The Laboratories. in 1887. Of the material results of his administration something has been said already. The greater results, which lay in less tangible fields, which are found in the ennobled lives of so many generations of students, cannot be so readily enumerated. He had given sixty years to the work of instructing them. "If we include the present graduating class," he said in his anniversary address in 1886, "the whole number of the alumni now living is 1,726. Of these all except thirty-one have been taught by me. I have also taught 534 of the alumni who have passed away—in all 2,229."       Toward many of his pupils Dr. Hopkins was drawn by a strong personal attachment, quickly detecting their worth, though sometimes disguised under an unpromising exterior, and forecasting their ability for successful service in the world. One of his most interesting friendships was with President Garfield, who came to Williams in the autumn of 1854, and entered the junior class. He had been several terms at Hiram Institute in Ohio, but decided to finish his college course in New England, as he knew very well that better advantages could be found there than in any of the schools of the religious denomination with which he was connected. Letters of inquiry were sent to the presidents of Williams, Brown, and Yale. Dr. Hopkins's reply concluded with the words, "If you come here we shall be glad to do what can for you"; and they brought him to Williamstown. "Other things being so nearly equal," he wrote to a friend, "this sentence, which seems to be a kind of friendly grasp of the hand, has settled the question for me. I shall start for Williams next week." He always regarded his decision as fortunate. The region in the midst of which the college stands is famous for its beauty, and has left an indelible impression upon many students. One of them, for example who graduated the year after Garfield entered, always associated the hills with his inner life, — "they were almost a part of himself." When the four years were over and he was about to leave them, "he Residence of President Carter. -- page 174 -- Previous Page | Next Page | Town of Williamstown Page | Berkshire County Western MA History & Genealogy

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