was always ready to take part in social pleasures, provided they did
not interfere with his work.

And all this while, with all his homely surroundings, he had high
thoughts for company. He wrote to a student, afterward his own successor
to the presidency, words that truly describe his own aspirations and
habits of mind. "Tell me, Burke, do you not feel a spirit stirring
within you that longs _to know, to do, and to dare_, to hold converse
with the great world of thought, and hold before you some high and noble
object to which the vigor of your mind and the strength of your arm may
be given? Do you not have longings like these which you breathe to no
one, and which you feel must be heeded, or you will pass through life
unsatisfied and regretful? I am sure you have them, and they will
forever cling round your heart till you obey their mandate."

The time had come when James was ready to take another step upward. The
district school had been succeeded by Geauga Seminary, that by Hiram
Institute, and now he looked Eastward for still higher educational
privileges. There was a college of his own sect at Bethany, not far
away, but the young man was not so blinded by this consideration as not
to understand that it was not equal to some of the best known colleges
at the East.

Which should he select?

He wrote to the presidents of Brown University, Yale, and Williams,
stating how far he had advanced, and inquiring how long it would take to
complete their course.

From all he received answers, but the one from President Hopkins, of
Williams College, ended with the sentence, "If you come here, we shall
be glad to do what we can for you." This sentence, so friendly and
cordial, decided the young man who otherwise would have found it hard to
choose between the three institutions.

"My mind is made up," he said. "I shall start for Williams College next
week."

He was influenced also by what he already knew of Dr. Hopkins. He was
not a stranger to the high character of his intellect, and his
theological reputation. He felt that here was a man of high rank in
letters who was prepared to be not only his teacher and guide, but his
personal friend, and for this, if for no other reason, he decided in
favor of Williams College. To a young man circumstanced as he was, a
word of friendly sympathy meant much.

CHAPTER XVI.

ENTERING WILLIAMS COLLEGE.

James Garfield had reached the mature age of twenty-two years when he