E r (o 7 J75C7 William Preston Johnston Character Sketch ^^^^ A1 ^ * Prepared for the Oass of 1852 m Yale University by Rev. Jacob Cooper lass £.4^7 '[n liouk 'ijil'J l'RKSi;.\Ti:i) BY William Preston Johnston Character Sketch 117 y <<> ^ vV (yv * v>/ Prepared for the Class of 1852 in Yale University by Rev. Jacob Cooper L WILLIAM PRESTON JOHNSTON. If intense love for the subject unfits one to draw a char- acter sketch, then William Preston Johnston could have no biographer. For no writer could describe a life without acquaintance .with it, and no one could know our friend without such love for him as would bethought to warp the judgment in portraying his character. But possibly the consciousness of such feeling might keep the writer on his guard, and let fairness draw the picture without exagger- ation. There is another and still greater difificulty. Only the like can appreciate the like at its proper value, or de- scribe in adequate terms; and so, if this principle be ad- hered to rigorously, our friend could have no biography. For he stands out uniciue in the estimation of those who have been near him in his youth, in the maturity of his strength, and when he bravely struggled, as he did during all his later years, with harassing weakness. iVt every period of his life, in every field of work, and under most chang^ing conditions, there was no variation in the unselfish pursuit of what is true, beautiful, and good. The noble aims with which he was always actuated were sanctified by a faith in the Divine Presence which never doubted the final outcome, and which made him as courageous when all seemed to oppose as when his road lay through the clear sunlight of God's favor. President Johnston had every advantage of birth. He was allied by blood with more high-born and excellent people than almost any other person who has lived in 4 IVilliani Preston JoJuis/on. our country. So many pure strains met in him tliat, liad he been disposed to glory in his lineage, his claim would have been readily recognized by all those who were privi- leged to know the man himself. vSuch an origin is prone to make men haughty in feeling, and can scarcely fail to render them occasionally overbearing and disagreeable in intercourse with their inferiors. This may, without offense, be noted as a trait of many Southern gentlemen, who are pardoned for their pride of lineage because of the nobility of their actions. All the benign fairies stood around our friend's cradle from his birth, and the air of cultured society fanned him while he lived. But he rose superior to the temptation to rest upon a position assured to him l)y nature. There was too much real greatness in his make-up to need any adven- titious help, or be weakened by the false assumptions of an aristocrat. Nay, rather, this greatness was rendered attrac- tive by the culture and polish which high birth and elegant snrroundings are wont to develop. For these enabled him to exert his powers to the utmost by a recognized claim of equality with the highest; while his courtesy and freedom from ostentation gave him easy control over those who might be thought his inferiors. In this way the circum- stances of his birth, like all other advantages in the case of a strong nature, were turned to the best uses, and helped to round out that character which those who were in closest touch with him thought to be faultless. The life of Mr. Johnston is naturally divided into three periods: — Firs/. His birth, early education, and employments up to the War of Secession. Second. His share in that war. TJiird. His work as an Educator. It neither comes into the scope of the writer's purpose to portray the second period, except in the most general Ijyiliaul Preston J alius ton. 5 way, nor is he competent for such a task. But it is perti- nent to say, that Colonel Johnston entered into that move- ment with a good conscience and perfect honesty, as he did every act of his life. And it is also proper to add, that his conduct while thus engaged secured the unbounded confidence and lasting affection of all his companions in arms with whom he came in contact. By descent and in- stinct, he had the qualities of a soldier; and by education and temper, he was fitted to act in the highest capacity in the Confederate army. He knew every prominent man in the South; he was the equal of any in birth and culture; he was adapted for the most delicate and trustworthy com- munications between the chief and all subordinate officers. It is safe to assert, that there was not another man in the South so fitted, from every point of view, as he, to serve as the aide and confidential secretary of Mr. Davis during the trying ordeal through which that leader passed — particu- larly during the waning fortunes of the Lost Cause. For he was able, by a marvelous tact, which directed the high- est executive talents, joined to honesty and singleness of purpose never excelled, to win the confidence and love of that immense body of able men who proved their integrity by their sufferings and losses in behalf of a hopeless cause. Nor is it out of place to say, that the writer, though as de- voted in feeling to the fortunes of the North as his friend was to the South, loved and honored him as fervently as he did any one of his own partisans. Moreover, had we met in conflict, — which a merciful Providence averted, — life might have been sacrificed, but mutual love would not have been chilled. Mr. Johnston suffered greatly in person and estate dur- ing this