The life and times of Charles Sumner. His boyhood, education, and public career

Front matter

S. 6. and E. L. ELBERT

Cthntnt itf

Jilt ilUmnriitm

Preface

tory, to his grand ideal of a perfect commonwealth, and to his impassioned eloquence, must be in part ascribed the ardor which inspired our Union army, and the success which crowned the contest. Others grandly spoke and fought for freedom : but none more eloquently, more learnedly, more effectively, enunciated its eternal principles than he ; nor more profoundly and persistently instilled into the public mind its justice, grandeur, and necessity. The life of such a man is therefore a lesson and an inspiration. It will ever be held as a kind of beacon-light by the avant-couriers of freedom, not only in America, but throughout the world. In attempting to portray it, I shall endeavor to be guided by the words of his own favorite Shakspeare : —

* 1 Speak of me as I am: nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice."

As often as practicable, he will be permitted to speak in his own language ; and many of the most eloquent passages from his ablest orations will be introduced. It is hoped that this record, the materials for which have been drawn from the most reliable sources, may prove acceptable to the patriot, the scholar, the orator, and the friend of freedom ; that it may serve in some degree to promote the principles of liberty, fraternity, and equality among men, and to awaken some fresh aspirations for a still nobler national life and destiny. The author would here express his sincere thanks to those personal friends of Mr. Sumner, and also to other gentlemen, who have kindly assisted in this undertaking.

Boston, March 24, 1874.

CO^TEISTTS.

CHAPTER I<

Page

The Sumner Family.— Name and Origin. — Physical Strength and Intellectual Energy. — Settlement in America. — William and Mary Sumner. — Gov. Increase Sumner. — Ancestral Line of Charles Sumner. — Major Job Sumner. — Charles Pinckney Sumner. — The Birth of Charles Sumner. — His Brothers and Sisters 11

Chapter II

Charles Sumner at the Boston Latin School. — His Teachers, School-Books, Studies, and Companions. — His Standing. — Two Anecdotes illustrative of his Character. — " Macte Virtute." — Admission to Harvard University. — His Classmates. — His Habits. — Personal Appearance and Studies. — Extracts of Letters from Classmates. — " The White Vest."

— Favorite Authors. — Chum and Rooms. — Standing at Graduation. — His " Book " . 22

Chapter III

Mr. Sumner on leaving College. — Private Studies. — Opportunities and Preparations. — Spirit of the Works of Genius. — Daniel Webster. — Mr. Sumner enters the Law School. — Method of Study. — Mr. Justice Story. — Mr. Sumner's Regard for him. — His Eloquent Tribute" to him. — His Indebtedness to him. — Mr. Sumner- contributes to "The American Jurist." — Studies with Benjamin Rand, Esq. — Regard for the Law School. — Admission to the Bar. — "Sumner's Reports."— Lectures to Dane Law School. — Edits Dunlap's *' Admiralty Practice." — Promise as a Lawyer . . .37

CHAP-TER IV.

Mr. Sumner visits Europe. — Chief -Justice Story's Letter. — Anecdote. — Mr. Sumner's Reception in England. — R. M. Milnes. — Another Letter from Judge Story. — Visit to Paris.

— Gen. Lewis Cass. — Art Studies in Italy. — Glowing Description of the Country. —Thomas Crawford. — Anecdote concerning Thomas Aquinas. — Acquaintances in Germany.

— Letter from Prescott. — Regard for Boston. — His Home on his Return from Europe. — Lectures. — Edits "Vesey's Reports." — Remarks from " The Law Reporter " . . .48

Chapter V

The steady Increase and Arrogance of the Slave Power. — Mr. Garrison's Efforts to resist it. — Opprobrium cast upon the Abolitionists. — The Annexation of Texas. —Mr. Sumner's View of Slavery in "The True Grandeur of Nations." — Compliments of Richard Cobden, Chief -J ustice Story, and

Contents

Theodore Parker. — Efforts to prevent Final Vote on Annexation of Texas. — Takes open Ground against Slavery. — Preparation for his Course. —His Persistency . . .61

QHAPTER VI.

