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 Fao-Sijiile of a iMemobial i 14 x 18 i Sent to Mrs. Austik H. Merrill. 
 
AUSTIN H. MERRILL 
 
 Austin Heaton Merrill was born in Maryland, at 
 Newtown (now Pocomoke City), June I, 1859. ^ s 
 parents, W. H. S. Merrill and Mary W. Hargis, belonged 
 to the oldest and most respected families of the Eastern 
 Shore. His preparatory education was obtained in the 
 Pocomoke High School, which he attended four years, 
 completing the course of study in 1876. One of his 
 teachers, a lifelong friend, Mr. R. A. Wilson, describes 
 him at the age of fifteen years as "an attractive boy, with 
 frank, trustful, and winning manners and that self-pos- 
 session and assurance which are born of confidence, not 
 especially studious, nor above mediocrity in his standing, 
 yet intensely ambitious." 
 
 A literary entertainment was arranged for the closing 
 exercises of the school, and to Mr. Wilson was assigned 
 the task of drilling the speakers. "Having," as he says, 
 "a horror of unnaturalness and the ranting and strutting 
 and posing of modern elocutionary methods, he strove to 
 impress upon Austin the importance of being natural. He 
 had the dramatic instinct and won local distinction and a 
 gold medal." From that time on he gave special atten- 
 tion to the study of elocution, and spent much time and 
 practice in order to break himself of a slow, drawling 
 manner of speaking, which was characteristic of him as 
 a boy. 
 
 He completed the course of study at the High School 
 
in the spring of 1876, and in the fall entered Delaware 
 College, Newark, N. J. The death of his father in the 
 following year called him home for a short time and 
 brought him to consider the choice of a profession. Con- 
 sulting with his mother, he selected the law, and on his 
 return to college he took up the study of Blackstone's 
 Commentaries, still carrying on the regular work for an 
 academic degree. One of the Professors says of him that 
 his mental gifts were good, beyond the average, and 
 supplemented by persevering and faithful industry. His 
 record at college is a confirmation of this, for notwith- 
 standing the extra work he was doing, he made a high 
 grade in all of his studies, was especially successful in 
 oratorical contests, and at the end of the four years grad- 
 uated with the degree of Master of Arts as valedictorian 
 of his class. 
 
 When he came home from college he was unprepared 
 to begin the practice of law, and his means being exhaust- 
 ed, he adopted the usual plan in such cases, he taught 
 school. He became principal of an academy at Temper - 
 anceville, a small village in Virginia, on the Eastern 
 Shore. He continued the study of Blackstone's Com- 
 mentaries whenever his school duties permitted, but not 
 with zeal and contentment, for he often spoke of his un- 
 fitness for law. His heart was in elocution, and as soon 
 as the summer vacation was at hand he went to Philadel- 
 phia and entered as a student the National School of Elo- 
 cution and Oratory. There, under the instruction of 
 Professor R. O. Moon, he says he first acquired a high 
 appreciation of interpretation. About this time also he 
 heard Professor Robt. L. Cumnock, and so he went back 
 in the fall to his school at Temperanceville with increas- 
 
ing enthusiasm for the art of expression and a waning in- 
 terest in the forms and principles of common law. 
 
 Near the close of the session he decided to test his 
 ability as an entertainer. The village of Temperanceville 
 was surprised by the announcement that Austin H. Mer- 
 rill would give an entertainment in readings and recita- 
 tions on a certain evening. At the appointed hour the lit- 
 tle school-room, dimly lighted by lamps brought from the 
 village homes and placed about the room on the desks, 
 was filled to overflowing. Never did the entertainer 
 come before an audience with more trepidation than he 
 did on this occasion. The following programme was 
 rendered : 
 
 "The Last Hymn." 
 
 ''Which shall it be?" 
 
 "Red Jacket." 
 
 "The Jiners." 
 
 "Darius Green and his Flying Machine." 
 
 "Uncle Daniel's Apparition." 
 
 "Artemus Ward's London Lecture." 
 
 "How Ruby Played." 
 
 "Socrates Snooks." 
 
 The evening was declared a delightful one, and his 
 friends showered congratulations upon him. His sister, 
 who was present on the occasion, says that this success 
 determined his future career. 
 
 At the close of the session he resigned the position at 
 Temperanceville and spent the summer in Philadelphia 
 at the National School of Elocution and Oratory, com- 
 pleting the course offered there. "Many students have 
 come and gone since he left us," says Mrs. Shoemaker, 
 "but among them all none was worthier than he nor more 
 
teachable. The result of his study was most satisfac- 
 tory, and we in these latter years watched his growing 
 success with interest." The following winter, 1 882—83, 
 was spent at the University of Michigan, where he gave 
 private instruction to a class in elocution. He also took 
 some lectures in the Michigan Law School, for he had not 
 yet obtained his mother's permission to give up the law as 
 a profession. 
 
