  principal  thing,  and  mere 
brute  force  comparatively  worthless.  The  old  prejudice 
against  thoughtful,  studious,  and  progressive  men  as  book- 
farmers  and  fancy  farmers  has  at  length  been  overcome  by 
the  mass  of  printed  matter  which  is  flooding  with  light 


ADDRESSES  297 

every  household,  and  by  the  numberless  improvements 
which  have  been  demonstrated  to  be  not  merely  expensive 
luxuries  for  the  rich,  but  of  priceless  value  to  every  tiller 
of  the  soil. 

But  to  turn  more  directly  to  the  curriculum  itself.  This 
naturally  divides  itself  into  seven  departments :  the  English, 
the  agricultural,  the  chemical,  the  botanical,  the  mathe- 
matical, the  zoological,  and  that  of  languages  and  social 
science. 

I.  English  has  a  place  in  the  curriculum  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  College  because  of  its  practical  value 
and  its  educational  value. 

By  its  practical  value  we  mean  its  value  in  enabling  the 
student  to  express  his  thought  by  oral  and  written  language. 
Looking  at  the  study  from  this  point  of  view,  we  may  name 
it  the  study  of  oral  and  written  expression.  The  specific 
subjects  and  exercises  set  for  securing  this  practical  ad- 
vantage from  the  study  are  these :  rhetoric,  during  the  fresh- 
man year;  declamations,  during  freshman  and  sophomore 
years;  essays,  in  the  freshman,  sophomore,  and  senior 
years;  orations,  in  the  junior  year;  logic  and  debates,  in 
the  senior  year.  The  principal  object  in  these  exercises  is 
to  secure  accuracy  and  facility  in  the  use  of  the  English 
language  as  an  instrument  by  which  thought  is  expressed. 

In  addition  to  these  studies,  American  literature  is 
studied  in  the  sophomore  year  and  English  literature  in  the 
junior  and  senior  years.  While,  as  an  incidental  advantage, 
the  student's  style  in  writing  and  speaking  may  be  im- 
proved and  perfected  by  reading  and  studying  the  best 
works  of  the  best  authors,  literature  is  studied  chiefly  for 
its  educational  value.  As  literature  is  one  means  by  which 


298  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  thoughts  and  aspirations  of  men  are  expressed,  one  can 
learn  the  history  and  progress  of  the  thought  of  the  Ameri- 
can and  English  people  from  the  study  of  American  and 
English  literature.  The  student's  mind  being  brought  in 
contact  with  the  great  minds  that  have  adorned  the  pages 
of  English  and  American  history,  his  powers  are  quick- 
ened and  developed  thereby,  his  mental  horizon  is  en- 
larged, and  thus  a  most  important  educational  advantage 
is  secured. 

II.  The  agricultural  course  covers  a  field  of  such  wide  and 
varied  extent  that  it  is  hard  to  compass  it  in  a  four-years' 
course.  The  graduates  must  know  the  origin  and  nature  of 
soils  and  subsoils,  and  the  proper  treatment  of  each;  the 
methods  and  advantages  of  the  various  kinds  of  tillage,  and 
the  modes  of  drainage  and  irrigation,  with  their  cost  and 
value.  They  must  understand  the  worth  and  peculiar  ef- 
fect of  every  variety  of  mineral  and  organic  fertilizers;  the 
construction  and  use  of  all  the  implements  and  machines  of 
improved  husbandry;  the  best  modes  of  planting,  cultivat- 
ing, and  harvesting  all  sorts  of  crops,  and  the  varieties  of 
each  which  are  most  valuable  for  different  localities  and 
objects.  They  must  be  familiar  with  the  characteristics  of 
the  different  breeds  of  domestic  animals  and  their  various 
adaptations;  with  the  proper  modes  of  feeding  for  particu- 
lar purposes,  and  of  treatment  in  health  and  sickness,  and 
with  the  principles  of  breeding.  They  must  be  acquainted 
with  the  keeping  of  farm  accounts,  the  ordinary  rules  of 
business  and  the  legal  rights  and  obligations  of  landholders; 
with  the  renovation  of  worn-out  lands  and  the  improve- 
ment of  those  which  are  new  and  rough;  with  the  most  de- 
sirable location  and  construction  of  farm  buildings,  the 


ADDRESSES  299 

correct  division  of  an  estate  into  arable,  pasture,  meadow, 
and  woodland,  according  to  circumstances,  and  the  build- 
ing of  roads,  bridges,  and  fences.  They  must  understand 
the  use  of  rotation  in  crops;  the  management  of  the  dairy; 
the  cultivation  of  vegetables  in  the  market-garden  and  under 
glass;  the  raising  of  small  fruits  and  their  transportation 
and  sale;  the  planting  and  culture  of  vineyards,  orchards, 
and  forest  trees;  and  the  theory  and  practice  of  landscape- 
gardening,  with  the  proper  selection  and  treatment  of  or- 
namental plants.  The  strictly  agricultural  part  of  this  course 
is  carried  on  for  eight  terms,  mostly  by  lecture,  embracing 
the  following  topics :  the  history  of  agriculture,  soils,  drain- 
age, irrigation,  disposal  of  sewage,  fertilizers,  fields,  crops, 
implements,  breeds  and  breeding,  dairy-farming,  cattle- 
feeding,  laboratory  and  experimental  work.  The  horticul- 
tural work  covers  six  terms  under  the  following  heads : 
horticulture,  market-gardening,  landscape-gardening,  flori- 
culture, sylviculture,  care  of  greenhouses,  and  construction. 

III.  The  course  in  chemistry  extends  over  nine  terms, 
the  last  three  of  which  are  almost  entirely  laboratory  work, 
eight  hours  per  week.  Commencing  with  lectures  and  prac- 
tice in  elementary  chemistry,  there  follow  in  succession  dry 
and  humid  qualitative  analysis,  lectures  and  practice  in 
organic  chemistry,  chemical  physics,  and  quantitative 
analysis.  In  connection  with  this  is  a  series  of  lectures  on 
the  application  of  chemistry  to  the  industries  of  life. 

IV.  Botany  covers  seven  terms,  embracing  structural, 
analytical,  economic,  with  laboratory  work,  cryptogamic, 
and  physiological.  The  course  aims  to  treat  of  all  the  more 
important  features  connected  with  the  study  of  plants 
which  have  a  close  bearing  upon  agriculture,  without  at  the 


300  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

same  time  deviating  from  a  systematic  and  logical  plan. 
Throughout  the  entire  course  the  objective  methods  of 
teaching  are  followed,  and  the  student  is  constantly  fur- 
nished with  an  abundance  of  plant-material  for  practical 
study,  together  with  an  elaborate  series  of  preserved  speci- 
mens for  illustration  and  comparison.  In  the  freshman 
year  the  study  of  structural  and  systematic  botany  is  pur- 
sued, with  some  observation  on  insect  fertilization.  This 
is  followed  in  the  first  term  of  the  sophomore  year  by  the 
systematic  study  of  grasses,  trees,  and  shrubs,  and  this 
during  the  winter  term  by  an  investigation  into  the  micro- 
scopic structure  of  the  plant.  The  senior  year  is  given  up 
entirely  to  cryptogamic  and  physiological  botany. 

V.  The  mathematical  course.  In  this  day  of  scientific 
experiment,  observation,  and  research  on  the  farm,  the 
advantage  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  more  elementary 
branches  of  mathematics,  general  physics,  and  engineering 
must  be  more  than  ever  apparent;  and  it  is  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  agricultural  college  student  in  these  lines 
that  the  work  in  the  mathematical  department  has  been 
planned. 

The  mathematics  of  the  freshmen,  sophomore,  and  junior 
year  is  required;  that  of  the  senior  year  elective.  The  se- 
quence of  subjects  is  as  follows:  bookkeeping,  algebra, 
geometry,  and  mechanical  drawing  in  the  freshman  year; 
trigonometry,  mechanical  drawing,  and  plane-surveying  — 
the  latter  embracing  lectures  and  field-work  in  elementary 
engineering,  the  use  of  instruments,  computation  of  areas, 
leveling,  etc.  —  in  the  sophomore  year;  general  physics,  — 
including  mechanics,  electricity,  sound,  light,  and  heat,  — 
and  descriptive  geometry  or  advanced  mechanical  drawing 


ADDRESSES  301 

in  the  junior  year;  and,  finally,  two  electives  in  the  senior 
year,  —  mathematics  and  engineering. 

The  mathematical  option  includes  the  following  subjects : 
Fall  Term,  plane  analytic  geometry,  embracing  a  study  of 
the  equations  and  properties  of  the  point,  line,  and  circle, 
and  of  the  parabola,  ellipse,  and  hyperbola;  Winter  Term, 
differential  calculus;  and  Summer  Term,  integral  calculus. 

The  senior  engineering  option  is  designed  to  give  to  the 
student  the  necessary  engineering  training  to  enable  him 
to  take  up  and  apply,  on  the  lines  of  landscape-engineering 
and  the  development  of  property,  his  knowledge  of  agricul- 
ture, forestry,  botany,  and  horticulture.  It  embraces  a 
course  of  lectures,  recitations,  and  field-work  on  the  follow- 
ing subjects:  topography,  railroad  curves,  earthwork,  con- 
struction and  maintenance  of  roads,  waterworks  and  sewer- 
age systems,  etc. 

The  engineering  elective  is  intended  to  equip  the  stu- 
dent to  enter  a  comparatively  new  field  —  that  of  land- 
scape engineering,  which  is  coming  more  and  more  promi- 
nently before  the  public  attention;  for  with  the  increasing 
consideration  which  is  being  paid  to  the  public  health  and 
the  development  and  beautifying  of  our  towns  and  cities, 
come  fresh  needs  and  opportunities. 

VI.  The  zoological  course  commences  with  one  term  of 
anatomy  and  physiology,  followed  by  a  term  of  laboratory 
work,  eight  hours  per  week,  in  which  each  student  is  re- 
quired to  make  dissections,  use  the  microscope,  and  make 
drawings  of  his  work.  This  is  followed  by  one  term  of 
zoology,  three  of  veterinary  science,  and  four  of  ento- 
mology, the  last  three  being  optional,  consisting  largely  of 
microscopic  work  and  drawing,  eight  hours  per  week. 


