Mastery of the study pursued, at every step of progress made, was the end aimed at and required ; and in this feature it strikingly resembled the celebrated Rugby School of Dr. Arnold in England. His scholars who left the school to enter upon a collegiate course uniformly took a high rank, and often the highest rank, in scholarship in the institutions they joined; and those who pursued a course preparatory to a business life have almost iiivariabh' been found among the most successful and honored in the circles of mercantile and commercial enterprise. The advanced years of the professor are often gladdened now by visits from his former pupils, -- generally gray-headed men and distinguished in their several spheres of life, who approach their venerable teacher and friend with strong and often touching expressions of respect, gratitude and aifection.
The lapse of years and the changes of more than a generation seem only to have strengthened and made more tender the ties which were created by the relation that once existed. From his early youth the professor evinced a remarkable genius for mathematics. While yet a young man he was a contributor to some of the ablest mathematical periodicals of the country. Even now, when more than eighty years of age, he is often found engaged in mathematical investigations, as a mere pastime. This natural capacity ibr and pleasure in this science, connected with a peculiar facility in simplifying to young minds its rules and processes, enabled the professor to awaken in his school that fondness for mathematical studies, and secure that unusual advancement in them, which was one of the marked results of his teaching.