 When he returned home from Michigan he told his 
 mother of his preference for platform work and his desire 
 to give up the law, for which he said he had no taste nor 
 fitness and in which he could never be successful. His 
 mother, under the impression that elocution savored of 
 the stage, was much opposed to this, but when he ex- 
 plained to her and finally convinced her that his work was 
 entirely different from what she imagined and not of a 
 theatrical character, she gave her consent. Henceforth 
 he had no cloud of irresolution and discontentment hang- 
 ing over his life. 
 
 During the next three years he held a professorship in 
 the Western Maryland College at Westminster, and was 
 also instructor in elocution at the Westminster Theologi- 
 cal Seminary. 
 
 The summers of '84, '85, and '86 were spent at Mar- 
 tha's Vineyard, the first in attendance upon the summer 
 school of oratory, the second in charge of the school, the 
 third as a student in Dr. Curry's School of Expression, 
 which he also attended the next summer at Saratoga. He 
 came to Vanderbilt University in the fall of 1886 as in- 
 structor in elocution. In 1894 he was elected Adjunct 
 Professor of Elocution and Oratory in the University, 
 
which position he held until his death at Tate Springs, 
 August 10, 1900. 
 
 Professor Merrill's educational work was two-fold — 
 in the class-room and on the platform. 
 
 His teaching was not confined to students of the Uni- 
 versity. By special arrangement a portion of his time for 
 several years was given to the Nashville College for 
 Young Ladies. He had many private pupils, and a part 
 of almost every vacation was spent in teaching in some 
 summer school. 
 
 He was remarkably successful as a teacher. This is 
 the judgment of the authorities at every institution of 
 learning with which he was at any time connected, and it 
 is attested by the unanimous opinion of his pupils as well 
 as by the observed effects of his teaching. Who ever 
 heard a single one of the hundreds that he has taught 
 bring any complaint against him ? while many are the ex- 
 pressions of praise and even of gratitude. His charm of 
 manner and winning personality drew his pupils to him 
 in an unusual degree. They mourn the loss of a friend 
 as well as a teacher. An old pupil writes of him : 
 
 "Although Professor Merrill was my teacher, I looked 
 on him more as a friend than as a teacher, for while his 
 instruction has been of great service to me and of lasting 
 influence in my life, yet he had that in him which lifted 
 him above the instructor and made him the friend who 
 takes an interest in our welfare." 
 
 Another student says : 
 
 "I not only appreciated him as my devoted instructor, 
 but I loved him as a faithful friend ; he told me my faults 
 
as few friends ever do, and by his honesty and patience 
 encouraged and helped me/' 
 
 A third, writing of his influence, says : 
 
 "Few men have been so decidedly helpful to me as he 
 was when I was taking my theological course at Vander- 
 bilt. His sympathetic insight, his unfailing good sense 
 and frank advice have entered as permanent factors into 
 my life work." 
 
 Another says: 
 
 "It is always with pleasure and an inspiration for 
 higher living that I recall my relations with him." 
 
 Professor S. H. Clark, of Chicago University, speak- 
 ing of him as a teacher, says: "He held before his stu- 
 dents the highest ideals, and still better, knew and appre- 
 ciated what is meant by high ideals. He urged on his 
 students at the University to constant and conscientious 
 effort, laying stress continually on honesty of speech and 
 manner, teaching to discriminate between the true and 
 false, and insisting ceaselessly upon the duty of readers to 
 present only such literature as might receive the sanction 
 of people of culture. A large part of the South has 
 through his pupils been affected by his teachings, and the 
 art has lost an exponent everywhere." 
 
 The writer is not capable of discussing in a technical 
 way the methods by which Professor Merrill taught his 
 students correct intonation and modulation of voice, nat- 
 ural and graceful gesture, ease and repose of body while 
 speaking; these qualities are characteristic, however, of 
 those who have received from him the most thorough 
 training. Judging from the teacher himself as a model, 
 the principle to which all art and training was made sub- 
 
servient was that of naturalness and simplicity. He had 
 extreme dislike of rant and affectation. 
 
 For a number of years students who have spoken on 
 the rostrum at Vanderbilt University have had to appear 
 before Professor Merrill in preparation. They have pro- 
 nounced him a severe critic, not only of the manner of de- 
 livery, but of the matter and style of composition. But 
 the criticisms were given with such sincerity and sympa- 
 thetic interest, such delicate consideration accompanied 
 with kindly suggestions for improvement, that the student 
 would go away not offended, but thankful; not in de- 
 spair, but encouraged to persevere. 
 
 Teaching was not irksome to him. He had a high ap- 
 preciation of the value of the work he was doing. He 
 believed that the importance of elocution was generally 
 underestimated, and consequently this part of educa- 
 tional training was frequently entirely neglected or at 
 best imperfectly done. He felt a friendly interest in every 
 worthy student, and there was gratification in the con- 
 sciousness of having benefited such a one. There was 
 to him a keen pleasure in taking in hand a young man 
 awkward in speech and gesture, incapable of expressing 
 himself acceptably before an audience, and seeing him 
 under his instruction develop into a pleasing and forcible 
 speaker. 
 