unnatural conflict. He lost his father. General Albert Sidney Johnston, to whom he was devotedly at- tached. He lost his property through the same processes which beggared so many well-to-do and even wealthy 6 William Preston Johnston. Southerners. He lost his health by severe attacks of dis- ease incident to army life and most likely aggravated by imprisonment. It is certain that Mr. Johnston, though he lived nearly forty years subsequently and did enough work to fill the lives of half a dozen men, yet was a constant suf- ferer from chronic disease and weakness which were then engendered. While his services in the war of secession may be con- sidered as an episode, they were influential in the forma- tive period of his life. They contributed greatly to the fitness for his work as the founder of a university of unmeas- ured influence, and as the leading educator of the South. But this period, though filled with work, constitutes, at most, only five of the nearly seventy years of his life ; and hence, in itself, is of small moment compared with the achievements by which he will be best known in history. At the same time it is not the purpose to belittle his ser- vices during this trying ordeal. Those five years were most rich to all who jeoparded their lives or gave their last measure of devotion to the cause of either section. Men lived rapidly tlien, and made history for themselves and for the world at a tremendous rate. No doubt the varied responsibilities and delicate relations which his position involved broadened his character and sharpened his intel- lect, as well as cultivated those executive powers so soon to be called into requisition as an educator and the organ- izer of educational methods. For the man who is bent on doing good work as the sole task of life, will be helped to understand and grapple with that task by every species of service he is called to render God or man. Hence, no doubt, the delicacy of his tact in dealing with the complicated interests and varying tempers of men which were involved in founding a system of education substantially new in the South, was in some measure due to the rare exercise of his talents as the factotum in Jefferson Davis's military family. Ullliaui Preston JoJinstoii. 7 William Preston Johnston was born, Jannary 5, 1831, at Louisville, Kentucky. He was the son of Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston of the United States Army, afterwards General in the Confederate forces, and Henrietta Preston, dauofhter of General William Preston. His father was at that time in active service in the regular army, and as such liable to constant removals through the exigencies of his military life. His mother died when he was four years old. W^ith the exception of this time, his childhood and youth were passed under the care of his maternal relatives : first, with his aunt, Mrs. Rogers, and afterwards with his uncle. General William Preston. He attended the schools of Louisville; the Academy of S. V. Womack at Shelby- ville, Ky.; the Western Military Academy, at Georgetown, Ky., and, for about a year, Centre College, at Danville. While here he was the subject of deep religious impres- sions during one of the revivals which so frequently at- tended the preaching of the President of the College, the saintly and gifted John Clarke Young. These impressions remained with him through life. F'or while he did not often talk about religion, he practiced its teachings con- stantly, and showed by his actions and his habitual tem- per, that he lived "as seeing Him who is invisible." Hence his life everywhere and always was a testimony for God, and for all that our holy religion means to those who use this world as not abusing it. During this period, that is until he was twenty, he made many changes, and seems to have had little, if any, real home life. The loss of his mother when he was at a ten- der age, and the consequent lack of home influence, — since his father's army service precluded a settled household, — was a sad experience to a man of his intense family affec- tion. But this strong characteristic was manifested de- spite his unsettled home, and remained one of his marked traits through life. And his educational course was dur- 8 Williani Preston Johnston. ing this period equally unsettled. But he had a substra- tum of character strong enough to retain its individuality amid so many vicissitudes, nay, rather, in his case, this seeming irregularity proved to be the proper educational process for a thoroughly diversified discipline to fit him for his future work. For thus he gained power by every kind of experience so as to be able to impress every sort of men to work submissively under his guidance. This unsettled course of training, which he had the as- similative force to make a factor of strength rather than, as with weaker characters, a dissipation of native energy, came to an end when he entered the Junior Class at Yale, late in the winter of 1850. Here he found a system of education the most steady and conservative in the whole country ; presided over by a man who possessed the very highest scholarship, and was at the same time an execu- tive the most energetic, pushing, and progressive. Yale was then a college where all that was best in the way of high scholarship, permeated with Puritanic severity of dis- cipline and orthodoxy of religious faith, was working out its fairest results. This, moreover, was the time when the old college curriculum, with its fixed routine of studies, was