Mr. Sumner's Eulogy on Mr. Justice Story. — His Tribute to the . Memory of John Pickering. — Oration before the Phi Beta lvappa Society of Harvard University. — Reference to Dr. Channing. — Eloquent Extract from the Oration. — Mr. Sumner's Method of meeting the Slave Power. — His Compliment to John Q. Adams. — His Apostrophe to Daniel Webster. — Letter to R. C. Winthrop. — Distrust of the Whig Party. — Argument on the Validity of Enlistments. — Speech on the War. — u White Slavery in the Barbary States." — Interest in Prison Discipline. — Oration on " Fame and Glory." — Speech in Whig Convention 74

Chapter VII

The Formation of the Free-soil Party. — Defection of the Whig Party. —Mr. Sumner's Speech announcing his Withdrawal from that Party. — Aggressions of the Slaveholding Power.

— The Duty of Massachusetts. — The Commanding Question.

— Mr. Sumner's Oration on "The Law of Human Progress."

— Greek and Roman Civilization. — Power of the Press. — Signs of Progress. — Course of the True Reformer. — Speech on the New Party. — Opposition to his Views. — Unity of Aim and Advanced Standing of Mr. Sumner and Mr. Garrison . 96

Chapter VIII

Mr. Sumner's Literary Pursuits. — Political Views. — Remarks on Utopian Ideas. — Position denned. — Oration before the American Peace Society. — War Pictures. — The Free-soil Party. — Convention at Worcester. — Address to the Citizens of Massachusetts. — Argument in respect to Colored Schools. Webster's Subserviency to the South. — Fugitive- Slave Law.

— Demands of Free-soil Party. — Future Course indicated.

— Death of his Brother 115

Chapter IX

Mr. Sumner's Election to the United-States Senate. — He makes no Pledges. — The Turning Vote. — Opinion of the Press. — Letter to Mr. Wilson. — Letter of Mr. Whittier. — Mr. Sumner's Acceptance of his Office. — Description of his Person. — Letters to Theodore Parker. — Entrance to the Senate. — His Rooms and Company. — The Ordeal before him. — His Speech on Kossuth. — On the Iowa Railroad Bill. — Letter to Theodore Parker. — Cheap Ocean Postage. — A Memorial of the Society of Friends. — Tribute to Robert Rantoul, jun.— Speech on the Fugitive-Slave Bill. — Freedom of Speech. —

— Slavery Sectional, Freedom National. — Spirit of our Literature against Slavery 138

Chapter X

Mr. Sumner's Tribute to Mr. Downing. — His Speech at Lowell.

— His Speech respecting Armories. — Mr. Sumner as a Correspondent. — His Letters. —The Pacific Railroad. — Secret

CONTENTS.

Sessions of the Senate. — His Election to Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, 1853. — His Speech on Military Affairs. — On the Basis of Representation. — On the Bill of Rights. — " A Finger Point from Plymouth Rock." — Reply to Mr. Douglas. — A Day of Trial. — " Landmark of Freedom." — Importance of the Question at Issue. — Iniquity of Slave System. — Plea for Missouri Compromise. — Future of Anti-Slavery Cause. — Speech on Passage of Kansas and Nebraska Bill. — Defence of Clergy. — Life in Peril . . 164

Chapter XI

The Persistent Course of Mr. Sumner. — Petition of the Citizens of Boston. — Condemnation of the Fugitive-Slave Bill. — Defence of Massachusetts. — Violent Opposition. — Opinions of Messrs. Chase, Giddings, Andrew, and Channing. — A Tribute from Wlnttier. — A Specimen of Senatorial Tactics.

— Anti- Slavery Sentiment Extending. — Formation of the Republican Party. — Mr. Sumner's Reception and Speech at Worcester. — Tyranny of the Slave-Power. — Backbone needed. — The American Merchant. — Position and Out-look. Plan of Emancipation. — Spread of Anti-Slavery Sentiment.