 Professor Merrill considered his most important work 
 in the University to be that in the Biblical Department. 
 There he had arranged a two years' course in oratory and 
 expression. Of all men, unless perhaps the actor, the 
 preacher is most in need of training in these subjects. 
 How often is the effect of a sermon diminished, the use- 
 fulness of the preacher indeed impaired, by a cracked, 
 
hoarse, or rasping voice, a sing-song or monotonous style 
 of reading or speaking, or unpleasing attitudes and gestic- 
 ulation ! 
 
 It was Professor Merrill's aim that graduates of the 
 Biblical Department should not be hampered by any such 
 avoidable imperfections, and that they should be capable 
 of expressing without affectation and in the most effect- 
 ive way whatever they had to say as public speakers. 
 Many a preacher without such training, realizing that 
 much of the force of what he had to say was lost in the 
 awkward manner of its presentation, came to him for ad- 
 vice or instruction in methods for remedying the defect. 
 
 The last public appearance of Professor Merrill at the 
 University was in the chapel of Wesley Hall before an 
 assemblage of ministers who were attending the Summer 
 Biblical Institute. His talk on the weak and strong ways 
 of reading and speaking, illustrated with examples from 
 hymns and passages of Scripture, was doubtless very sug- 
 gestive and helpful to some of those present; and all of 
 them appreciated and will remember the generous offer, 
 which at the close of his remarks, he put into the form of 
 a request that his contribution next year to the Biblical 
 Institute might not be limited to a single evening, but 
 that he might be allowed to give his services as a regular 
 instructor during the whole session. 
 
 It is unusual that an elocutionist is notably successful 
 both as a teacher and a reader. This distinction, how- 
 ever, belonged to Professor Merrill ; and for the very rea- . 
 son that he became so well known as a reader, the value of 
 his work as a teacher is apt to be overlooked or underesti- 
 mated. The personal benefit derived from his teaching 
 by several hundred pupils while he was at the University 
 
is but a small part of the results. A large proportion of 
 these pupils became either public speakers or teachers, 
 and through them the wholesome influence of what he 
 taught has been felt throughout the South and has been 
 multiplied many fold. The erection of the subject of 
 elocution into the chair of elocution and oratory in Van- 
 derbilt University, thus giving it relatively a higher rank 
 in the branches of study than it holds in most other uni- 
 versities, was a merited recognition of the qualifications 
 of the man and the importance of his work. 
 
 Professor Merrill's platform work was incidental to his 
 regular work as teacher of elocution and oratory in Van- 
 derbilt University. Granted leave of absence annually 
 by the University for two weeks in the winter, he visited 
 professionally nearly all of the principal cities of the 
 South and some of those of the North. He gave readings 
 at many of the leading Universities, among which may 
 be mentioned, Columbia, Chicago. Wisconsin, Michigan, 
 Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and 
 Texas; and he appeared on the principal Chautauqua 
 platforms. 
 
 He was successful everywhere. Criticism of his read- 
 ings was almost universally favorable. To give an idea 
 of the impression he usually made upon educated and re- 
 fined people, a few extracts from what they have written 
 for the press and in personal letters may be introduced 
 here: 
 
 Moses Coit Tyler, LL.D., Professor of History in Cor- 
 nell University, says: 
 
 "The first thing which arrested my attention in Profes- 
 sor Merrill's readings was their note of sincerity. Along 
 
with this, as I soon perceived, went refinement of method, 
 a delicate, artistic forethought, humor, a shrewd insight 
 into character, and naturalness, qualities which, taken to- 
 gether, imply the absence of all elocutionary mouthing or 
 stage vehemence." 
 
 Bishop John H. Vincent, Chancellor of Chautauqua 
 University, says : 
 
 "To be pronounced a success at Chautauqua is account- 
 ed an honor indeed. Mr. Merrill is regarded as a very 
 great success in his chosen line. His work in the class 
 room and the display of his versatile talents on the plat- 
 form, his refined taste, and his superior elocution render 
 him a delightful entertainer, and an inspiring and stimu- 
 lating teacher." 
 
 Professor H. H. Boyesen, of Columbia University, 
 writes in a personal letter : 
 
 "Your powers as a personator of the most varied char- 
 acters seem to me extraordinary, and you show, more- 
 over, fine dramatic feeling and exquisite taste in avoiding 
 that most dangerous pitfall of public readers — rant. 
 Your 'Old Man Rogers,' in 'Esmerelda/ is, in my opin- 
 ion, your masterpiece, and I have rarely seen a finer bit of 
 dramatic characterization." 
 
 What these scholars in universities of the North say 
 in praise of his sincerity, refinement, humor, naturalness, 
 power of impersonation, and superior elocution, is no 
 more than has been said by professors in nearly every 
 university of the South ; and we who knew him well and 
 heard him often can without hesitation endorse it all. 
 