yielding to the demands of the elective system, and thus expanding to give entrance to the real university. The influences of this transition period at Yale wrought powerfully on Mr. Johnston, and others, associated with him in study, who were destined to effect the most far-reach- ing influence in the university systems of our country. In coming to Yale, Air. Johnston came back to his own ancestral people. His grandfather had removed to Ken- tucky from Salisbury, Connecticut : at which place, and close by, in Duchess County, New York, the family had resided ever since its migration from Scotland early in the eighteenth century. By intermarriage there, and by resi- dence among and alliance with the best people of the South, IJ^illiaDi P)-csloit JoJnistoii. g the family had engrafted all that is noble and chivalrous in this character upon the hardy primitive stock. The Cava- lier and Roundhead were combined in his person as per- haps in no other man of our country. The harder and more forbidding features of the Puritan, in his deep though silent religious fervor, were clothed by the elegant, genial, and sunny traits of the Southern planter, — a combination as de- lightful to his friends, as it must have been happy to himself. jNIr. Johnston joined a class which contained many men of marked intellectual force and executive ability, such as Crapo, Gilman, McCormick, not to mention others. There were many who had had the careful training of the best New England preparatory schools, and by their two years of college work together had acquired a class spirit and unity of action which was of a permanent type, and to which those who entered, as he did, upon advanced stand- ing, were compelled in some degree to conform. But he had enough of the personal equation to assimilate what was good, and resist whatever could give a wrong trend to one who sought only that which is best in everything. He found at Yale a rigid discipline, administered by an un- bending will in President Woolsey, — a man who had so much goodness and wisdom that his course of action, if inflexible, was nearly, if not always, right. And the im- press which this prince among educators left on his pupils was not lost on Mr. Johnston, and was a new factor in his preparation for his life-work. It is a remarkable fact, that the founders of three great universities of our country, which, like that of Berlin, started out at once as thoroughly equipped teaching pow- ers, were here together at the same time. Two of them. Presidents Gilman and Johnston, were members of the same class; and President White, of the next; while all three were brought into the closest companionship by becoming mem- bers of the same senior fraternity. We have no other exam- lo William Preston JoJuistoii. pie in our country, nor, in fact, in the world, of three great universities being founded severally, and fully equipped, by the genius respectively of three men, undergradu- ates and companions at one time and in the same college. Nothing at Oriel College in its palmiest days of Whately, Keble, and Newman, can parallel this. There are other universities which have been founded in great measure by the genius of a single individual ; but they have not showed at once that maturity of organization and permanency of movement, whatever they may subsequently effect. i\nd there are other great institutions like Michigan, Columbia, Pennsylvania, which have exhibited marvelous expansion under the guidance of experienced organizers like xA.ngell, Low, and Pepper. But they had powerful nuclei as foun- dations whereon to build. They and others have done ad- mirably, and the world gives them unstinted praise for their work. But Oilman, Johnston, White, created their corporations de nin'o^ and inspired into them the breath of life. Their work was original, — each on his own lines, each to suit the peculiar .(,'77/ ///jr loci^ — while cosmopolitan enough to assimilate the best influences from every quar- ter, and adapt them to the diversified needs of a world-wide clientage. Each combined conservatism with radicalism ; "each looked backwards and forwards, so that there might be the very best things." ^ Mr. Johnston's course was marked from the start. When students join an advanced class in an institution where the requirements are rigorous, the newcomer is likely to be some- what hampered by an inadequate, or at least unequal, prepar- ation. Though this was his case, he quickly rose superior to all handicaps. His power as ,a writer was assured at once, and was maintained with increasing reputation until the end; as shown by prizes for writing and speaking. \eva«-R-onge and the old state nniverMty at New Orleans we*e-4fte0-r-pora-t^d together. Out of these different ele- ments united with IMr. Tulane\s foundation, an entirely new organization was perfected, so different in methods and so much wider in scope that it must be considered a wholly different enterprise. For it had all the features of an origi- nal--pkn, and was henceforth to take on such a form as the ^genius of a president chose to give it. :Mr. Johnston was now fifty-two years old, in the full victor of his intellect, and with a more varied experience, we dare say, than could be found in any other citizen of our country. He had been tried in many forms of admin- istrative activity, legal, military, educational. He knew, from much service, both to command and to obey, to lead and to follow, to plan and to execute. His reputation for literature, for teaching, for