mannered men, simply said, 'Mr. Blank." He meekly took his seat and behaved. Another instance occurred while he was presiding at a declamation contest in the old Methodist Church. "At the close of a declamation by a student who had incurred some one's ill will there fell on the platform a bouquet of burdock, cabbage leaves, and other unacceptable material. Dr. Haven at once sharply repri manded the offender for the insult and the infringement of good order and concluded by saying, 'If any one repeats the offense we will proceed against him.' It was not repeated." After careful study I think the following personal letter expresses the sentiment of the students under Dr. Haven. "My heart has always been full of love for President E. O. Haven and I always have a good word for him and his administration. I am proud that it was my good fortune to be in Northwestern and graduate under this great and good man. The beautiful example of daily life can never be forgotten by students who were fortunate enough to come in daily contact with President Haven. He was certainly one of the grandest men whom I have ever known, and, in my judgment, one of his strongest points as a leader among men was the fact that he could express the greatest thoughts in the simplest language. In the classroom we never found his store of information lacking, either in regard to the questions of study in hand or the current questions of the day. I would that our fair country might have been blessed with more men like E. O. Haven." Dr. J. M. Buckley says of President Haven, "the wisdom of his administration doubtless saved many a youth from expulsion, who, under a more rigorous or less considerate control, would have been disgraced and, perhaps, ruined. It may be affirmed that every student who passed under his moulding hand was calmer, gentler, more disposed to refinement, religion, and a life devoted to clear thinking, right living, and pure feeling than under ordinary circumstances he would in all probability have been."* In 1874, after two years of service in the Board of Education, Dr. Haven was elected chancellor of the University of Syracuse, a position he occupied for six years till his elevation to the episcopacy. Unhappily in his new field his labors were short. He died in 1881. As teacher, preacher, lecturer, editor, administrator, man, he had served his church and his generation well. *Introduction to Autobiography of E. O. Haven, p. 14. |