Memoirs of John Adams Dix; comp. by his son, Morgan Dix.

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MEMOIRS OF JOHN ADAMS DIX.

life for their literary acquirements. Sparks was just leaving,
and Palfrey was a fellow-student with me for more than a
year. There was a gravity, not to say a stateliness, in the administration of this institution which was in strong contrast
with the easy-going management of the other. The extended
career of Dr. Abbott furnishes the best proof of his fitness for
the position which he held with such distinguished success.
I remember him as a man of solemnity, and not seeming to
me to possess those qualities which invite familiarity on the
part of his pupils. Those who knew him intimately may
have found in him qualities which a student, meeting him
only as one in authority, would fail to discover. I should describe him as very able, very just, and very devoted. That he
had a rich vein of humor I know, for it was my fortune to
open and develop it. But for the circumstance I allude to
I think I should have terminated my connection with this institution without leaving any trace of my presence, except the
registration of my name in the catalogue of students. I believe I was diligent, and made good progress in my classical
course. It was as a speaker that I was remembered by the
academic staff and my fellow-pupils; though it must be confessed that my notoriety (I cannot call it distinction) was not
of the most exalted character. My performance came off at
one of the periodical exercises in public speaking. I had
found in an old English magazine a burlesque account of the
Siege of Troy, and after some hesitation I resolved to test the
self-possession of our grave and reverend seigniors. I understood perfectly that it was an audacious experiment, and that
unless it was as audacious in the execution as in the design it
would prove an ignominious failure. I determined, therefore,
that it should not miscarry for want of dramatic effect. I intrusted no one with my secret, not even my fellow-boarders.
Palfrey prepared the way for me by a recitation calculated to
deepen the prevailing gravity. When he pronounced the
first line" In yonder cave, formed by no mortal hand, a hermit lived"