delicate administration, was as marked as were his characteristics for dignity, grace, intel- lectual force, and unselfishness. His information on every subject of culture was truly encyclopedic, and could not fail of being known wherever he might be. No man ever con- versed with him in the most casual manner for five min- utes without being attracted by the indescribable charm, the/r lie sais qiioi\ of his intercourse. He constantly made friends, and never lost any. He made no enemies, and therefore had no occasion for explanations or apologies. His only drawback was his weak physique. The last period of his life, while beginning at the close of the Civil War, should really have for its commencement the time when he assumed the presidency of Tulane, and, may be reckoned at sixteen years. Into this brief period, and one which was hampered by constant ill health and filled with family be- reavements, was crowded the work of several active lives 22 IVilliani Preston Johns ton. of full length. One cannot but conjecture how much greater would have been his services to the world, and how much more completely he would have organized a system for higher education in the South, had he possessed robust health and been allotted a longer life. He now appears in a new role, that of the founder and organizer of a great university. Here all the qualities of his philanthropic, executive, mental, and moral nature, are brought into requisition. His work required more wis- dom than the mere art of founding. But his exquisite tact and calmness of judgment were fully equal to the duties demanded of him, not only in disarming opposition, but also in winning the cordial support of those interests which were to be merged into the new enterprise. These quali- ties being recognized by IMr. Tulane, and his judgment in all matters pertaining to his work being approved by the Administrative Board, he was invested by the donor with plenary powers in the management of his munificent gift. Hence President Johnston was in reality, as well as in name, the creator of Tulane University. Here his real life- work began in earnest ; and this Institution is the monument which will remain, no doubt, for all time as the tangible expression of his genius and labors. Henceforth Mr. Johns- ton lived, wrought, prayed, and suffered, for Tulane. But it must not be understood that he took any less interest in the general work of education; for he was constantly en- gaged in writing, in lecturing, and participating in all sorts of movements for the advancement of culture. As a Regent of the Smithsonian Institute, he was brought in touch with, and helped to direct, the most important forces at work in behalf of the higher education. The Sophia Newcomb College for Women, which is, popularly speak- inof, a Female Annex of Tulane, owes to him its founda- tion and assured success. From Air. Johnston's wide re- lationships by blood, and his knowledge of all the leading LtfC, William Preston Johuston. 23 factors in the movements of philanthropy and culture North and South, he was peculiarly fitted for advancing both male and female education. He thoroughly under- stood the wants of his twin institutions, because of his wide and hearty sympathy with their patrons, and knew where to apply for assistance. He was in close touch with the leading men of New Orleans, such as Dr. Palmer, T. G. Richardson, Senator Gibson, a near relative of his own. Judge Fenner, Justice White, James McConnell, — and could count on their energetic aid and wise judgment in carry- ing out his cherished purposes. Moreover, such was his hold upon the general community growing out of his transparent honesty, singleness of purpose, and unselfish- ness, that he could count on the full cooperation of the state authorities, no matter which political party might be in the ascendancy. For his reputation for integrity and clearness of judgment on all matters which claimed his at- tention were so well established that, no matter what might be the ill temper growing out of political excitement, he could carry a measure through any deliberative body, provided he was permitted to engineer it alone ! For all who heard a statement and knew the man who made it, were impressed with his thoroughgoing honesty, and con- vinced by the lucid arguments with which he advocated a measure. Thus he had practically carte lilanche for the realizing of his views in founding Tulane ; so that this University is perhaps more emphatically his exclusive creation than any other of our numerous colleges and uni- versities are of those great organizers whose names they bear. Hence it was felt by all who knew the real facts in- volved, that Mr. Johnston's life was a necessity to Tulane during its formative period. And, therefore the uncertain tenure by which he held to life, and the extreme weakness from which he suffered, kept his intimate friends in constant 24 William Preston JoJuiston. anxiety. To say that he lived for fifteen years by force of will alone may seem extravagant to those who did not know his actual condition. Yet to such as witnessed the strue- gles through which his weak frame carried the burden of each University term, this will be recognized as a true statement. He was never free from pain a single hour during that long period. His paroxysms of coughing lasted from three to eight hours a day. They absorbed what to most men is that part which is desirable more than any other for work, i. e. the forenoon, and left him, if leave they