 A commanding figure is of great value to a public 
 speaker, but not essential to success. Professor Merrill 
 did not possess this natural advantage. The first impres- 
 
sion received by many who heard him for the first time 
 was doubtless one of surprise, even disappointment, when 
 one of whom so much was expected came before them a 
 man of less than ordinary stature, but the disappointment 
 quickly passed away; his expression of cordiality and 
 sincerity, the mellow tones of his voice, the grace and 
 simplicity of his manner, the intelligent and artistic ren- 
 dering of whatever he undertook, soon awakened interest 
 and good will, often admiration and enthusiasm. 
 
 He never failed to interest young people. Such inci- 
 dents as the following one were not rare. Last spring 
 while in Louisville under treatment for his health, one 
 of his old pupils, a teacher in a large school of that city, 
 met him one day and took him up to the school house. 
 Though scarcely able to stand, he gave at the request of 
 his friend a short talk and several recitations. The teach- 
 er afterwards said that many distinguished men had 
 spoken before that school by invitation, but none had ever 
 aroused such enthusiasm or made such an impression 
 upon the pupils as Professor Merrill. 
 
 He was scarcely less popular with the old than with the 
 young. The late venerable Chancellor of Vanderbilt 
 University, Dr. Garland, was very fond of hearing him. 
 No other elocutionist seemed to satisfy him. On being 
 asked, just after he had heard a reading by one of the 
 most famous of elocutionists, how he liked it, he replied 
 very emphatically, "Why, I would a great deal rather 
 hear our Merrill." 
 
 He never attempted the reproduction of any selection 
 until he had given it thorough study, and knew it per- 
 fectly. Once memorized, it was never forgotten, or at 
 least with a rapid sketching could be easily recalled. In 
 
the rare instances in which the lines slipped his memory, 
 without embarrassment to himself or the audience, with, 
 perhaps, an illustrative anecdote, another piece was sub- 
 stituted. His perfect ease and self-possession upon the 
 stage quickly won the confidence of the audience, and 
 there was not the slightest uneasiness lest he might 
 forget, nor apprehension lest he might introduce some- 
 thing inharmonious to detract from the enjoyment of his 
 recitals. 
 
 Selections for his programmes were made with careful 
 discrimination. He was never known to give a reading 
 or recitation inappropriate to the occasion or offending 
 good taste ; nor could he be tempted by applause to pro- 
 long the entertainment to the point of weariness. In 
 his miscellaneous programmes he interspersed with the 
 grave and didactic many pieces in light and humorous 
 vein, but he attached no undue importance to the latter, 
 however attractive they might seem to be to the audience. 
 It was his custom to choose for the closing number a se- 
 lection that would leave with the hearers a serious 
 thought, would appeal to their higher and better nature, 
 and give them something helpful to carry away. 
 
 Professor Merrill relied less upon the realism of the 
 actor, even in his varied impersonations, than perhaps any 
 other noted elocutionist. The effects which many others 
 produced by means of striking attitudes and facial con- 
 tortions were produced by him more delicately and artis- 
 tically through suggestion. Thus one's attention was 
 never drawn from the subject to the acting of the imper- 
 sonator. The praying did not kneel, the sorrowful did 
 not weep, the suffering did not writhe, the dying did not 
 gasp, yet by consummate art in suggestion, what he 
 
t 
 
 wished was present in the imagination of those before 
 him. 
 
 To an interviewer who asked whether he ever used 
 costume in his representations, he replied that he would 
 as soon black his face as wear a costume on the platform ; 
 that if he could not give a literary character to his plat- 
 form work he would not give spectacular work. 
 
 He was not a specialist in his subject. His repertory 
 was extensive. He said of one of his professional friends, 
 "He is unequaled in Shakespearian roles;" and of an- 
 other, "His impersonations are unsurpassed ;" yet I doubt 
 not, both of these would have yielded him the palm in sev- 
 eral kinds of interpretation. He rarely chose anything 
 strongly dramatic, or requiring sustained, rapid, intense, 
 impassioned action and utterance. His preference was 
 for scenes and incidents appealing to the gentler emo- 
 tions of sympathy and gratitude; and it was, indeed, in 
 character sketches, humorous and pathetic, illustrating 
 what is kind, true, generous, noble in human nature that 
 he reached the highest excellence. Exquisitely pleasing, 
 too, was his rendition of such bits of child-like simplicity 
 as Riley's "The Goblins will Get You," and Field's "See- 
 ing Things at Night." 
 
 Elocutionists find a fruitful field in the literature of dia- 
 lect. Some of them confine themselves to the Scotch, 
 German, Irish, and other dialects which have enriched 
 English literature even of the classical period; others 
 have taken up the forms peculiarly American — the Creole, 
 Cracker, Hoosier, pioneer, and Negro dialects introduced 
 by Cable, Johnson, Riley, Harte, Harris, and others. 
 
