This was due not to superior distinction in any particular study or in
any one feature of college life, but rather to his general standing and
characteristics. He kept pace with his classmates in the recitation
room, not so much by hard and continuous study as by his quick
comprehension and ready grasp of the subject in hand and the general
fund of knowledge at his command. He was of a friendly and companionable
nature, and there were abundant opportunities in a large class to
develop this disposition, cultivate social intercourse, and strengthen
the bonds of good fellowship. He had been accustomed to an outdoor life
in his Virginia home, and his manly training had given him an athletic
frame which required constant and vigorous exercise. This he sought in
active sports on the football ground and in the class and college boat
clubs, where he was welcomed as a valuable auxiliary.
In a large university--and Harvard had gained that rank even as far back
as those days--there are various fields of action, and other honors are
recognized than those marked on the catalogue or contained in the
degrees. The graduate who excels in mathematics, the languages, the arts
and sciences, is decked with the highest honor on commencement day, but
there are unwritten honors given by general consent of classmates to
those who have developed a superiority in any mental or physical
excellence.
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