ever did at all, well nigh in a collapse ; so weak- ened that death might come at any time from sheer ex- haustion. Yet from such protracted fits of coughing he would rally, to take up the burdens of the day. During this period Mr. Johnston was most acutely touched by affliction. From his intensely affectionate na- ture he depended, more than most persons, on the support of domestic ties, and the happiness growing out of family influences. Hence his bereavements were felt with pecu- liar anguish. First came the death of his only son, a young man of great promise, who died while employed at the steel works of our classmate. Colonel James McCormick, at Harrisburg, Pa. Next, the death of Mrs. Johnston, the wife of his youth, and the mother of his large family of children. Both were crushing blows. For the father greatly desired that the family name should be perpetuated by a son who would do credit to the noble ancestry. Mrs. Johnston was a woman of great force of character ; and from her wise, womanly care she was especially adapted to watch over an invalid companion. But though Mr. Johns- ton was for a time stunned by this bereavement, his reti- cent nature,- when there was any reference to self, pre- vented the public from seeing evidences of the great sor- row which lay heavy upon him ; and only a few intimate friends, who could read between the lines, were aware how ll^ilUcDii Preston JoJmsfoii. 25 keenly he felt his loss. For his work was not in the least degree remitted. There was a cheerful exterior when deal- ing with the public ; and none who approached him for a favor could understand how much grief was beneath that smiling face, which lit up with all its former radiance when granting the asked-for kindness. And the loving Master whom he served did not forget him. There was a time of exquisite anguish to Abraham when he buried his dead Sarah out of his sight. There was a time of darkness, as of darkness itself, in the home circle, when the light of the household went out. But God who takes away the light at even causes the morning to spring again. After three years of desolation the home of Mr. Johnston is once more made bright by that which, next to the pres- ence of the Divinity, is the most joyous of earth's blessings. Miss Margaret Avery filled the vacant place, and made his home once more as fuUof all joy and sweetness as it had ever been. To her wise and unremitting care is due the pro- longation of his activity. She anticipated and met every want of this courageous but enfeebled toiler. Those who have been privileged to witness the unceasing care with which she followed his every movement, thank her for the years she added to his life and usefulness by the willing sacrifices she made for his joy and comfort. The cares and labors of j\Ir, Johnston after he went to New Orleans were incessant. Not merely the organiza- tion of the complicated scheme of a university in all its far-reaching and constantly expanding activities, but the details of the daily routine must be carefully scrutinized. The letter of inquiry from anxious parents ; the cases of discipline which must arise in any literary institution ; the selection of a corps of professors ; the supervision and friendly advice in the case of those called from abroad and who were strange to the genius loci — for each university has its own usages, and each community where one is lo_ 26 JJl'/Iiaj>i Preston JoJnistoii. cated its peculiar temper and traditions — to give quiet sug- gestions to young and inexperienced instructors : all these things constitute a weight of labor and harassing details enough for the strongest and most elastic physique. How he did all this is certainly marvelous. P'or he attended to the minutest details belonging to his office himself. He had, it is true, the good sense to enlist a large body of able colleagues to carry out his views. All great organizers have this distinctive faculty of working through other minds, and of so impressing their own lines of policy upon those with whom they cooperate, that the force of the driv- ing wheel is distributed so appropriately that each cog and shaft seems to be acting by its individual behest. But though not present and seemingly not interfering, yet in reality the head examined every item of detail, and weighed its ultimate effects on the whole system. The correspondence which Mr. Johnston carried on was immense. Nor did he avail himself of an amanuensis, sec- retary, or typewriter, except in rare instances. The great burden of a correspondence, written out in full in a legible script, was carried by him to the last. We feel sure that nothing but Divine strength could enable our friend to sustain this heavy load. Well did he illustrate the utter- ance of the great Apostle, "When I am weak, then am I strong." During all these years of toil and weakness he maintained his habitual cheerfulness. Emphatically a do- mestic man, he had a strong liking, as well as exquisite adaptation, for .society. His powers for diversified action seemed to be unlimited in degree and kind. For he ap- peared to have time for everything and everybody. Never in a hurry; self-poised, sunny; he could go from a meet- ing of the Smithsonian Regents, from a conference with the city government, a committee meeting of the Governor and members of the State Legislature, or a protracted sit- ting of his Faculty ; from several of these in one day — to ]]'illiai)i P>-cstoii Jo/ins/on. 27 a social function in the elegant society for which