 Professor Merrill was partial to scenes of life in the 
 South as described by Southern authors. It is doubtful 
 
whether any other elocutionist was so successful in the 
 portrayal of the old-time Southern Negro. His rendition 
 of character sketches from the works of a number of these 
 Southern writers met with the unqualified approval of 
 the authors themselves; and so charmingly did he re- 
 produce in different parts of the country before thou- 
 sands of people stories and adaptations from the pens of 
 Thomas Nelson Page and James Lane Allen that these 
 authors might have said to him as Joel Chandler Harris 
 said to A. B. Frost, the illustrator of his "Uncle Remus," 
 "They were mine, but you have made them your own." 
 
 A leading teacher of elocution says: "In his fine appre- 
 ciation and fine interpretation of Thomas Nelson Page's 
 'Unc' Edingburg's Droundin,' and other stories of our 
 best Southern authors, he was without a rival." 
 
 Theodore H. Tyndale, of Boston, writes : "If Thomas 
 Nelson Page had written and you had read these stories 
 before the war, there wouldn't have been a war." 
 
 The author of "Two Gentlemen of Kentucky," after 
 listening with absorbing interest to the reading of this 
 story by Professor Merrill, grasped his hand warmly and 
 said, "I did not know that was in it." 
 
 The progressiveness of Professor Merrill and the 
 steady growth of his influence and usefulness make his 
 loss at so early an age the more deplorable. Although 
 when he came to Vanderbilt University fourteen years 
 ago, his simplicity, naturalness, and attractive person- 
 ality won him instant favor wherever he appeared, he had 
 not yet gone much out of the limit of simple reading and 
 recitation. His more elaborate work, such as "The Sleep- 
 ing Car," "Esmeralda," "Scenes from Rip Van Winkle," 
 "Unc' Edinburg's Droundin'," "A Midsummer Night's 
 
Dream," were developed after that time. Then he was 
 known only in a few localities; but at the time of his 
 death his reputation was national both as a teacher and an 
 entertainer. He was a Director in the National Associa- 
 tion of Elocutionists and a member of one of its most im- 
 portant committees. He was the most noted elocutionist 
 in the South, and was considered generally one of the 
 foremost rank in the United States. A distinguished 
 member of his profession says of him : "He was easily the 
 most artistic reader in the South, and in his particular 
 sphere had no superior anywhere." 
 
 Professor Merrill had a ready command of good Eng- 
 lish, and wrote in an easy, entertaining style. He was 
 the editor and compiler of No. 21 of "Shoemaker's Best 
 Selections" — series of works on Elocution. He was one 
 of the advisory council for the publication of "The 
 World's Best Orations," and the "World's Best Essays ;" 
 and was a contributor to "Masterpieces of Oratory," the 
 first six volumes of which have just been issued. The 
 last literary work which he did was the writing of the 
 special introduction to "Demosthenes' Orations," appear- 
 ing in the last mentioned series. 
 
 His time and taste did not permit reading along broad 
 lines. His library does not contain many books on philo- 
 sophic or scientific subjects. The standard novels and 
 essays and our best poetry, together with the literature 
 of the day, constituted his chief reading. He delighted 
 in humorous sketches, a spicy, well-written article, or a 
 delicate bit of verse. 
 
 Few men had a greater number of warm friends than 
 Professor Merrill, In a general way this may be said to 
 
have been due to the fact that along with the sterling 
 traits of character of true manhood, he had also many of 
 the gentler ones of a woman, and there was no defect or 
 unpleasant feature in his character to repel or alienate a 
 friend once acquired. He had a sunny, cheerful dispo- 
 sition, manifesting itself sometimes in a playfulness and 
 boyishness which endeared him especially to the young. 
 
 His nature was confiding and generous. In some in- 
 stances his confidence was misplaced and his generosity 
 was exercised to his own hurt; but generally the innate 
 goodness of human nature was touched and responded. 
 Apparently without the slightest jealousy he used his in- 
 fluence to bring before audiences in Nashville and else- 
 where in the South the best elocutionary talent of the 
 North. 
 
 Place-seeking and envy were so foreign to his nature, 
 sincerity and generosity so apparent in his disposition, 
 that those who were his rivals were also among the warm- 
 est of his friends. The sentiments expressed in the fol- 
 lowing quotations from several of the best known elocu- 
 tionists writing of him are indicative of this : 
 
 "His generosity was one of the secrets of his greatness, 
 and the chief reason why he was so generally beloved." 
 
 "He was a noble Christian gentleman and he has had a 
 close grip upon my heart from the very first time I met 
 him seventeen years ago." 
 
 "He was full of loving tenderness and loyal fidelity to 
 all, with as tender and sensitive a heart as ever beat in a 
 human breast, with a kind appreciation of that which is 
 delicate and beautiful and noble in the subtle forms of 
 human expression." 
 
 "To me he was among the first of the inner circle of my 
 
friends, towards whom it was impossible to feel merely 
 the interest of acquaintanceship." 
 
