IVilliam Campbell Preston. during my residence there in the summer of 1852, and imagine that this was the veri table Happy Valley, Samuel Johnson so beautifully describes in his Rassclas." Mr. Preston was born and brought up dur ing the formative period of his country's history. The echoes of the Revolution had hardly died away. Many of the participants in it were still upon the stage of active life. No doubt from their lips young Preston often heard recounted deeds of daring and adventures full of thrilling interest. We are not surprised that he should have be come thoroughly imbued with patriotic ardor, which was to crop out in his after life and, indeed, was to become one of its main-springs. We must remember, too, that his childhood and youth were spent in Virginia, which was, at that time particu larly, so prolific of great men. Even the little boys reared there then must have caught from them their enthusiastic spirit. Dr. P>aer describes Mr. Preston as a lad as follows : " William was a handsome boy, fair, ruddy, well grown, with lustrous eyes, and most winning ways — naturally the idol of an extensive circle of most partial rela tives. He was the eldest of a large family of children, twelve of whom reached matu rity." Mr. Preston's early educational training was fairly good. His first teacher was Peter Byrnes, an Irishman, who taught in his grandfather's family and continued in the vocation of a teacher for many years. Under him, Preston learned the alphabet and also to read the Testament, imperfectly, however. Byrnes died when Preston was twelve years old. The latter was then placed under the instruction of a thoroughly competent teacher, a Mr. Hercules Whaley, who was not only an accomplished Latin scholar, but was quite familiar with the English and French literature. He was an excellent reader, and it was a treat for his pupils to hear him exhibit his power in that respect. Under him Preston began the
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study of Latin and acquired a fondness not only for it, but for French also. When he was fourteen years old, he ma triculated as a pupil of Washington College, Lexington, Virginia, where Dr. Laborde tells us " he labored but little." Washing ton College is now Washington and Lee University. While a student there, Preston roomed with General Edward C. Carrington, of Halifax County, Virginia, and William C. Reeves. Having weak lungs and, in deed, having had several slight hemorrhages, he was taken away from college and started off on a trip to Florida, where it was thought it would be well for him to spend a winter. His companion on this trip was a trusty old family servant, Isaac. They rode on horse back. They had instructions to pursue their journey as far as Columbia, South Carolina, where they were to get letters and fresh instructions. When Preston reached that city, he heard for the first time of the South Carolina College, and the accounts which were given him of it were very glow ing. Here, too, he met a number of young men who had repaired thither for the pur pose of taking the examination prepara tory to admission to the college. They urged him to join their number, assuring him that they looked forward to their col lege days with pleasure. He doubted his ability to stand the examination, but they told him that there would be no trouble on that score. Finally, Preston yielded only on condition, however, that it should meet with Isaac's approbation. That good old servant cordially acquiesced in the project and at once gave his consent. The examination took place on December 25, 1809, and Preston was admitted into the the Sophomore class. One of the incidents of that examination experience is worth re lating. It was in the Classics particularly that Preston felt himself most deficient. It so happened that Dr. Park, the Latin Profes sor gave him the passage from Virgil begin ning