New Or- leans is noted, and be the life and soul of an admirino- cir- cle. Nay, more; from a home very often darkened by bereavement, from the burial of an only son, from the bed- side of a daughter dying in a distant city, he would return and take up the burdens of life with the same single- hearted earnestness, as though no heart-strings had been broken. Thus it continued with him from the time of his dread- ful sickness in 1862 till his death; but more especially dur- ing the twent)' years preceding that e\'eut For a stranger — to meet with him casually, and particularly if this occurred during one of his paroxysms of coughing — would think that that weak and tired frame would soon rest in its long- sleep, instead of being the guiding power in founding a great university, and identified in an efficacious way with nearly every interest dear to Christian culture. The un- complaining cheerfulness with which he carried his bur- den and responded to the requests for help to carry those of other men, was indeed an argument for the reality of our holy religion more convincing than the most eloquent preaching. Here was before our eyes the embodiment of that utterance of the Son of man, "I came not to be min- istered unto, but to minister, and give my life a ransom for many." Surely, if to any mere man this utterance was appropriate, it was to him who, through weakness and suf- fering, effected so much that was wholesome in every sphere of our nature which he touched. During his last year at Tulane (1898-99) he grew much weaker even than he had been previously. vSuch was now his prostration that he was compelled to remain in bed nearly all of this time. But he did not cease to work. From that couch of pain still issued directions for the man- agement of Tulane, and wise directions in regard to each of the numerous interests with which he was identified. 28 Wi/lia))i Preston Johusloii. beside long autograph letters to friends who had no other claim on his attention than that they loved him. He strug- gled through the year, presided at the Commencement ex- ercises in June, concluded his work in all departments, for this which was to be his last year, in his usual methodical manner. Then he set out for a retreat from the oppressing climate of New Orleans in summer, came north to visit his daughter in Pennsylvania, where he hoped by the high altitude and bracing air to recuperate, as he had often done before. But this time the hoped-for relief did not come. He grew still weaker, and with difficulty was removed to his beloved Lexington, Va., where he had spent so many happy years amid the exquisite scenery of this charming spot. He came to the home of another daughter, and for a short time seemed stronger. He was uncomplaining, cheerful, and even witty, as was his wont. The end came without premonition to himself or to those who watched beside his bed; and in the early morning of July i6, as the sun was peeping over the mountains and flooding the val- ley with light, he ceased to suffer. The great soul left its frail tabernacle, whereithad solong been keptin bonds, and went to that country where "the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick, for the people who dwell therein are for- given their iniquities." ... I am distressed for thee, my Brother! Many of us who knew thee so well, and prayed so often for the prolongation of thy life that thou might- est see of the travail of thy soul for the complete organiza- tion and permanent equipment of Tulane, many of us would willingly have given our measure of days and health to thee for the accomplishment of that work which was so near thy heart ! But now, since our wish could not be granted, we can temper our sorrow only with the thought, that it was the joy of our life to have come in touch with thine! To sum up our sketch of this bright and helpful life: Wlllia))! Prcslon Johnston. 29 Let us ask what lessons we can gain for our own conduct from Mr. Johnston's service to the world. It is true that few persons are so variously gifted, and enjoy so many so- cial advantages, or have such an encyclopedic experience. But others can, at least, try to copy his cheerfulness under sorrow and sickness; can make the most of what powers they possess by steady pursuit of dut)- for its own sake. They can take comfort from the thought that God, who is responsible for the issue, will make every faithful effort successful in his own time and way. It is not always the amount of work done that tells on the result, but the char- acter which is back of it, that gives efficiency ; so that the widow's mite may weigh more in the Divine balance than the wealth of the millionaire. ]\Ir. Johnston was so thor- oughly honest, so wholly free from crooked ways, that whatever he undertook secured favor from those who did not take the pains to investigate his methods, or had not the ability to comprehend them. In this way a noble char- acter lays all men under contribution. It utilizes the forces of ignorant though strong characters, and enlists the cooperation of those who are bad at heart, but who wish the reputation for integrity to effect ulterior aims. The good are willing to follow a leader who always strives to do right, and the bad are shamed into acquiescence by the force of public opinion ; and thus a noble character draws all influences into the wake of its pilotage. A second factor of his influence was his courtesy in speech and action. This indeed seemed native, springing from the goodness and elevation