302  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

VII.  The  seventh  and  last  course  embraces  the  modern 
languages  (French  and  German),  political  economy,  con- 
stitutional history,  and  a  course  of  lectures  on  rural  law, 
including  the  rights  and  obligations  of  landholders,  and 
other  subjects  of  practical  importance  to  every  citizen, 
whatsoever  his  profession. 

I  have  now  sketched  more  or  less  in  detail  the  seven 
divisions  of  our  agricultural  course.  It  is  for  three  years  rigid 
and  defined, with  liberty  to  select  and  specialize  in  the  fourth. 
The  structure  is  reared  somewhat  after  this  fashion:  Agri- 
culture the  foundation;  botany,  chemistry,  zoology,  and 
mathematics  the  four  corner-stones;  while  the  walls  are 
solidly  built  up  with  English,  horticulture,  floriculture,  and 
forestry  on  one  side;  English,  physiology,  entomology,  com- 
parative anatomy  of  the  domestic  animals,  and  veterinary, 
on  another ;  English,  mechanics,  physics,  and  civil  engi- 
neering on  the  third;  and  English,  French,  German,  politi- 
cal economy,  and  constitutional  history  on  the  fourth.  The 
study  of  English  is  made  the  basis  of  all  study.  It  is  inter- 
woven with  every  course.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  very  warp  and 
woof  of  every  branch  pursued.  These  seven  courses,  each 
distinct  in  itself,  yet  each  aiding  in  the  interpretation  or 
solution  of  the  difficult  problems  met  with,  require  a  four 
years'  course.  They  proceed  hand  in  hand,  and  the  com- 
pletion of  a  study  in  one  department  is  coincident  with 
that  in  another.  Mutual  help  is  the  watchword.  Each  for 
all,  but  all  for  each,  in  laying  broad  and  deep  the  founda- 
tion and  building  up  the  solid  structure.  Thus,  when  the  re- 
lations of  the  weather  —  of  heat,  air,  moisture  —  to  farm- 
ing are  considered,  on  the  botanical  side  are  being  studied  the 
structure  of  the  plant,  its  organs,  the  relation  of  its  root- 


ADDRESSES  303 

system  to  soil  and  moisture;  on  the  chemical,  the  elements 
important  in  an  agricultural  point  of  view  and  their  proper- 
ties ;  and  in  the  mathematical,  such  algebra  and  geometry  as 
will  lead  on  to  practical  work  in  surveying  and  drainage.  So, 
too,  when  soils  and  tillage  are  under  consideration,  in  like 
manner  are  studied  plants  beneficial  or  injurious  to  man, 
general  geology,  and  those  insects  hurtful  or  otherwise  to 
the  crops.  In  short,  the  effort  is  made  to  have  each  course 
supplement  and  be  in  harmony  with  the  others,  and  the 
different  studies  so  fit  into  each  other  as  to  make  one 
rounded  whole. 


REPORT    OF    THE    EXECUTIVE     COM- 
MITTEE,   TWELFTH    CONVENTION,1 

1898 

To  your  executive  committee  were  intrusted  a  number 
of  very  important  measures  vitally  affecting  the  interests 
of  the  Association.  All  these  have  received  careful  consider- 
ation, and  such  action  has  been  taken  as  the  circumstances 
seemed  to  warrant. 

Very  early  in  the  year  a  letter  was  received  from  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  seed-testing,  appointed 
at  the  1896  convention,  stating  that  he  had  been  unable  to 
be  present  when  the  committee  made  its  report  in  1897, 
and  that  he  had  sent  a  letter  asking  for  the  continuance  of 
the  committee  for  another  year,  in  order  that  it  might  de- 
termine practically  the  values  of  the  apparatus  and  methods 
proposed  rather  than  leave  it  to  the  seed-dealers.  The  let- 
ter arrived  too  late  for  action,  and  he  now  asked  the  execu- 
tive committee  to  grant  such  authority.  The  matter  being 
an  important  one  and  requiring  immediate  action,  your 
committee,  under  the  fourth  article  of  the  section  relating 
to  officers,  authorized  by  written  vote  the  continuance  of 
the  said  committee  for  another  year. 

The  question  of  securing  necessary  legislation  for  the  sale 
of  uniforms,  either  made  up  or  the  cloth  for  the  same,  at 
government  prices,  to  the  cadets  of  the  different  colleges, 
was  taken  before  the  Military  Committee  of  the  House  at 

1  Of  the  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations. 


ADDRESSES  305 

its  short  session.  The  chairman  refused  to  consider  it,  on 
the  ground  that  the  appropriations  had  already  been  made 
up,  that  this  would  require  an  extra  appropriation  for  the 
purchase  of  extra  cloth,  and  that  he  was  pledged  not  to  ask 
for  any  extra  appropriations.  It  was  urged  that  this  did  not 
call  for  any  extra  expense,  as  the  money  from  the  sales 
would  be  covered  back  into  the  Treasury.  But  the  chair- 
man refused  to  recede  from  his  position.  Your  commit- 
tee recommend  a  continuance  of  effort  on  the  same  lines. 

At  the  same  time  legislation  was  sought  for  making  the 
land-grant  colleges  depositories  of  all  government  publica- 
tions. A  bill  was  drafted  and  introduced  into  the  Com- 
mittee on  Printing.  Objection  on  technical  grounds  having 
been  made,  it  was  withdrawn,  and  introduced  a  second  time 
in  a  modified  form.  The  approaching  difficulty  with  Spain, 
however,  soon  absorbed  the  entire  attention  of  Congress, 
and  it  failed  to  be  reported.  Your  committee  has  since 
learned  that  there  are  not  copies  of  the  public  documents 
sufficient  to  supply  the  colleges,  and  that  a  second  bill, 
providing  for  this  addition,  would  be  necessary. 

Of  all  the  questions  submitted  for  the  consideration  of 
your  committee  no  one  has  caused  so  much  anxiety  as  that 
involving  the  annuity  passing  under  the  name  of  the  Morrill 
fund.  The  act  (Senate,  372)  providing  free  homes  on  the 
public  lands  for  actual  and  bona  fide  settlers  by  reserving 
the  public  lands,  twenty  million  acres,  for  that  purpose, 
struck  immediately  at  the  source  from  which  the  Morrill 
annuity  is  derived,  namely,  the  proceeds  derived  from 
the  sale  of  public  lands.  The  act  provides  "That  all  set- 
tlers under  the  homestead  laws  of  the  United  States  upon 
the  public  lands  acquired  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act 


306  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

by  treaty  or  agreement  from  the  various  Indian  tribes,  or 
upon  military  reservations  which  have  been  opened  to 
settlement,  who  have  or  who  shall  hereafter  reside  upon  the 
tract,  entered  in  good  faith,  for  the  period  required  by  exist- 
ing law,  shall  be  entitled  to  a  patent  for  the  land  so  entered 
upon  the  payment  to  the  local  land  officers  of  the  usual  and 
customary  fees,  and  no  other  or  further  charge  of  any  kind 
shall  be  required  from  such  settler  to  entitle  him  to  a  patent 
for  the  land  covered  by  his  entry." 

The  act  passed  the  Senate  and  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
House  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  by  whom  it  was  fa- 
vored, before  it  was  discovered,  or  its  mischievous  effects 
upon  the  college  revenues  realized.  Your  committee,  as- 
sisted by  others,  was  promptly  on  the  ground,  not  once,  but 
five  or  six  times,  and  every  effort  was  made  to  warn  the 
colleges  of  the  peril.  But  for  the  energetic  action  of  their 
officers  during  the  two  days  of  debate  upon  the  bill  it  must 
certainly  have  passed.  It  was  finally  rejected,  but,  the 
Senate  refusing  to  recede,  the  following  compromise  was 
agreed  upon:  "That  the  settlers  who  purchased  with  the 
condition  annexed  of  actual  settlement  on  all  ceded  Indian 
reservations  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  granted  an  exten- 
sion to  July  1,  1900,  in  which  to  make  payments  as  now 
provided  by  law."  That  is,  instead  of  making  the  settlers 
a  free  gift  of  the  land,  the  government  has  extended  the 
time  for  payment.  It  is  like  the  case  of  the  creditor  who 
refuses  to  cancel  his  debtor's  note,  but  gives  him  easier 
terms  as  to  installments.  There  is,  however,  this  difference, 
that  the  government  does  not  call  for  any  installment.  Do 
not  deceive  yourselves,  gentlemen  of  the  Association :  sooner 
or  later  this  question  will  again  confront  you,  and  it  is  the 


ADDRESSES  307 

part  of  wisdom  to  settle  upon  our  future  policy.  While  the 
bill  was  being  debated  in  the  House,  Senator  Morrill  intro- 
duced a  measure  into  the  Senate  providing  that  the  college 
annuities  should  be  paid  from  any  unappropriated  sums  in 
the  Treasury.  This  bill  passed  through  two  readings  and 
was  then  lost  sight  of  in  the  greater  interests  of  the  war. 
It  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  your  committee  that  either 
that  bill  or  one  of  similar  import  should  be  passed. 

In  response  to  the  many  requests  for  information  respect- 
ing the  detail  of  officers  to  the  colleges,  a  personal  interview 
with  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  Army  was  secured,  and 
the  order  of  the  War  Department  forbidding  the  detail  of 
any  officer  for  any  service  until  after  the  report  of  the  peace 
commissioners  was  sent  out  in  a  circular  letter  to  each  pre- 
siding officer.  While  it  would  seem  impossible  at  present 
to  secure  any  details,  would  it  not  be  for  the  best  interests 
of  this  Association  to  place  itself  on  record,  either  now  or  at 
such  time  as  may  seem  suitable,  respecting  the  value  of 
these  details  to  the  colleges  and  the  country  at  large?  The 
law  distinctly  states  that  in  the  details  to  the  several  States 
preference  is  to  be  given  to  the  colleges  of  agriculture  and 
mechanic  arts.  It  further  states  that  officers  must  be  de- 
tailed who  are  agreeable  to  the  authorities  of  the  different 
institutions.  Both  these  provisions  have  been  disregarded 
in  two  or  three  instances.  It  is  recommended  that,  when 
action  is  taken,  the  whole  subject  of  these  details  be  care- 
fully reviewed  and  that  colleges  receiving  officers  on  their 
faculty  be  allowed  a  choice  in  this  matter. 

The  order  of  the  President  during  the  late  war,  allowing 
a  certain  number  of  second  lieutenants  to  be  appointed  from 
the  colleges,  did  not  entirely  secure  the  result  intended. 


