Democratic Sentinel, Volume 6, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 May 1882 — Advice to Sir Charles. [ARTICLE]

Advice to Sir Charles.

When Sir Charles Lyell, the eminent geologist, was in America, he seems to have had some curious advice given to him about traveling on the Mississippi steamboats. “Never pay your fare until you are compelled to,” was the first of wisdom thrown at him. “And pray why not?” he queried, with English straightforwardness. “Because,” was the almost whispered reply, “your ohanoes are better in oase Df trouble.” “ Will you kindly explain yourself, sir?” said Lyell, astonished, beyond measure. “ Well,” answered the American, with a veiy significant leer, “when I was traveling up the river last March, somebody cried out, ‘Passenger overboard!’ The captain hurried to the office, and saked, ‘Has the man overboard paid his fare?’ On being answered in the affirmative, he turned to the pilot, and said, indifferently, ‘Go ahead; it’s all right.’” Of Mb. Longfellow's method when Professor of Modern Literature at Harvard, Dr. Edward E. Hale, one of his pupils, has given this account: “As it happened, the regular recitation rooms of the college were all in use, and we met him in a sort of parlor, carpeted, hung with pictures, and otherwise handsomely furnished, which was, I believe, called the “corporation room.” We sat round a mahogany table, which was reported to be meant for the dinners of the trustees, and the whole affair had the aspect of a friendly gathering in a private house, in which the study of German was the amusement of the occasion. He began with familiar ballads, read them to us, and made us read them to him. Of course we soon committed them to memory without meaning to, and I think this was probably part of his theory. At the same time we were learning the paradigms by rote. His regular duty was the oversight of five or more instructors who were teaching French, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese two or three hundred un-der-graduates. We never knew when he might look in on a recitation and virtually conduct it. We were delighted to have him come. We all knew he was a poet,, and were proud to have him in the college, but at the same time we respected him as a man of affairs.” It was Washington Irving who said of a conceited man that whenever h$ walked toward the West he expected the East to tip up.