The story has been told that it was in the Rhetoric section, during his Sophomore year, that Roosevelt's romantic interest in Miss Lee - later his wife became generally known. William Draper Lewis, in his interesting "Life of Theodore Roosevelt", has given an account of this matter in some detail. "During all this time he had become more and more interested in Miss Alice Hathaway Lee, who lived in Chestnut Hill, a pleasant suburb of Boston. During his Sophomore year he was a student in Rhetoric under Professor Adams Sherwin Hill. One day the professor was reading to his class a theme, which he objected to because it was over-romantic. In the middle of his reading, he paused and asked Roosevelt to criticize the theme. The young man hesitated, and the professor then asked him specifically, Mr. Roosevelt, what do you think of a young man falling in love?' Roosevelt, blushing furiously, made no answer. And so his secret was out. The culmination of the affair was his engagement to Miss Lee, and their marriage, on his twenty-second birthday, a few months after he had graduated from college." I have visited Cambridge recently to refresh my memory upon Roosevelt's college life. There is the old wooden dwelling-house on Winthrop Street, where he lived during practically all his four years. And there is the well-preserved, dig nified house at Number 62 Brattle Street (corner of Hilliard) where his dining club met. Also I noted the substantial iron fence, with its impressive gates, which now surrounds the college grounds. And I give a letter from one of my classmates which tells how that encompassing fence came to be erected: "I served with Roosevelt and John Woodbury (our faithful class secretary) on the Class Day Committee. And I recall that Roosevelt suggested that the Committee should use a material portion of the class fund to construct a picket fence around the grounds, to protect the Class Day ceremonies from invasion by the uninvited public. Class Day, '79, the previous year, had been spoiled by an incursion of a mob, and it was our wish to prevent a recurrence of such an incident. Roosevelt suggested the fence. But before we committed ourselves to so large an expenditure, we secured an assurance from '81 that they would take it off our hands - as a 'second-hand' fence, of course, at a reduced price. I have always understood that this arrangement was carried out. That picket fence was the origin of the dignified iron structure, a splendid gift of '81, which now encompasses the yard; and I think that these facts are worthy of record in a biography of Roosevelt." It might seem, from the space given to the social side of Roosevelt's life in college, that his work in his courses of study was of little moment. His own autobiographical survey of his four years as an undergraduate might also lead the casual reader to the same conclusion. But Roosevelt, in his Autobiography, is too modest about his academic achievements. I have already adverted to them, but not in sufficient detail. Bearing in mind the number of clubs and societies of which he was a member, and the time he gave to athletics, the hasty critic might expect to find that not much time and interest remained for study. But here again we find him combining in himself unrelated and almost mutually opposing qualities and aptitudes which in most people are widely separated from each other. Roosevelt loved his sparring and boxing and driving and shooting and all active outdoor sports, but he could put his feet under a desk and "toil terribly." He could withdraw his trained and harnessed will from all physical action and put it into intellectual fields, for sustained effort of many kinds, and with excellent results. I will use, in closing this chapter, some of the material gathered by my classmate, F. J. Ranlett, and printed in an article by him in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine of June, 1907. In his article, among many useful facts, he has prepared the table which shows how Roosevelt used the privileges of the new elective system: Hours Taken in Sophomore Year 3 hours a week in 1 hour a week in Ger- 3 hours in Italian German 1 hour in French man History 6 hours in Natural 5 hours in Natural 3 hours in Political History History 3 hours in Political Economy Economy Mr. Ranlett points out that one third of Roosevelt's elected courses were in modern languages, no Latin or Greek. Also, that the table contains no courses in English Composition and none in History, "An omission very noticeable in a man who, in after life, wrote so much and so well, on so many subjects -even in historical fields. "In Sophomore History, and in the other prescribed coursed - Rhetoric, Logic, and Metaphysics Roosevelt took high stand. And in all his electives (save perhaps a one-hour course in French), he is found upon the rank-list. In Philosophy VI (Political Economy) he led the class. In all his Natural History courses his rank was so high that Final Honors would have been easy for him. But he cared not enough for this outward distinction to try for it." The table given by my classmate Ranlett is provocative of surmise and conjecture, in the light of Roosevelt's later career. It will be interpreted in various ways by various people. He entered college poorly equipped in Latin and Greek and well equipped in mathematics. He elected Natural History at the earliest opportunity and held to it throughout his three elective years. He gave no attention to electives in Philosophy, History, the Fine Arts, and Music. He gave considerable attention to Political Economy. This last field lay close to what proved to be his life work. In our time at Harvard — as at the present time -the custom prevailed of having the group photograph of the entire class taken at graduation. And often, as I have glanced over that picture, at that group of hopeful young men, I have noted with a certain satisfaction, with a sentiment indeed not wholly rational, that my face comes next to his, beside him. And that accidental collocation I like to take "as an outward and visible sign", - and the rest of it. All his public life I was close to him in spirit, in sympathy, in eager support. "Beside him", with him, whole-heartedly so, yielding place to no man in my admiration and devotion. |