308  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Consultation  was  not  had  with  the  college  authorities. 
Selection  was  made  from  the  ranking  men  in  the  military 
department;  and  when,  as  happened  in  three  cases,  the 
men  were  unable  to  accept,  from  physical  disability  or  other 
cause,  the  colleges  were  passed  by.  The  subject  has  seemed 
of  sufficient  importance  to  have  a  special  paper  presented 
to  this  convention  on  "Land-grant  and  other  colleges  and 
the  national  defense." 

Special  committees  have  been  appointed  to  forward  the 
interests  of  the  cooperative  station  exhibit  at  Paris  in  1900, 
the  establishment  of  experiment  stations  of  engineering, 
and  the  securing  facilities  for  graduate  work  in  the  several 
departments  at  Washington.  Reports  will  be  made  by  their 
respective  chairmen,  and  we  will  not  occupy  your  time  with 
what  would  be  mere  repetition. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  state  that  the  usual  duties  de- 
volving upon  the  committee  have  been  faithfully  performed. 
The  proceedings  of  the  last  convention  have  been  edited 
and  published,  the  various  papers  recommended  by  the 
committee  appointed  for  that  purpose,  have  been  published, 
and  the  customary  notices,  programs,  etc.,  have  been  is- 
sued. 

In  behalf  of  the  executive  committee, 

Henry  H.  Goodell,  Chairman. 


REPORT    OF    THE    EXECUTIVE     COM- 
MITTEE, FIFTEENTH  CONVENTION, 

1901 

Immediately  following  adjournment  of  the  last  conven- 
tion, the  new  executive  committee  met  and  organized  for 
the  year,  making  choice  of  E.  B.  Voorhees  for  secretary 
and  H.  H.  Goodell  for  chairman. 

To  the  nine  measures  referred  to  it  for  consideration 
careful  attention  has  been  paid,  and  such  action  taken  as 
the  circumstances  in  each  case  seemed  to  warrant.  First 
in  importance  was  the  bill  for  the  establishment  of  schools 
or  departments  of  mining  and  metallurgy  in  connection 
with  the  colleges  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts.  It  will  doubtless  be  remembered  that  during 
the  last  session  of  Congress  (Fifty-sixth  Congress,  First 
Session)  the  Senate  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining  re- 
ported a  bill  (S.  3982)  entitled  "A  bill  to  apply  a  portion 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  to  the  endow- 
ment, support,  and  maintenance  of  schools  or  departments 
of  mining  and  metallurgy  in  the  several  States  and  Terri- 
tories, in  connection  with  the  colleges  for  the  benefit  of 
agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  established  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  an  act  of  Congress  approved 
July  %  1862." 

The  committee  gave  a  very  careful  and  detailed  consider- 
ation to  all  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  and  unanimously  re- 
ported it  to  the  Senate  with  a  favorable  recommendation, 


310  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

accompanying  it  with  a  report  which  fully  set  forth  the 
merits  of  the  measure  and  the  great  national  importance 
of  the  interests  it  was  intended  to  promote. 

The  Senate,  in  turn,  subjected  the  bill  to  a  searching  and 
thorough  discussion,  adopted  a  few  useful  amendments, 
and  passed  it  without  a  dissenting  voice. 

When  the  bill  reached  the  House  of  Representatives  it 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Mines  and  Mining,  was 
there  fully  considered  and  unanimously  reported  to  the 
House  with  a  favorable  recommendation,  as  a  substitute 
for  one  that  had  been  previously  reported  from  the  same 
committee  and  was  then  on  the  House  Calendar.  The 
bill  was  reported  by  Mr.  Mondell,  of  Wyoming,  who  had 
given  particular  attention  to  the  subject  and  who  accom- 
panied it  with  a  strong  and  convincing  report. 

Thus  the  measure  stood  when  Congress  adjourned,  the 
pressure  of  other  business  preventing  this  from  reaching  a 
vote.  The  bill  as  it  stood  was  in  the  nature  of  a  compromise, 
and  is  believed  to  be  just  and  acceptable  to  all  interests. 
Several  bills  relating  to  the  same  subject-matter  have  been 
before  each  committee,  and  the  form  finally  agreed  upon 
seems  to  embody  the  best  features  of  all.  Your  committee 
recommends  that  this  bill  or  one  of  similar  import  be  intro- 
duced at  the  earliest  practicable  moment  of  the  next  session 
of  Congress. 

Under  the  resolution  that  the  executive  committee  take 
into  consideration  the  matter  of  making  the  collective  ex- 
hibit of  the  stations  a  permanent  exhibit  of  the  experiment 
stations  at  the  national  capital,  and  endeavor  to  make  suit- 
able arrangements  for  its  permanent  installation  and  care 
at  Washington,  a  communication  was  sent  to  the  honorable 


ADDRESSES  311 

Secretary  of  Agriculture,  stating  the  wish  of  the  Association, 
and  asking  whether  such  installation  and  care  were  feasible. 
The  following  reply  was  received:  "The  exhibit  is  now  at 
Buffalo,  and  very  likely  will  be  used  at  Charleston  next 
winter.  The  question  of  its  permanent  installation  here 
will  be  carefully  considered  when  we  are  through  with  its  use 
at  these  expositions." 

In  the  closing  hours  of  the  last  convention  a  communica- 
tion was  received  from  the  management  of  the  Pan  Ameri- 
can Exposition,  asking  that  a  delegate  be  appointed  to  the 
dairy  test  to  be  held  in  Buffalo.  The  executive  committee 
was  directed  to  appoint  a  delegate.  At  a  meeting  held  later, 
Director  W.  H.  Jordan  was  so  appointed. 

Conformably  to  resolution  offered  by  Dr.  Dabney,  a  me- 
morial was  sent  to  the  honorable  Secretary  of  Agriculture 
indorsing  his  action  in  opening  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture to  the  graduates  of  the  colleges  established  for  the 
benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  and  pledging 
the  earnest  support  of  the  Association  in  carrying  out  that 
policy. 

The  executive  committee  was  further  directed  to  urge 
upon  the  honorable  Secretary  of  Agriculture  the  desirability 
of  publishing :  — 

(a)  A  second  edition  of  the  history  and  description  of  ex- 
periment stations  as  originally  prepared  for  the  Paris 
Exposition; 

(b)  A  separate  edition  of  the  addresses  of  President 
Atherton  and  Director  Jordan; 

(c)  The  lectures  of  Dr.  Bernard  Dyer. 

The  second  edition  of  the  history  of  the  experiment  sta- 
tions in  this  country  has  already  been  published  and  dis- 


sn  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

tributed.  The  lectures  of  Dr.  Dyer  have  been  approved 
and  will  shortly  be  issued,  but  in  regard  to  the  ad- 
dresses of  President  Atherton  and  Director  Jordan  it  was 
thought  wiser  to  publish  separates  from  the  account  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  convention  than  to  ask  for  a  separate 
edition. 

The  question  of  constituting  all  land-grant  colleges 
designated  depositories  of  government  publications  has 
continued  through  the  past  year  to  claim  the  attention 
of  your  committee.  Taking  advantage  of  the  fact  that  a  bill 
to  amend  the  act  regulating  the  public  printing  and  distri- 
bution of  public  documents  was  then  being  considered,  it 
succeeded  in  having  an  additional  section  incorporated, 
including  all  the  colleges  among  the  number  of  designated 
depositories.  The  bill,  however,  failed  of  being  called  up, 
and  the  section  shared  the  fate  of  the  bill,  dying  with  the 
last  Congress.  It  seems  unwise  to  introduce  this  into 
Congress  as  a  special  bill,  and  it  is  recommended  that  the 
new  executive  committee  keep  in  touch  with  the  printing 
committee  and  see  that  a  section  providing  for  our  inter- 
ests is  inserted  in  the  amended  bill. 

The  executive  committee  has  considered  the  summer 
school  of  graduate  instruction  in  agriculture,  suggested  by 
the  Ohio  State  University,  and  the  offer  of  the  university 
to  assume  responsibility  for  the  expense  of  the  first  session. 
The  committee  recommends  that  the  convention  approve 
the  holding  of  a  session  during  the  summer  of  1902,  to  be 
under  the  control  of  the  president  of  the  said  university, 
with  the  expectation  of  adopting  the  school  as  a  cooperative 
enterprise,  under  the  control  of  the  convention,  should  the 
success  of  the  first  session  seem  to  justify  the  continuance 


ADDRESSES  313 

of  the  school.  The  following  outline  is  submitted  as  a  basis 
for  the  discussion  of  the  convention :  — 

(1)  A  summer  school  of  graduate  instruction  in  agricul- 
ture shall  be  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  American 
Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment 
Stations,  the  sessions  to  be  held  at  different  institutions  be- 
longing to  the  Association,  as  the  convention  from  time 
to  time  may  direct. 

{%)  Each  convention  shall  appoint  a  committee  of  control, 
to  be  composed  of  three  members,  one  of  whom  shall  be 
the  president  of  the  institution  at  which  the  next  session 
is  held,  or  some  other  representative  selected  by  that  in- 
stitution. 

(3)  The  committee  of  control  shall  have  power  to  select 
the  director  and  other  officers  of  the  school  and  to  fix  their 
duties  and  compensation. 

(4)  The  convention  shall  provide,  either  by  itself  or  in 
cooperation  with  the  institution  at  which  the  session  is  to 
be  held,  for  the  expenses  of  the  school,  and  for  this  purpose 
a  special  annual  assessment,  not  to  exceed  ten  dollars,  may 
be  laid  upon  the  colleges  and  experiment  stations  belong- 
ing to  the  Association. 

For  the  executive  committee, 

H.  H.  Goodell,  Chairman. 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  SENIOR  CLASS,  1887 

Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Senior  Class:  —  As  the 
hour  draws  nigh  when  we  must  part,  I  feel  that  I  cannot 
let  you  go  without  in  some  more  personal  manner  wishing 
you  God-speed,  and  that  good  fortune  and  success  that 
waits  on  honest  endeavor.  Four  times  since  first  we  met 
the  year  has  renewed  its  beauty,  and  now  the  spring 
stands  crowned  in  all  its  loveliness. 

