The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837Various
History
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 10, No. 5, November 1837
Various
Periodicals
I do not know when I have passed a more delightful evening than the
first after my arrival in this place. With me were C----, and F----,
and L----, and D----, all old friends, who had always clung to me,
and predicted my reformation. We were all changed, as men always
change after leaving college, and mingling in the world, and getting
rid of the hateful jealousy, the struggle for rank, the boyish pride,
and hot blood, which characterizes students at college, pitted
against each other for the prize of parts. We sat together at a spot
overlooking the finest landscape I know of. It was a calm summer
evening, and the holy rest of nature poured quietness and complacency
into our hearts. We silently regarded each other, and let fall the
easy remark, each word opening to us the fact that we were different
beings from what we were when we parted.
Men educated in the same way, do not talk in round sentences, like
the characters in a novel. They interchange ideas by a word, a look,
a smile, a gesture; even in silence they hold communion, in looking
at a picture or a prospect. Observe how the Indians talk; this is a
perfect instance of the near sympathy they have for one another. A
shrug of the shoulder, a grunt, or a gesture, a movement of the head
or hand, is sufficient to convey their meaning.
My friends saw that I had a good room; they let me into the habits
of the place, and drew a fascinating picture of the life they led.
I never was so happy. All the dark spots in my life vanished, and I
looked only upon bright and joyous anticipations. I was away from
scenes of hateful remembrance, and seemed to have began anew. I felt
grateful for the chance that brought me there.
I do not intend to dwell long upon this law school; and I have
introduced it more for the sake of showing the effect of character
upon character, than any thing else, and to illustrate how our very
best sympathies, unless properly guarded, may lead us into error.
Law was pursued in this institution with all the plan and regularity
with which any school is conducted. Recitations were held every day,
and the lessons marked out. I admire this way of getting into the dry
details of an uninteresting profession by the beginner. By getting
lessons, short lessons, every day, at the end of a few months the
student finds himself the master of much information and technical
knowledge which he never would have attained by himself, without the
severest self-control and discipline.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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