Fraternity was, I believe, founded in the year of his admission, and he
must, therefore, have been among its earliest members. He was
distinguished as a scholar, and the traces of his classic and
philosophical acquirements are everywhere visible in his books. During the
five or six years following his graduation, he travelled abroad, and in
the South and West; a wild frontier life had great attractions for him, as
he who reads "John Brent" and "The Canoe and the Saddle" need not be told.
He tried his hand at various things, but could settle himself to no
profession,--an inability which would have excited no remark in England,
which has had time to recognize the value of men of leisure, as such; but
which seems to have perplexed some of his friends in this country. Be that
as it may, no one had reason to complain of lack of energy and promptness
on his part when patriotism revealed a path to Winthrop. He knew that the
time for him had come; but he had also known that the world is not yet so
large that all men, at all times, can lay their hands upon the work that
is suitable for them to do.

Let us, however, return to the novels. They appear to have been written
about 1856 and 1857, when their author was twenty-eight or nine years old.
Of the order in which they were composed I have no record; but, judging
from internal evidence, I should say that "Edwin Brothertoft" came first,
then "Cecil Dreeme," and then "John Brent." The style, and the quality of
thought, in the latter is more mature than in the others, and its tone is
more fresh and wholesome. In the order of publication, "Cecil Dreeme" was
first, and seems also to have been most widely read; then "John Brent,"
and then "Edwin Brothertoft," the scene of which was laid in the last
century. I remember seeing, at the house of James T. Fields, their
publisher, the manuscripts of these books, carefully bound and preserved.
They were written on large ruled letter-paper, and the handwriting was
very large, and had a considerable slope. There were scarcely any