Wherever  the  eye  may  rest,  on  valley,  wood,  or  mountain, 
everywhere  is  life  —  life  in  its  prime  of  beauty.  This  week 
you  enter  upon  your  life-work,  whose  harvest  will  be  what 
you  make  it.  Can  I  do  more  wisely  than  to  recall  to  mind 
the  golden  words  the  Hindoo  uttered  more  than  two  thou- 
sand years  ago :  " Man  follows  the  bent  of  his  will;  subdues, 
or  is  led  by  his  passion;  bows  to  the  law  of  his  conscience 
or  willfully  lives  in  rebellion.  He  says  to  himself,  'I  am 
free!'  He  says  true!  He  is  free  to  grow  noble;  he  is  free, 
too,  to  work  his  undoing.  But  though  he  act  as  he  will,  he 
is  but  a  tool  in  the  great  hand  of  destiny,  used  to  perfect  its 
fabric  of  life.  Out  of  evil  comes  good,  but  not  for  the  doer 
of  evil;  he  has  earned  for  himself  sorrow  that  he  did  freely; 
he  has  worked  for  the  good  that  he  did  blindly.  Out  of  evil 
comes  good,  from  sorrow  shall  follow  a  blessing." 

Yours  will  be  a  stirring  age.  The  great  questions  now 
agitating  humanity  will  confront  you  at  every  step,  and 
you  will  have  to  decide  for  yourself  their  right  or  wrong. 
Consciously,  or  unconsciously,  you  will  play  your  little  part 
in  the  great  drama  of  life,  and  work  for  the  general  harmony 
of  the  whole.  Stand  fast  for  the  right ;  strike  at  the  root  of  evil. 


ADDRESSES  315 

Be  honest!  Be  true,  and  eschew  the  hollow  shams  and 
pretences  by  which  you  will  be  surrounded ! 

Fight  well,  and  thou  shalt  see  after  these  wars 
Thy  head  wear  sunbeams  and  thy  head  touch  stars. 

Use  your  talents  on  the  side  of  morality  and  justice. 
Never  prostitute  them  to  a  cause  you  disbelieve  in.  Re- 
member that  they  are  a  special  gift  of  God,  and  are  not 
objects  of  barter  and  trade  to  be  knocked  down  to  the 
highest  bidder.  If  you  but  have  his  seal  upon  them,  you 
will  wear  the  livery  of  the  Deity.  Wherever  you  may  settle, 
remember  that  the  community  has  a  right  to  expect  in- 
finitely more  of  you  than  of  the  clever  young  mechanic, 
who  may  chance  to  live  next  door.  It  has  a  right  to  demand 
that  you  shall  be  a  cultured  gentleman.  Genius  and  learn- 
ing must  go  hand  in  hand  with  character.  The  man  who 
can  stand  forth  with  uplifted  brow  in  the  conscious  sense 
of  a  pure  body  and  an  unsoiled  mind  is  a  power  which  none 
can  withstand.  For  the  angels  of  light  are  on  his  side,  and 
the  powers  of  darkness  cannot  harm  him. 

And  now,  as  we  bid  you  farewell,  we  wish  you  success 
in  every  good  and  honorable  undertaking.  We  pray  that 
every  blessing  may  attend  you,  and  that  the  riches  of  that 
mercy  we  ask  for  ourselves  may  rest  upon  you.  Perplexi- 
ties and  trials  will  come.  The  world  will  seem  dark  and  the 
way  dreary.  There  will  be  times  when  you  will  not  know 
which  way  to  turn.  But  rest  assured  that  the  darkness 
comes  before  the  day,  and  if  you  but  have  faith  the  light 
will  surely  break.  Be  yours  the  prayer  of  the  poor  Breton 
fisherman  as  he  puts  to  sea  in  his  wretched  skiff :  "  Oh,  God, 
thy  ocean  is  so  large  and  my  boat  so  small." 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  GRADUATING  CLASS 

1888 

Young  Gentlemen  of  the  Graduating  Class  :  —  It 
is  not  without  emotion  that  I  see  you  here  to-day,  for  there 
comes  vividly  back  to  me  the  time  when,  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  I  too  stood,  as  you  are  now  standing,  on  the 
threshold  of  the  great  world,  looking  out  on  its  busy  scenes 
and  wondering  where  my  place  would  be,  and  what  the 
work  I  should  be  called  upon  to  do.  I  cannot  help  rejoicing 
with  you  in  all  your  glad  hopes  and  aspirations,  in  your 
generous  enthusiasms  and  warm-hearted  confidence,  for  in 
the  vigor  of  your  young  life  everything  now  seems  pos- 
sible, and  the  difficult,  easy.  And  yet  there  is  a  feeling  of 
sadness  blended  with  it  all,  for  I  know  that  the  way  will 
not  be  one  all  of  ease,  and  many  times  you  will  be  tempted 
in  your  despair  to  give  up  the  contest  and  turn  your  back 
upon  it. 

What  better  wish,  then,  can  I  offer  you  than  that  you 
should  fill  your  place  in  life, — fill  it  so  completely  that  there 
can  be  no  question  about  it,  —  fill  it  with  your  might,  — 
fill  it  in  all  honesty  of  heart  and  sincerity  of  purpose.  Let 
there  be  no  half-way  work  about  it.  If  it  is  worth  the  doing 
at  all,  it  is  worth  the  doing  well,  and  the  judgment  of  man- 
kind will  estimate  you  according  to  your  doing.  The  world 
admits  no  shirks,  and  the  half-in-earnest  man  receives 
but  half  recognition.  Put  your  whole  soul  in  your  work, 
and  as  sure  as  day  succeeds  the  night  your  reward  will 


ADDRESSES  317 

come.  The  patriarch  of  old  wrestled  with  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  through  the  entire  night,  and  would  not  let  him  go 
even  at  the  coming  of  the  dawn,  till  he  had  received  the 
wished-for  blessing.  He  was  terribly  in  earnest,  and  the 
shrunken  sinew  and  the  hollow  of  his  thigh  bore  witness 
to  the  intensity  of  his  purpose. 

Be  not  cast  down  by  the  thought  that  yours  is  but  a 
humble  place  and  it  makes  no  difference  what  you  do. 
It  does  make  a  difference  and  the  world  cannot  do  without 
you.  It  is  the  filling  of  just  such  places  that  makes  the 
perfect  whole. 

The  healing  of  the  world 
Is  in  its  nameless  saints.   Each  separate  star 
Seems  nothing,  but  a  myriad  scattered  stars 
Break  up  the  night  and  make  it  beautiful. 

To  fill  worthily  your  place  you  must  look  up.  Walk  with 
your  face  downwards  considering  the  things  of  earth,  and 
your  purposes  will  be  low  and  groveling.  Accustom  your- 
self to  look  upon  labor  as  low,  and  naught  can  save  it  from 
being  drudgery.  Join  brains  with  hands  and  you  emanci- 
pate it.  "Drudgery  without  intelligence  is  slavery.  Labor 
with  intelligence  is  freedom."  High  thoughts  will  lift  you 
—  low  ones  degrade  you.  Respect  for  things  above  will  draw 
you  upward  to  their  level.  An  instructive  fable  tells  us 
that  men  once  walked  upon  all  fours  like  beasts  of  the  field, 
but  they  caught  sight  of  the  stars,  and  the  heavenly  attrac- 
tion lifted  them  up  to  the  human  form  and  semblance  of  the 
divine.  And  so  with  you,  —  with  eyes  turned  upward  to  the 
heavenly  light  you  will  lose  the  dross  of  earth  and  walk  in 
that  divine  radiance  which  is  a  part  of  God. 


318  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

And  now,  as  we  set  upon  you  the  seal  of  our  approval, 
and  send  you  forth  to  justify  to  the  world  our  action,  we 
bid  you  God-speed  in  all  that  is  true  and  right;  and  as  we 
grasp  your  right  hand,  we  say  from  out  the  very  depths  of 
our  hearts,  not  good-bye,  but  God  be  with  you ! 


ADDRESS  TO  THE  SENIOR  CLASS,   1890 

Gentlemen  of  the  Senior  Class  :  —  The  hour  so  im- 
patiently looked  forward  to  by  you  has  come,  and  but  a 
few  brief  moments  more  and  you  too  will  have  crossed  the 
dividing  line  that  separates  the  present  from  the  past,  and 
have  taken  your  place  in  the  fighting  ranks  of  life.  Four 
times  the  spring  has  clothed  these  hills  in  all  the  beauty  of 
its  green.  Four  times  the  wintry  storms  have  wrapped  the 
mantle  of  the  snow  about  them.  From  yonder  rooms  you 
have  daily  watched  the  glories  of  the  sun  descending  be- 
hind the  western  hills,  and  daily,  as  your  eyes  have  swept 
the  outlines  of  the  wondrous  picture  nature  has  spread  out 
before  you,  you  have  gathered  fresh  inspiration  and  gone 
forth  with  renewed  courage  to  perform  the  tasks  assigned 
you.  But  now,  too  soon,  the  vivid  surroundings  of  the  pre- 
sent will  be  but  a  memory  of  the  past,  and  the  scenes  amid 
which  you  have  delighted  to  wander,  will  be  the  homes  of 
others  than  yourselves.  It  will  cost  you  a  pang  to  root  out 
these  ideals  of  the  present  hour  and  make  for  yourselves 
new  homes,  new  friends,  new  lives.  Yet  after  all  it  is  right 
and  natural  that  it  should  be  so.  For  separation  is  the  com- 
mon inheritance  of  man.  No  propagated  life  can  be  fully 
developed  till  it  is  separated  from  the  parent  stock. 

All  life  that  lives  to  thrive 

Must  sever  from  its  birthplace  and  its  rest; 

Still  must  the  sapling  top 

Ere  sunk  in  earth  its  fibres  fresh  will  root; 


320  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Must  from  the  oak-tree  drop 

Ere  forest  monarchs  from  the  seed  can  shoot. 

Nay,  even  death  itself  must  lay  its  blasting  hand  upon  all 
that  is  dearest  and  most  precious,  ere  it  can  be  transplanted 
to  a  more  perfect  life  and  growth.  Time  has  wrought  many 
changes  in  your  midst.  As  I  look  down  upon  you,  I  miss 
familiar  faces,  faces  of  those  who  set  out  with  you.  Some 
have  fallen  out  by  the  way,  —  others  have  entered  upon 
new  purposes  and  activities,  —  and  one,  alas !  whose  eager 
soul  outstripped  the  fetters  of  his  mortal  frame,  has  laid 
down  his  young  life  at  the  very  outset  of  his  career  and 
finished  his  work  ere  it  was  well  begun.  This  is  the  hour  for 
sober  thought,  for  self-communion,  for  looking  over  your 
stock  in  trade  and  seeing  what  you  have  to  offer  to  the  world . 
Gone  now  are  all  the  petty  animosities  of  your  college  years, 
banished  the  little  dissensions  and  jealousies  of  your 
younger  days.  The  world  is  too  large,  too  grand  for  you 
to  harbor  them  longer.  The  cry  of  battle  is  ringing  in  your 
ears,  and  in  the  pressing  duties  of  the  present  forgotten  are 
the  resentments  of  the  past.  "When,"  says  the  Apostle 
Paul,  "when  I  was  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood 
as  a  child,  I  thought  as  a  child,  but  when  I  became  a  man 
I  put  away  childish  things." 