 "His tenderness and kindness of spirit, his frankness 
 and geniality, his courtliness and amiability, made him in 
 every sense of the word a man — aye, a gentleman he was, 
 and to know him as I did was to make one feel more hope- 
 ful, trustful, and optimistic." 
 
 Such was his character as it appeared to those engaged 
 in his own special work; and so it seemed to all, indeed, 
 who knew him well. 
 
 He was charitable both in will and deed; not harsh in 
 his judgment of the faults of others ; forgiving; kind, and 
 generous to the poor and afflicted. The inmates of the 
 Old Woman's Home write : "He always attended our an- 
 nual receptions, no matter how busy he was, reciting for 
 us the pieces most calculated to amuse and cheer us, and 
 greeting us with such kindly words that we felt his pres- 
 ence a benediction." 
 
 A notable trait in his character was his modesty ; not in 
 the sense, however, of timidity or diffidence. He knew 
 perfectly well what he was capable of doing, and when the 
 demand upon him was not beyond his own estimate he 
 did not shrink from meeting it or make any pretense of 
 unworthiness or incapacity, but accepted the responsibil- 
 ity and fulfilled it to the best of his ability. But he was 
 modest in that he did not overestimate himself, was unas- 
 suming, did not put himself forward in prominent posi- 
 tions before the public easily within his reach and that his 
 qualifications might have entitled him to expect. His 
 modesty is also exemplified in the character of the selec- 
 tions which he made from personal letters and public no- 
 tices for advertising his platform work. With good taste 
 
and judgment, discarding those most highly eulogistic, 
 he made use only of such as were free from extravagance 
 and emphasized the points of excellence which he had 
 striven for and which were his in the opinion of compe- 
 tent and fair critics. While of course he enjoyed in high 
 degree the great successes of his public life, he never ex- 
 ulted in them. Appearing before audiences of the high- 
 est culture and refinement, he received the most flattering 
 acclamations of applause, and men and women of the 
 highest distinction came forward and warmly congratu- 
 lated him ; yet all this awakened not a particle of vanity ; 
 he did not boast of it, he did not cherish it with pride, he 
 scarcely mentioned it to his friends. 
 
 He was a man of the finest sensibilities, possessing 
 great delicacy of feeling, yet not morbidly sensitive. He 
 took no offense at trifles nor harbored any malice. He 
 was at enmity with none, and had the good will of all who 
 knew him. Observant of the proprieties of cultivated 
 society, he had, too, that true politeness which is solicitous 
 for the comfort and happiness of others and guards 
 against the wounding of the feelings of persons in any 
 station of life by an unkind, inconsiderate, or thoughtless 
 word or act. Seeing him conversing pleasantly with per- 
 sons whom he was known to dislike, one might have be- 
 lieved him too complaisant, suspected almost a lack of 
 frankness ; but he was indeed perfectly frank and sincere. 
 While courteous to all, indisposed by any rudeness to 
 arouse needless animosity, he would have been far from 
 allowing his affability to be construed into endorsement 
 of an unworthy person. 
 
 The lover of good literature will generally be found to 
 have a taste for what is beautiful, refined, and artistic in 
 
other forms. So it was with Professor Merrill. Had 
 one who knew him well been seeking him in a city, not 
 finding him at the hotel, he would have looked for him in 
 the book stores, the art shops, the picture gallery, or the 
 concert hall. He rarely returned home from a lecture 
 tour without bringing with him some literary or artistic 
 souvenir. Nothing delighted him more than with such a 
 treasure to bring to those he loved a sweet surprise. He 
 had the soul of an artist who takes delight in the beauti- 
 ful, whether it lies before him in the panorama of nature, 
 or spread upon canvas, or chiseled in marble. A beauti- 
 ful face, a noble thought, a delicate feeling, all appealed 
 to his exquisite nature. 
 
 Professor Merrill sought companionship and friendship, 
 and he proved a delightful companion and a true friend. 
 In social life he was one of the most agreeable of men, 
 cheery, unreserved, pleasing in manners, entertaining in 
 conversation, a charming host, or a welcome guest. Nor 
 did he reserve his elocutionary attainments for profes- 
 sional use only; but frequently contributed greatly by 
 readings or recitations to the enjoyment of social enter- 
 tainments and of informal gatherings at the homes of 
 friends. 
 
 As in the social, so in the home circle, the amenities of 
 life were not forgotten. Every worthy or considerate 
 act met with an appreciative and outspoken recognition, 
 which was a source of delight to those he loved. 
 
 He was happily married in 1892 to Miss Pearl Daniel, 
 of Harrisonville, Missouri. Perfect congeniality in 
 tastes, temperament, and character made their home life 
 almost ideal. The good influences of that home will ever 
 
be remembered and cherished, especially by the many 
 students who shared its hospitality. 
 
 Professor Merrill's connection with the Old Oak Club 
 dates from the fall of 1889. He was honored with every 
 office in the gift of the Club. Probably no other member 
 was so generally beloved. He was a valuable member, 
 and I know that he prized his membership highly. 
 
