第115章

MYDEARELLEN——InmyletterofOct。13。toMr。Coolidge，I

gaveanaccountoftheriotwehadattheUniversity，andofit’stermination。Youwillbothofcoursebeunderanxietytillyouknowhowithasgoneoff?Withthebesteffectsintheworld。Havingletitbeunderstood，fromthebeginning，thatwewishedtotrustverymuchtothediscretionoftheStudentsthemselvesfortheirowngovernment。Withaboutfourfifthsofthem，thisdidwell，buttherewereabout15。or20。badsubjectswhoweredisposedtotrywhetherourindulgencewaswithoutlimit。HencethelicentioustransactionofwhichIgaveanaccounttoMr。Coolidge。Butwhenthewholemasssawtheseriouswayinwhichthatexperimentwasmet，theFacultyofProfessorsassembled，theBoardofVisitorscomingforwardinsupportofthatauthority，agrandjurytakingupthesubject，fourofthemostguiltyexpelled，therestreprimanded，severerlawsenacted，andarigorousexecutionofthemdeclaredinfuture，itgavethemashockandstruckaterror，themostsevere，asitwaslessexpected。Itdeterminedthewelldisposedamongthemtofrownuponeverythingofthekindhereafter，andtheill-disposedreturnedtoorderfromfearifnotfrombettermotives。Aperfectsubordinationhassucceeded，entirerespecttowardstheProfessors，andindustry，order，andquietthemostexemplary，hasprevailedeversince。Everyoneissensibleofthestrengthwhichtheinstitutionhasderivedfromwhatappearedatfirsttothreatenit’sfoundation。Wehavenofurtherfearofanythingofthekindfromthepresentset。Butasatthenexttermtheirnumberswillbemorethandoubledbytheaccessionofanadditionalband，asunbrokenasthesewere，wemeantobeprepared，andtoaskofthelegislatureapowertocallinthecivilauthorityinthefirstinstantofdisorder，andtoquellitonthespotbyimprisonmentandthesamelegalcoercions，providedagainstdisordergenerally，committedbyothercitizens，fromwhom，attheirage，theyhavenorighttodistinction。

Wehaveheardofthelossofyourbaggage，withthevesselcarryingit，andsincerelycondolewithyouonit。Itisnottobeestimatedbyit’specuniaryvalue，butbythatitheldinyouraffections。Thedocumentsofyourchildhood，yourletters，correspondencies，notes，books，&c。，&c。，allgone！Andyourlifecutintwo，asitwere，andanewonetobegin，withoutanyrecordsoftheformer。JohnHemmingswasthefirstwhobroughtmethenews。

HehadcaughtitaccidentallyfromthosewhofirstreadtheletterfromCol。Peytonannouncingit。Hewasaudesespoir！Thatbeautifulwritingdeskhehadtakensomuchpainstomakeforyou！Everythingelseseemedasnothinginhiseye，andthatlosswaseverything。

VirgilcouldnothavebeenmoreafflictedhadhisAeneidfallenapreytotheflames。Iaskedhimifhecouldnotreplaceitbymakinganother?No。Hiseyesighthadfailedhimtoomuch，andhisrecollectionofitwastooimperfect。Ithasoccurredtomehowever，thatIcanreplaceit，not，indeed，toyou，buttoMr。Coolidge，byasubstitute，notclaimingthesamevaluefromit’sdecorations，butfromthepartithas_borne_inourhistoryandtheeventswithwhichithasbeenassociated。IrecievedaletterfromafriendinPhiladelphialately，askinginformationofthehouse，androomofthehousethere，inwhichtheDeclarationofIndependencewaswritten，withaviewtofuturecelebrationsofthe4th。ofJulyinit，another，enquiringwhetherapapergiventothePhilosophicalsocietythere，asaroughdraughtofthatDeclarationwasgenuinelyso?A

societyisformedtherelatelyforanannualcelebrationoftheadventofPenntothatplace。ItwasheldinhisantientMansion，andthechairinwhichheactuallysatwhenathiswritingtablewaspresentedbyaladyowningit，andwasoccupiedbythepresidentofthecelebration。Twootherchairsweregiventhem，madeoftheelm，undertheshadeofwhichPennhadmadehisfirsttreatywiththeIndians。Ifthenthingsacquireasuperstitiousvaluebecauseoftheirconnectionwithparticularpersons，surelyaconnectionwiththegreatCharterofourIndependencemaygiveavaluetowhathasbeenassociatedwiththat；andsuchwastheideaoftheenquirersaftertheroominwhichitwaswritten。NowIhappenstilltopossessthewriting-boxonwhichitwaswritten。Itwasmadefromadrawingofmyown，byBen。Randall，acabinetmakerinwhosehouseI

tookmyfirstlodgingsonmyarrivalinPhiladelphiainMay1776。

AndIhaveusediteversince。Itclaimsnomeritofparticularbeauty。Itisplain，neat，convenient，and，takingnomoreroomonthewritingtablethanamoderate4to。volume，ityetdisplaysitselfsufficientlyforanywriting。Mr。Coolidgemustdomethefavorofacceptingthis。