In
the summer of 1888 he went to Cambridge, to revisit the old scenes and
once more meet his friends and associates of the olden time. He attended
the commencement exercises and spoke pleasantly at the class supper. His
classmates who then met him will long cherish the remembrance of that
last visit, his hearty greetings, his cordial manners, the interest he
manifested.
The renewal of our acquaintance soon satisfied me that the experience of
life had strengthened and developed all that was good and noble and
manly in the young student. The same warmth and cordiality which had
endeared him to his classmates won the regard and affection of his
associates here. The same general ability and rotundity of character
which had made him prominent in the little world of college life made
him useful and influential in various lines of duty in the wide field of
Congressional legislation.
During the intervening years the manly bearing, the physical
superiority, the nobility of spirit which had characterized him in the
earlier days had made him a leader among men when the storm of war raged
over the land. Brief as were the days of the unacknowledged Southern
Confederacy, his name was enrolled in bright letters upon the pages of
its history, and his brave deeds will in future days be chronicled in
song and story by those who admire true courage and recognize all that
was gallant and noble and heroic in the lives of all those who fought on
both sides of our great struggle as worthy of preservation and
commemoration.
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