 His associations with the University were interwoven 
 in his being. They were a part of him. Attractive 
 offers frequently received from other places were no 
 temptation to him. He merely mentioned them with a 
 smile and put them aside. He had not the slightest inten- 
 tion of ever leaving the University. He was taken from 
 it in almost the only way. The loss sustained by Vander- 
 bilt University in the death of Professor Merrill is irrep- 
 arable. Possibly some one may come who will bring as 
 much honor to the University on the public platform, 
 some one who will do his work in the class room, or some 
 one who will win the universal love of his colleagues and 
 his students, but not one who will combine as he did all 
 these. No one can fill his place. 
 
 He lived a simple Christian life. To dogmas and creeds 
 beyond the essentials of Christianity, he attached little 
 importance. The reality of his religion was seen in the 
 practice of its precepts in the every-day affairs of life. In 
 every sense a gentleman, he passed away "wearing the 
 white flower of a blameless life." 
 
ITINERARY 
 
 Elocutionist for the Delaware 
 State Teachers' Association in Au- 
 
 188s. 
 In summer, had charge of the 
 Department of Elocution at Mar- 
 tha's Vineyard Summer Institute. 
 In April, read at Concert Hall, Con- 
 servatory of Music, Baltimore, Md. 
 Read at Ann Arbor, Mich. 
 Westminster, Md. 
 New York, N. Y. 
 Smyrna, Del. 
 Syracuse, N. Y. 
 Vassar College, Pough- 
 
 keepsie. 
 Salisbury, Md. 
 Pocomoke City, Md. 
 Onancock, Va. 
 Princess Anne, Md. 
 Snow Hill, Md. 
 Georgetown, Del. 
 
 1886. 
 In summer at Dr. Curry's School 
 01 Expression, Martha's Vineyard. 
 Came to Vanderbilt University m 
 September. 
 
 1887. 
 In summer at Dr. Curry's School 
 of Expression, Saratoga, N. Y. 
 
 In charge of elocution at Mont- 
 eagle Summer School. 
 
 In charge of elocution at Mont- 
 eagle Summer School. 
 
 1890. 
 
 In Pensacola, Fla., in January. 
 
 Monteagle Summer School. 
 
 Read Scene I. from Rip Van 
 Winkle for first time at Dr. Price's 
 College, in September. 
 
 Two readings in Knoxville In 
 December. 
 
 1891. 
 Readings: 
 
 Lexington, Mo. (2 readings). 
 
 Clinton, Mo. 
 
 Sedalia, Mo. 
 
 Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Knoxville, Tenn. 
 
 Greenville, Texas. 
 
 Little Kock Ark. 
 
 Chattanooga, Tenn. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 Memphis, Tenn. 
 
 Union City, Tenn. 
 
 Russellville, Ky. 
 
 Seaford, Del. 
 
 Points in North and Soutn 
 
 Carolina. 
 Dr. Price's College, Nashville, 
 Tenn. 
 A Midsummer Night's Dream, in 
 Nashville, December 1 (with music). 
 Read at Chautauqua at George- 
 town, Texas, and at Chautauqua, 
 Lexington, Ky. 
 
 In charge of Elocution in Mont- 
 eagle Summer School. 
 
 This year he added "Unc' Edin- 
 burgh Droundin' " to his repertoire. 
 
 Attended the National Associa- 
 tion of Elocutionists (in New York). 
 Had charge of Elocution at Chautau- 
 qua, N. Y., in the summer. Gave 
 readings at Franklin, Columbia, and 
 other towns in Tennessee. 
 
 1893. 
 Readings: 
 
 Helena, Ark. 
 
 Searcy, Ark. 
 
 Batesville, Ark. (2 readings). 
 
 Little Rock, Ark. 
 
 Jefferson, Texas. 
 
 Albany, Ga. 
 
 Missouri Chautauqua, Sedalia. 
 
 Atlanta Chautauqua Assembly. 
 
Attended meeting of the National 
 Association of Elocutionists at 
 Chicago, gave reading and read a 
 paper. Was Vice-President of the 
 Association, and presided several 
 times. 
 
 1894. 
 Readings: 
 
 University of Nashville. 
 
 Union Springs, Ala. 
 
 Tuskeegee, Ala. 
 
 Florence, Ala. 
 
 Albany, Ga. 
 
 Knob Noster, Mo. 
 
 Warren sburg, Mo. 
 
 Lexington, Mo. 
 
 Searcy, Ark. 
 
 Arkadelphia, Ark. 
 
 Conway, Ark. 
 
 Pine Bluff, Ark. 
 
 Batesville, Ark. 
 
 Helena, Ark. 
 
 McKenzie, Tenn. 
 
 Clarksville, Tenn. 
 
 Boscobel College, Nashville. 
 Taught at Dr. Price's College, 
 also at Clarksville, Tenn. 
 
 Attended National Association of 
 Elocutionists at Philadelphia. 
 