— The American Party 187

Chapter XII

Struggles in Kansas. — Excitement through the Country and in Congress. — Remarks of Mr. Sumner on the Reports of Messrs. Douglas and Collamer. — His Speech on the Admission of Kansas. — The Exordium. — Reference to Mr. Douglas. — Nebraska Bill a Swindle. — Defence of Massachusetts.

— Assault on Mr. Sumner. — Effect of this Assault on the North and South. — Mr. Sumner at Cape May ; at Cresson ;

at Philadelphia 211

Chapter XIII

The Reception of Mr. Sumner at Boston. — His Remarks on the Occasion. — His Health Precarious. — His Letters evincing his Interest in Kansas. — Re-election to the United-States Senate. — His Remarks thereon. — Visits Europe. — He declines a Public Dinner in Paris. — Letter from Heidelberg. — Anxiety to return to his Official Duties. — A Third Visit to Europe. — Letter on Leaving. — Diagnosis and Treatment of his Disease. — Fortitude. — Life at Montpellier. — Return to United States. — Again in the Senate. — Sharp Reply to Mr. Mason. — John Brown and Mr. Sumner's Coat . . . 233

CHAPTER XIY.

Mr. Sumner represents the Spirit of the North.— " The Crime against Kansas." — Exordium. — Analysis of the Speech. — Slave Masters. — Freedom of Speech. — William Lloyd Garrison. — By Nature every Man is Free. — Property in Man not recognized bv the Constitution. — Closing AVords. — Remarks of Mr. Chestnut. — Mr. Sumner's Reply. — Reception of his Speech by the Public Press.— Personal Violence attempted. — Resolutions of Massachusetts Legislature. — Nomination of Presidential Candidates, 18b'0. — Speeches at Cooper Institute, Worcester, and other Places . . . 253

CONTENTS.

Chapter XV

Character of the Southern People. — Preparations for Secession.

— Letter of Andrew Jackson. — Firmness of Mr. Sumner. — Extract from his Letters. — Mr. Lincoln's Inaugural. — Mr. Sumner appointed Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. — His Influence with Mr. Lincoln. — His Passage through Baltimore. — A Steady Friend of the Colored Pace.

— Speech at Worcester. — Advocates Emancipation.— Tribute to Col. E. D. Baker. — Speech on the Trent Affair. — Resolutions for Emancipation. — Abolition of Slavery in District of Columbia.— Hay ti and Liberia. — Confiscation and Liberation. —Proclamation of Emancipation. — Its Effect . 270

Re-election to the Senate. —Introduces various Bills. — Activity. Address on Foreign Relations. — Poetical Tribute. — Franklin and Slidell. — Taste for Literary Curiosities. — Speech on the Constitutional Amendment. — Freedmen's-Bureau Bill. — Friendly Relations with Mr. Lincoln. — Success of the Union Arms. — Death of Mr. Lincoln. — Mr. Sumner's Eulogy . 284

Reconstruction. — Efforts on Behalf of the Freedmen. — Remarks on the "Equality Bill." — On the Fourteenth Amendment. — Opposition to Compromise. — Plea for the Elective Franchise. — Death and Character of his Mother. — His Marriage and Divorce. — On naming Children. — Suffrage for Colored People at the North. — Rupture between the President and Congress. — Removal of Mr. Stanton. — Impeachment of the President. — Letter to Mr. Stanton. — Equal Suffrage. — Alabama Claims. — The Cubans. — Dominican Treaty. — Rupture with Gen. Grant. — Speech on San Domingo . . 301

The Supplementary Civil-Rights Bill. — Letter on the San-Domingo Affair. — Tone of his Criticisms on the Administration.

— His Illness. — His View of the Republican and Democratic Parties. — Support of Mr. Greeley. — Reception in Boston.

