Adventures and Lette 第1章 THE EARLY DAYS(3/23)

he had but few intimate friends;but of the various little groups of which he happened to be a member his aggressiveness and his imagination usually made him the leader.As far back as I can remember,Richard was always starting something--usually a new club or a violent reform movement.And in school or college,as in all the other walks of life,the reformer must,of necessity,lead a somewhat tempestuous,if happy,existence.The following letter,written to his father when Richard was a student at Swarthmore,and about fifteen,will give an idea of his conception of the ethics in the case:

SWARTHMORE--1880.

DEAR PAPA:

I am quite on the Potomac.I with all the boys at our table were called up,there is seven of us,before Prex.for stealing sugar-bowls and things off the table.All the youths said,"O President,I didn't do it."When it came my turn Imerely smiled gravely,and he passed on to the last.Then he said,"The only boy that doesn't deny it is Davis.Davis,you are excused.I wish to talk to the rest of them."That all goes to show he can be a gentleman if he would only try.I am a natural born philosopher so I thought this idea is too idiotic for me to converse about so I recommend silence and Ialso argued that to deny you must necessarily be accused and to be accused of stealing would of course cause me to bid Prex.good-by,so the only way was,taking these two considerations with each other,to deny nothing but let the good-natured old duffer see how silly it was by re-->>

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