 189S. 
 Readings : 
 
 Gatesville, Texas. 
 
 Waco, Texas. 
 
 Marlin, Texas. 
 
 Tehuacanna, Texas. 
 
 Gainesville, Texas. 
 
 Denton, Texas. 
 
 Ft. Smith, Ark. 
 
 Fordyce, Ark. 
 
 Greenville, Miss. 
 
 Brookhaven, Miss. 
 
 Danville, 111. 
 
 University of Chicago. 
 
 Clarksville, Tenn. 
 
 Petersburg, Tenn. 
 
 Nicholasville, Ky. 
 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 Westminster, Md. 
 
 Boston Art Club, Boston. 
 In the summer, gave two readings 
 at Monteagle; read at Madison, 
 Wis., and at Chautauqua, N. Y. 
 
 Two readings at Talladega, Ala., at 
 Pocomoke, Md., and at Harrison- 
 ville, Mo. 
 
 1896. 
 Readings: 
 
 Crystal Springs, Miss. 
 
 Meridian, Miss. 
 
 Oxford, Miss. (Univ. of Miss.) 
 
 Pontotoc, Miss. 
 
 West Point, Miss. 
 
 Greenville, Miss. 
 
 Columbus, Miss. 
 
 Jackson, Miss. 
 
 Spring Hill, Tenn. 
 
 Carthage, Tenn. 
 
 Talladega, Ala. 
 
 Columbus, S. C. 
 
 At several places in Georgia. 
 Attended National Association of 
 Elocutionists at Detroit, Mich., and 
 read there to the Association. 
 
 Readings : 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 Lynchburg, Va. 
 Richmond, Va. 
 Clarksville, Tenn. 
 Martin, Tenn. 
 Read "Midsummer Night's 
 Dream" at Vv Oman's Building, Ten- 
 nessee Centennial Exposition. 
 
 In summer, assisted Dr. Curry at 
 Monteagle; had charge of Elocution 
 at Bay View, Mich.; read at Mac- 
 inac Island. 
 
 Readings : 
 
 Knoxville, Tenn. 
 Chapel Hill, N. C. 
 Lynchburg, Va. 
 Blackstone, Va. 
 Charlottesville, Va. 
 Norfolk, Va. 
 Columbia, S. C. 
 Durham, S. C. 
 Lexington, Ky. 
 Sweetwater, Tenn. 
 Nashville Lyceum. 
 Wednesday Morning Musicale. 
 Rogersville, Tenn. 
 
Murfreesboro, Tenn. 
 Winchester, Tenn. 
 Louisville, Ky. (Hampton Col- 
 lege). 
 Brooklyn Institute of Sciences 
 and Art. 
 In summer, attended N. A. E., 
 at Cincinnati. Taught at Bay View, 
 Mich. ; read at Harbor Point, Mich. ; 
 taught at Monteagle, with Dr. Curry. 
 Later in the summer, had charge of 
 School of Elocution at Missouri 
 Chautauqua, Maysville, Ky. 
 
 1899. 
 Readings : 
 
 Bowling Green, Ky. 
 
 Lexington, Ky. 
 
 New Orleans (3 readings). 
 
 Galveston, Texas. 
 
 San Antonio, Texas. 
 
 Houston, Texas. 
 
 Austin, Texas. 
 
 Sherman, Texas. . 
 
 Dallas, Texas. 
 
 Fort Worth, Texas. 
 
 Cleburne, Texas. 
 
 Marshall, Texas. 
 
 Corsicana, Texas. 
 
 Monroe, La. 
 
 Arcadia, La. 
 
 Mount Pleasant, Tenn. 
 
 University of Nashville. 
 
 ForVanderbilt Woman's Cluo, 
 complimentary to stu- 
 dents and faculty. 
 In summer, at Monteagle, with 
 
 Mrs. Curry, and had charge of Elo- 
 cution at Bay View, Mich. 
 
 1900. 
 Readings : 
 
 Fayetteville, Ky. 
 
 Bowling Green, Ky. 
 
 Millersburg, Ky. 
 
 Richmond, Ky. 
 
 Lexington, Ky. 
 
 Flemingsburg, Ky. 
 
 Louisville, Ky. 
 
 Ripley, Tenn. 
 
 Trenton, Tenn. 
 
 McKenzie, Tenn. 
 
 Tuscaloosa, Ala. (4 readings). 
 
 Lewisburg ; Tenn. 
 
 Gallatin, Tenn. 
 
 Nashville, Tenn. 
 
 Columbia, S. C. 
 
 Spartanburg, S. C. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga. 
 
 Belmont College. 
 
 Philharmonic Society, of Nash- 
 ville. 
 
 Nangatuck, Conn. 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 New York, N. Y. 
 
 Springfield, Mass. 
 
 Northampton, Mass. (Smith 
 College). 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Utica, N. Y. 
 
 Pocomoke, Md. 
 In summer, at Monteagle, in 
 charge of School of Oratory and Ex- 
 pression. 
 

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