— Visit to Europe. — Nomination as Governor of Massachusetts. — Resolutions on the Battle-Flags. — His Desire to raise Money by Lecturing. — Last Visit to Boston. — Declining Health. — Last Labors in Congress. — Recision of the Censure for his Resolution on the Battle-Flags .... 322

Mr. Sumner's House at Washington. — His Love of Art. — Last Sickness and Death. — Obsequies at Washington. — Meeting of the General Court. — Meeting at Faneuil Hall. — Remains at the Doric Hall. — Services at King's Chapel. — At Mount Auburn. — Personal Appearance. — Religious Views. — Works.— Style. — Integrity. — Consistency. — Statesmanship

Mr. Sumner's Will Epitaph .

353 356

THE LIFE AND TIMES

OF

CHARLES SUMNER.

Chapter I

The Sumner Family. — Name and Origin. — Physical Strength and Intellectual Energy. — Settlement in America. — William and Mary Sumner. — Gov. Increase Sumner. — Ancestral Line of Charles Sumner. — Major Job Sumner. — Charles Pinckney Sumner.— The Birth of Charles Sumner. — His Brothers and Sisters.

" Nothing is more shameful for a man than to found his title to esteem, not on his own merits, but on the fame of his ancestors. The glory of the fathers is doubtless to their children a most precious treasure; but to enjoy it without transmitting it to the next generation, and without adding to it yourselves, — this is the height of imbecility." — The True Grandeur of Nations, by Charles Sumner.

j]HE Sumner family * is one of the most ancient and respectable of New England. The name Sumner is said to have been originally Som-

* See Genealogy of the Sumner Family, by William B. Trask. Boston : 1854. 1!

LIFE AND TIMES.

moner, or Somner, given to one whose office was to summon parties into court. The family has long been noted for its physical strength and intellectual energy ; and from it have sprung many men of mark and influence. The name is frequently met with in the college catalogues, and in the early archives of the Commonwealth. The American head of the family was William Sumner, who, with his wife Mary and three sons, — William, Eoger, and George, — came from Bicester, Oxfordshire, Eng., and settled in Dorchester, Mass., anterior to 1637. The country now covered with highly-cultivated farms and gardens, and decorated with handsome villas and imposing mansions, was at that period a wilderness, the dreary abode of prowling beasts and savages. With the other colonists, William Sumner bravely met the dangers and endured the hardships of the new settlement, and bore a prominent part in laying the foundation of the important town of Dorchester. He was made a freeman in 1637, and for twelve years was elected as a deputy to the General Court. In 1663 he was chosen " clerk of ye training band ; " and in September, 1675, was on a jury for a trial " of ye Indians in Boston." The old portraits of William and Maxy Sumner, surmounted with the family coat of arms and insignia, and bearing date of 1623, were kept until within a few years by one

OF CHARLES SUMNER.

branch of the family, when they fell " to shreds under the hand of Time."

From Wilham, the original settler, through his son William, grandson George, great-grandson Edward, and great-great-grandson Increase (noted for his colossal size and herculean strength), was descended Gov. Increase Sumner, a man of commanding presence and of vigorous intellect, who was born in Roxbury, Nov. 27, 1746 ; graduated at Harvard College in 1767 ; and succeeded Samuel Adams as governor of the State in 1797. In reference to his stately bearing, as contrasted with the decrepitude of his predecessor, an old apple-woman said, on seeing him pass at the head of the legislature from the Old South Church, " Thank God ! we have got a governor that can walk, at last." Among , the many honest and characteristic declarations which he made, the following seems to have been a guide, not only to his own, but to the political course of other members of the Sumner family : —

" The man who, regardless of public happiness, is ready to fall in with base measures, and sacrifices conscience, honor, and his country, merely for his own advancement, must (if not wretchedly hardened) feel a torture, the intenseness of which nothing in this world can equal."

Roger Sumner, second son of the original settlers

LIFE AND TIMES.