Young  men,  manhood  with  all  its  glorious  possibilities 
lies  open  before  you,  and  the  question  comes  to  you,  not 
what  can  the  world  do  for  me,  but  what  can  I  do  for  the 
world?  What  can  I  do  to  make  it  wiser  and  better?  What 
can  I  give  to  my  fellow  men  to  help  and  bless  them? 
And  just  in  proportion  as  you  answer  that  question  aright, 
will  be  the  measure  of  your  success. 

And  now,  as  for  the  last  time  we  meet,  as  students  and 


ADDRESSES  321 

instructor,  as  for  the  last  time  I  grasp  your  hands  and  wish 
you  every  success  that  follows  earnest,  right  endeavor,  then 
comes  to  my  lips  the  blessing  hallowed  by  the  usage  of 
three  thousand  years :  — 

The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee  ; 

The  Lord  make  his  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious 
unto  thee  ; 

The  Lord  lift  up  his  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee 
peace. 


CAPTAIN  WALTER  MASON  DICKIN- 
SON, U.  S.  A.1 

My  Friends,  we  have  met  to-day  to  hold  memorial  ser- 
vices for  one  who  was  dear  to  us  all.  It  is  very  fitting  that 
such  services  of  remembrance  should  be  held  here.  For 
this  was  his  home.  These  were  the  hills  he  loved.  This  was 
his  college,  and  here  he  came  back  in  his  riper  years  to  share 
the  knowledge  he  had  obtained  with  his  younger  brothers. 
And  if  the  simple  story  of  his  life  may  lead  any  one  not 
merely  in  word,  but  in  deed,  to  follow  the  path  he  chose  and 
take  as  his  precious  legacy  all  that  was  pure  and  noble  and 
lofty  in  him,  I  shall  feel  that  this  hour  will  not  have  been 
spent  in  vain. 

When  I  first  knew  him,  he  was  a  little  curly -headed  lad, 
who,  standing  at  my  knee  and  asking  all  manner  of  ques- 
tions about  the  Civil  War,  used  to  declare  that  he  was 
going  to  run  away  and  become  either  a  sailor,  or  a  soldier 
in  the  cavalry.  Prophetic  utterance!  The  dream  of  the 
boy  became  the  reality  of  the  man,  and  what  in  his  child- 
ish heart  he  had  longed  to  be,  found  its  fulfillment  in  the 
chosen  profession  of  his  life.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how 
unconsciously,  all  through  his  life,  there  was  the  same  strong 
undercurrent  of  patriotic  feeling,  only  occasionally  coming 
to  the  surface.  The  crude  composition  of  his  sophomore 
year  on  "The  Greatness  of  the  United  States"  and  its  abil- 

1  Address  delivered  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1898,  at  the  memorial  exercises  for  Captain  Dickinson. 


ADDRESSES  323 

ity  to  conquer  any  other  nation,  —  his  fondness  for  the 
study  of  American  history,  not  merely  at  the  academy,  but 
I  may  add,  to  the  very  close  of  his  life,  —  the  hearty  em- 
phatic support  of  President  Cleveland's  attitude  on  the 
Venezuelan  question,  found  its  fitting  culmination  in  the 
noble  words  pronounced  in  this  very  chapel  at  the  me- 
morial service  for  Governor  Greenhalge.  They  will  bear 
repeating,  and  I  would  that  every  young  man  listening  to 
me  to-day  would  take  them  to  his  heart  and  grave  them 
there  as  with  a  pen  of  iron.  Speaking  of  the  higher  duty,  he 
says:  — 

"That  duty  is  the  one  you  owe  to  your  country.  By 
your  country  I  do  not  mean  this  small  space,  crossed  and 
recrossed  by  the  beautiful  and  granite-capped  hills  which 
so  closely  encircle  us,  but  I  speak  of  a  country,  a  part  of 
whose  wide  domain  is  always  in  sunlight,  extending  west- 
ward from  the  storm-washed  rocks  of  the  New  England 
shore  to  the  farthest  extremities  of  the  Aleutian  Isles  — 
from  the  present  frozen  shores  of  the  great  lakes  to  the  ever 
tropical  climate  of  the  Mexican  gulf  —  a  country  with 
seventy  millions  of  people  —  a  country  of  free  speech  and 
free  religion  —  a  country  covered  with  schools  and  churches 
—  a  country  to  be  proud  of;  a  country  to  respect;  and  above 
all,  if  need  be,  a  country  to  die  for.  This  is  the  spirit  which 
should  be  taught  in  all  our  public  schools,  encouraged  at 
the  fireside  and  in  the  churches,  that  the  aim  of  every  boy 
and  young  man  might  be  to  make  this  our  common  country 
united  —  one  for  all,  for  in  unison  only  is  there  strength. 
Then  the  day  will  surely  come  when  one  could  ivish  no  other 
epitaph  than  this:  'He  lived  and  died  an  American  citizen.*" 

He  had  learned  well  the  lesson  that  the  civic  virtues, 


SU  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

the  duty  man  owes  to  the  State,  tower  above  all  else.  Like 
Andrew  Fletcher,  he  could  exclaim:  "I  would  readily  lose 
my  life  to  serve  my  country,  but  would  not  do  a  base  thing 
to  save  it." 

Entering  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  in 
September,  1873,  he  pursued  the  regular  course  for  nearly 
three  years,  leaving  in  his  junior  year  to  accept  an  appoint- 
ment to  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  offered  him 
by  President  Julius  H.  Seelye,  who  was  then  in  Congress. 
He  entered  on  June  14,  1876.  Of  his  life  there  and  the 
impression  made,  let  his  classmates  bear  witness.  Of  the 
many  letters  received,  I  can  only  make  use  of  a  few,  just 
enough  to  give  you  an  inside  view  of  the  man  in  this  forma- 
tive period  of  life. 

"I  remember  him  as  being  a  high-strung  young  fellow, 
conscientious  and  energetic  in  the  performance  of  his  duty, 
and  just  the  kind  of  man  whom  you  would  expect  to  be  at 
his  post  of  duty  in  an  emergency."  —  "Generous,  honest 
and  unselfish — inflexible  in  his  adherence  to  truth,  he  made 
friends  whenever  he  went."  —  "Dickinson  had  a  lovely 
disposition  which  made  him  most  congenial  company.  He 
always  did  his  very  best  wherever  he  was  put,  and  as  a 
soldier  always  did  his  duty.  He  was  beloved  by  his  men 
and  respected  by  his  fellow  officers."  —  "He  learned  eas- 
ily, took  good  rank  in  his  class,  and  was  universally  popu- 
lar. Bright,  genial,  and  a  good  soldier,  he  was  a  most  wel- 
come addition  to  any  circle.  Transferred  from  the  cavalry 
to  the  Seventeenth  Infantry,  and  serving  up  to  the  time  of 
his  glorious,  but  regretted  death,  at  the  front  of  his  troops, 
where  he  voluntarily  placed  himself,  despite  the  fact  that 
his  duties  as  a  quartermaster  appointed  his  place  in  the  rear, 


ADDRESSES  325 

his  soldierly  instincts  and  sense  of  duty  prevailed,  with 
that  sad  result.  A  soldier,  a  gentleman  and  a  scholar.  God 
rest  his  soul!"  —  "My  classmate  Dickinson  has  always 
been  the  same  sunny,  light-hearted  boy  he  appeared  to  be 
when  we  reported  at  West  Point  in  1876.  The  last  long  talk 
I  had  with  him  was  at  Tampa,  discussing  the  projected 
campaign.  He  was  eager  for  the  active  service  and  looked 
forward  with  high  hopes  to  our  immediate  success  with  the 
efficient  army  then  organizing.  'Dick,'  as  we  were  wont  to 
call  him  among  ourselves,  was  naturally  a  great  favorite 
in  his  class  and  among  his  brother  officers,  and  withal  he  was 
a  most  efficient  officer.  The  loss  on  the  day  of  July  1  was 
so  heavy  and  immediate  to  us  that  at  first  I  hardly  appre- 
ciated that  we  had  lost  our  classmate,  but  as  time  goes  on, 
I  find  that  I  miss  him  the  more,  as  my  mind  is  capable  of 
appreciating  the  fact  that  we  can  never  hope  to  see  again 
his  cheery  smile  or  hear  his  hearty  laugh." 

What  higher  commendation  can  a  man  seek  than  this? 
Conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  duty  —  Doing  his  best 
in  whatever  position  placed  —  Inflexible  in  his  adherence 
to  truth  —  A  soldier,  gentleman  and  scholar  —  these  are 
no  uncertain  words  of  praise.  They  represent  the  noblest 
ideals  and  highest  conceptions  of  duty. 

Graduating  from  the  Academy  in  June,  1880,  he  was 
assigned  as  Second  Lieutenant  to  the  Fourth  U.  S.  Cav- 
alry. At  last  his  boyish  dreams  were  realized  and  he  was 
in  truth  a  member  of  that  gallant  army  in  which  he  took 
so  much  pride.  The  next  eleven  years  were  busy  ones  for 
our  young,  untried  officer.  We  catch  glimpses  of  him  now 
in  the  field  against  the  Indians  and  now  in  garrison  on 
some  lone  frontier  post  —  now  doing  duty  as  quarter- 


326  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

master  and  now  on  recruiting  service.  But  wherever  placed, 
the  same  record  for  efficiency  and  thoroughness  follows 
him.  He  was  complimented  by  General  Ruger  for  a  forced 
march,  made  alone  with  fifty  Indian  scouts,  covering  a 
distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  San  Carlos 
agency  to  Sipa,  New  Mexico,  in  three  days,  the  Indians 
running  by  the  side  of  his  horse.  And  his  captain  writes : 
"He  was  unusually  attentive  to  duty  and  thorough  in  all 
that  he  did.  I  always  considered  him  a  brave,  true  man, 
extremely  sincere  in  his  attachments  and  relations  with 
others.  He  was  a  devoted  husband,  and  just  and  generous 
in  all  his  relations  with  his  friends." 

