This text is part of:
[458] a few words were necessary, perhaps only a glance or a smile, to excite a friendly feeling; for both old and young liked to breathe his fresh life, and even the rough fishermen of Beverly, with whom he made frequent excursions in his summer vacations, were always glad to help him in his plans. But his pleasant qualities were not the only attractions to those who knew him well. He had a persistency and force of character which, although not fully brought into action except under the pressure of responsibility, were readily felt by those intimate with him. His impulses sprang from a basis of character which was felt to be solid, and he never seemed to be influenced by small or ignoble motives. He possessed, too, the magnetic art of infusing his own spirit and energy into the minds of others; and the qualities which were most highly appreciated by his superior officers, when he was in the service, endeared him to the companions of his boyhood. His perfect health of body and temperament made life very delightful to him. ‘It flowed gayly on like some rejoicing stream,’ and it was natural that an existence like his, ‘full, warm of blood, of mirth, of gossiping,’ should at first show but little of serious purpose. Thus endowed, rich in the love of friends and in the delights of his young life, Cabot unsuspectingly approached the struggle with himself. His first experience ended in mortification. His gay and social temperament led him away from his duties, after his entrance into College. He remained there only a few months, and was then suspended, in consequence of inattention to his studies. It was a necessary lesson; and he never spoke of this time, and of its wasted opportunities, without expressing deep regret. He returned to New York, and devoted himself to his Greek and Latin. While thus engaged, it was proposed to him, in the spring of 1862, to join a party of scientific men in a trip across the Western prairies, by way of Salt Lake. The prospect of such a journey was very fascinating, and the advantages of it seemed to his friends very great. He was
Sever and Francis, 1866.
Tufts University provided support for entering this text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.