of his heart. He was popular in every age and position during life. In truth his character did not seem to be affected by considerations of time or place. He had the vivacity of youth and the wisdom of age at every period. This made him a favorite with young people, over whom he exercised a perfect witch- ery, without effort and, of course, unstudied. In his stu- 30 William Preston Johnston. dent clays he was admired and loved by the humblest as warmly as by his own special coterie. This irresistible attractiveness was conspicuous in his management of stu- dents both at Lexington and New Orleans. X notable ex- ample was when there was a formidable rebellion at Tu- lane, which, for a time, threatened peril to the whole in- stitution. But he met the angry and desperate body of rebels with no sign of trepidation, and by a few firm but gentle words calmed all into cheerful obedience. He was not afraid of discipline, and those young men who were incorrigible — fortunately very few in any of our literary institutions — were dealt with summarily. For any good officer of the law knows that punishment, in order to effect its best results, must be summary in its execution and thor- ough in its reach. But sympathy with young men and whole-hearted devotion to their welfare prove such a po- tent factor in their control that punishment is rarely neces- sary. This heartfelt interest in the young made him popular with them wherever he might be. Tlie writer has had un- mistakable evidence of this fact. Not merely the students at Tulane, but young members of the teaching corps were completely under his guidance, and felt it their highest pleasure to carry out his wishes. So wherever lie met young men it became apparent at once that he secured their confidence and love. To them, as to all whom he met, his presence was a benediction, and his words were listened to with a respect bordering on veneration. But among all the qualities of our friend which we ad- mire, there was none more worthy of praise than his cheer- ful patience under the ravages of disease, and his resigna- tion to the Divine Will wlien touched by the most sorrow- ful bereavements. He never worked without intense pain in a body which constantly threatened to collapse from its weakness. His house was scarcely ever free from the WilliaDi Prcstou JoJuisloii. 31 clouds of sorrow. The wife of his youth, his only son, and several daughters were taken from him during his protracted illness. Numerous kinsmen — for he had more relatives within the degrees of recognition, and a more- tender appreciation of these, than any other person we have known, — these, added to a countless array of loved friends, dropped by the way, leaving him almost alone in his generation. But he could hide his grief for these, how- ever deep it might be, when business called, or the claims of social life demanded ; and none but his closest friends would suspect what a burden he was carrying while he lived only to make others happy. In the midst of so much weakness and pain, and bur- dened by so many cares, he was yet constantly writing. Like many men of marked abilities from Socrates to Woolsey, he developed a poetical vein late in life. He heard the Divine voice saying: "Make music [i. e. poetrv], and exercise yourself with it."^ He published many short poems and made numerous versifications of Psalms. He composed hymns which have both the true ring of poetry and the spirit of devotion. His poem on "The Absolute," which he composed for the forty-fifth annual reunion of his class at Yale, rose to the highest sublimity; dealing with the profoundest problems of religion and philosophy. He stood like a grand old prophet as he unfolded the lea\es of destiny, and traced the threads of our life; not as spun by Lachesis, but by the wisdom and love of a Father who is weaving them into the web of immortality. Those who heard him read with tremulous voice will never forget the emotion which thrilled their souls at the grandeur and beauty of his thoughts, while gazing at the frail form which uttered them, and felt that this was the last time they would hear these loved tones on earth ! ' o JL TTOT^ OLai/OTjOeh . . eTToirjaas aura, irpoTepov ovSlu TruiTrore TroLi^cras . . 'i2 — co\"paTes, ((pv, fJ-ov(xiKrii> ttoUl kuI ipyd^'ov. — Plato's Phaedo, 60 D. ^ 32 IVilliani Preston Johnston. Is there anything to be desired for Mr. Johnston that he did not achieve? He wrought in ahnost every sphere of human interest, and- left an indelible impression for good by every act of his varied career. He founded one of the great universities of our country, which is destined to do more for his beloved South than any other' like institution will achieve for the section it represents. He fought in what he believed to be a righteous cause, and ennobled it in the esti- mation of those most opposed to his political views. He was always in the sunlight of publicity, yet never said a word or did an act which those who prized him most could wish had been omitted. He constantly breathed the air of our holy religion. He acted Christianity; manifesting its spirit even when not pronouncing its name; and proved to all who witnessed his life that he was quickened by its essence. He surrounded himself with an atmosphere of love on earth ; and now that he has passed from our sight, has merely crossed a line which is imperceptible, to con- tinue his Master's work in a higher life for which the toil and sufferings here were the Divinely allotted preparation. lb N "10