LI A45 EDUC.- ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by HENRY BARNARD, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut. 23742 I. MEMOIR OF EDMUND DWIGHT: BY FRANCIS BOWEN, Professor of Moral Philosophy in Harvard College, Mass. THE services of the late Edmund Dwight to the cause of common school education were numerous and important enough to earn for him the title of a great public benefactor. During his lifetime, they were but little known beyond the small circle of his intimate friends, and of those who were closely associated with him in his labors. It was his pleasure that it should be so. His taste was nice even to fastidiousness; and any public mention of what he had done, seemed to grate upon his feelings and to lessen in his opinion the efficiency of his work. The agency which is bruited abroad, appeared to him, partly by bringing the motives of the agent into suspicion, and partly by mingling personal considerations with the cause, to lose in force what it gained in notoriety. In reference to the workings of society and government, he was deeply convinced of the truth, that far the most important and beneficial results are produced by that part of the social machinery which is most quiet in its operations, and consequently attracts the least notice and remark. He made it a condition of his numerous benefactions to the cause of common schools, that his name should not be mentioned in connection with them; and whatever of personal effort, of time and attention, he contributed to the same end, was in like manner studiously kept back from public observation and acknowledgment. During his lifetime, his friends respected his wishes in this particular; but death has removed the seal of secrecy, and the story of what he accomplished ought now to be told, in order to discharge a debt of gratitude from the public, and to set forth a useful example to others. Other considerations impart interest to a notice of Mr. Dwight's life and character. He was an eminent member of a remarkable class of men, the merchant princes of Boston during the last half century,-a class remarkable alike from the nature of the enterprises by which they acquired their wealth, from the high qualities of intellect and character which were manifested in their undertakings, and from the munificence of their public and private charities. He was the compeer and associate of the Eliots, the Appletons, the Lawrences, the Perkinses, and other distinguished merchants, whose liberality, foresight, and public spirit have contributed so largely, not only to the material prosperity of New England, but to her high commercial reputation both at home and abroad. They extended the bounds of her foreign trade, devised and supported her manufacturing establishments, planned and built her railroads, created or endowed her institutions of charity and education. A few of them obtained eminence as legislators and statesmen, though political pursuits never formed more than a brief episode in their active career. Generally they preferred to serve great public ends in a private station, where their influence was not less extensively felt because it was never obtrusively manifested. The biographies of a few among them have been recently published, and have been received by the community with an interest proportioned to the importance of their labors and the worth of their example. A brief sketch of the life of Mr. Dwight, compiled from scanty but trustworthy materials, may now be added to the number of these records. EDMUND DWIGHT was born at Springfield, Massachusetts, November 28th, 1780. His father, Jonathan Dwight, was a second cousin of the celebrated theologian and poet, Timothy Dwight, who was, for nearly a quarter of a century, the President of Yale College. The mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Ashley, died while Edmund was yet a child, and his father married a second, and subsequently a third wife. There were six children in the family, two daughters and four sons, of whom Mr. Henry Dwight, of Geneva, New York, is now the sole survivor. These children were chiefly educated at home, in such schools as Springfield, then a small place, afforded. The father, who was in prosperous circumstances, kept a store and also cultivated a piece of land; and his sons, as was usual with country lads in New England, when they were not occupied in school, often assisted in performing the ordinary labor upon the farm. Edmund, who was active and athletic, found his share of this work by no means unpleasing, and often afterward referred to it with pleas He was trained to careful and thrifty habits, after the pains-taking way of New England agriculturists in the last century; and the homely maxims, which he then learned, were remembered and cited by him with point and humor in his subsequent career. Thus he would remind a negligent or heedless worker of the necessity of "sweeping after the cart." He was wont to boast, also, that he was the best foot-ball player in the village. After completing his preparatory education at school, he entered Yale College, at about the same time that his distinguished relative became president of that institution; and he was graduated there in good standing in 1799. His early destination was for the bar, though the choice was probably made more in compliance with the wishes of his friends, than from his own predilections, which certainly inclined rather