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most came were
Joseph Green Cogswell,
Edward Everett, and
George Ticknor, all then studying at
Gottingen.
It happens that they had all been intimate in my father's family, and as he was very much interested in the affairs of the college,--of which he became in 1818 the “
Steward and Patron,” and practically, as
the Reverend A. P. Peabody assures us,
1 the
Treasurer,--they sent some of their appeals and arguments through him. This paper will consist chiefly of extracts from these letters, which speak for themselves as to the point of view in which the whole matter presented itself.
It will be well to bear in mind the following details as to the early history of these three men, taking them in order of age. Cogswell was born in 1786, graduated (Harvard) in 1806, was tutor in 1814-15 (having previously tried mercantile life), and went abroad in 1816.
Ticknor was born in 1791, graduated (Dartmouth) in 1807, went to Germany in 1815, and was appointed professor of Modern Languages at Harvard in 1817.
Everett was born in 1794, graduated (Harvard) in 1811, and went abroad on his appointment as Greek professor (Harvard) in 1815.
The first of these letters is from George