William and Mary Sumner, early removed to Lancaster with other Christians for " the gathering of a church." Remaining there until the- town was destroyed by the Indians, he returned to Milton, where he died May 26, 1698. His son William, it is supposed, married Esther Puffer of Dorchester, Jan. 2, 1697, and had, inter alios, Seth, born Dec. 15, 1710 ; and married for his second wife Lydia Badcock in 1742. Jle was the father of thirteen children ; among whom Job, the fifth son, born April 23, 1754, graduated at Harvard College in 1778, and became a major in the Massachusetts line of the army of the Revolution. He was a man of ability, " sustained the reputation of an attentive and intelligent officer," and died from being poisoned " by eating of a dolphin," Sept. 16, 1789; leaving a son Job, who was born at Milton Jan. 20, and baptized March 17, 1776. His name was subsequently changed to Charles Pinckney. He was educated at Harvard, and possessed considerable poetic ability. At his graduation he delivered a commencement-poem on " Time," together with a valedictory class-poem, both of which possess some degree of merit, and are still preserved. In the last year of his collegiate course he published a poem entitled " The Compass," in which occurs a quatrain that seems to indicate, to some extent, the leading idea, the aspiration, and the effective lifework, of his illustrious son.

OP CHARLES SUMNER.

" More true inspired, we antedate the time

When f ntile war shall cease through every clime ; No sanctioned slavery Afric's sons degrade, But equal rights shall equal earth pervade."

Mr. Sumner studied law, was admitted to the bar, was several years elected clerk of the General Court, and in 1825 was appointed to the office of sheriff of Suffolk County. In this position he remained until his decease, which occurred on the twenty-fourth day of April, 1839. " He was the last high sheriff who retained the antique dress derived from English usage." He was a gentleman of the old school, — tall, well-bred, and dignified in demeanor, fond of reading, and of considerable oratorical ability. He delivered an appropriate eulogy on Washington at Milton, Feb. 22, 1800 ; and a Fourth-of-July oration in Boston in 1808. He was highly esteemed for the integrity and independence of his character. Mr. Sumner married Miss Relief, daughter of David * and Hannah (Hersey) Jacobs of Hanover, April 25, 1810, — a lady of strong mind, of an amiable disposition,

* He was the son of David and Hannah (Richmond) Jacobs of Hanover. He served as one of the coinniittee of safety during the Revolution ; and died in 1808, aged 79 years. He was the son of Joshua Jacobs of Scituate, who married Mary James in 1726. His father was David Jacobs, who settled in Scituate as early as 1688, and was a schoolmaster, and a deacon in the church.

and of graceful bearing. They resided in Hancock Street, and were attendants of King's Chapel, of which Mr. Sumner was for some time the clerk, and of which the Rev. James Freeman, D.D., the Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, D.D., and afterwards the Rev. Ephraim Peabody, D.D., were the eloquent pastors.

Charles Sumner, whose name is intimately associated with the stirring political events as well as with the literature of the country for the last thirty years, and whose life and public services this work is intended to commemorate, was the oldest son of Charles Pinckney and Relief (Jacobs) Sumner, and was born in May (now Revere) Street, Boston, on the sixth day of January, 1811. The site of his birth-place is now occupied by the Bowdoin Schoolhouse. His father subsequently removed to the plain, unostentatious, four-story brick building, No. 20, Hancock Street, which was for a long period the home of the family. The house, of which a good view is here given, fronts toward the west, and stands on an eligible site about half way down the declivity of the street. It is now occupied by the Hon. Thomas Russell, late Collector of the port of Boston, and contains many interesting mementoes of the Sumner family, among which may be mentioned the old mahogany writing-desk on whose tablet the eloquent senator penned many of those pregnant sentences

THE EARLY HOME OF CHARLES SUMNER, No. 20 Hancock St., Boston.

Now the Residence of the Hon. Thomas Russell.

OF CHARLES SUMNER.

which moved to its profoundest chambers the free spirit of the nation.