The  following  brief  synopsis  of  his  army  life,  furnished 
by  a  brother  officer,  gives  continuity  to  the  picture :  — 

"Upon  graduation  he  was  assigned  to  the  Fourth  U.  S. 
Cavalry,  joining  his  troop  at  Fort  Sill,  Indian  Territory 
(the  Kiowa  and  Comanche  Reservation).  From  the  In- 
dian Territory  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Colorado, 
keeping  in  check  the  Utes;  then  to  New  Mexico  for  gar- 
rison duty,  which  at  that  time  meant  continuous  field 
service  against  the  Apaches.  After  three  years'  service 
he  was  detailed  to  the  Infantry  and  Cavalry  School  at 
Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  After  graduation  he  was  re- 
tained at  the  post  until  1886,  when  with  his  troop  he  was 
again  ordered  to  New  Mexico. 

"Receiving  his  promotion  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  Sep- 
tember 1,  1886,  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Huachuca,  Ari- 
zona, then  to  the  Cavalry  Depot,  Jefferson  Barracks, 
Missouri,  and  again  to  Arizona,  remaining  there  until  the 
regiment  was  ordered  to  the  Pacific  coast.  In  1891  he 
transferred  to  the  Seventeenth  Infantry  and  was  stationed 


ADDRESSES  327 

at  Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  Wyoming.  From  this  post  he  was 
detailed  to  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  as  Professor  of  Mili- 
tary Science  at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College. 
After  a  tour  of  service  at  this  college  he  rejoined  his  regi- 
ment at  Columbus  Barracks,  Ohio,  remaining  on  duty  at 
that  post  until  the  late  declaration  of  war,  when  he  was 
ordered  to  active  service  in  Cuba.  At  this  time  he  was  the 
regimental  quartermaster,  appointed  April  1,  1898,  re- 
ceiving his  promotion  to  a  captaincy  April  26,  1898,  which 
was  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  after  his  death,  July  14, 1898. 

"Captain  Dickinson  was  stationed  at  a  number  of  posts 
during  his  service,  the  following  being  a  partial  list :  — 
Fort  Sill,  Indian  Territory;  Forts  Cummings,  Bayard  and 
Stanton,  New  Mexico;  Forts  McDowell,  Huachuca,  and 
Bowie,  Arizona;  Fort  Walla  Walla,  Washington;  Presidio 
of  San  Francisco  and  Yosemite  National  Park,  California; 
Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  Wyoming;  Jefferson  Barracks,  Missouri, 
and  Columbus  Barracks,  Ohio." 

One  last  picture  of  the  dashing  cavalryman  we  have, 
drawn  by  the  hand  of  one  who  was  in  action  with  him, 
and  we  see  him  just  where  we  should  expect  to  see  him, 
in  the  fore-front  of  the  battle,  leading  a  charge  against  the 
lurking  Apaches :  — 

"We  were  in  but  one  Indian  fight  together,  at  Horse- 
Shoe  Canon,  on  the  Arizona-Mexican  line,  April  22,  1882. 
The  Indians  occupied  a  strong  position  on  a  high  bluff,  which 
we  finally  carried  by  assault.  In  the  assault,  Walter  was 
the  very  first  to  reach  the  summit,  and  I  well  remember, 
as  the  line  of  his  troop  swept  up  the  hill,  he  was  the  for- 
ward apex  of  a  triangle,  of  which  the  two  sides  were  formed 
of  the  men  of  his  troop  on  his  right  and  left  rear." 


328  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Transferred  at  his  own  request  November  4,  1891,  to 
the  Seventeenth  Regiment  U.  S.  Infantry,  he  remained 
in  this  new  branch  of  the  service  only  a  brief  nine  months, 
and  was  then  detailed  as  military  instructor  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  College.  Why  should  I  dwell  upon 
his  work  here?  Is  it  not  known  to  you  all?  The  pains  he 
took  in  bringing  up  the  battalion  to  the  highest  pitch  of  ex- 
cellence, eliciting  from  the  Army  Inspector  the  comment, 
"The  youngster  has  done  well";  the  interest  he  took  in 
every  man  of  his  command;  the  solid  conscientious  work  he 
put  into  his  duty.  Who  of  you  that  ever  saw  him  walk 
across  the  parade  ground  as  if  he  owned  the  very  ground  he 
trod  upon,  but  recognized  that  he  was  a  leader  among  men? 
Who  that  ever  saw  him  handle  the  cadets,  and  watched  the 
animation  and  the  force  with  which  he  drilled  them,  but 
recognized  the  born  soldier?  Obedience,  implicit  obedience, 
he  demanded.  Unstinted  praise  he  gave  when  merited; 
sharp,  stinging  rebuke  when  deserved.  But  with  all  this 
the  boys  liked  him  —  nay,  more,  they  loved  him  while  they 
feared  him.  That  same  nameless  charm  of  personality  which 
led  his  brother  officers  to  call  him  "Dickie,"  charmed  them, 
and  their  admiration  for  the  man  blossomed  into  affection 
for  the  friend. 

How  completely  he  won  their  hearts  this  extract  from 
a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  graduates,  speaks  eloquently : 
"I  am  grateful  for  the  opportunity  to  help  in  this  me- 
morial. The  deep  personal  interest  he  took  in  each  of  us 
who  came  under  his  instruction  and  discipline,  his  complete 
devotion  to  duty,  to  the  battalion,  to  the  whole  college; 
his  sorrow  at  our  shortcomings  and  his  pride  in  our  successes, 
made  us  regard  him  with  more  than  ordinary  feelings  as  our 


ADDRESSES  329 

friend.  His  last  words  to  our  class  in  our  class-room  were  so 
characteristic  of  him  that  I  will  repeat  them  as  nearly  as 
my  memory  will  allow:  *  If  you  ever  come  where  I  am,  come 
and  see  me  —  I  '11  try  and  make  it  pleasant  for  you.  If  you 
are  ever  in  trouble,  let  me  know  —  I'll  try  and  help  you. 
Good-bye. '  —  And  he  was  gone  from  the  recitation  room 
to  his  office.  Every  man  in  that  room  knew  he  meant  just 
what  he  said  and  that  he  meant  it  to  apply  to  him.  The 
college  has  lost  a  good  champion  and  the  country  a  noble 
officer.'* 

The  words  of  parting  to  the  class  that  had  been  under 
his  instruction  for  four  years  convey  so  clearly  his  own  con- 
ception of  duty  that  I  know  you  will  bear  with  me  a  mo- 
ment longer  while  I  repeat  them :  — 

"Young  gentlemen,  the  time  has  now  come  when  we  are 
to  separate,  and  there  are  a  few  things  that  I  take  occa- 
sion to  say  to  you,  because  I  shall  never  have  the  oppor- 
tunity again.  I  came  here  from  twelve  years'  continuous 
army  service  on  the  Plains,  beyond  the  Mississippi.  You 
thought,  perhaps,  I  was  rather  a  rough  fellow.  My  way 
of  dealing  with  you  at  first  seemed,  probably,  somewhat 
severe.  I  tried  to  teach  you  lessons  of  unquestioning  obedi- 
ence, for  obedience  is  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier;  but  I  think 
you  have  learned  to  understand  me,  as  I  have  learned  to 
understand  you,  and  our  relations,  on  the  whole,  have  been 
very  pleasant.  And  now,  as  you  leave  the  college  to  go  out 
into  the  world,  I  wish  to  say  two  or  three  things  which  I 
trust  you  will  not  forget.  The  first  is:  Remember  always 
to  be  a  gentleman.  Second:  Be  truthful;  always  truthful. 
No  man  can  be  a  true  soldier  on  any  other  basis.  Third: 
Wherever  you  are  placed,  under  whatever  circumstances 


330  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

and  on  every  occasion,  be  true  to  yourselves.  And  last: 
Whatever  you  find  to  do  in  the  world,  give  to  it  the  best 
that  is  in  you  and  do  it  for  all  you  are  worth." 

Homely  words,  tersely  expressed,  but  striking  out 
straight  from  the  shoulder  to  the  mark.  What  Christopher 
North  calls  "A  cut  and  thrust  style,  without  any  flourish. 
Scott's  style  when  his  blood  was  up  and  the  first  words  came 
like  a  van-guard  impatient  for  battle.' ' 

A  man  is  judged  not  by  the  place  he  fills,  but  by  the 
way  in  which  he  fills  it.  He  was  an  unknown  quantity 
so  far  as  instructing  was  concerned,  and  when  he  found  that 
he  really  could  teach,  he  suddenly  woke  to  a  consciousness 
that  life  had  a  deeper  meaning  for  him  than  he  had  ever 
realized  before.  It  was  most  stimulating  to  hear  his  enthu- 
siasm over  his  new  work.  He  went  at  it  in  the  same  con- 
scientious manner  in  which  he  performed  every  duty,  but 
there  was  added  to  that  a  wondering  delight  in  his  new- 
found powers.  He  studied  international  law  —  he  worked 
at  constitutional  history  and  called  upon  all  the  resources 
of  his  previous  years  of  reading  American  history  to  pre- 
pare himself  the  better  for  the  lecture  room.  In  fact  — 
"his  work  at  the  college  was  so  well  done  that  it  seems  as 
if  he  could  sleep  better  in  the  soil  of  the  town  where  he 
did  one  piece  of  thoroughly  finished  work  and  for  which  he 
is  sure  to  be  remembered." 

