CHAPTER II

BIRTH.--BOYHOOD

Born, Marble Ridge farmhouse, North Andover, Mass., March 25, 1818--Delicate child--Heroic treatment--Incidents showing character--Devotion to mother--Her death irreparable loss--Early schooling--Over-study--Evil effects--Insists on leaving school--Works in factory a year--Strict treatment-- No indulgence--Injudicious urging--Fever--Rupture from over-exertion--Seeks Dr. Warren--Old Put's school, Franklin Academy--Rigorous daily life of farmer's boy--Phillips Academy--Appearance on entering--Earns board and lodgings with Nathan W. Hazen, Esq.--Takes first rank in studies--Power of concentration--Habits of study--Proficiency in mathematics-- Protests against bigotry--Overcomes extreme diffidence-- Appointed to West Point 13