The other children of Charles Pinckney and Relief Sumner were, — Matilda, twin-sister of Charles : she was slender and fragile in person, and modest and retiring in manner. She died of consumption, March 6, 1832, and is buried at Mount Auburn. Albert, born Aug. 31, 1812 : he became a sea-captain, married Mrs. Barclay of New York, and was drowned, together with his wife and only daughter Kate, an interesting girl about fourteen jears old, on their way to France, whither the parents were going for the sake of their daughter's health. Henry, born Nov. 22, 1814, married and died in . Orange, N.J. George, born Feb. 5, 1817, who became a traveller, scholar, and author, and died in Boston Oct. 6, 1863. Jane, born April 28, 1820, a very lovely girl : she died of spinal disease, Oct. 7, 1837. Mary, born April 28, 1822, and died unmarried. Horace, born Dec. 25, 1824, and was lost by the wreck of the ship " Elizabeth " on Fire Island, July 16, 1850. And Julia, born May 5, 1827, and now the wife of John Hastings, M.D., of San Francisco. They have three children, — Alice, Edith, and Julia. Mrs. Kelief, widow of Charles Pinckney Sumner, was born Feb. 29, 1785, died of consumption, in Boston, June, 1866, and is buried beside her husband in the family enclosure in Mount Auburn.

Charles Sumner came into life under favorable auspices. He was of the vigorous and healthful Puritan stock : his- father was a gentleman of education and of courtly manners, his mother a lady of remarkable good sense and benevolence. They were both emulous, and they had the means, to give a sound and accomplished education to their children. The tuition of Charles was at first confided to his aunt, Miss Hannah Richmond Jacobs,* who long taught a private school on Beacon Hill, Boston, and who is still living in Hanover at the advanced age of ninety-one years.

He was a bright-eyed, obedient, and well-behaved boy, of tall and slender form, and quick of apprehension. He be^an to ascend the ladder of learning

* This lady, whom I visited in March, 1874, still retains her faculties, and writes a fair and handsome hand. She has knit four pairs of worsted stockings since Christmas last. She is tall and slender in form, correct and animated in speech, and very bright for a person of her age. She early went to live in Boston with her sister Relief, who boarded in the same family with Mr. Charles Pinckney Sumner, where an acquaintance was formed which eventuated in marriage. Her sister Matilda was the second wife of Deacon Galen James of Medford. Miss Hannah Richmond Jacobs speaks of Charles Sumner as an obedient, studious, and promising pupil, very fond of reading and of repeating speeches, and a* having been uniformly kind to her through life. In his will he remembered her by a life-annuity of $500.

OF CHARLES SUMNER.

by the study of Perry's Spelling-book and " The Child's Assistant ; " and, with his twin-sister Matilda, was soon initiated into the elements of arithmetic, grammar, and geography. "The Columbian Orator" of Mr. Caleb Bingham, then a popular school-book in Boston and vicinity, gave him great delight. He early became an excellent reader ; and his speech, as might be well inferred from the influences of a home of culture, was naturally correct and easy. The eloquent Dr. James Freeman was his early pastor, and, with other learned gentlemen, a frequent visitor at the Sumner house, which was then, as afterwards, the centre of an intellectual and refined society. In accordance with Juvenal's idea,* the courteous father of Charles Sumner entertained great reverence for boys, and most assiduously instructed his children, not only in respect to a polite behavior and the laws of health, but also in regard to the use of the most appropriate forms of speech ; so that the training of his first-born son to the art of oratory might almost be said to have commenced with infancy.

It is felicitous that the earliest words which greet the ears of children are correctly spoken. The mother's tongue is the child's first grammar. To the care which his parents, his pastor, and his teacher

* u Maxima debetur puero reverentia." — Lib. 5y Sat. 14.

bestowed upon his speech in his young life, something of that elegance of diction and that copia verborum for which Charles Sumner subsequently became distinguished is no doubt attributable.

