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النشر الإلكتروني

1815

céllege

sent to the Murfreesborough Academy, then under the superintendence of Mr. Samuel P. Black, one of the most celebrated classical teachers in Middle Tennessee.

Henceforward there were no obstacles in the way of his obtaining the education he so ardently desired. In less than two years and a half he prepared himself thoroughly for an advanced class in college; and in the autumn of 1815, being then in his twentieth year, he entered the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, at the beginning of the sophomore year. This venerable institution, at which so many of the most distinguished statesmen, and the most eminent divines, in the Southern part of the Union, have been educated, was then under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Joseph Caldwell, "justly styled the father of the University."* Colonel William Polk, late of Raleigh, and the first cousin of the father of President Polk, was also one of the most influential and active of the trustees, and had been such from about the time of the first establishment of the institution.

At the University, Mr. Polk was most exemplary in the performance of all his duties, not only as a member of college, but also of the literary society to which he belonged. He was punctual and prompt in every exercise, and never absent fromr ecitation or any of the religious services of the institution. So high was his standing, so remarkable his character, in this respect, that one of his classmates, who was something of a wag, was in the habit of averring, when he desired his hearers to place confidence in his assertions, that the fact he stated,

Foote's Sketches, p. 530.

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was "just as certain, as that Polk would get up at the
first call."

He was no superficial student; he was perfect and
thorough in everything he undertook. He well under-
stood the difference between true merit and pretence.
Untiring assiduity and close application characterized
him throughout his whole collegiate course. Of the exact

sciences he was passionately fond, though he was also an
excellent linguist. At each semi-annual examination he
bore away the highest honors, and at the close of the ju-
nior year the first distinction was awarded to him and

Ex-Governor William D. Moseley, of Florida. He grad-fift

1.4. Muated in June, 1818, with the highest distinction, which was assigned to him alone, as the best scholar in both the mathematics and classics, and delivered the Latin Salutatory Oration. The second distinction, at this commencement, was awarded to William M. Green, who delivered the valedictory, and was afterwards Professor of Rhetoric and Logic in the University, which station he resigned in 1849 to enter upon his duties as Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Mississippi.

Mr. Polk did not forget his Alma Mater amid the busy scenes, the turmoil and confusion, of his active life; nor did she lose sight of one who reflected so much credit upon her, in every station that he filled. He often revisited her shrine, and attended the pleasant reünions of the Mother and her sons; and at the annual commencement, in June, 1847, the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred upon him, together with John Y. Mason, late Secretary of the Navy, of the class of 1816, and Willie P. Mangum, of the Senate of the United

States, and a member of the class of 1815,-a compliment, in each instance, most richly deserved, by good scholarship and correct deportment while in college, and by ability and fidelity displayed in the public service.

CHAPTER III.

Commences the Study of the Law in the Office of Felix Grundy-Se-
cures the Friendship of Andrew Jackson-Admitted to the Bar-Success
in the Practice of his Profession-His Political Associations-Style and
Manner as a Public Speaker-Chief Clerk and Member of the Ten-
nessee Legislature-Duelling Law-Internal Improvements-His Mar-
riage-Mrs. Polk.

WHEN Mr. Polk left the University, his health was
considerably impaired by his constant and unremitting
application to his studies. But the hopes and aspirations
of youth, like the waters of the magical fountain which
Ponce de Leon so longed to discover, are famed for their
restorative powers; and the mind, as the body, in the
spring-time of life, contains within itself a host of recu-
perative energies. A few months of relaxation and res-
pite from study, were sufficient fully to restore him; and
the choice of a profession was then to be considered and
decided. This was not at all difficult. His thoughts
had long been directed toward the law, and each suc-
ceeding year had served to confirm and strengthen the
desire which he had half formed ere the time came for
sober and serious reflection.

His final determination was made in accordance with his previous inclinations; and at the beginning of the year 1819, he entered the ofice of Felix Grundy, at 11 23 Nashville. Mr. Grundy was then in the zenith of his fame-at the head of the Tennessee bar-enjoying the

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professional honors and rewards which continued to flow liberally upon him—and with the laurels he had won on the floor of the House of Representatives of the United States in defence of the war measures of President Madison, blooming freshly on his brow. In him Mr. Polk found not only a legal preceptor whose rich stores of learning were freely opened for his profit and instruction, but "an experienced Nestor," whose counsel and advice. guided and directed his footsteps aright, upon the same road once travelled by himself, to the distinction and eminence which he had attained. He found him, also, a warm and sincere friend, who admitted him to his confidence and his heart, who sympathized with him over the difficulties that attended his first efforts to master the black-letter of his profession, who watched his progress with paternal solicitude and care, and who rejoiced most heartily at the success that rewarded his exertions. A friendship sprung up between them, cherished on the one side with all the ardor and disinterestedness of youth, and on the other, though less lavish, perhaps, in professions, marked by the calm and deep earnestness of age: it stood the test of years, and the changes of time and circumstance, and it was severed only by death, the great destroyer of human hopes and human ties.

Beside being the favorite student of Mr. Grundy, it was the good fortune of Mr. Polk, during his residence at Nashville, to attract the attention and to win the estem of one who bound his friends to him with hooks of adamant, and whose favor could not be too highly prized; of one whose influence over him, powerful though it was, was at all times voluntarily and cheerfully acknowl

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