Rejoining  his  regiment  in  1896,  he  served  with  it  for 
the  next  eighteen  months  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  Then  came 
the  call  to  arms  and  with  it  his  appointment  as  quarter- 
master, and  the  movement  of  the  regiment  to  Tampa 
and  thence  to  Cuban  soil.  When  they  reached  Baiquiri,  the 
regiment  marched  on  and  he  was  left  to  unload  the  stores 


ADDRESSES  331 

and  baggage.  Chafing  under  his  forced  inactivity  and  hear- 
ing that  a  battle  was  imminent,  he  left  the  ship  and  re- 
joined the  regiment  Monday,  June  27,  five  miles  from 
Santiago.  Being  ordered  by  the  lieutenant-colonel  to  return 
and  finish  the  unloading,  he  made  his  way  back  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  to  the  shore,  completed  his  task,  and  once  more 
—  late  on  the  night  of  June  29  —  reached  his  command. 
On  Thursday  the  army  advanced,  and  that  night  the  regi- 
ment bivouacked  so  near  the  enemy  that  fires  were  not 
allowed  to  be  lit  and  the  utmost  quiet  was  enjoined  that 
their  position  might  not  be  betrayed. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  details  of  the  battle  of  El 
Caney .  That  has  already  been  done  by  abler  pens  than  mine. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  El  Caney  is  a  small  village  cresting  a 
hill  three  and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  San  Juan,  three 
miles  north  of  El  Poso,  and  five  or  six  miles  northeast  of 
Santiago.  In  the  native  language  it  signifies  "the  tomb," 
because  upon  this  hill  were  buried  many  of  the  ancient 
inhabitants — a  fit  name  for  the  battle-field  where  so  many 
of  our  bravest  found  their  last  resting-place.  On  that  fatal 
morning  no  one  was  calmer  or  more  cheerful  than  Lieuten- 
ant Dickinson.  No  fear  nor  disturbing  thought  seemed 
to  enter  his  mind,  and  he  made  his  few  preparations  for  the 
advance  as  quietly  and  with  the  same  care  as  if  going  on 
parade.  His  duties  as  quartermaster  did  not  require  his 
presence  at  the  front,  but  he  could  not  bear  to  remain  at  the 
rear  and  not  share  the  dangers  of  his  comrades.  Going  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Haskell  he  said:  "Colonel,  I  want  to  go 
with  you  to-day";  and  from  that  time,  with  the  exception 
of  two  short  intervals,  during  which  he  was  carrying  orders, 
never  left  his  side  until  he  received  his  death  wound. 


332  HENRY  HILITGOODELL 

The  brigade  was  in  motion  shortly  before  daybreak,  pain- 
fully making  its  way  over  the  narrow,  slippery  paths  and 
climbing  the  grassy  ridge  overlooking  the  village.  The 
Twelfth  and  the  Seventh  regiments  first  deployed  and  took 
position.  Then  came  the  order  for  the  Seventeenth  to 
place  itself  on  the  right  of  the  Seventh.  Cautiously  ad- 
vancing in  single  file,  it  struck  the  sunken  road  running 
parallel  to  the  northeast  slopes  of  El  Caney.  It  was  com- 
manded by  block-houses  at  either  end,  and  in  front  was  an 
open  country  swept  by  the  Spanish  marksmen.  The  hedge 
along  the  road  was  strongly  interlaced  with  barbed  wire. 
The  Colonel  directed  this  to  be  cut,  and  through  the  open- 
ing passed  out  into  the  field  beyond,  attended  only  by 
Dickinson.  In  an  instant  this  drew  upon  them  the  fire  from 
a  hundred  unseen  guns.  What  followed  is  best  described 
in  the  words  of  the  Colonel,  taken  from  a  private  letter 
written  a  short  time  before  his  death :  — 

"Captain  Dickinson's  death  wound  was  received  at  the 
same  moment  I  was  shot  through  the  left  breast.  He  then 
received  a  bullet  through  his  right  arm  at  the  same  in- 
stant I  was  shot  through  the  knee.  This  shot  knocked  me 
down,  and  seeing  me  fall,  he  ran  toward  the  men  and  told 
them  to  'Go  and  bring  in  the  Colonel.'  In  other  words,  he 
did  not  leave  my  side  till  he  had  been  wounded  twice." 

It  is  only  right  to  say  that  all  other  accounts  report 
Captain  Dickinson  as  being  shot  first  in  the  arm;  and  seeing 
the  Colonel  fall,  he  went  back  for  help,  and  on  his  return 
received  his  fatal  wound.  The  weight  of  evidence  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  this  is  the  correct  version.  Placed  in 
a  litter  and  receiving  such  aid  as  was  possible  on  the  field, 
he  remained  all  day  exposed  to  the  bullets  of  the  sharp- 


ADDRESSES  333 

shooters,  being  wounded  a  third  time  in  the  fleshy  part 
of  the  leg,  and  a  little  later  grazed  in  the  arm  and  ear.  Who 
can  tell  the  agony  of  that  long  day  in  the  burning  heat  of 
a  tropic  sun !  But  his  courage  never  faltered  and  he  greeted 
each  comrade  with  a  wan  smile  and  pressure  of  the  hand. 

Heroes  are  forged  on  anvils  hot  with  pain 

And  splendid  courage  comes  but  with  the  test. 

It  is  a  beautiful  incident  that,  as  he  lay  there,  at  inter- 
vals amid  the  crash  and  uproar  of  the  battle  there  came 
to  his  ears  the  familiar  sounds  of  his  childhood.  In  the 
village  but  a  few  hundred  yards  distant  the  cackling  of 
hens  and  the  crowing  of  cocks  could  be  distinctly  heard. 
The  Bob  Whites  were  calling  to  their  mates,  and  the 
hoodios,  a  species  of  daw,  flying  from  tree  to  tree,  were 
calling  in  strange,  but  pleasant  notes. 

Removed  to  the  field  hospital,  he  seemed  troubled  at 
the  presence  of  so  many  wounded  men,  and  at  his  own 
request  was  placed  in  a  small  shelter  tent  under  a  mango 
tree.  And  here,  watched  over  by  his  faithful  sergeant, 
George  Kaltschmidt,  he  lingered  on  through  that  soft 
moonlit  night  till  the  end  came. 

An  hour  before  the  dawn  the  forest  birds  stir  uneasily 
in  their  sleep.  They  are  dreaming  of  the  day.  An  hour  before 
the  dawn,  his  trembling  spirit,  struggling  from  its  mortal 
frame,  flew  upward  and  found  rest.  The  dawn  of  that 
great  day  which  comes  to  all  alike,  had  come  to  him, 
and  on  his  wondering  eyes  there  broke  the  glories  of  a 
never-ending  life. 

My  friends,  "there  is  no  heroic  poem  in  the  world  but 
is  at  bottom  a  biography,  the  life  of  a  man;  and  also  it  may 


334  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

be  said,  there  is  no  life  of  a  man  faithfully  recorded,  but 
is  a  heroic  poem  of  its  sort."  Walter  Dickinson  was  a  man 
like  unto  ourselves  —  a  man  of  like  weaknesses  and  passions, 
but  his  biography  is  written  in  our  hearts,  and  in  our  hearts 
rings  on  forever  the  poem  of  his  strong  young  life. 

Chaplain  Trumbull  in  one  of  his  "War  Memories"  has 
a  chapter  devoted  to  "the  soldier  heart  buttoned  over  by 
the  soldier  coat,"  and  tells  the  following  incident:  Be- 
ing called  upon  one  day  to  conduct  burial  services  over 
two  men  who  had  died  in  the  hospital,  he  was  greatly 
shocked  as  he  entered  the  hall  where  the  bodies  were  lying, 
at  the  apparently  unfeeling  manner  of  their  comrades, 
who  were  jesting  and  laughing  as  though  nothing  unusual 
had  occurred.  But  in  the  midst  of  their  chattering,  one 
suddenly  turned  to  the  other  and  said:  ''Jem,  have  you  cut 
a  lock  of  Bill's  hair?  I  reckon  his  mother  would  like  it. 
My  mother  would."  It  was  a  revelation  to  him,  for  under- 
neath the  rough  exterior  he  recognized  the  soldier  heart 
beneath  the  coat,  beating  true  to  the  mother-love  of  his 
boyhood's  days.  Somebody's  mother  wanted  a  lock  of  her 
boy's  hair,  and  he  remembered  it  because  he  too  had  a 
mother. 

Soldiers  do  not  like  to  display  any  emotion.  Their  rigid 
discipline  has  taught  them  to  be  calm  and  self-contained, 
and  they  carefully  repress  any  signs  of  outward  feeling.  It 
is  not  shame.  Only  a  desire  to  conceal  from  the  world  the 
aching  heart.  Walter  Dickinson  was  no  exception  to  this 
rule.  The  deeper  feelings  of  his  nature  seldom,  if  ever,  came 
to  the  surface.  On  the  very  eve  of  leaving  for  Cuba,  with 
all  the  uncertainties  of  an  active  campaign  staring  him 
in  the  face,  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  speak  of  it,  and 


ADDRESSES  335 

it  was  only  in  the  last  letter  before  sailing  from  Tampa,  that 
the  mask  was  thrown  aside  and  he  penned  a  brief  farewell 
to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  commending  to  their  tender  love 
his  wife.  Not  more  than  a  dozen  lines,  but  all  the  same  it 
was  the  human  cry  of  "the  soldier  heart  buttoned  over  by 
the  soldier  coat." 

We  have  said  that  he  was  brave.  When  on  that  fatal 
morning  he  said,  "Colonel,  I  want  to  go  with  you  to-day," 
it  was  with  full  knowledge  of  the  risks  he  ran.  He  had 
been  in  battle  before.  He  had  heard  the  spiteful  hiss  of 
bullets  and  had  seen  men  struck  down  around  him.  But 
his  keen  sense  of  duty  would  not  allow  him  to  remain  be- 
hind in  safety  when  he  might  be  of  service  as  one  of  the 
Colonel's  staff.  There  is  a  moral  bravery  which  far  trans- 
cends that  of  the  battlefield.  The  one  is  of  the  earth,  earthy. 
The  other  is  of  the  spirit,  heavenly.  He  possessed  both. 
Whatever  interfered  with  his  usefulness  must  be  overcome, 
and  when  once  he  had  made  up  his  mind,  no  power  on 
earth  could  move  him.  In  temptation  oft,  beset  by  enticing 
snares,  his  courage  stood  the  test.  The  Good  Book  says: 
"He  that  ruleth  his  spirit  is  better  than  he  that  taketh  a 
city."  Verily  he  showed  in  this  a  moral  force  and  rugged 
strength  that  clothes  his  life  with  nobility  and  beauty. 
The  hero  living  for  a  principle.  The  hero  dying  for  his  coun- 
try. Each  in  itself  beautiful  —  each  the  necessary  com- 
plement of  the  other  —  together  rounding  out  the  perfect 
life  of  the  man.  Alas,  that  such  men  must  die !  Alas,  that 
they  are  snatched  from  us  too  soon! 