In his boyhood he was agile, healthful, hopeful, and obliging ; yet ever more intent on reading and improvement than on boisterous sport and pastime. He was sent to the dancing-school; yet for this amusement he had but little inclination. Occasionally he attended his father in his visits to the court-room, and listened with juvenile curiosity to the arguments of the bar : now and then he sent his mimic boat across Frog Pond, his paper kite over the Capitol, coasted down the slopes of Beacon Hill, or spent a few days on a visit to his mother's early home in Hanover, where, instead of working with the boys upon the farm, he preferred to " speak his pieces ' in the barn or the. old pine grove.* Yet his time was mostly passed in his father's family, or in his aunt Hannah's school-room, steadily pursuing the elements of learning under the severe and rigid discipline of that period. It was, however, noted even

* The old homestead of his grandfather David Jacobs, and the birth-place of his mother, is in that part of Hanover called Assinippi, and is now the residence of the Hon. Perez Simmons. An air of quiet and comfort pervades the place.

OF CHARLES SUMNER.

at this time that he had an aspiration ; and a boy with an aspiration is sent into the world for some high purpose. He had also a decided will ; and where there is a will there is a way.

Chapter II

Charles Sumner at the Boston Latin School. — His Teachers, School-books, Studies, and Companions. — His Standing. — Two Anecdotes illustrative of his Character. — " Macte Virtu te." — Admission to Harvard University. — His Classmates. — His Habits. — Personal Appearance and Studies in College. — Extracts of Letters from his Classmates. — " The White Vest." — His Fondness for Reading, and his Favorite Authors. — His Chum and Rooms in College. — An Anecdote. — His Standing at Graduation. — His "Book."

What manner of child shall this be ? "

St. Luke.

" And like a silver clarion rung The accents of that unknown tongue, — 'Excelsior! ' "

H. W. Longfellow.

j|T the age of ten years, Charles Sumner was found qualified to enter the Boston Latin School, then under the charge of the accomplished classical scholar Benjamin A. Gould, and noted, as at present, for its thorough and persistent drill in the inceptive classical studies. Here the tall and slender lad applied himself closely to his lessons; studying Adam's Latin Grammar (which Mr. Gould edited with ability), the Gloucester Greek

CHARLES SUMNER.

Grammar, Euler's Algebra, Home Tooke's Pantheon, Irving's Catechism, and reading Cornelius Nepos, Sallust, Caesar, Cicero, and Virgil; together with Jacobs's Greek Reader, Mattaire's Homer, and other books preparatory to admission to Harvard College. The late Joseph Palmer, M.D., was an assistant i nstructor in the school, but was not then conscious that he was moulding the spirit of one whom he was afterwards to greet as the leading speaker on behalf of freedom in America. Among his school companions at this period were George T. Bigelow, Robert C. Winthrop, George S. Hillard, James Freeman Clarke, Thomas B. Fox, William H. Channing, Samuel F. Smith the poet, and others who have since attained celebrity. Although Charles Sumner did not hold the highest rank in scholarship on the appointed lessons of his class, he was distinguished for the accuracy of his translations from the Latin classics, and for the brilliancy of his own original compositions. He received in 1824 the third prize for a translation from Sallust ; when one of the examiners remarked, "If he does this when a boy, what may we not expect of him when a man ? " Two years later he obtained a prize for a theme in English prose, and also another for a Latin poem. On graduating he was honored with the Franklin Medal. He is remembered by his schoolfellows at this period as being kind-hearted, thoughtful, courteous, though exhibiting some slight consciousness of " being to the manor born." This last trait in his character sometimes drew a smile from the members of his family. On his lying in bed one morning until after the household had breakfasted, his mother rather sharply said to him as he came down, " Why so late this morning, Charles ? " " Call me Mr. Sumner, mother, if you please," said he, as if his dignity were offended ; and so the point of the rebuke was broken.

Another anecdote exhibits the purity of his spirit at this period. A certain lady nearly of his own age was wont to meet him frequently on his way to school ; when he would always greet her cheerfully with the salutation, " Good morning ! Made Virtute" (follow virtue), as if this saying were his creed. Whenever in after life she heard his name, this salutation came to her impressively, knowing as she did the strict integrity of his life.

He continued five years at the Latin School ; when, at the age of fifteen, he was found well prepared for entering Harvard College, whose terms of admission were somewhat less exacting than at present.