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[371] thoroughly enjoyed it. He was active and diligent in improving the opportunities afforded him of acquiring knowledge, and his abilities enabled him easily to take a high rank in scholarship. He naturally fell in with the literary tone of Cambridge, and his reading was thorough and extensive, chiefly in historical and in critical works. With all this, he was a genuine lover of the social life within the college walls, and no one was more sought after than he for the various societies and friendly clubs which constitute such a delightful part of the student's life. At the close of his course he had risen in rank to a very high place; he had read much, and to more purpose than almost any one else, and he had participated in the social life of college as much as those who had neglected their studies and literary culture. On leaving Cambridge he made up his mind to devote himself to business. He left at once for Calcutta, to acquaint himself with the East India trade, with which his father's house was mainly concerned. There and in Bombay he remained about a year. He returned to his country by way of Europe, after travelling in Italy, Switzerland, France, and England, and reached home in June, 1859. He at once settled down to business in his father's counting-room in Boston, and remained there, working faithfully and zealously, as was his wont, for two years, until the commencement of the war. He was surrounded by his old friends, classmates, and others, and his society was most eagerly and constantly sought. His literary tastes were always a source of enjoyment to him, and his mind was continually being enlarged and strengthened by sound and various reading. On the breaking out of the Rebellion, he threw himself into the service of his country with all the strength of his character. Nothing could restrain him from going into the army. His health was far from being firm, but his power of will seemed equal to overcoming even this great obstacle. He sought for and obtained a commission of First Lieutenant in the Twenty-fourth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, which was then being raised by the late lamented General Thomas G. Stevenson.
Sever and Francis, 1866.
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