Not  like  some  drooping  flower,  that  no  man  noticeth, 
But  like  the  great  branch  of  some  stately  tree 
Rent  in  a  tempest,  and  flung  down  to  death, 


336  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

Thick  with  green  foliage  —  so  that  piteously 
Each  passer-by  that  ruin  shuddereth, 
And  saith  "The  gap  this  branch  hath  left  is  wide  ; 
The  loss  thereof  can  never  be  supplied." 

One  sentence  among  the  tributes  to  his  memory  has 
deeply  stirred  me.  It  runs  thus :  "  Please  accept  my  thanks 
as  an  army  officer  for  your  interest  in  and  desire  to  pay 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  fellow  officer  who  sacrificed  his 
life  in  his  country's  service.  It  is  the  knowledge  that  friends 
at  home  do  not  forget,  that  encourages  the  soldier  in  the 
field  and  gives  to  him  the  feeling  that  he  is  truly  a  champion 
of  the  people  and  not  a  hireling.  It  is  sentiment  that  wins 
our  battles,  not  brute  courage  or  love  of  carnage." 

That  gallant  army  to  which  Walter  Dickinson  belonged 
and  of  which  he  was  so  justly  proud  is  an  army  of  trained 
and  educated  patriots.  If  "This  war  has  taught  us  the 
morality  of  education,"  and  "if  the  schools  have  fought 
it,"  none  the  less  has  it  been  fought  and  brought  to  a  close 
by  that  little  band,  the  regulars,  —  scholars,  patriots  and 
soldiers.  The  thinking  bayonet,  the  scholarly  sword,  have 
gone  hand  in  hand  with  the  most  marvelous  exhibitions  of 
courage  and  undying  patriotism.  An  army  of  heroes  — 
bearing  the  summer's  heat  and  wintry  cold  without  a  mur- 
mur —  enduring  all  things  —  suffering  all  things  —  with 
too  often  the  certainty  that  politics  and  influence  would 
play  their  part  in  preferment,  rather  than  merit.  Yet  never 
for  an  instant  swerving  from  the  path  of  duty,  though  that 
duty  led  them  unto  death :  officers  leading  their  men  and 
men  vying  with  their  officers :  performing  such  prodigies  of 
bravery  that  the  foreign  attache  in  breathless  surprise  ex- 
claimed: "This  is  not  war,  but  it  is  magnificent."   This  is 


ADDRESSES  337 

the  army  we  love  and  admire.  This  is  the  army  we  cherish 
in  our  hearts.  Its  list  "is  like  the  tower  of  David,  builded 
for  an  armory,  whereon  there  hang  a  thousand  bucklers, 
all  shields  of  mighty  men." 

Out  of  the  mass  of  letters  received,  two  have  seemed  to 
me  especially  fitting  with  which  to  close  this  brief,  imperfect 
sketch  of  his  life  and  work. 

The  General  commanding  the  Division,  Major-General 
H.  W.  Lawton,  writes:  "I  knew  Lieutenant  Dickinson  well 
for  some  years,  and  I  knew  him  to  be  a  patriot  and  a 
true  soldier.  And  though  there  is  no  one  who  laments  his 
untimely  death  more  than  I,  still  we  have  the  happiness 
of  knowing  that  he  died  like  a  nobleman  and  a  soldier." 

Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  T.  Haskell,  commanding  the  Sev- 
enteenth U.  S.  Infantry,  whose  judgment  is  entitled  to  the 
highest  consideration,  sums  up  his  traits  of  character  in 
these  words:  "He  was  an  honest,  upright,  honorable  gentle- 
man without  fear  or  reproach ;  he  had  all  the  qualifications 
of  an  excellent  officer;  well-educated,  refined  in  his  manners, 
prompt  and  energetic  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and 
very  conscientious;  his  time  was  well  spent  with  some  good 
object  in  view;  a  great  reader,  very  domestic  in  his  habits; 
his  own  handiwork  added  much  to  the  comfort  and  beauty 
of  his  army  home  which  was  always  a  delightful  place  for 
the  guest.  Unselfish,  he  was  always  pleased  to  contribute 
to  the  enjoyment  of  others. 

"He  was  beloved  by  the  officers  and  enlisted  men  of 
his  regiment,  especially  for  his  business  ways  and  just  treat- 
ment of  all.  An  active  man,  he  loved  field-duty,  and  his 
bravery  in  the  field  was  one  of  his  most  noticeable  qualifica- 
tions.  I  loved  him  as  a  brother,  and  his  loss  to  me  will  al- 


338  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

ways  be  felt  the  same  as  though  he  were  of  my  blood.  To 
the  Regiment,  his  loss  was  a  great  blow.  As  a  Mason,  he 
tried  to  live  up  to  the  principles  of  the  Fraternity,  and  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
In  writing  as  I  have,  the  desire  has  been  to  impress  you  with 
the  fact  that  Captain  Dickinson  was  one  of  a  few  officers 
who,  with  no  lack  of  manly  or  social  qualifications,  spent 
very  few  hours  otherwise  than  in  doing  his  whole  duty  and 
trying  not  only  to  improve  himself,  but  also  his  fellow  com- 
rades.  I  know  he  loved  to  help  the  college  boys." 

Precious  testimony  from  one  so  soon,  alas,  to  follow 
him!  Death  loves  a  shining  mark,  and  our  hearts  go  out 
in  sympathy  to  the  officers  of  the  Seventeenth,  thrice  so 
severely  smitten. 

In  our  blundering  short-sightedness  we  call  this  death  a 
needless  sacrifice.  A  sacrifice  of  what?  Can  anything  good 
ever  perish?  It  lives  forever  with  a  vitality  and  persistence 
no  power  can  check,  and  with  an  influence  widening  as  the 
years  roll  on.  "Baseness  is  dissolution,  nobility  is  resur- 
rection." The  seed  must  rot,  to  grow;  every  dying  body  is 
such  a  seed.  Can  anything  then  be  a  needless  sacrifice  in 
the  great  providences  of  God? 

There  are  no  errors  in  the  great  eternal  plan, 

And  all  things  work  together  for  the  final  good  of  man. 

What  is  man  that  he  should  try  to  solve  the  purposes 
of  the  Infinite!  His  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  and  what 
now  seems  wrapped  in  darkness  and  impenetrable  mystery, 
shines  in  the  after-light  of  a  more  perfect  knowledge  with 
a  glory  unsurpassed  and  with  a  meaning  none  foresaw.  The 
Roman  sentinel  found  standing  on  guard  in  the  place  as- 


ADDRESSES  339 

signed  him,  when  the  lights  of  Pompeii  went  out  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago,  will  forever  stand  as  the  type  of  obedi- 
ence even  unto  death.  To  desert  his  post  was  perhaps  to 
save  his  life.  To  stay  was  seemingly  a  needless  sacrifice. 
But  duty  triumphed  over  fear,  and  the  world  for  a  score  of 
centuries  has  been  the  brighter  for  his  example.  The  dying 
martyrs  racked  and  tortured  for  their  faith,  with  glazing 
eye  and  quivering  frame  looking  upward  into  heaven,  prayed 
God  to  bless  their  persecutors.  "Another  Christian  dead," 
was  the  contemptuous  remark.  But  the  eloquent  Presbyter 
of  Carthage,  catching  the  true  meaning  of  this  steadfast 
adherence  to  duty,  gazed  down  the  long  vistas  of  the  com- 
ing centuries  and  exclaimed:  "The  blood  of  martyrs  is  the 
seed  of  the  church." 

The  Forty-sixth  and  Fifty-first  Massachusetts  Volun- 
teers, on  the  very  eve  of  being  transported  home,  their 
nine  months'  term  of  service  having  expired,  learning  that 
Lee  had  crossed  the  Rappahannock  and  was  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, offered  their  services  by  telegraph  to  the  Secretary 
of  War  and  were  accepted.  Will  any  one  dare  to  say  that 
this  was  a  needless  sacrifice  ?  No  legal  claim  could  hold 
them  —  Home  with  its  thousand  blessed  memories  was 
before  them  —  every  consideration  of  love  and  family  was 
urging  their  return.  But  duty  triumphed  over  inclination, 
intense  loyalty  over  affection,  and  to-day  a  grateful  and 
united  nation  rises  up  and  calls  them  blessed. 

There  is  a  conventional  morality  that  amounts  to  nothing 
more  than  legality.  It  does  nothing  but  what  it  can  show 
the  warrant  for.  It  is  incapable  of  judging  self-sacrifice. 
In  the  high  moments  of  a  man's  life  it  disappears  alto- 
gether.  Duty  takes  command  and  has  no  thought  of  con- 


340  HENRY  HILL  GOODELL 

sequences,  and  duty  never  throws  away  a  human  life. 
Living  or  dead,  self-sacrifice  is  not  only  in  God's  hand,  but 
by  his  command.  And  there  is,  there  can  be,  no  needless 
sacrifice.  The  law  may  not  command  an  officer  to  be  with 
his  regiment  in  battle;  but  if  his  sense  of  duty  does,  that 
is  the  supreme  law,  and  he  is  a  coward  unworthy  of  the 
place  he  holds,  who  does  not  obey. 

Walter  Dickinson  is  dead,  but  the  good  that  was  in  him 
will  never  die.  The  example  of  that  splendid  courage,  that 
intense  devotion  to  country,  that  laying  down  of  life 
for  duty  and  humanity  will  live  forever.  He  bought  with 
his  blood  the  ransom  of  a  nation.  He  baptized  anew 
that  flag 

Washed  in  the  blood  of  the  brave  and  the  blooming, 

Snatched  from  the  altars  of  insolent  foes, 
Blazing  with  star-fires,  but  never  consuming, 

Flash  its  broad  ribbons  of  lily  and  rose. 

The  sunlight  fades  from  off  the  hills.  The  hills  are  there, 
but  the  light  is  gone.  The  kindly  smile,  the  pleasant 
voice,  the  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand  warm  from  the  heart 
—  these,  indeed,  are  gone;  but  the  remembrance  of  all  that 
is  good  and  noble  and  true  in  thy  life  will  linger  in  our 
hearts  forever.  Rest  in  thy  quiet  sleeping  place,  beloved 
soldier,  friend,  and  brother.  Rest  by  the  side  of  him  thou 
lovedst  so  well,  and  for  whose  life  thou  gav'st  thine  own. 
Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives 
and  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided. 

The  noblest  place  where  man  can  die 
Is  where  he  dies  for  man. 


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