to an active than a studious life. He entered the lawoffice of Fisher Ames at Dedham, and probably lived for a time in Mr. Ames' family; at any rate, he formed and always retained the strongest admiration and affection for Mr. Ames, who was very kind to him, introducing him to his friends, and thereby to the best society in Boston. The conversation of Mr. George Cabot, Chief Justice Parsons, and other members of that brilliant circle of which Mr. Ames was the centre, made a deep impression upon him, and in later life, he spoke of it as the most fascinating and effective which he had ever heard. These gentlemen were the leaders and champions of the old Federalist party, which was still predominant in New England, though it was fast losing its ascendency in the country at large. There was something chivalrous in their attachment to it long after their sagacity perceived that its prosperity was waning, and that defense of its principles was no longer an introduction to popularity and power. Veneration for the character of Washington was a part of their political creed, almost of their religious belief. The earnestness with which these opinions were held, the high-toned conservatism which characterized them, and the eloquence and wit with which they were defended, naturally had a strong effect upon the mind of a young man, who, at the same time, was grateful for the notice which was taken of him and for many marks of personal kindness. Mr. Dwight was too resolutely self-reliant in his turn of mind to follow implicitly, and through life, the opinions of others, however high the authority whence they emanated; but it is probable that his views of society and politics, and even his estimate of many distinguished individuals at that epoch, were a good deal colored by the conversation which he heard in the law-office at Dedham, and in that circle of society of which Mr. Ames was one of the brightest ornaments. After completing his law studies, Mr. Dwight became desirous of visiting Europe, a project which was then far less common than it has Jecome, through the growth of opulence and the increased facilities of travel, in our own day. To obtain the means of carrying this plan into effect, he proposed that his father should give him immediately what would be his ultimate share of the inheritance, saying that he would not ask for any thing further, but would depend in future entirely on himself. Such a proposal was in perfect accordance with his character; at once resolute in executing any purpose which he had deliberately conceived, and confiding in his own strength for meeting any future exigences which such conduct might bring upon him. In or His father having acceded to this proposition, he crossed the Atlantic in 1802, and remained abroad about two years. It was a busy time in the affairs of Europe, and especially in the politics of England, to which country Mr. Dwight's visit was chiefly directed. The peace of Amiens, which might rather be called a truce, as it was made without good faith on either side and lasted only a little over a year, had just been declared; and a vehement party struggle attended both its commencement and its close. The Whigs, though their party comprised much of the best talent and the highest rank in the kingdom, were in a hopeless minority; but the Tories were shorn of their strength through their dissensions with each other. William Pitt had retired from office, that he might not have any hand in the conclusion of a peace which he deplored, at the same time that he recognized its necessity; but when the renewal of the war became imminent, he was haughtily indignant that his substitute, Mr. Addington, should be unwilling to restore to him the reins of power. der to drive out the administration, he entered into a coalition with his old opponents, the whigs; and though the king resolutely supported his prime minister, an opposition made up of the combined forces of Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, and Grenville was too much for the nerves of Mr. Addington, who, after a memorable struggle, and while a majority were yet at his command, gave way to his imperious opponent, and shortly afterward humbly consented to take office as his subordinate. Mr. Dwight was present as a spectator in the gallery of the House of Commons during the vehement debates which preceded the dissolution of the Addington ministry. The eloquence of the chief debaters made a strong impression upon him, especially that of Pitt, who, he thought, had finer natural qualifications for oratory than any speaker he had ever heard. A rich and powerful voice, and great copiousness of speech, added much effect to his loftiness of tone and weight of argument. He spoke like one who held in his hand the destinies of three kingdoms and the fortunes of a great war. The politics of America at this period hinged in a great degree upon those of Europe, and perhaps the predilections of Mr. Dwight as a Federalist enhanced his administration of the great English states man. Sometime in 1804, Mr. Dwight returned to Massachusetts, and immediately engaged in commercial business with his father and brothers in Springfield. Though his mind was cultivated by study, travel, and acquaintance with the world, he had not the distinctive tastes of a scholar, and was entirely free from the love of display which draws so many young men into the liberal professions. His choice of an |