who desired to quiet his temper, by fixing him in some settled pursuit, is not related; most probably the latter, for it was soon manifest, that neither the profound wisdom, the abstruse learning, nor the golden promises of the law, had any charms for him. It was decided without reluctance on his part, therefore, that he should leave the path, which he had found so intricate, and in which he had made so little progress, and enter upon one more congenial to his inclination, and presenting objects more attractive to his taste and fancy.

Here was a difficult point to be determined. The pursuit, which would accord best with the propensities, temperament, and wishes of John Ledyard, and best promote his future usefulness and success, was a thing not to be decided, even at that time of his life, by the common rules of judging in such cases; it was a preliminary, which no one probably would have been more perplexed than himself to establish. Never was he accustomed to look forward with unwavering predilections, to prepare for contingencies, or to mark out a course from which he would not stray. To be seeking some distant object, imposing and attractive in his own conceptions, and to move towards it on the tide of circumstances, through perils and difficulties, was among the

chief pleasures of his existence.

On enter

prises, in which no obstacles were to be encountered, no chances to be run, no disappointments to be apprehended, no rewards of hazardous adventure to be looked for, he bestowed not a thought; but let a project be started, thickly beset with dangers, and promising success only through toils and sufferings, deeds of courage, and the resolute efforts of an untiring spirit, and not a man would grasp at it so eagerly, or pursue it with so much intenseness of purpose. The wholesome maxim of providing for the morrow rarely found a place in his ethics or his practice; and as he never allowed himself to anticipate misfortunes, so he never took any pains to guard against them.

He was now at the age of nineteen, with very narrow means, few friends, and no definite prospects. In this state of his affairs, as it was necessary for something to be done, he was compelled to look around him, and for a moment to exercise that foresight, which the tenor of his life proves him to have been so reluctant on most occasions to call to his aid. And, after all, he was more indebted to accident, than to his own deliberations, for the immediate events that awaited him. Dr. Wheelock, the amiable and pious founder of

Dartmouth College, had been the intimate friend of his grandfather; and prompted by the remembrance of this tie, he invited Ledyard to enter his institution, recently established at Hanover, New Hampshire, amidst the forests on the banks of the Connecticut River. This offer was accepted, and in the spring of 1772, he took up his residence at this new seat of learning, with the apparent intention of qualifying himself to become a missionary among the Indians.

His mother's wishes and advice had probably much influence in guiding him to this resolution. In accordance with the religious spirit of that day, she felt a strong compassion for the deplorable state of the Indians, and it was among her earliest and fondest hopes of this her favorite son, that he would be educated as a missionary, and become an approved instrument in the hands of Providence to bring these degraded and suffering heathen to a knowledge of a pure religion, and the blessings of civilized life. When she saw this door opened for the realizing of her hopes, and her son placed under the charge of the most eminent laborer of his day in the cause of the Indians, her joy was complete.

From the first settlement of the country much zeal and much disinterested philan

thropy have been exercised, in attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity, and induce them to adopt the manners and participate the comforts of civilized men. Eliot (rightly named the Apostle to the Indians) and the Mayhews are entitled to the praises, which succeeding times have bestowed on them; and the efforts of the Society in Great Britain for Propagating the Gospel in Foreign. Parts, were prompted by motives of the noblest kind, and were bestowed with an ardor and with sacrifices, that demand a generous tribute from the pen of history, and the grateful remembrance of posterity. For many years little had been done, however, till the popular talents and fervent zeal of David Brainerd caused the journals of his missionary tours to be read throughout the country, his labors applauded, and his success regarded as an evidence of the great work, that might be wrought by the proper use of means.

About this time the Reverend Eleazer Wheelock, who was then a settled clergyman in Lebanon, Connecticut, formed the scheme of an Indian School, which should have the double object of preparing young preachers for the missionary field, and of educating Indian youth, who should return to their tribes, and become teachers among their own people.

Without show or ostentation, Dr. Wheelock commenced the school at his own house, and almost at his own charge. He began with two pupils, one of whom was Sampson Occum, an Indian of the Mohegan tribe, afterwards so much celebrated as a preacher, and for his instructions to the Indians. The school gradually increased, and so benevolent an undertaking, pursued with such singleness of purpose, could not fail to attract public notice and approbation. He was aided by contributions from individuals, and the province of Massachusetts voted to pay, for a certain time, the expense of educating six Indian children. Mr. Joshua Moor, who owned lands in Lebanon, gave a portion of them for the benefit of this school; and from this circumstance the seminary for the education of Indian boys, afterwards attached to Dartmouth College, was called Moor's Indian School.

But Dr. Wheelock still found, that pupils from the forest flocked to him faster than he could provide for them. He thought it now time to adopt the expedient of sending to England, and soliciting assistance from the wealthy and charitable on the other side of the water. For this object, Sampson Occum and another clergyman were sent out as agents, furnished with testimonials of their